Automated Remote Monitoring of Depression: Acceptance Among Low-Income Patients in Diabetes Disease Management.

PubMed

Ramirez, Magaly; Wu, Shinyi; Jin, Haomiao; Ell, Kathleen; Gross-Schulman, Sandra; Myerchin Sklaroff, Laura; Guterman, Jeffrey

2016-01-25

Remote patient monitoring is increasingly integrated into health care delivery to expand access and increase effectiveness. Automation can add efficiency to remote monitoring, but patient acceptance of automated tools is critical for success. From 2010 to 2013, the Diabetes-Depression Care-management Adoption Trial (DCAT)-a quasi-experimental comparative effectiveness research trial aimed at accelerating the adoption of collaborative depression care in a safety-net health care system-tested a fully automated telephonic assessment (ATA) depression monitoring system serving low-income patients with diabetes. The aim of this study was to determine patient acceptance of ATA calls over time, and to identify factors predicting long-term patient acceptance of ATA calls. We conducted two analyses using data from the DCAT technology-facilitated care arm, in which for 12 months the ATA system periodically assessed depression symptoms, monitored treatment adherence, prompted self-care behaviors, and inquired about patients' needs for provider contact. Patients received assessments at 6, 12, and 18 months using Likert-scale measures of willingness to use ATA calls, preferred mode of reach, perceived ease of use, usefulness, nonintrusiveness, privacy/security, and long-term usefulness. For the first analysis (patient acceptance over time), we computed descriptive statistics of these measures. In the second analysis (predictive factors), we collapsed patients into two groups: those reporting "high" versus "low" willingness to use ATA calls. To compare them, we used independent t tests for continuous variables and Pearson chi-square tests for categorical variables. Next, we jointly entered independent factors found to be significantly associated with 18-month willingness to use ATA calls at the univariate level into a logistic regression model with backward selection to identify predictive factors. We performed a final logistic regression model with the identified significant predictive factors and reported the odds ratio estimates and 95% confidence intervals. At 6 and 12 months, respectively, 89.6% (69/77) and 63.7% (49/77) of patients "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that they would be willing to use ATA calls in the future. At 18 months, 51.0% (64/125) of patients perceived ATA calls as useful and 59.7% (46/77) were willing to use the technology. Moreover, in the first 6 months, most patients reported that ATA calls felt private/secure (75.9%, 82/108) and were easy to use (86.2%, 94/109), useful (65.1%, 71/109), and nonintrusive (87.2%, 95/109). Perceived usefulness, however, decreased to 54.1% (59/109) in the second 6 months of the trial. Factors predicting willingness to use ATA calls at the 18-month follow-up were perceived privacy/security and long-term perceived usefulness of ATA calls. No patient characteristics were significant predictors of long-term acceptance. In the short term, patients are generally accepting of ATA calls for depression monitoring, with ATA call design and the care management intervention being primary factors influencing patient acceptance. Acceptance over the long term requires that the system be perceived as private/secure, and that it be constantly useful for patients' needs of awareness of feelings, self-care reminders, and connectivity with health care providers. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01781013; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01781013 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6e7NGku56).

Maximum reasonable radioxenon releases from medical isotope production facilities and their effect on monitoring nuclear explosions.

PubMed

Bowyer, Theodore W; Kephart, Rosara; Eslinger, Paul W; Friese, Judah I; Miley, Harry S; Saey, Paul R J

2013-01-01

Fission gases such as (133)Xe are used extensively for monitoring the world for signs of nuclear testing in systems such as the International Monitoring System (IMS). These gases are also produced by nuclear reactors and by fission production of (99)Mo for medical use. Recently, medical isotope production facilities have been identified as the major contributor to the background of radioactive xenon isotopes (radioxenon) in the atmosphere (Stocki et al., 2005; Saey, 2009). These releases pose a potential future problem for monitoring nuclear explosions if not addressed. As a starting point, a maximum acceptable daily xenon emission rate was calculated, that is both scientifically defendable as not adversely affecting the IMS, but also consistent with what is possible to achieve in an operational environment. This study concludes that an emission of 5 × 10(9) Bq/day from a medical isotope production facility would be both an acceptable upper limit from the perspective of minimal impact to monitoring stations, but also appears to be an achievable limit for large isotope producers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Usability Study of a Wireless Monitoring System among Alzheimer's Disease Elderly Population

PubMed Central

Avvenuti, Marco

2014-01-01

Healthcare technologies are slowly entering into our daily lives, replacing old devices and techniques with newer intelligent ones. Although they are meant to help people, the reaction and willingness to use such new devices by the people can be unexpected, especially among the elderly. We conducted a usability study of a fall monitoring system in a long-term nursing home. The subjects were the elderly with advanced Alzheimer's disease. The study presented here highlights some of the challenges faced in the use of wearable devices and the lessons learned. The results gave us useful insights, leading to ergonomics and aesthetics modifications to our wearable systems that significantly improved their usability and acceptance. New evaluating metrics were designed for the performance evaluation of usability and acceptability. PMID:24963289

Quality-control issues on high-resolution diagnostic monitors.

PubMed

Parr, L F; Anderson, A L; Glennon, B K; Fetherston, P

2001-06-01

Previous literature indicates a need for more data collection in the area of quality control of high-resolution diagnostic monitors. Throughout acceptance testing, which began in June 2000, stability of monitor calibration was analyzed. Although image quality on all monitors was found to be acceptable upon initial acceptance testing using VeriLUM software by Image Smiths, Inc (Germantown, MD), it was determined to be unacceptable during the clinical phase of acceptance testing. High-resolution monitors were evaluated for quality assurance on a weekly basis from installation through acceptance testing and beyond. During clinical utilization determination (CUD), monitor calibration was identified as a problem and the manufacturer returned and recalibrated all workstations. From that time through final acceptance testing, high-resolution monitor calibration and monitor failure rate remained a problem. The monitor vendor then returned to the site to address these areas. Monitor defocus was still noticeable and calibration checks were increased to three times per week. White and black level drift on medium-resolution monitors had been attributed to raster size settings. Measurements of white and black level at several different size settings were taken to determine the effect of size on white and black level settings. Black level remained steady with size change. White level appeared to increase by 2.0 cd/m2 for every 0.1 inches decrease in horizontal raster size. This was determined not to be the cause of the observed brightness drift. Frequency of calibration/testing is an issue in a clinical environment. The increased frequency required at our site cannot be sustained. The medical physics division cannot provide dedicated personnel to conduct the quality-assurance testing on all monitors at this interval due to other physics commitments throughout the hospital. Monitor access is also an issue due to radiologists' need to read images. Some workstations are in use 7 AM to 11 PM daily. An appropriate monitor calibration frequency must be established during acceptance testing to ensure unacceptable drift is not masked by excessive calibration frequency. Standards for acceptable black level and white level drift also need to be determined. The monitor vendor and hospital staff agree that currently, very small printed text is an acceptable method of determining monitor blur, however, a better method of determining monitor blur is being pursued. Although monitors may show acceptable quality during initial acceptance testing, they need to show sustained quality during the clinical acceptance-testing phase. Defocus, black level, and white level are image quality concerns, which need to be evaluated during the clinical phase of acceptance testing. Image quality deficiencies can have a negative impact on patient care and raise serious medical-legal concerns. The attention to quality control required of the hospital staff needs to be realistic and not have a significant impact on radiology workflow.

A 12-week pilot study of acceptance of a computer-based chronic disease self-monitoring system among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or hypertension.

PubMed

Yan, Mian; Or, Calvin

2017-08-01

This study tested a structural model examining the effects of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, health consciousness, and application-specific self-efficacy on the acceptance (i.e. behavioral intention and actual usage) of a computer-based chronic disease self-monitoring system among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or hypertension. The model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling, with 119 observations that were obtained by pooling data across three time points over a 12-week period. The results indicate that all of the seven constructs examined had a significant total effect on behavioral intention and explained 74 percent of the variance. Also, application-specific self-efficacy and behavioral intention had a significant total effect on actual usage and explained 17 percent of the variance. This study demonstrates that technology acceptance is determined by patient characteristics, technology attributes, and social influences. Applying the findings may increase the likelihood of acceptance.

Description and Evaluation of the 2009–2010 Pennsylvania Influenza Sentinel School Monitoring System

PubMed Central

Marriott, Chandra K.; Ostroff, Stephen; Waller, Kirsten

2011-01-01

Objectives. We described and evaluated the 2009–2010 Pennsylvania Influenza Sentinel School Monitoring System, a voluntary sentinel network of schools that report data on school absenteeism and visits to the school nurse for influenza-like illness (ILI). Methods. Participating schools provided daily absenteeism and ILI data on a weekly basis through an online survey. We used participation and weekly response rates to determine acceptability, timeliness, and simplicity. We assessed representativeness by comparing participating schools with nonparticipating schools. We compared monitoring system data with statewide reports of laboratory-confirmed influenza. Results. Of the 3244 Pennsylvania public schools, 367 (11%) enrolled in the system. On average, 79% of enrolled schools completed the survey each week. Although the peak week of elevated absenteeism coincided with the peak of statewide laboratory-confirmed influenza cases, the correlation between absenteeism and state data was nonsignificant (correlation coefficient = 0.10; P = .56). Trends in ILI correlated significantly with state data (correlation coefficient = 0.67; P < .001). Conclusions. The school-based sentinel system is a simple, acceptable, reliable device for tracking absenteeism and ILI in schools. Further analyses are necessary to determine the comparative value of this system and other influenza surveillance systems. PMID:21566024

Embedded Diagnostic/Prognostic Reasoning and Information Continuity for Improved Avionics Maintenance

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-01

enabling technologies such as built-in-test, advanced health monitoring algorithms, reliability and component aging models, prognostics methods, and...deployment and acceptance. This framework and vision is consistent with the onboard PHM ( Prognostic and Health Management) as well as advanced... monitored . In addition to the prognostic forecasting capabilities provided by monitoring system power, multiple confounding errors by electronic

PEM fuel cell monitoring system

DOEpatents

Meltser, Mark Alexander; Grot, Stephen Andreas

1998-01-01

Method and apparatus for monitoring the performance of H.sub.2 --O.sub.2 PEM fuel cells. Outputs from a cell/stack voltage monitor and a cathode exhaust gas H.sub.2 sensor are corrected for stack operating conditions, and then compared to predetermined levels of acceptability. If certain unacceptable conditions coexist, an operator is alerted and/or corrective measures are automatically undertaken.

PEM fuel cell monitoring system

DOEpatents

Meltser, M.A.; Grot, S.A.

1998-06-09

Method and apparatus are disclosed for monitoring the performance of H{sub 2}--O{sub 2} PEM fuel cells. Outputs from a cell/stack voltage monitor and a cathode exhaust gas H{sub 2} sensor are corrected for stack operating conditions, and then compared to predetermined levels of acceptability. If certain unacceptable conditions coexist, an operator is alerted and/or corrective measures are automatically undertaken. 2 figs.

Home-made temperature monitoring system from four-channel K-type thermocouples via internet of thing technology platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Detmod, Thitaporn; Özmen, Yiǧiter; Songkaitiwong, Kittiphot; Saenyot, Khanuengchat; Locharoenrat, Kitsakorn; Lekchaum, Sarai

2018-06-01

This paper is aimed to design and construct the home-made temperature monitoring system from four-channel K-type thermocouples in order to improve the temperature measurement based on standard evaluation measurements guidance. The temperature monitoring system was capable to record the temperature on SD card and to display the realtime temperature on Internet of Thing Technology platform. The temperature monitoring system was tested in terms of the temperature measurement accuracy and delay response time. It was found that a standard deviation was acceptable as compared to the Instrument Society of America. The response time of the microcontroller to SD card was 2 sec faster than that of the microcontroller to Thingspeak.

A battery-less and wireless wearable sensor system for identifying bed and chair exits in a pilot trial in hospitalized older people.

PubMed

Shinmoto Torres, Roberto L; Visvanathan, Renuka; Abbott, Derek; Hill, Keith D; Ranasinghe, Damith C

2017-01-01

Falls in hospitals are common, therefore strategies to minimize the impact of these events in older patients and needs to be examined. In this pilot study, we investigate a movement monitoring sensor system for identifying bed and chair exits using a wireless wearable sensor worn by hospitalized older patients. We developed a movement monitoring sensor system that recognizes bed and chair exits. The system consists of a machine learning based activity classifier and a bed and chair exit recognition process based on an activity score function. Twenty-six patients, aged 71 to 93 years old, hospitalized in the Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit participated in the supervised trials. They wore over their attire a battery-less, lightweight and wireless sensor and performed scripted activities such as getting off the bed and chair. We investigated the system performance in recognizing bed and chair exits in hospital rooms where RFID antennas and readers were in place. The system's acceptability was measured using two surveys with 0-10 likert scales. The first survey measured the change in user perception of the system before and after a trial; the second survey, conducted only at the end of each trial, measured user acceptance of the system based on a multifactor sensor acceptance model. The performance of the system indicated an overall recall of 81.4%, precision of 66.8% and F-score of 72.4% for joint bed and chair exit recognition. Patients demonstrated improved perception of the system after use with overall score change from 7.8 to 9.0 and high acceptance of the system with score ≥ 6.7 for all acceptance factors. The present pilot study suggests the use of wireless wearable sensors is feasible for detecting bed and chair exits in a hospital environment.

23 CFR 972.214 - Federal lands congestion management system (CMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... management strategies; (v) Determine methods to monitor and evaluate the performance of the multi-modal... means the level at which transportation system performance is no longer acceptable due to traffic... improve existing transportation system efficiency. Approaches may include the use of alternate mode...

23 CFR 972.214 - Federal lands congestion management system (CMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... management strategies; (v) Determine methods to monitor and evaluate the performance of the multi-modal... means the level at which transportation system performance is no longer acceptable due to traffic... improve existing transportation system efficiency. Approaches may include the use of alternate mode...

A battery-less and wireless wearable sensor system for identifying bed and chair exits in a pilot trial in hospitalized older people

PubMed Central

Visvanathan, Renuka; Abbott, Derek; Hill, Keith D.; Ranasinghe, Damith C.

2017-01-01

Falls in hospitals are common, therefore strategies to minimize the impact of these events in older patients and needs to be examined. In this pilot study, we investigate a movement monitoring sensor system for identifying bed and chair exits using a wireless wearable sensor worn by hospitalized older patients. We developed a movement monitoring sensor system that recognizes bed and chair exits. The system consists of a machine learning based activity classifier and a bed and chair exit recognition process based on an activity score function. Twenty-six patients, aged 71 to 93 years old, hospitalized in the Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit participated in the supervised trials. They wore over their attire a battery-less, lightweight and wireless sensor and performed scripted activities such as getting off the bed and chair. We investigated the system performance in recognizing bed and chair exits in hospital rooms where RFID antennas and readers were in place. The system’s acceptability was measured using two surveys with 0–10 likert scales. The first survey measured the change in user perception of the system before and after a trial; the second survey, conducted only at the end of each trial, measured user acceptance of the system based on a multifactor sensor acceptance model. The performance of the system indicated an overall recall of 81.4%, precision of 66.8% and F-score of 72.4% for joint bed and chair exit recognition. Patients demonstrated improved perception of the system after use with overall score change from 7.8 to 9.0 and high acceptance of the system with score ≥ 6.7 for all acceptance factors. The present pilot study suggests the use of wireless wearable sensors is feasible for detecting bed and chair exits in a hospital environment. PMID:29016696

Automated Remote Monitoring of Depression: Acceptance Among Low-Income Patients in Diabetes Disease Management

PubMed Central

Ramirez, Magaly; Jin, Haomiao; Ell, Kathleen; Gross-Schulman, Sandra; Myerchin Sklaroff, Laura; Guterman, Jeffrey

2016-01-01

Background Remote patient monitoring is increasingly integrated into health care delivery to expand access and increase effectiveness. Automation can add efficiency to remote monitoring, but patient acceptance of automated tools is critical for success. From 2010 to 2013, the Diabetes-Depression Care-management Adoption Trial (DCAT)–a quasi-experimental comparative effectiveness research trial aimed at accelerating the adoption of collaborative depression care in a safety-net health care system–tested a fully automated telephonic assessment (ATA) depression monitoring system serving low-income patients with diabetes. Objective The aim of this study was to determine patient acceptance of ATA calls over time, and to identify factors predicting long-term patient acceptance of ATA calls. Methods We conducted two analyses using data from the DCAT technology-facilitated care arm, in which for 12 months the ATA system periodically assessed depression symptoms, monitored treatment adherence, prompted self-care behaviors, and inquired about patients’ needs for provider contact. Patients received assessments at 6, 12, and 18 months using Likert-scale measures of willingness to use ATA calls, preferred mode of reach, perceived ease of use, usefulness, nonintrusiveness, privacy/security, and long-term usefulness. For the first analysis (patient acceptance over time), we computed descriptive statistics of these measures. In the second analysis (predictive factors), we collapsed patients into two groups: those reporting “high” versus “low” willingness to use ATA calls. To compare them, we used independent t tests for continuous variables and Pearson chi-square tests for categorical variables. Next, we jointly entered independent factors found to be significantly associated with 18-month willingness to use ATA calls at the univariate level into a logistic regression model with backward selection to identify predictive factors. We performed a final logistic regression model with the identified significant predictive factors and reported the odds ratio estimates and 95% confidence intervals. Results At 6 and 12 months, respectively, 89.6% (69/77) and 63.7% (49/77) of patients “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that they would be willing to use ATA calls in the future. At 18 months, 51.0% (64/125) of patients perceived ATA calls as useful and 59.7% (46/77) were willing to use the technology. Moreover, in the first 6 months, most patients reported that ATA calls felt private/secure (75.9%, 82/108) and were easy to use (86.2%, 94/109), useful (65.1%, 71/109), and nonintrusive (87.2%, 95/109). Perceived usefulness, however, decreased to 54.1% (59/109) in the second 6 months of the trial. Factors predicting willingness to use ATA calls at the 18-month follow-up were perceived privacy/security and long-term perceived usefulness of ATA calls. No patient characteristics were significant predictors of long-term acceptance. Conclusions In the short term, patients are generally accepting of ATA calls for depression monitoring, with ATA call design and the care management intervention being primary factors influencing patient acceptance. Acceptance over the long term requires that the system be perceived as private/secure, and that it be constantly useful for patients’ needs of awareness of feelings, self-care reminders, and connectivity with health care providers. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01781013; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01781013 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6e7NGku56) PMID:26810139

Space Station Freedom Environmental Health Care Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richard, Elizabeth E.; Russo, Dane M.

1992-01-01

The paper discusses the environmental planning and monitoring aspects of the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Environmental Health Care Program, which encompasses all phases of the SSF assembly and operation from the first element entry at MB-6 through the Permanent Manned Capability and beyond. Environmental planning involves the definition of acceptability limits and monitoring requirements for the radiation dose barothermal parameters and potential contaminants in the SSF air and water and on internal surfaces. Inflight monitoring will be implemented through the Environmental Health System, which consists of five subsystems: Microbiology, Toxicology, Water Quality, Radiation, and Barothermal Physiology. In addition to the environmental data interpretation and analysis conducted after each mission, the new data will be compared to archived data for statistical and long-term trend analysis and determination of risk exposures. Results of these analyses will be used to modify the acceptability limits and monitoring requirements for the future.

[Possibilities and limitations of telemedicine in general practitioner practices].

PubMed

van den Berg, N; Meinke, C; Hoffmann, W

2009-09-01

According to the AGnES concept (general-practitioner-supporting, community-based, e-health-assisted systemic intervention), general practitioners (GPs) can delegate certain components of medical care in the context of home visits by qualified AGnES employees. Within the framework of six AGnES projects, different telemedical applications have been implemented. Telemedical monitoring of patients was implemented to analyse the feasibility and acceptance within GP practices. One hundred sixty-two patients used a telemedical monitoring system (e.g. scale/sphygmomanometer and intraocular pressure measurement system). Regarding communication in cases of acutely necessary GP consultations, telephone calls and videoconferences between the GP and the AGnES employee were analysed. Unscheduled telephone calls or videoconferences were necessary for only a few home visits; the reasons included pain, anomalous values, and medication problems. The main result of the analysis was that implementation of telemedicine in GP practices is feasible and is accepted both by patients and GPs.

Examining Korean and Korean American older adults' perceived acceptability of home-based monitoring technologies in the context of culture.

PubMed

Chung, Jane; Thompson, Hilaire J; Joe, Jonathan; Hall, Amanda; Demiris, George

2017-01-01

Despite the increasing use of home-based monitoring technologies by older adults, few studies have examined older adults' acceptance of these technologies, especially among people from diverse cultural groups. The purpose of this study was to explore Korean and Korean American older adults' attitudes toward and perceptions of home-based monitoring technologies in a cultural context. A qualitative analysis of focus groups and individual interviews using inductive coding methods and a constant comparative approach for emerging themes was conducted. Several cultural factors that determine the acceptability of home-based monitoring technologies were identified. Most notably, the necessity of living alone due to loosened filial tradition and immigration was a main motivator for adopting these technologies for both Korean and Korean Americans. The level of satisfaction with the health care system or therapeutic interaction affected participants' perceived need for technologies. Compared with the Korean American group, Korean older adults regarded the government's role as more important in increasing adoption and use of new technologies. Contextual factors need to be considered when explaining perceptions of home-based monitoring technologies among older adults from various ethnic groups and developing diffusion strategies according to end users' attitudes, experiences, and cultural backgrounds.

Signal loss during fetal heart rate monitoring using maternal abdominal surface electrodes between 28 and 42 weeks of pregnancy.

PubMed

Fuchs, Tomasz; Pomorski, Michał; Grobelak, Krzysztof; Tomiałowicz, Marek; Zimmer, Mariusz

2014-01-01

Fetal electrocardiography is one of the methods for monitoring the well-being of the fetus. Signal loss limits the proper interpretation of electrocardiogram traces. The aim of this study was to assess the average signal loss in non-invasive abdominal fetal electrocardiogram (fECG) monitoring using the KOMPOREL fetal monitoring system (ITAM, Zabrze, Poland) in women between 28 and 42 week of pregnancy. The results were compared to FIGO (International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetric) and DGGG (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe e.V.) recommendations concerning fetal heart monitoring. The correlation between fetal ECG signal quality, week of pregnancy and patient BMI was evaluated. 773 pregnant women, hospitalized and diagnosed in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Wroclaw Medical University, underwent 30 min of abdominal fECG recordings using the KOMPOREL fetal monitoring system. The average signal loss in abdominal fECG monitoring in the study group was 32%. FIGO recommendations describe an acceptable fetal signal loss of 20%. In our study, 46% (357/773) of the recordings were up to FIGO standards, with fetal heart rate success rates above 80%. According to DGGG guidelines, with acceptable fetal signal loss of 15%, only 39% (303/773) of the recordings could be assessed as accurate. No correlation between fECG signal quality, week of pregnancy and patient BMI was proved. The average signal loss in abdominal fECG monitoring in our study group was 32%. Low fECG signal quality may constitute a potentially limiting factor of the described fetal heart monitoring system. No relationship between fECG signal quality, week of pregnancy and patient BMI was proved.

Acceptance lowers stress reactivity: Dismantling mindfulness training in a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Lindsay, Emily K; Young, Shinzen; Smyth, Joshua M; Brown, Kirk Warren; Creswell, J David

2018-01-01

Mindfulness interventions, which train practitioners to monitor their present-moment experience with a lens of acceptance, are known to buffer stress reactivity. Little is known about the active mechanisms driving these effects. We theorize that acceptance is a critical emotion regulation mechanism underlying mindfulness stress reduction effects. In this three-arm parallel trial, mindfulness components were dismantled into three structurally equivalent 15-lesson smartphone-based interventions: (1) training in both monitoring and acceptance (Monitor+Accept), (2) training in monitoring only (Monitor Only), or (3) active control training (Coping control). 153 stressed adults (mean age=32years; 67% female; 53% white, 21.5% black, 21.5% Asian, 4% other race) were randomly assigned to complete one of three interventions. After the intervention, cortisol, blood pressure, and subjective stress reactivity were assessed using a modified Trier Social Stress Test. As predicted, Monitor+Accept training reduced cortisol and systolic blood pressure reactivity compared to Monitor Only and control trainings. Participants in all three conditions reported moderate levels of subjective stress. This study provides the first experimental evidence that brief smartphone mindfulness training can impact stress biology, and that acceptance training drives these effects. We discuss implications for basic and applied research in contemplative science, emotion regulation, stress and coping, health, and clinical interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ATEE Interactive Co-ordination and Educational Monitoring of Socrates Comenius Action 3 Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Libotton, Arno; Van Braak, Johan; Garofalo, Mara

2002-01-01

Asserts that although the Comenius Action 3 courses were well-accepted and high quality, there is a need for a structure for easily monitoring and evaluating these projects. This article presents a pilot project designed with this purpose, which may be useful in implementing a system of coordination and communication among the different projects…

Monitoring Tidal Currents with a Towed ADCP System

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-22

these make tidal stream energy a more reliable source than other forms of ma- rine energy, such as waves and offshore wind. The place of tidal stream...big tidal range (9 m), relatively strong (2 m/s) currents, and moderate wind waves (less than 3 m in the an- nual mean), it is considered to be a...Monitoring tidal currents with a towed ADCP system Alexei Sentchev1 & Max Yaremchuk2 Received: 22 September 2015 /Accepted: 10 December 2015

SITE CHARACTERIZATION AND ANALYSIS PENETROMETER SYSTEM(SCAPS) LAZER-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE (LIF) SENSOR AND SUPPORT SYSTEM

EPA Science Inventory

The Consortium for Site Characterization Technology (CSCT) has established a formal program to accelerate acceptance and application of innovative monitoring and site characterization technologies that improve the way the nation manages its environmental problems. In 1995 the CS...

Advancing satellite operations with intelligent graphical monitoring systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, Peter M.; Shirah, Gregory W.; Luczak, Edward C.

1993-01-01

For nearly twenty-five years, spacecraft missions have been operated in essentially the same manner: human operators monitor displays filled with alphanumeric text watching for limit violations or other indicators that signal a problem. The task is performed predominately by humans. Only in recent years have graphical user interfaces and expert systems been accepted within the control center environment to help reduce operator workloads. Unfortunately, the development of these systems is often time consuming and costly. At the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), a new domain specific expert system development tool called the Generic Spacecraft Analyst Assistant (GenSAA) has been developed. Through the use of a highly graphical user interface and point-and-click operation, GenSAA facilitates the rapid, 'programming-free' construction of intelligent graphical monitoring systems to serve as real-time, fault-isolation assistants for spacecraft analysts. Although specifically developed to support real-time satellite monitoring, GenSAA can support the development of intelligent graphical monitoring systems in a variety of space and commercial applications.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, K.; Tsai, H.; Decision and Information Sciences

The technical basis for extending the Model 9977 shipping package periodic maintenance beyond the one-year interval to a maximum of five years is based on the performance of the O-ring seals and the environmental conditions. The DOE Packaging Certification Program (PCP) has tasked Argonne National Laboratory to develop a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) temperature monitoring system for use by the facility personnel at DAF/NTS. The RFID temperature monitoring system, depicted in the figure below, consists of the Mk-1 RFId tags, a reader, and a control computer mounted on a mobile platform that can operate as a stand-alone system, or it canmore » be connected to the local IT network. As part of the Conditions of Approval of the CoC, the user must complete the prescribed training to become qualified and be certified for operation of the RFID temperature monitoring system. The training course will be administered by Argonne National Laboratory on behalf of the Headquarters Certifying Official. This is a complete documentation package for the RFID temperature monitoring system of the Model 9977 packagings at NTS. The documentation package will be used for training and certification. The table of contents are: Acceptance Testing Procedure of MK-1 RFID Tags for DOE/EM Nuclear Materials Management Applications; Acceptance Testing Result of MK-1 RFID Tags for DOE/EM Nuclear Materials Management Applications; Performance Test of the Single Bolt Seal Sensor for the Model 9977 Packaging; Calibration of Built-in Thermistors in RFID Tags for Nevada Test Site; Results of Calibration of Built-in Thermistors in RFID Tags; Results of Thermal Calibration of Second Batch of MK-I RFID Tags; Procedure for Installing and Removing MK-1 RFID Tag on Model 9977 Drum; User Guide for RFID Reader and Software for Temperature Monitoring of Model 9977 Drums at NTS; Software Quality Assurance Plan (SQAP) for the ARG-US System; Quality Category for the RFID Temperature Monitoring System; The Documentation Package for the RFID Temperature Monitoring System; Software Test Plan and Results for ARG-US OnSite; Configuration Management Plan (CMP) for the ARG-US System; Requirements Management Plan for the ARG-US System; and Design Management Plan for ARG-US.« less

Acceptance test procedure bldg. 271-U remote monitoring of project W-059 B-Plant canyon exhaust system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

MCDANIEL, K.S.

1999-09-01

The test procedure provides for verifying indications and alarms The test procedure provides for verifying indications and alarms associated with the B Plant Canyon Ventilation System as they are being displayed on a remote monitoring workstation located in building 271-U. The system application software was installed by PLCS Plus under contract from B&W Hanford Company. The application software was installed on an existing operator workstation in building 271U which is owned and operated by Bechtel Hanford Inc.

Mechanisms of mindfulness training: Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT).

PubMed

Lindsay, Emily K; Creswell, J David

2017-02-01

Despite evidence linking trait mindfulness and mindfulness training with a broad range of effects, still little is known about its underlying active mechanisms. Mindfulness is commonly defined as (1) the ongoing monitoring of present-moment experience (2) with an orientation of acceptance. Building on conceptual, clinical, and empirical work, we describe a testable theoretical account to help explain mindfulness effects on cognition, affect, stress, and health outcomes. Specifically, Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT) posits that (1), by enhancing awareness of one's experiences, the skill of attention monitoring explains how mindfulness improves cognitive functioning outcomes, yet this same skill can increase affective reactivity. Second (2), by modifying one's relation to monitored experience, acceptance is necessary for reducing affective reactivity, such that attention monitoring and acceptance skills together explain how mindfulness improves negative affectivity, stress, and stress-related health outcomes. We discuss how MAT contributes to mindfulness science, suggest plausible alternatives to the account, and offer specific predictions for future research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mechanisms of Mindfulness Training: Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT)1

PubMed Central

Lindsay, Emily K.; Creswell, J. David

2016-01-01

Despite evidence linking trait mindfulness and mindfulness training with a broad range of effects, still little is known about its underlying active mechanisms. Mindfulness is commonly defined as (1) the ongoing monitoring of present-moment experience (2) with an orientation of acceptance. Building on conceptual, clinical, and empirical work, we describe a testable theoretical account to help explain mindfulness effects on cognition, affect, stress, and health outcomes. Specifically, Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT) posits that (1), by enhancing awareness of one’s experiences, the skill of attention monitoring explains how mindfulness improves cognitive functioning outcomes, yet this same skill can increase affective reactivity. Second (2), by modifying one’s relation to monitored experience, acceptance is necessary for reducing affective reactivity, such that attention monitoring and acceptance skills together explain how mindfulness improves negative affectivity, stress, and stress-related health outcomes. We discuss how MAT contributes to mindfulness science, suggest plausible alternatives to the account, and offer specific predictions for future research. PMID:27835764

RFID Technology for Continuous Monitoring of Physiological Signals in Small Animals.

PubMed

Volk, Tobias; Gorbey, Stefan; Bhattacharyya, Mayukh; Gruenwald, Waldemar; Lemmer, Björn; Reindl, Leonhard M; Stieglitz, Thomas; Jansen, Dirk

2015-02-01

Telemetry systems enable researchers to continuously monitor physiological signals in unrestrained, freely moving small rodents. Drawbacks of common systems are limited operation time, the need to house the animals separately, and the necessity of a stable communication link. Furthermore, the costs of the typically proprietary telemetry systems reduce the acceptance. The aim of this paper is to introduce a low-cost telemetry system based on common radio frequency identification technology optimized for battery-independent operational time, good reusability, and flexibility. The presented implant is equipped with sensors to measure electrocardiogram, arterial blood pressure, and body temperature. The biological signals are transmitted as digital data streams. The device is able of monitoring several freely moving animals housed in groups with a single reader station. The modular concept of the system significantly reduces the costs to monitor multiple physiological functions and refining procedures in preclinical research.

Sensors for Environmental Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

Under a Kennedy Space Center Small Business Innovation Research contract, GEO-CENTERS, Inc. developed a sensing element or 'optrode,' which NASA needed for space life support research to measure a hydroponic culture's pH factor. The company then commercialized the technology in the PC Based pH Monitoring System. The system employs the optrode to enable long term continuous monitoring of the pH level of fluids in standing and flowing conditions, an optoelectronic board with light sensors and detectors that fits into a desktop computer, and a fiber optic cable that connects the two. The system is effective in monitoring the pH output of industries to maintain ranges acceptable to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Real-time measurement and monitoring of absorbed dose for electron beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korenev, Sergey; Korenev, Ivan; Rumega, Stanislav; Grossman, Leon

2004-09-01

The real-time method and system for measurement and monitoring of absorbed dose for industrial and research electron accelerators is considered in the report. The system was created on the basis of beam parameters method. The main concept of this method consists in the measurement of dissipated kinetic energy of electrons in the irradiated product, determination of number of electrons and mass of irradiated product in the same cell by following calculation of absorbed dose in the cell. The manual and automation systems for dose measurements are described. The systems are acceptable for all types of electron accelerators.

Tank Monitor and Control System (TMACS) Rev 11.0 Acceptance Test Review

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

HOLM, M.J.

The purpose of this document is to describe tests performed to validate Revision 11 of the TMACS Monitor and Control System (TMACS) and verify that the software functions as intended by design. This document is intended to test the software portion of TMACS. The tests will be performed on the development system. The software to be tested is the TMACS knowledge bases (KB) and the I/O driver/services. The development system will not be talking to field equipment; instead, the field equipment is simulated using emulators or multiplexers in the lab.

Acceptance and usability of a home-based monitoring tool of health indicators in children of people with dementia: a Proof of Principle (POP) study.

PubMed

Boessen, April Bcg; Vermeulen, Joan; de Witte, Luc P

2017-01-01

Large-scale cohort studies are needed to confirm the relation between dementia and its possible risk factors. The inclusion of people with dementia in research is a challenge, however, children of people with dementia are at risk and are highly motivated to participate in dementia research. For technologies to support home-based data collection during large-scale studies, participants should be able and willing to use technology for a longer period of time. This study investigated acceptance and usability of iVitality, a research platform for home-based monitoring of dementia health indicators, in 151 children of people with dementia and investigated which frequency of measurements is acceptable for them. Participants were randomized to fortnightly or monthly measurements. At baseline and after 3 months, participants completed an online questionnaire regarding the acceptance (Technology Acceptance Model; 38 items) and usability (Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire; 24 items) of iVitality. Items were rated from 1 (I totally disagree) to 7 (I totally agree). Participants were also invited to take part in an online focus group (OFG) after 3 months of follow-up. Descriptive statistics and both two-sample/independent and paired t -tests were used to analyze the online questionnaires and a directed content analysis was used to analyze the OFGs. Children of people with dementia accept iVitality after long-term use and evaluate iVitality as a user-friendly, useful, and trusted technology, despite some suggestions for improvement. Overall, mean scores on acceptance and usability were higher than 5 (I somewhat agree), although the acceptance subscales "social influence" and "time" were rated somewhat lower. No significant differences in acceptance and usability were found between both protocol groups. Over time, "affect" significantly increased among participants measuring blood pressure fortnightly. iVitality has the potential to be used in large-scale studies for home-based monitoring of health indicators related to the development of dementia.

Assessing Human Activity in Elderly People Using Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring.

PubMed

Alcalá, José M; Ureña, Jesús; Hernández, Álvaro; Gualda, David

2017-02-11

The ageing of the population, and their increasing wish of living independently, are motivating the development of welfare and healthcare models. Existing approaches based on the direct heath-monitoring using body sensor networks (BSN) are precise and accurate. Nonetheless, their intrusiveness causes non-acceptance. New approaches seek the indirect monitoring through monitoring activities of daily living (ADLs), which proves to be a suitable solution. ADL monitoring systems use many heterogeneous sensors, are less intrusive, and are less expensive than BSN, however, the deployment and maintenance of wireless sensor networks (WSN) prevent them from a widespread acceptance. In this work, a novel technique to monitor the human activity, based on non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM), is presented. The proposal uses only smart meter data, which leads to minimum intrusiveness and a potential massive deployment at minimal cost. This could be the key to develop sustainable healthcare models for smart homes, capable of complying with the elderly people' demands. This study also uses the Dempster-Shafer theory to provide a daily score of normality with regard to the regular behavior. This approach has been evaluated using real datasets and, additionally, a benchmarking against a Gaussian mixture model approach is presented.

Assessing Human Activity in Elderly People Using Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring

PubMed Central

Alcalá, José M.; Ureña, Jesús; Hernández, Álvaro; Gualda, David

2017-01-01

The ageing of the population, and their increasing wish of living independently, are motivating the development of welfare and healthcare models. Existing approaches based on the direct heath-monitoring using body sensor networks (BSN) are precise and accurate. Nonetheless, their intrusiveness causes non-acceptance. New approaches seek the indirect monitoring through monitoring activities of daily living (ADLs), which proves to be a suitable solution. ADL monitoring systems use many heterogeneous sensors, are less intrusive, and are less expensive than BSN, however, the deployment and maintenance of wireless sensor networks (WSN) prevent them from a widespread acceptance. In this work, a novel technique to monitor the human activity, based on non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM), is presented. The proposal uses only smart meter data, which leads to minimum intrusiveness and a potential massive deployment at minimal cost. This could be the key to develop sustainable healthcare models for smart homes, capable of complying with the elderly people’ demands. This study also uses the Dempster-Shafer theory to provide a daily score of normality with regard to the regular behavior. This approach has been evaluated using real datasets and, additionally, a benchmarking against a Gaussian mixture model approach is presented. PMID:28208672

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sanquist, Thomas F.; Mahy, Heidi A.; Morris, Fred A.

Understanding the issues surrounding public acceptance of homeland security systems is important for balancing security needs and potential civil liberties infringements. A psychometric survey was used to measure attitudes regarding homeland security systems. Psychometric rating data were obtained from 182 respondents on psychological attributes associated with 12 distinct types of homeland security systems. An inverse relationship was observed for the overall rating attributes of acceptability and risk of civil liberties infringement. Principal components analysis yielded a two factor solution, with the rating scale loading pattern suggesting factors of Perceived Effectiveness and Perceived Intrusiveness. These factors also showed an inverse relationship.more » The 12 different homeland security systems showed significantly different scores on the rating scales and PCA factors, which were used to rank the systems in terms of overall acceptability. Difference scores for the rating scales and PCA factors were used to compute a single acceptability value reflecting the relative weight of risks and benefits. Of the 12 systems studied, airport screening, canine detectors and radiation monitoring at borders were found to be relatively acceptable, i.e., the perceived benefits for homeland security outweighed the perceived risks to civil liberties. Students rated several systems as more effective than professionals, but the overall pattern of results for both types of subjects was similar. The data suggest that risk perception research and the psychometric paradigm are useful approaches for quantifying attitudes regarding homeland security systems and policies, and can be used to anticipate potentially significant public acceptance issues.« less

23 CFR 970.214 - Federal lands congestion management system (CMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... experiencing congestion, the NPS shall develop a separate CMS to cover those facilities. Approaches may include... congestion management strategies; (v) Determine methods to monitor and evaluate the performance of the multi... means the level at which transportation system performance is no longer acceptable due to traffic...

23 CFR 970.214 - Federal lands congestion management system (CMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... experiencing congestion, the NPS shall develop a separate CMS to cover those facilities. Approaches may include... congestion management strategies; (v) Determine methods to monitor and evaluate the performance of the multi... means the level at which transportation system performance is no longer acceptable due to traffic...

Nurses' perceptions, acceptance, and use of a novel in-room pediatric ICU technology: testing an expanded technology acceptance model.

PubMed

Holden, Richard J; Asan, Onur; Wozniak, Erica M; Flynn, Kathryn E; Scanlon, Matthew C

2016-11-15

The value of health information technology (IT) ultimately depends on end users accepting and appropriately using it for patient care. This study examined pediatric intensive care unit nurses' perceptions, acceptance, and use of a novel health IT, the Large Customizable Interactive Monitor. An expanded technology acceptance model was tested by applying stepwise linear regression to data from a standardized survey of 167 nurses. Nurses reported low-moderate ratings of the novel IT's ease of use and low to very low ratings of usefulness, social influence, and training. Perceived ease of use, usefulness for patient/family involvement, and usefulness for care delivery were associated with system satisfaction (R 2  = 70%). Perceived usefulness for care delivery and patient/family social influence were associated with intention to use the system (R 2  = 65%). Satisfaction and intention were associated with actual system use (R 2  = 51%). The findings have implications for research, design, implementation, and policies for nursing informatics, particularly novel nursing IT. Several changes are recommended to improve the design and implementation of the studied IT.

Brief Mindfulness Meditation Training Reduces Mind-Wandering: The Critical Role of Acceptance

PubMed Central

Rahl, Hayley A.; Lindsay, Emily K.; Pacilio, Laura E.; Brown, Kirk W.; Creswell, J. David

2016-01-01

Mindfulness meditation programs, which train individuals to monitor their present moment experience in an open or accepting way, have been shown to reduce mind-wandering on standardized tasks in several studies. Here we test two competing accounts for how mindfulness training reduces mind-wandering, evaluating whether the attention monitoring component of mindfulness training alone reduces mind-wandering or whether the acceptance training component is necessary for reducing mind-wandering. Healthy young adults (N=147) were randomized to either a 3-day brief mindfulness training condition incorporating instruction in both attention monitoring and acceptance, a mindfulness training condition incorporating attention monitoring instruction only, a relaxation training condition, or a reading control condition. Participants completed measures of dispositional mindfulness and treatment expectancies before the training session on Day 1 and then completed a 6-minute Sustained Attention Response Task (SART) measuring mind-wandering after the training session on Day 3. Acceptance training was important for reducing mind-wandering, such that the monitoring + acceptance mindfulness training condition had the lowest mind-wandering relative to the other conditions, including significantly lower mind-wandering relative to the monitor-only mindfulness training condition. In one of the first experimental mindfulness training dismantling studies to-date, we show that training in acceptance is a critical driver of mindfulness training reductions in mind-wandering. This effect suggests that acceptance skills may facilitate emotion regulation on boring and frustrating sustained attention tasks that foster mind-wandering, such as the SART. PMID:27819445

A mixed-method investigation of patient monitoring and enhanced feedback in routine practice: Barriers and facilitators

PubMed Central

Lucock, Mike; Halstead, Jeremy; Leach, Chris; Barkham, Michael; Tucker, Samantha; Randal, Chloe; Middleton, Joanne; Khan, Wajid; Catlow, Hannah; Waters, Emma; Saxon, David

2015-01-01

Abstract Objective: To investigate the barriers and facilitators of an effective implementation of an outcome monitoring and feedback system in a UK National Health Service psychological therapy service. Method: An outcome monitoring system was introduced in two services. Enhanced feedback was given to therapists after session 4. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used, including questionnaires for therapists and patients. Thematic analysis was carried out on written and verbal feedback from therapists. Analysis of patient outcomes for 202 episodes of therapy was compared with benchmark data of 136 episodes of therapy for which feedback was not given to therapists. Results: Themes influencing the feasibility and acceptability of the feedback system were the extent to which therapists integrated the measures and feedback into the therapy, availability of administrative support, information technology, and complexity of the service. There were low levels of therapist actions resulting from the feedback, including discussing the feedback in supervision and with patients. Conclusions: The findings support the feasibility and acceptability of setting up a routine system in a complex service, but a number of challenges and barriers have to be overcome and therapist differences are apparent. More research on implementation and effectiveness is needed in diverse clinical settings. PMID:26436605

Development of a novel remote patient monitoring system: the advanced symptom management system for radiotherapy to improve the symptom experience of patients with lung cancer receiving radiotherapy.

PubMed

Maguire, Roma; Ream, Emma; Richardson, Alison; Connaghan, John; Johnston, Bridget; Kotronoulas, Grigorios; Pedersen, Vibe; McPhelim, John; Pattison, Natalie; Smith, Allison; Webster, Lorraine; Taylor, Anne; Kearney, Nora

2015-01-01

The use of technology-enhanced patient-reported outcome measures to monitor the symptoms experienced by people with cancer is an effective way to offer timely care. This study aimed to (a) explore the feasibility and acceptability of the Advanced Symptom Management System with patients with lung cancer receiving radiotherapy and clinicians involved in their care and (b) assess changes in patient outcomes during implementation of the Advanced Symptom Management System with patients with lung cancer receiving radiotherapy in clinical practice. A repeated-measures, single-arm, mixed-methods study design was used involving poststudy interviews and completion of patient-reported outcome measures at baseline and end of treatment with 16 patients with lung cancer and 13 clinicians who used this mobile phone-based symptom monitoring system. Only rarely did patients report problems in using the handset and they felt that the system covered all relevant symptoms and helped them to manage their symptoms and effectively communicate with clinicians. Clinical improvements in patient anxiety, drowsiness, and self-care self-efficacy were also observed. Clinicians perceived the use of "real-time" risk algorithms and automated self-care advice provided to patients as positively contributing to clinical care. Reducing the complexity of the system was seen as important to promote its utility. Although preliminary, these results suggest that monitoring patient symptoms using mobile technology in the context of radiotherapy for lung cancer is feasible and acceptable in clinical practice. Future research would be most beneficial if the use of this technology was focused on the postradiotherapy phase and expanded the scope of the system to encompass a wider range of supportive care needs.

Feasibility of a novel mHealth management system to capture and improve medication adherence among adolescents with asthma.

PubMed

Cushing, Anna; Manice, Melissa P; Ting, Andrew; Parides, Michael K

2016-01-01

Currently, 7.1 million children in the United States have asthma. Nonadherence to daily controller asthma medication is common, leading to more severe symptoms, overuse of rescue medication, and increased hospitalizations. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a novel mHealth management system composed of a sensored device, which is connected to mobile phone app that is designed to monitor and improve asthma medication adherence. The asthma management system was designed using well-established behavioral theory. Seven adolescents aged 11-18 years were enrolled and given an adherence sensor, and four of those also received a mobile phone app with game features and reminders. Five patients completed the study, and one was lost to follow-up in each group. Mobile app users and their parents participated in focus groups to assess patient preferences. Feasibility was assessed by the ability of sensors to capture real-time medication data. Acceptability was assessed by patient questionnaire and focus group analysis. Successful upload of real-time data from six of seven inhaler sensors to the HIPAA-compliant server demonstrates the feasibility of at-home patient monitoring using the sensor device. All three mobile app users who completed the study reported interest in continued use of the management system and would recommend the app to friends. Unstructured interviews and focus groups revealed that patients felt that the intervention helped their sense of asthma control. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using the sensor device to remotely monitor real-time medication usage, and user feedback demonstrates the acceptability of the intervention for patient use. The findings provide guidance for the improvement of study design and technology development. Further research is needed to assess the efficacy of the intervention.

GenSAA: A tool for advancing satellite monitoring with graphical expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, Peter M.; Luczak, Edward C.

1993-01-01

During numerous contacts with a satellite each day, spacecraft analysts must closely monitor real time data for combinations of telemetry parameter values, trends, and other indications that may signify a problem or failure. As satellites become more complex and the number of data items increases, this task is becoming increasingly difficult for humans to perform at acceptable performance levels. At the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, fault-isolation expert systems have been developed to support data monitoring and fault detection tasks in satellite control centers. Based on the lessons learned during these initial efforts in expert system automation, a new domain-specific expert system development tool named the Generic Spacecraft Analyst Assistant (GenSAA) is being developed to facilitate the rapid development and reuse of real-time expert systems to serve as fault-isolation assistants for spacecraft analysts. Although initially domain-specific in nature, this powerful tool will support the development of highly graphical expert systems for data monitoring purposes throughout the space and commercial industry.

Strategic sensor locations of FPR bridge decks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Hwai-Chung; Warnemuende, Kraig; Yan, An; Mu, Bin

2003-07-01

Advanced fiber-reinforced polymer composite (FRP) has been increasingly used in bridge deck to replace concrete or steel. A FRP bridge deck can be designed to meet AASHTO HS-25 load requirements. FRP decks have many advantages over the conventional reinforced concrete or steel decks owing to their lightweight, high strength and corrosion resistance. However, such new deck system requires extensive monitoring to ensure its designed performance before its widespread acceptance by the bridge community. For inspection and evaluation purpose, a proper monitoring system consisting of various kinds of sensors installed in the FRP deck is critical. This paper provides a framework for designing an efficient monitoring system. The strategic sensor locations are identified based on the stress analysis of the FRP deck.

Brief mindfulness meditation training reduces mind wandering: The critical role of acceptance.

PubMed

Rahl, Hayley A; Lindsay, Emily K; Pacilio, Laura E; Brown, Kirk W; Creswell, J David

2017-03-01

Mindfulness meditation programs, which train individuals to monitor their present-moment experience in an open or accepting way, have been shown to reduce mind wandering on standardized tasks in several studies. Here we test 2 competing accounts for how mindfulness training reduces mind wandering, evaluating whether the attention-monitoring component of mindfulness training alone reduces mind wandering or whether the acceptance training component is necessary for reducing mind wandering. Healthy young adults (N = 147) were randomized to either a 3-day brief mindfulness training condition incorporating instruction in both attention monitoring and acceptance, a mindfulness training condition incorporating attention monitoring instruction only, a relaxation training condition, or an active reading-control condition. Participants completed measures of dispositional mindfulness and treatment expectancies before the training session on Day 1 and then completed a 6-min Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) measuring mind wandering after the training session on Day 3. Acceptance training was important for reducing mind wandering, such that the attention-monitoring plus acceptance mindfulness training condition had the lowest mind wandering relative to the other conditions, including significantly lower mind wandering than the attention-monitoring only mindfulness training condition. In one of the first experimental mindfulness training dismantling studies to-date, we show that training in acceptance is a critical driver of mindfulness-training reductions in mind wandering. This effect suggests that acceptance skills may facilitate emotion regulation on boring and frustrating sustained attention tasks that foster mind wandering, such as the SART. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Community-Based ECG Monitoring System for Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases.

PubMed

Lin, Bor-Shyh; Wong, Alice M; Tseng, Kevin C

2016-04-01

This study aims to develop a community-based electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring system for cardiac outpatients to wirelessly detect heart rate, provide personalized healthcare, and enhance interactive social contact because of the prevalence of deaths from cardiovascular disease and the growing problem of aging in the world. The system not only strengthens the performance of the ECG monitoring system but also emphasizes the ergonomic design of wearable devices and user interfaces. In addition, it enables medical professionals to diagnose cardiac symptoms remotely and electronically manage medical reports and suggestions. The experimental result shows high performance of the dry electrode, even in dynamic conditions. The comparison result with different ECG healthcare systems shows the essential factors that the system should possess and the capability of the proposed system. Finally, a user survey was conducted based on the unified theory of acceptance and users of technology (UTAUT) model.

Assessing the utility of TAM, TPB, and UTAUT for advanced driver assistance systems.

PubMed

Rahman, Md Mahmudur; Lesch, Mary F; Horrey, William J; Strawderman, Lesley

2017-11-01

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are intended to enhance driver performance and improve transportation safety. The potential benefits of these technologies, such as reduction in number of crashes, enhancing driver comfort or convenience, decreasing environmental impact, etc., have been acknowledged by transportation safety researchers and federal transportation agencies. Although these systems afford safety advantages, they may also challenge the traditional role of drivers in operating vehicles. Driver acceptance, therefore, is essential for the implementation of these systems into the transportation system. Recognizing the need for research into the factors affecting driver acceptance, this study assessed the utility of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) for modelling driver acceptance in terms of Behavioral Intention to use an ADAS. Each of these models propose a set of factors that influence acceptance of a technology. Data collection was done using two approaches: a driving simulator approach and an online survey approach. In both approaches, participants interacted with either a fatigue monitoring system or an adaptive cruise control system combined with a lane-keeping system. Based on their experience, participants responded to several survey questions to indicate their attitude toward using the ADAS and their perception of its usefulness, usability, etc. A sample of 430 surveys were collected for this study. Results found that all the models (TAM, TPB, and UTAUT) can explain driver acceptance with their proposed sets of factors, each explaining 71% or more of the variability in Behavioral Intention. Among the models, TAM was found to perform the best in modelling driver acceptance followed by TPB. The findings of this study confirm that these models can be applied to ADAS technologies and that they provide a basis for understanding driver acceptance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microbial Load Monitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibson, S. F.; Royer, E. R.

1979-01-01

The Microbial Load Monitor (MLM) is an automated and computerized system for detection and identification of microorganisms. Additionally, the system is designed to enumerate and provide antimicrobic susceptibility profiles for medically significant bacteria. The system is designed to accomplish these tasks in a time of 13 hours or less versus the traditional time of 24 hours for negatives and 72 hours or more for positives usually required for standard microbiological analysis. The MLM concept differs from other methods of microbial detection in that the system is designed to accept raw untreated clinical samples and to selectively identify each group or species that may be present in a polymicrobic sample.

How to develop a proactive formulary system.

PubMed

Crane, V S; Gonzalez, E R; Hull, B L

1994-10-01

To develop a quality formulary system, a proactive approach is necessary. This approach incorporates a prospective product and concurrent product analyses. A prospective product analysis, in turn, involves a review of current formulary agents, those likely to enter the marketplace shortly, and the formation of an expert review panel. This panel's tasks are to examine therapeutic, economic, and humanistic aspects of therapy and to set initial parameters for appropriate and cost-effective use of accepted products. Keys to a successful formulary system are to continuously monitor drug use and compliance with criteria and to work collaboratively with all institutional professionals in the development, implementation, and monitoring of the system.

10 CFR 36.41 - Construction monitoring and acceptance testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... system will operate properly if offsite power is lost and shall verify that the computer has security... system to assure that the requirements in § 36.35 are met for protection of the source rack and the... protection. For panoramic irradiators, the licensee shall test the ability of the heat and smoke detectors to...

10 CFR 36.41 - Construction monitoring and acceptance testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... system will operate properly if offsite power is lost and shall verify that the computer has security... system to assure that the requirements in § 36.35 are met for protection of the source rack and the... protection. For panoramic irradiators, the licensee shall test the ability of the heat and smoke detectors to...

10 CFR 36.41 - Construction monitoring and acceptance testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... system will operate properly if offsite power is lost and shall verify that the computer has security... system to assure that the requirements in § 36.35 are met for protection of the source rack and the... protection. For panoramic irradiators, the licensee shall test the ability of the heat and smoke detectors to...

10 CFR 36.41 - Construction monitoring and acceptance testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... system will operate properly if offsite power is lost and shall verify that the computer has security... system to assure that the requirements in § 36.35 are met for protection of the source rack and the... protection. For panoramic irradiators, the licensee shall test the ability of the heat and smoke detectors to...

10 CFR 36.41 - Construction monitoring and acceptance testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... system will operate properly if offsite power is lost and shall verify that the computer has security... system to assure that the requirements in § 36.35 are met for protection of the source rack and the... protection. For panoramic irradiators, the licensee shall test the ability of the heat and smoke detectors to...

Text File Comparator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kotler, R. S.

1983-01-01

File Comparator program IFCOMP, is text file comparator for IBM OS/VScompatable systems. IFCOMP accepts as input two text files and produces listing of differences in pseudo-update form. IFCOMP is very useful in monitoring changes made to software at the source code level.

Validity of an activity monitor in young people with cerebral palsy gross motor function classification system level I.

PubMed

O' Donoghue, Deirdre; Kennedy, Norelee

2014-11-01

The activPAL™ activity monitor has potential for use in youth with Cerebral Palsy (CP) as it has demonstrated acceptable validity for the assessment of sedentary and physical activity in other populations. This study determined the validity of the activPAL™ activity monitor for the measurement of sitting, standing, walking time, transitions and step count for both legs in young people with hemiplegic and asymmetric diplegic CP. Seventeen participants with CP Gross Motor Function Classification System level I completed two video recorded test protocols that involved wearing an activPAL™ activity monitor on alternate legs. Agreement between observed video recorded data and activPAL™ activity monitor data was assessed using the Bland and Altman (BA) method and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC 3,1). There was perfect agreement for transitions and high agreement for sitting (BA mean differences (MD): -1.8 and -1.8 s; ICCs: 0.49 and 0.95) standing (MD: 0.8 and 0.1 s; ICCs: 0.59 and 0.98) walking (MD: 1 and 1.1 s; ICCs: 0.99 and 0.94) timings and low agreement for step count (MD: 4.1 and 2.8 steps; ICCs: 0.96 and 0.95) for both legs. This study found clinically acceptable agreement with direct observation for all activPAL™ activity monitor functions, except for step count measurement with respect to the range of measurement values obtained for both legs in this study population.

Willingness of older adults to share data and privacy concerns after exposure to unobtrusive in-home monitoring.

PubMed

Boise, Linda; Wild, Katherine; Mattek, Nora; Ruhl, Mary; Dodge, Hiroko H; Kaye, Jeffrey

2013-01-01

Older adult participants in the Intelligent Systems for Assessment of Aging Changes study (ISAAC) carried out by the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology (ORCATECH) were surveyed regarding their attitudes about unobtrusive home monitoring and computer use at baseline and after one year (n=119). The survey was part of a longitudinal study using in-home sensor technology to detect cognitive changes and other health problems. Our primary objective was to measure willingness to share health or activity data with one's doctor or family members and concerns about privacy or security of monitoring over one year of study participation. Differences in attitudes of participants with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) compared to those with normal cognition were also examined. A high proportion (over 72%) of participants reported acceptance of in-home and computer monitoring and willingness to have data shared with their doctor or family members. However, a majority (60%) reported concerns related to privacy or security; these concerns increased after one year of participation. Few differences between participants with MCI and those with normal cognition were identified. Findings suggest that involvement in this unobtrusive in-home monitoring study may have raised awareness about the potential privacy risks of technology. Still, results show high acceptance, stable over time, of sharing information from monitoring systems with family members and doctors. Our findings have important implications for the deployment of technologies among older adults in research studies as well as in the general community.

[Design of Smart Care Tele-Monitoring System for Mother and Fetus].

PubMed

Xi, Haiyan; Gan, Guanghui; Zhang, Huilian; Chen, Chaomin

2015-03-01

To study and design a maternal and fetal monitoring system based on the cloud computing and internet of things, which can monitor and take smart care of the mother and fetus in 24 h. Using a new kind of wireless fetal monitoring detector and a mobile phone, thus the doctor can keep touch with hospital through internet. The mobile terminal was developed on the Android system, which accepted the data of fetal heart rate and uterine contraction transmitted from the wireless detector, exchange information with the server and display the monitoring data and the doctor's advice in real-time. The mobile phone displayed the fetal heart rate line and uterine contraction line in real-time, recorded the fetus' grow process. It implemented the real-time communication between the doctor and the user, through wireless communication technology. The system removes the constraint of traditional telephone cable for users, while the users can get remote monitoring from the medical institutions at home or in the nearest community at any time, providing health and safety guarantee for mother and fetus.

The Development of an Automated Device for Asthma Monitoring for Adolescents: Methodologic Approach and User Acceptability

PubMed Central

Miner, Sarah; Sterling, Mark; Halterman, Jill S; Fairbanks, Eileen

2014-01-01

Background Many adolescents suffer serious asthma related morbidity that can be prevented by adequate self-management of the disease. The accurate symptom monitoring by patients is the most fundamental antecedent to effective asthma management. Nonetheless, the adequacy and effectiveness of current methods of symptom self-monitoring have been challenged due to the individuals’ fallible symptom perception, poor adherence, and inadequate technique. Recognition of these limitations led to the development of an innovative device that can facilitate continuous and accurate monitoring of asthma symptoms with minimal disruption of daily routines, thus increasing acceptability to adolescents. Objective The objectives of this study were to: (1) describe the development of a novel symptom monitoring device for teenagers (teens), and (2) assess their perspectives on the usability and acceptability of the device. Methods Adolescents (13-17 years old) with and without asthma participated in the evolution of an automated device for asthma monitoring (ADAM), which comprised three phases, including development (Phase 1, n=37), validation/user acceptability (Phase 2, n=84), and post hoc validation (Phase 3, n=10). In Phase 1, symptom algorithms were identified based on the acoustic analysis of raw symptom sounds and programmed into a popular mobile system, the iPod. Phase 2 involved a 7 day trial of ADAM in vivo, and the evaluation of user acceptance using an acceptance survey and individual interviews. ADAM was further modified and enhanced in Phase 3. Results Through ADAM, incoming audio data were digitized and processed in two steps involving the extraction of a sequence of descriptive feature vectors, and the processing of these sequences by a hidden Markov model-based Viterbi decoder to differentiate symptom sounds from background noise. The number and times of detected symptoms were stored and displayed in the device. The sensitivity (true positive) of the updated cough algorithm was 70% (21/30), and, on average, 2 coughs per hour were identified as false positive. ADAM also kept track of the their activity level throughout the day using the mobile system’s built in accelerometer function. Overall, the device was well received by participants who perceived it as attractive, convenient, and helpful. The participants recognized the potential benefits of the device in asthma care, and were eager to use it for their asthma management. Conclusions ADAM can potentially automate daily symptom monitoring with minimal intrusiveness and maximal objectivity. The users’ acceptance of the device based on its recognized convenience, user-friendliness, and usefulness in increasing symptom awareness underscores ADAM’s potential to overcome the issues of symptom monitoring including poor adherence, inadequate technique, and poor symptom perception in adolescents. Further refinement of the algorithm is warranted to improve the accuracy of the device. Future study is also needed to assess the efficacy of the device in promoting self-management and asthma outcomes. PMID:25100184

Manufacturing of Wearable Sensors for Human Health and Performance Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alizadeh, Azar

2015-03-01

Continuous monitoring of physiological and biological parameters is expected to improve performance and medical outcomes by assessing overall health status and alerting for life-saving interventions. Continuous monitoring of these parameters requires wearable devices with an appropriate form factor (lightweight, comfortable, low energy consuming and even single-use) to avoid disrupting daily activities thus ensuring operation relevance and user acceptance. Many previous efforts to implement remote and wearable sensors have suffered from high cost and poor performance, as well as low clinical and end-use acceptance. New manufacturing and system level design approaches are needed to make the performance and clinical benefits of these sensors possible while satisfying challenging economic, regulatory, clinical, and user-acceptance criteria. In this talk we will review several recent design and manufacturing efforts aimed at designing and building prototype wearable sensors. We will discuss unique opportunities and challenges provided by additive manufacturing, including 3D printing, to drive innovation through new designs, faster prototyping and manufacturing, distributed networks, and new ecosystems. We will also show alternative hybrid self-assembly based integration techniques for low cost large scale manufacturing of single use wearable devices. Coauthors: Prabhjot Singh and Jeffrey Ashe.

Real-time robot deliberation by compilation and monitoring of anytime algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zilberstein, Shlomo

1994-01-01

Anytime algorithms are algorithms whose quality of results improves gradually as computation time increases. Certainty, accuracy, and specificity are metrics useful in anytime algorighm construction. It is widely accepted that a successful robotic system must trade off between decision quality and the computational resources used to produce it. Anytime algorithms were designed to offer such a trade off. A model of compilation and monitoring mechanisms needed to build robots that can efficiently control their deliberation time is presented. This approach simplifies the design and implementation of complex intelligent robots, mechanizes the composition and monitoring processes, and provides independent real time robotic systems that automatically adjust resource allocation to yield optimum performance.

Acceptance and usability of a home-based monitoring tool of health indicators in children of people with dementia: a Proof of Principle (POP) study

PubMed Central

Boessen, April BCG; Vermeulen, Joan; de Witte, Luc P

2017-01-01

Background Large-scale cohort studies are needed to confirm the relation between dementia and its possible risk factors. The inclusion of people with dementia in research is a challenge, however, children of people with dementia are at risk and are highly motivated to participate in dementia research. For technologies to support home-based data collection during large-scale studies, participants should be able and willing to use technology for a longer period of time. Objective This study investigated acceptance and usability of iVitality, a research platform for home-based monitoring of dementia health indicators, in 151 children of people with dementia and investigated which frequency of measurements is acceptable for them. Methods Participants were randomized to fortnightly or monthly measurements. At baseline and after 3 months, participants completed an online questionnaire regarding the acceptance (Technology Acceptance Model; 38 items) and usability (Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire; 24 items) of iVitality. Items were rated from 1 (I totally disagree) to 7 (I totally agree). Participants were also invited to take part in an online focus group (OFG) after 3 months of follow-up. Descriptive statistics and both two-sample/independent and paired t-tests were used to analyze the online questionnaires and a directed content analysis was used to analyze the OFGs. Results Children of people with dementia accept iVitality after long-term use and evaluate iVitality as a user-friendly, useful, and trusted technology, despite some suggestions for improvement. Overall, mean scores on acceptance and usability were higher than 5 (I somewhat agree), although the acceptance subscales “social influence” and “time” were rated somewhat lower. No significant differences in acceptance and usability were found between both protocol groups. Over time, “affect” significantly increased among participants measuring blood pressure fortnightly. Conclusion iVitality has the potential to be used in large-scale studies for home-based monitoring of health indicators related to the development of dementia. PMID:28814839

The role of Environmental Health System air quality monitors in Space Station Contingency Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Limero, Thomas F.; Wilson, Steve; Perlot, Susan; James, John

1992-01-01

This paper describes the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Environmental Health System's air-quality monitoring strategy and instrumentation. A two-tier system has been developed, consisting of first-alert instruments that warn the crew of airborne contamination and a volatile organic analyzer that can identify volatile organic contaminants in near-real time. The strategy for air quality monitoring on SSF is designed to provide early detection so that the contamination can be confined to one module and so that crew health and safety can be protected throughout the contingency event. The use of air-quality monitors in fixed and portable modes will be presented as a means of following the progress of decontamination efforts and ensuring acceptable air quality in a module after an incident. The technology of each instrument will be reviewed briefly; the main focus of this paper, however, will be the use of air-quality monitors before, during, and after contingency incidents.

Control system health test system and method

DOEpatents

Hoff, Brian D.; Johnson, Kris W.; Akasam, Sivaprasad; Baker, Thomas M.

2006-08-15

A method is provided for testing multiple elements of a work machine, including a control system, a component, a sub-component that is influenced by operations of the component, and a sensor that monitors a characteristic of the sub-component. In one embodiment, the method is performed by the control system and includes sending a command to the component to adjust a first parameter associated with an operation of the component. Also, the method includes detecting a sensor signal from the sensor reflecting a second parameter associated with a characteristic of the sub-component and determining whether the second parameter is acceptable based on the command. The control system may diagnose at least one of the elements of the work machine when the second parameter of the sub-component is not acceptable.

Do America's Schools Need a "Dow Jones Index"?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guthrie, James W.

1993-01-01

Education may be only major social activity lacking publicly accepted composite indicator. A national education index could incorporate dimensions such as student performance, public support for education, children's conditions, and quality of educational service. Such a system might monitor progress, foster accountability, facilitate…

Preliminary Retrospective Analysis of Daily Tomotherapy Output Constancy Checks Using Statistical Process Control.

PubMed

Mezzenga, Emilio; D'Errico, Vincenzo; Sarnelli, Anna; Strigari, Lidia; Menghi, Enrico; Marcocci, Francesco; Bianchini, David; Benassi, Marcello

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the results from a Helical TomoTherapy Hi-Art treatment system relating to quality controls based on daily static and dynamic output checks using statistical process control methods. Individual value X-charts, exponentially weighted moving average charts, and process capability and acceptability indices were used to monitor the treatment system performance. Daily output values measured from January 2014 to January 2015 were considered. The results obtained showed that, although the process was in control, there was an out-of-control situation in the principal maintenance intervention for the treatment system. In particular, process capability indices showed a decreasing percentage of points in control which was, however, acceptable according to AAPM TG148 guidelines. Our findings underline the importance of restricting the acceptable range of daily output checks and suggest a future line of investigation for a detailed process control of daily output checks for the Helical TomoTherapy Hi-Art treatment system.

Analysis of the Factors Affecting Consumer Acceptance of Accredited Online Health Information

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

With the increasing use of the internet and the spread of smartphones, health information seekers obtain considerable information through the internet. As the amount of online health information increases, the need for quality management of health information has been emphasized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the intention of using accredited online health information by applying the extended technology acceptance model (Extended-TAM). An online survey was conducted from September 15, 2016 to October 3, 2016, on 500 men and women aged 19–69 years. The results showed that the greatest factor influencing the acceptance of the accredited health information was perceived usefulness, and the expectation for the quality of the accreditation system was the most important mediator variable. In order to establish the health information accreditation system as a means to provide easy and useful information to the consumers, it is necessary to carry out quality management and promote the system through the continuous monitoring of the accreditation system. PMID:28960026

Low cost self-made pressure distribution sensors for ergonomic chair: Are they suitable for posture monitoring?

PubMed

Martinaitis, Arnas; Daunoraviciene, Kristina

2018-05-18

Long sitting causes many health problems for people. Healthy sitting monitoring systems, like real-time pressure distribution measuring, is in high demand and many methods of posture recognition were developed. Such systems are usually expensive and hardly available for the regular user. The aim of study is to develop low cost but sensitive enough pressure sensors and posture monitoring system. New self-made pressure sensors have been developed and tested, and prototype of pressure distribution measuring system was designed. Sensors measured at average noise amplitude of a = 56 mV (1.12%), average variation in sequential measurements of the same sensor s = 17 mV (0.34%). Signal variability between sensors averaged at 100 mV (2.0%). Weight to signal dependency graph was measured and hysteresis calculated. Results suggested the use of total sixteen sensors for posture monitoring system with accuracy of < 1.5% after relaxation and repeatability of around 2%. Results demonstrate that hand-made sensor sensitivity and repeatability are acceptable for posture monitoring, and it is possible to build low cost pressure distribution measurement system with graphical visualization without expensive equipment or complicated software.

iACT - An interactive mHealth monitoring system to enhance psychotherapy for adolescents with sickle cell disease

PubMed Central

Cheng, Chihwen; Brown, R. Clark; Cohen, Lindsey L.; Venugopalan, Janani; Stokes, Todd H.

2016-01-01

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common inherited disease, and SCD symptoms impact functioning and well-being. For example, adolescents with SCD have a higher tendency of psychological problems than the general population. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a cognitive-behavioral therapy, is an effective intervention to promote quality of life and functioning in adolescents with chronic illness. However, traditional visit-based therapy sessions are restrained by challenges, such as limited follow-up, insufficient data collection, low treatment adherence, and delayed intervention. In this paper, we present Instant Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (iACT), a system designed to enhance the quality of pediatric ACT. iACT utilizes text messaging technology, which is the most popular cell phone activity among adolescents, to conduct real-time psychotherapy interventions. The system is built on cloud computing technologies, which provides a convenient and cost-effective monitoring environment. To evaluate iACT, a trial with 60 adolescents with SCD is being conducted in conjunction with the Georgia Institute of Technology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Georgia State University. PMID:24110179

iACT--an interactive mHealth monitoring system to enhance psychotherapy for adolescents with sickle cell disease.

PubMed

Cheng, Chihwen; Brown, R Clark; Cohen, Lindsey L; Venugopalan, Janani; Stokes, Todd H; Wang, May D

2013-01-01

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common inherited disease, and SCD symptoms impact functioning and well-being. For example, adolescents with SCD have a higher tendency of psychological problems than the general population. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a cognitive-behavioral therapy, is an effective intervention to promote quality of life and functioning in adolescents with chronic illness. However, traditional visit-based therapy sessions are restrained by challenges, such as limited follow-up, insufficient data collection, low treatment adherence, and delayed intervention. In this paper, we present Instant Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (iACT), a system designed to enhance the quality of pediatric ACT. iACT utilizes text messaging technology, which is the most popular cell phone activity among adolescents, to conduct real-time psychotherapy interventions. The system is built on cloud computing technologies, which provides a convenient and cost-effective monitoring environment. To evaluate iACT, a trial with 60 adolescents with SCD is being conducted in conjunction with the Georgia Institute of Technology, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and Georgia State University.

Privacy versus autonomy: a tradeoff model for smart home monitoring technologies.

PubMed

Townsend, Daphne; Knoefel, Frank; Goubran, Rafik

2011-01-01

Smart homes are proposed as a new location for the delivery of healthcare services. They provide healthcare monitoring and communication services, by using integrated sensor network technologies. We validate a hypothesis regarding older adults' adoption of home monitoring technologies by conducting a literature review of articles studying older adults' attitudes and perceptions of sensor technologies. Using current literature to support the hypothesis, this paper applies the tradeoff model to decisions about sensor acceptance. Older adults are willing to trade privacy (by accepting a monitoring technology), for autonomy. As the information captured by the sensor becomes more intrusive and the infringement on privacy increases, sensors are accepted if the loss in privacy is traded for autonomy. Even video cameras, the most intrusive sensor type were accepted in exchange for the height of autonomy which is to remain in the home.

Automotive Stirling Engine Mod 1 Design Review, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

The auxiliaries and the control system for the ASE MOD I: (1) provide the required fuel and air flows for a well controlled combustion process, generating heat to the Stirling cycle; (2) provide a driver acceptable method for controlling the power output of the engine; (3) provide adequate lubrication and cooling water circulation; (4) generate the electric energy required for engine and vehicle operation; (5) provide a driver acceptable method for starting, stopping and monitoring the engine; and (6) provide a guard system, that protects the engine at component or system malfunction. The control principles and the way the different components and sub-systems interact are described as well as the different auxiliaries, the air fuel system, the power control systems and the electronics. The arrangement and location of auxiliaries and other major components are also examined.

Online data monitoring in the LHCb experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Callot, O.; Cherukuwada, S.; Frank, M.; Gaspar, C.; Graziani, G.; Herwijnen, E. v.; Jost, B.; Neufeld, N.; P-Altarelli, M.; Somogyi, P.; Stoica, R.

2008-07-01

The High Level Trigger and Data Acquisition system selects about 2 kHz of events out of the 40 MHz of beam crossings. The selected events are sent to permanent storage for subsequent analysis. In order to ensure the quality of the collected data, identify possible malfunctions of the detector and perform calibration and alignment checks, a small fraction of the accepted events is sent to a monitoring farm, which consists of a few tens of general purpose processors. This contribution introduces the architecture of the data stream splitting mechanism from the storage system to the monitoring farm, where the raw data are analyzed by dedicated tasks. It describes the collaborating software components that are all based on the Gaudi event processing framework.

Electronic alerts and clinician turnover: the influence of user acceptance.

PubMed

Hysong, Sylvia J; Spitzmuller, Christiane; Espadas, Donna; Sittig, Dean F; Singh, Hardeep

2014-11-01

Use of certain components of electronic health records (EHRs), such as EHR-based alerting systems (EASs), might reduce provider satisfaction, a strong precursor to turnover. We examined the impact of factors likely to influence providers' acceptance of an alerting system, designed to facilitate electronic communication in outpatient settings, on provider satisfaction, intentions to quit, and turnover. We conducted a cross-sectional Web-based survey of EAS-related practices from a nationwide sample of primary care providers (PCPs) practicing at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities. Of 5001 invited VA PCPs, 2590 completed the survey. We relied on Venkatesh's Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology to create survey measures of 4 factors likely to impact user acceptance of EAS: supportive norms, monitoring/ feedback, training, and providers' perceptions of the value (PPOV) of EASs to provider effectiveness. Facility-level PCP turnover was measured via the VA's Service Support Center Human Resources Cube. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. After accounting for intercorrelations among predictors, monitoring/feedback regarding EASs significantly predicted intention to quit (b = 0.30, P < .01), and PPOV of EASs predicted both overall provider satisfaction (b = 0.58, P < .01) and facility-level provider turnover levels (b = -0.19, P < .05), all without relying on any intervening mechanisms. Design, implementation, and use of EASs might impact provider satisfaction and retention. Institutions should consider strategies to help providers perceive greater value in these clinical tools.

Knowledge based ranking algorithm for comparative assessment of post-closure care needs of closed landfills.

PubMed

Sizirici, Banu; Tansel, Berrin; Kumar, Vivek

2011-06-01

Post-closure care (PCC) activities at landfills include cap maintenance; water quality monitoring; maintenance and monitoring of the gas collection/control system, leachate collection system, groundwater monitoring wells, and surface water management system; and general site maintenance. The objective of this study was to develop an integrated data and knowledge based decision making tool for preliminary estimation of PCC needs at closed landfills. To develop the decision making tool, 11 categories of parameters were identified as critical areas which could affect future PCC needs. Each category was further analyzed by detailed questions which could be answered with limited data and knowledge about the site, its history, location, and site specific characteristics. Depending on the existing knowledge base, a score was assigned to each question (on a scale 1-10, as 1 being the best and 10 being the worst). Each category was also assigned a weight based on its relative importance on the site conditions and PCC needs. The overall landfill score was obtained from the total weighted sum attained. Based on the overall score, landfill conditions could be categorized as critical, acceptable, or good. Critical condition indicates that the landfill may be a threat to the human health and the environment and necessary steps should be taken. Acceptable condition indicates that the landfill is currently stable and the monitoring should be continued. Good condition indicates that the landfill is stable and the monitoring activities can be reduced in the future. The knowledge base algorithm was applied to two case study landfills for preliminary assessment of PCC performance. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

THE RAPID OPTICAL TOOL (TM) LASER-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE SYSTEM FOR SCREENING OF PETROLEUM HYDROCARBONS IN SUBSURFACE SOILS

EPA Science Inventory

The Consortium for Site Characterization Technology (CSCT) has established a formal program to accelerate acceptance and application of innovative monitoring and site characterization technologies that improve the way the nation manages its environmental problems. In 1995 the CS...

24 CFR 990.320 - Audits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Audits. 990.320 Section 990.320... HOUSING OPERATING FUND PROGRAM Financial Management Systems, Monitoring, and Reporting § 990.320 Audits. All PHAs that receive financial assistance under this part shall submit an acceptable audit and comply...

Research on the full life cycle management system of smart electric energy meter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiangqun; Huang, Rui; Shen, Liman; Guo, Dingying; Xiong, Dezhi; Xiao, Xiangqi; Liu, Mouhai; Renheng, Xu

2018-02-01

At present, China’s smart electric energy meter life management is started from the procurement and acceptance. The related monitoring and management of the manufacturing sector has not yet been carried out. This article applies RFID technology and network cloud platform to full life cycle management system of smart electric energy meters, builds this full life cycle management system including design and manufacturing, process control, measurement and calibration testing, storage management, user acceptance, site operation, maintenance scrap and other aspects. Exploring smart electric energy meters on-line and off-line communication by the application of active RFID communication functions, and the actual functional application such as local data exchange and instrument calibration. This system provides technical supports on power demand side management and the improvement of smart electric energy meter reliability evaluation system.

Initiating an Online Reputation Monitoring System with Open Source Analytics Tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuhud, Mohd Ilias M.; Alwi, Najwa Hayaati Md; Halim, Azni Haslizan Abd

2018-05-01

Online reputation is an invaluable asset for modern organizations as it can help in business performance especially in sales and profit. However, if we are not aware of our reputation, it is difficult to maintain it. Thus, social media analytics is a new tool that can provide online reputation monitoring in various ways such as sentiment analysis. As a result, numerous large-scale organizations have implemented Online Reputation Monitoring (ORM) systems. However, this solution is not supposed to be exclusively for high-income organizations, as many organizations regardless sizes and types are now online. This research attempts to propose an affordable and reliable ORM system using combination of open source analytics tools for both novice practitioners and academicians. We also evaluate its prediction accuracy and we discovered that the system provides acceptable predictions (sixty percent accuracy) and demonstrate a tally prediction of major polarity by human annotation. The proposed system can help in supporting business decisions with flexible monitoring strategies especially for organization that want to initiate and administrate ORM themselves at low cost.

Computerized physician order entry system combined with on-ward pharmacist: analysis of pharmacists' interventions.

PubMed

Bedouch, Pierrick; Tessier, Alexandre; Baudrant, Magalie; Labarere, José; Foroni, Luc; Calop, Jean; Bosson, Jean-Luc; Allenet, Benoît

2012-08-01

To analyse pharmacists' interventions in a setting where a computerized physician order entry system (CPOE) is in use and a pharmacist works on the ward. A prospective cohort study was conducted in seven wards of a French teaching hospital using CPOE along with the presence of a full-time on-ward pharmacy resident. We documented the characteristics of pharmacists' interventions communicated to physicians during the medication order validation process whenever a drug-related problem was identified. Independent predictors of the physician's acceptance of the pharmacist's intervention were assessed using multiple logistic regression analysis. The 448 pharmacists' interventions concerned: non-conformity to guidelines or contraindications (22%), too high doses (19%), drug interactions (15%) and improper administration (15%). The interventions consisted of changes in drug choice (41%), dose adjustment (23%), drug monitoring (19%) and optimization of administration (17%). Interventions were communicated via the CPOE in 57% of cases and 43% orally. The rate of physicians' acceptance was 79.2%. In multivariate analysis, acceptance was significantly associated with the physician's status [higher for residents vs. seniors: OR = 7.23, CI 95 (2.37-22.10), P < 0.01], method of communication [higher for oral vs. computer communication: OR = 12.5, CI 95 (4.16-37.57), P < 0.01] and type of recommendation [higher for drug monitoring vs. drug choice recommendations: OR = 10.32, CI 95 (3.20-33.29), P < 0.01]. When a clinical pharmacist is present on a ward in which a CPOE is in use, the pharmacists' interventions are well accepted by physicians. Specific predictors of the acceptance by physicians emerge, but further research as to the impact of CPOE on pharmacist-physician communication is needed. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

In-service health monitoring of composite structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinto, Gino A.; Ventres, C. S.; Ginty, Carol A.; Chamis, Christos C.

1990-01-01

The aerospace industry is witnessing a vast utilization of composites in critical structural applications and anticipates even more use of them in future aircraft. Therefore, a definite need exists for a composite health monitoring expert system to meet today's current needs and tomorrow's future demands. The primary goal for this conceptual health monitoring system is functional reliably for in-service operation in the environments of various composite structures. The underlying philosophy of this system is to utilize proven vibration techniques to assess the structural integrity of a fibrous composite. Statistical methods are used to determine if the variances in the measured data are acceptable for making a reliable decision on the health status of the composite. The flexible system allows for algorithms describing any composite fatigue or damage behavior characteristic to be provided as an input to the system. Alert thresholds and variances can also be provided as an input to this system and may be updated to allow for future changes/refinements in the composite's structural integrity behavior.

The Generic Spacecraft Analyst Assistant (gensaa): a Tool for Developing Graphical Expert Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, Peter M.

1993-01-01

During numerous contacts with a satellite each day, spacecraft analysts must closely monitor real-time data. The analysts must watch for combinations of telemetry parameter values, trends, and other indications that may signify a problem or failure. As the satellites become more complex and the number of data items increases, this task is becoming increasingly difficult for humans to perform at acceptable performance levels. At NASA GSFC, fault-isolation expert systems are in operation supporting this data monitoring task. Based on the lessons learned during these initial efforts in expert system automation, a new domain-specific expert system development tool named the Generic Spacecraft Analyst Assistant (GenSAA) is being developed to facilitate the rapid development and reuse of real-time expert systems to serve as fault-isolation assistants for spacecraft analysts. Although initially domain-specific in nature, this powerful tool will readily support the development of highly graphical expert systems for data monitoring purposes throughout the space and commercial industry.

Feasibility of a novel mHealth management system to capture and improve medication adherence among adolescents with asthma

PubMed Central

Cushing, Anna; Manice, Melissa P; Ting, Andrew; Parides, Michael K

2016-01-01

Purpose Currently, 7.1 million children in the United States have asthma. Nonadherence to daily controller asthma medication is common, leading to more severe symptoms, overuse of rescue medication, and increased hospitalizations. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a novel mHealth management system composed of a sensored device, which is connected to mobile phone app that is designed to monitor and improve asthma medication adherence. Patients and methods The asthma management system was designed using well-established behavioral theory. Seven adolescents aged 11–18 years were enrolled and given an adherence sensor, and four of those also received a mobile phone app with game features and reminders. Five patients completed the study, and one was lost to follow-up in each group. Mobile app users and their parents participated in focus groups to assess patient preferences. Feasibility was assessed by the ability of sensors to capture real-time medication data. Acceptability was assessed by patient questionnaire and focus group analysis. Results Successful upload of real-time data from six of seven inhaler sensors to the HIPAA-compliant server demonstrates the feasibility of at-home patient monitoring using the sensor device. All three mobile app users who completed the study reported interest in continued use of the management system and would recommend the app to friends. Unstructured interviews and focus groups revealed that patients felt that the intervention helped their sense of asthma control. Conclusion This study demonstrates the feasibility of using the sensor device to remotely monitor real-time medication usage, and user feedback demonstrates the acceptability of the intervention for patient use. The findings provide guidance for the improvement of study design and technology development. Further research is needed to assess the efficacy of the intervention. PMID:27853357

Using a peanut drying monitoring system to estimate costs of nonbeneficial dryer operation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Presently, the peanut industry lacks a commercially available, industry-accepted solution for real-time kernel moisture content determination during peanut drying. Samples of unshelled peanuts are extracted from the semitrailer by an operator periodically, and the samples have to be cleaned and shel...

New approach to information fusion for Lipschitz classifiers ensembles: Application in multi-channel C-OTDR-monitoring systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Timofeev, Andrey V.; Egorov, Dmitry V.

This paper presents new results concerning selection of an optimal information fusion formula for an ensemble of Lipschitz classifiers. The goal of information fusion is to create an integral classificatory which could provide better generalization ability of the ensemble while achieving a practically acceptable level of effectiveness. The problem of information fusion is very relevant for data processing in multi-channel C-OTDR-monitoring systems. In this case we have to effectively classify targeted events which appear in the vicinity of the monitored object. Solution of this problem is based on usage of an ensemble of Lipschitz classifiers each of which corresponds tomore » a respective channel. We suggest a brand new method for information fusion in case of ensemble of Lipschitz classifiers. This method is called “The Weighing of Inversely as Lipschitz Constants” (WILC). Results of WILC-method practical usage in multichannel C-OTDR monitoring systems are presented.« less

The patient-sensor interface

PubMed Central

Crockett, G. S.

1970-01-01

During the assessment of monitoring equipment on acute medical cases in a general ward, a quantitative investigation of technical faults revealed that 44% of these occurred at the patient-sensor interface. While the attachment of the equipment was accepted by the patient and was suitable for application by nursing staff, this degree of technical breakdown indicates that more progress is necessary in the design of this aspect of monitoring equipment before it is possible to have a reliable system. ImagesFig. 1 PMID:5476136

ACCESS: A Communicating and Cooperating Expert Systems System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-01-31

therefore more quickly accepted by programmers. This is in part due to the already familiar concepts of multi-processing environments (e.g. semaphores ...Di68] and monitors [Br75]) which can be viewed as a special case of synchronized shared memory models [Di6S]. Heterogeneous systems however, are by...locality of nodes is not possible and frequent access of memory is required. Synchronization of processes also suffers from a loss of efficiency in

Video Guidance, Landing, and Imaging system (VGLIS) for space missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schappell, R. T.; Knickerbocker, R. L.; Tietz, J. C.; Grant, C.; Flemming, J. C.

1975-01-01

The feasibility of an autonomous video guidance system that is capable of observing a planetary surface during terminal descent and selecting the most acceptable landing site was demonstrated. The system was breadboarded and "flown" on a physical simulator consisting of a control panel and monitor, a dynamic simulator, and a PDP-9 computer. The breadboard VGLIS consisted of an image dissector camera and the appropriate processing logic. Results are reported.

The Hungarian congenital malformation monitoring system.

PubMed

Czeizel, A

1978-01-01

The Hungarian Congenital Malformation Monitor has been operating since 1973 in order to detect the temporal and regional clusters of 12 indicator congenital malformations as early as possible. This Monitor takes part in the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Monitoring System. Three continuously increasing trends were detected in 1973--1976. They may be connected with the more complete notifications, although the increase of limb reduction deformities are only partly explained by this factor. Transitional (quarterly) significant clusters were observed in the case of anencephaly (1974, IV), spina bifida (1974, II; and 1975, III; 1976, III), cleft lip +/- cleft palate (1974, III). The possibility of three technical biases (changes in diagnosis, notification and evaluation of the given congenital malformation) has to be excluded before accepting the fact of a real epidemic. Subsequently, a case-control epidemiological study by personal interviews and with matched controls has to be performed.

The use of consumer depth cameras for 3D surface imaging of people with obesity: A feasibility study.

PubMed

Wheat, J S; Clarkson, S; Flint, S W; Simpson, C; Broom, D R

2018-05-21

Three dimensional (3D) surface imaging is a viable alternative to traditional body morphology measures, but the feasibility of using this technique with people with obesity has not been fully established. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the validity, repeatability and acceptability of a consumer depth camera 3D surface imaging system in imaging people with obesity. The concurrent validity of the depth camera based system was investigated by comparing measures of mid-trunk volume to a gold-standard. The repeatability and acceptability of the depth camera system was assessed in people with obesity at a clinic. There was evidence of a fixed systematic difference between the depth camera system and the gold standard but excellent correlation between volume estimates (r 2 =0.997), with little evidence of proportional bias. The depth camera system was highly repeatable - low typical error (0.192L), high intraclass correlation coefficient (>0.999) and low technical error of measurement (0.64%). Depth camera based 3D surface imaging was also acceptable to people with obesity. It is feasible (valid, repeatable and acceptable) to use a low cost, flexible 3D surface imaging system to monitor the body size and shape of people with obesity in a clinical setting. Copyright © 2018 Asia Oceania Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance monitoring algorithm for optimizing electrical power generated by using photovoltaic system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pradeep, M. V. K.; Balbir, S. M. S.; Norani, M. M.

2016-11-01

Demand for electricity in Malaysia has seen a substantial hike in light of the nation's rapid economic development. The current method of generating electricity is through the combustion of fossil fuels which has led to the detrimental effects on the environment besides causing social and economic outbreaks due to its highly volatile prices. Thus the need for a sustainable energy source is paramount and one that is quickly gaining acceptance is solar energy. However, due to the various environmental and geographical factors that affect the generation of solar electricity, the capability of solar electricity generating system (SEGS) is unable to compete with the high conversion efficiencies of conventional energy sources. In order to effectively monitor SEGS, this study is proposing a performance monitoring system that is capable of detecting drops in the system's performance for parallel networks through a diagnostic mechanism. The performance monitoring system consists of microcontroller connected to relevant sensors for data acquisition. The acquired data is transferred to a microcomputer for software based monitoring and analysis. In order to enhance the interception of sunlight by the SEGS, a sensor based sun tracking system is interfaced to the same controller to allow the PV to maneuver itself autonomously to an angle of maximum sunlight exposure.

Promoting health and reducing costs: a role for reform of self-monitoring of blood glucose provision within the National Health Service.

PubMed

Leigh, S; Idris, I; Collins, B; Granby, P; Noble, M; Parker, M

2016-05-01

To determine the cost-effectiveness of all options for the self-monitoring of blood glucose funded by the National Health Service, providing guidance for disinvestment and testing the hypothesis that advanced meter features may justify higher prices. Using data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre concerning all 8 340 700 self-monitoring of blood glucose-related prescriptions during 2013/2014, we conducted a cost-minimization analysis, considering both strip and lancet costs, including all clinically equivalent technologies for self-monitoring of blood glucose, as determined by the ability to meet ISO-15197:2013 guidelines for meter accuracy. A total of 56 glucose monitor, test strip and lancet combinations were identified, of which 38 met the required accuracy standards. Of these, the mean (range) net ingredient costs for test strips and lancets were £0.27 (£0.14-£0.32) and £0.04 (£0.02-£0.05), respectively, resulting in a weighted average of £0.28 (£0.18-£0.37) per test. Systems providing four or more advanced features were priced equal to those providing just one feature. A total of £12 m was invested in providing 42 million self-monitoring of blood glucose tests with systems that fail to meet acceptable accuracy standards, and efficiency savings of £23.2 m per annum are achievable if the National Health Service were to disinvest from technologies providing lesser functionality than available alternatives, but at a much higher price. The study uncovered considerable variation in the price paid by the National Health Service for self-monitoring of blood glucose, which could not be explained by the availability of advanced meter features. A standardized approach to self-monitoring of blood glucose prescribing could achieve significant efficiency savings for the National Health Service, whilst increasing overall utilisation and improving safety for those currently using systems that fail to meet acceptable standards for measurement accuracy. © 2015 Diabetes UK.

Analysis of the Factors Affecting Consumer Acceptance of Accredited Online Health Information.

PubMed

Jo, Heui Sug; Song, Tae Min; Kim, Bong Gi

2017-11-01

With the increasing use of the internet and the spread of smartphones, health information seekers obtain considerable information through the internet. As the amount of online health information increases, the need for quality management of health information has been emphasized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the intention of using accredited online health information by applying the extended technology acceptance model (Extended-TAM). An online survey was conducted from September 15, 2016 to October 3, 2016, on 500 men and women aged 19-69 years. The results showed that the greatest factor influencing the acceptance of the accredited health information was perceived usefulness, and the expectation for the quality of the accreditation system was the most important mediator variable. In order to establish the health information accreditation system as a means to provide easy and useful information to the consumers, it is necessary to carry out quality management and promote the system through the continuous monitoring of the accreditation system. © 2017 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

Automated System Of Monitoring Of The Physical Condition Of The Staff Of The Enterprise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilipenko, A.

2017-01-01

In the work the author solves an important applied problem of increasing of safety of engineering procedures and production using technologies of monitoring of a condition of employees. The author offers a work algorithm, structural and basic electric schemes of system of collection of data of employee’s condition of the enterprise and some parameters of the surrounding environment. In the article the author offers an approach to increasing of efficiency of acceptance of management decisions at the enterprise at the expense of the prompt analysis of information about employee’s condition and productivity of his work and also about various parameters influencing these factors.

Installation and certification of continuous VOC emissions monitoring systems for a steel mill sinter plant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taylor, K.L.; Macak, J.J. III; Cioffi, J.

1999-07-01

The counties of Lake, Porter, and LaPorte in Northwest Indiana are classified as severe non-attainment for the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). In response to the non-attainment problem, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) promulgated a number of regulations over the last several years. One of these rules requires steel mills with sinter plants to control and continuously monitor volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from the facilities. One of the accepted compliance methods is to install and certify Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (CEMS) to monitor VOC emissions and volumetric flow rate in order to generate a VOCmore » emission number in units of pounds per hour. Compliance with the regulation also requires that the sinter plants accurately monitor sinter production in order to determine compliance during the winter months, when the limits are based on pounds of VOC emissions per ton of sinter produced.« less

A personalized health-monitoring system for elderly by combining rules and case-based reasoning.

PubMed

Ahmed, Mobyen Uddin

2015-01-01

Health-monitoring system for elderly in home environment is a promising solution to provide efficient medical services that increasingly interest by the researchers within this area. It is often more challenging when the system is self-served and functioning as personalized provision. This paper proposed a personalized self-served health-monitoring system for elderly in home environment by combining general rules with a case-based reasoning approach. Here, the system generates feedback, recommendation and alarm in a personalized manner based on elderly's medical information and health parameters such as blood pressure, blood glucose, weight, activity, pulse, etc. A set of general rules has used to classify individual health parameters. The case-based reasoning approach is used to combine all different health parameters, which generates an overall classification of health condition. According to the evaluation result considering 323 cases and k=2 i.e., top 2 most similar retrieved cases, the sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy are achieved as 90%, 97% and 96% respectively. The preliminary result of the system is acceptable since the feedback; recommendation and alarm messages are personalized and differ from the general messages. Thus, this approach could be possibly adapted for other situations in personalized elderly monitoring.

The development of an automated flight test management system for flight test planning and monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hewett, Marle D.; Tartt, David M.; Duke, Eugene L.; Antoniewicz, Robert F.; Brumbaugh, Randal W.

1988-01-01

The development of an automated flight test management system (ATMS) as a component of a rapid-prototyping flight research facility for AI-based flight systems concepts is described. The rapid-prototyping facility includes real-time high-fidelity simulators, numeric and symbolic processors, and high-performance research aircraft modified to accept commands for a ground-based remotely augmented vehicle facility. The flight system configuration of the ATMS includes three computers: the TI explorer LX and two GOULD SEL 32/27s.

Electronic adherence monitoring device performance and patient acceptability: a randomized control trial.

PubMed

Chan, Amy Hai Yan; Stewart, Alistair William; Harrison, Jeff; Black, Peter Nigel; Mitchell, Edwin Arthur; Foster, Juliet Michelle

2017-05-01

To investigate the performance and patient acceptability of an inhaler electronic monitoring device in a real-world childhood asthma population. Children 6 to 15 years presenting with asthma to the hospital emergency department and prescribed inhaled corticosteroids were included. Participants were randomized to receive a device with reminder features enabled or disabled for use with their preventer. Device quality control tests were conducted. Questionnaires on device acceptability, utility and ergonomics were completed at six months. A total of 1306 quality control tests were conducted; 84% passed pre-issue and 87% return testing. The most common failure reason was actuation under-recording. Acceptability scores were high, with higher scores in the reminder than non-reminder group (median, 5 th -95 th percentile: 4.1, 3.1-5.0 versus 3.7, 2.3-4.8; p < 0.001). Most (>90%) rated the device easy to use. Feedback was positive across five themes: device acceptability, ringtone acceptability, suggestions for improvement, effect on medication use, and effect on asthma control. This study investigates electronic monitoring device performance and acceptability in children using quantitative and qualitative measures. Results indicate satisfactory reliability, although failure rates of 13-16% indicate the importance of quality control. Favorable acceptability ratings support the use of these devices in children.

First Operation of the Abort Gap Monitor for LHC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lefevre, Thibaut; /CERN; Bart Pedersen, Stephane

2012-07-06

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) beam-dump system relies on extraction kickers that need 3 microseconds to rise to their nominal field. Since particles transiting the kickers during the rise will not be dumped properly, the proton population in this interval must always remain below quench and damage limits. A specific monitor to measure the particle population of this gap has been designed based on the detection of synchrotron radiation using a gated photomultiplier. Since the quench and damage limits change with the beam energy, the acceptable population in the abort gap and the settings of the monitor must adapt accordingly.more » This paper presents the design of the monitor, the calibration procedure and the detector performance with beam.« less

Integrated monitoring of wind plant systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whelan, Matthew J.; Janoyan, Kerop D.; Qiu, Tong

2008-03-01

Wind power is a renewable source of energy that is quickly gaining acceptance by many. Advanced sensor technologies have currently focused solely on improving wind turbine rotor aerodynamics and increasing of the efficiency of the blade design and concentration. Alternatively, potential improvements in wind plant efficiency may be realized through reduction of reactionary losses of kinetic energy to the structural and substructural systems supporting the turbine mechanics. Investigation of the complete dynamic structural response of the wind plant is proposed using a large-scale, high-rate wireless sensor network. The wireless network enables sensors to be placed across the sizable structure, including the rotating blades, without consideration of cabling issues and the economic burden associated with large spools of measurement cables. A large array of multi-axis accelerometers is utilized to evaluate the modal properties of the system as well as individual members and would enable long-term structural condition monitoring of the wind turbine as well. Additionally, environmental parameters, including wind speed, temperature, and humidity, are wirelessly collected for correlation. Such a wireless system could be integrated with electrical monitoring sensors and actuators and incorporated into a remote multi-turbine centralized plant monitoring and control system.

The use of UNIX in a real-time environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luken, R. D.; Simons, P. C.

1986-01-01

This paper describes a project to evaluate the feasibility of using commercial off-the-shelf hardware and the UNIX operating system, to implement a real-time control and monitor system. A functional subset of the Checkout, Control and Monitor System was chosen as the test bed for the project. The project consists of three separate architecture implementations: a local area bus network, a star network, and a central host. The motivation for this project stemmed from the need to find a way to implement real-time systems, without the cost burden of developing and maintaining custom hardware and unique software. This has always been accepted as the only option because of the need to optimize the implementation for performance. However, with the cost/performance of today's hardware, the inefficiencies of high-level languages and portable operating systems can be effectively overcome.

Wireless Vital Sign Monitoring in Pregnant Women: A Functionality and Acceptability Study.

PubMed

Boatin, Adeline Adwoa; Wylie, Blair Johnson; Goldfarb, Ilona; Azevedo, Robin; Pittel, Elena; Ng, Courtney; Haberer, Jessica Elizabeth

2016-07-01

To test the functionality and acceptability of a wireless vital sign monitor in an inpatient obstetric unit. Pregnant women at a U.S. tertiary-care hospital wore a wireless vital sign sensor that captures heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature. Measurements were compared with vital signs obtained by standard devices. We defined continuous capture of vital signs for 30 min with wireless data transfer to a central monitor as functional success. Acceptability was assessed per the pregnant women and nurses observing the device. Bland-Altman plots were constructed to assess agreement between the wireless sensor and standard measurements. Thirty of 32 enrolled pregnant women had successful monitoring; 2 cases were stopped early for non-study-related reasons. Comparing wireless sensor and standard measurements, the mean difference (limits of agreement) values at the 25th and 75th percentiles were 1.6 (±13.2) and 4.2 (±18.6) heartbeats/min, 4.2 (±6.1) and 0.7 (±5.4) respirations/min, and 0.02°C (±1.5) and 0.5°C (±1.8), respectively. Most pregnant women found the device comfortable, likeable, and useful (78%, 81%, and 97%, respectively); 80% of nurses found the monitor easy to use, and 84% would recommend it to a patient. We successfully obtained maternal vital signs using a simple wireless monitor with high acceptability. Well-validated monitors of this nature could significantly alleviate the human resource burden of monitoring during labor and confer greatly desired mobility to laboring pregnant women, although incorporation of blood pressure monitoring will be critical.

Monitoring and control requirement definition study for Dispersed Storage and Generation (DSG). Volume 5, appendix D: Cost-benefit considerations for providing dispersed storage and generation for electric utilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

Cost benefit considerations are extremely important in obtaining the acceptance of dispersed storage and generation (DSG) by the electric utilities. These considerations involved somewhat different economic analyses depending on whether the generation is utility, customer, or combined ownership. It is necessary to get acceptance of more easily understood methods for evaluating the economics of DSG because much of the benefits of DSG may accrue in the generation and transmission portions of the utility system while the costs tend to be centered in the distribution portion of that system. The influence of factors, such as reliability, capital costs, and other economic measures were also investigated.

Developmental monitoring using caregiver reports in a resource-limited setting: the case of Kilifi, Kenya

PubMed Central

Abubakar, A; Holding, P; Van de Vijver, F; Bomu, G; Van Baar, A

2010-01-01

Aim: The main aim of the current study was to evaluate the reliability, validity and acceptability of developmental monitoring using caregiver reports among mothers in a rural African setting. Methods: A structured interview for parents of children aged 24 months and less was developed through both participant consultation and a review of literature. The reliability and validity of the schedule was evaluated through a 10-month monitoring programme of 95 children, aged 2–10 months. The acceptability of the process was evaluated by studying retention rates and by organizing focus group discussions with participating mothers. Results: The structured interview ‘Developmental Milestones Checklist’ consisted of 66 items covering three broad domains of child functioning: motor, language and personal–social development. The interview yielded scores of developmental achievements that showed high internal consistency and excellent test–retest reliability. The results were sensitive to maturational changes and nutritional deficiencies. In addition, acceptable retention rates of approximately 80% were found. Participating mothers reported that they found the procedures both acceptable and beneficial. Conclusion: Developmental monitoring using caregiver report is a viable method to identify and monitor at-risk children in Sub-Saharan Africa. PMID:20353499

Lithium-ion battery diagnostic and prognostic techniques

DOEpatents

Singh, Harmohan N.

2009-11-03

Embodiments provide a method and a system for determining cell imbalance condition of a multi-cell battery including a plurality of cell strings. To determine a cell imbalance condition, a charge current is applied to the battery and is monitored during charging. The charging time for each cell string is determined based on the monitor of the charge current. A charge time difference of any two cell strings in the battery is used to determine the cell imbalance condition by comparing with a predetermined acceptable charge time difference for the cell strings.

Essential tremor quantification based on the combined use of a smartphone and a smartwatch: The NetMD study.

PubMed

López-Blanco, Roberto; Velasco, Miguel A; Méndez-Guerrero, Antonio; Romero, Juan Pablo; Del Castillo, María Dolores; Serrano, J Ignacio; Benito-León, Julián; Bermejo-Pareja, Félix; Rocon, Eduardo

2018-06-01

The use of wearable technology is an emerging field of research in movement disorders. This paper introduces a clinical study to evaluate the feasibility, clinical correlation and reliability of using a system based in smartwatches to quantify tremor in essential tremor (ET) patients and check its acceptance as clinical monitoring tool. The system is based on a commercial smartwatch and an Android smartphone. An investigational Android application controls the process of recording raw data from the smartwatch three-dimensional gyroscopes. Thirty-four ET patients were consecutively enrolled in the experiments and assessed along one year. Arm tremor was videofilmed and scored using the Fahn-Tolosa-Marin Tremor Rating Scale (FTM-TRS). Tremor intensity was quantified with the root mean square of angular velocity measured in the patients' wrists. Eighty-two assessments with smartwatches were performed. Spearman's correlation coefficients (ρ) between clinical tremor (FTM-TRS) scores and smartwatch measures for tremor intensity were 0.590 at rest; ρ = 0.738 in steady posture; ρ = 0.189 in finger-to-nose maneuvers; and ρ = 0.652 in pouring water task. Smartwatch reliability was checked by intraclass realiability coefficients: 0.85, 0.95, 0.91, 0.95 respectively. Most of patients showed good acceptance of the system. This commodity hardware contributes to quantify tremor objectively in a consulting-room by customized Android smart devices as clinical monitoring tool. The NetMD system for tremor analysis is feasible, well-correlated with clinical scores, reliable and well-accepted by patients to tremor follow-up. Therefore, it could be an option to objectively quantify tremor in ET patients during their regular follow-up. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Predictive Monitoring for Improved Management of Glucose Levels

PubMed Central

Reifman, Jaques; Rajaraman, Srinivasan; Gribok, Andrei; Ward, W. Kenneth

2007-01-01

Background Recent developments and expected near-future improvements in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices provide opportunities to couple them with mathematical forecasting models to produce predictive monitoring systems for early, proactive glycemia management of diabetes mellitus patients before glucose levels drift to undesirable levels. This article assesses the feasibility of data-driven models to serve as the forecasting engine of predictive monitoring systems. Methods We investigated the capabilities of data-driven autoregressive (AR) models to (1) capture the correlations in glucose time-series data, (2) make accurate predictions as a function of prediction horizon, and (3) be made portable from individual to individual without any need for model tuning. The investigation is performed by employing CGM data from nine type 1 diabetic subjects collected over a continuous 5-day period. Results With CGM data serving as the gold standard, AR model-based predictions of glucose levels assessed over nine subjects with Clarke error grid analysis indicated that, for a 30-minute prediction horizon, individually tuned models yield 97.6 to 100.0% of data in the clinically acceptable zones A and B, whereas cross-subject, portable models yield 95.8 to 99.7% of data in zones A and B. Conclusions This study shows that, for a 30-minute prediction horizon, data-driven AR models provide sufficiently-accurate and clinically-acceptable estimates of glucose levels for timely, proactive therapy and should be considered as the modeling engine for predictive monitoring of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. It also suggests that AR models can be made portable from individual to individual with minor performance penalties, while greatly reducing the burden associated with model tuning and data collection for model development. PMID:19885110

Automated ground-water monitoring with Robowell: case studies and potential applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Granato, Gregory E.; Smith, Kirk P.

2002-02-01

Robowell is an automated system and method for monitoring ground-water quality. Robowell meets accepted manual- sampling protocols without high labor and laboratory costs. Robowell periodically monitors and records water-quality properties and constituents in ground water by pumping a well or multilevel sampler until one or more purge criteria have been met. A record of frequent water-quality measurements from a monitoring site can indicate changes in ground-water quality and can provide a context for the interpretation of laboratory data from discrete samples. Robowell also can communicate data and system performance through a remote communication link. Remote access to ground-water data enables the user to monitor conditions and optimize manual sampling efforts. Six Robowell prototypes have successfully monitored ground-water quality during all four seasons of the year under different hydrogeologic conditions, well designs, and geochemical environments. The U.S. Geological Survey is seeking partners for research with robust and economical water-quality monitoring instruments designed to measure contaminants of concern in conjunction with the application and commercialization of the Robowell technology. Project publications and information about technology transfer opportunities are available on the Internet at URL http://ma.water.usgs.gov/automon/

Automated ground-water monitoring with robowell-Case studies and potential applications

USGS Publications Warehouse

Granato, G.E.; Smith, K.P.; ,

2001-01-01

Robowell is an automated system and method for monitoring ground-water quality. Robowell meets accepted manual-sampling protocols without high labor and laboratory costs. Robowell periodically monitors and records water-quality properties and constituents in ground water by pumping a well or multilevel sampler until one or more purge criteria have been met. A record of frequent water-quality measurements from a monitoring site can indicate changes in ground-water quality and can provide a context for the interpretation of laboratory data from discrete samples. Robowell also can communicate data and system performance through a remote communication link. Remote access to ground-water data enables the user to monitor conditions and optimize manual sampling efforts. Six Robowell prototypes have successfully monitored ground-water quality during all four seasons of the year under different hydrogeologic conditions, well designs, and geochemical environments. The U.S. Geological Survey is seeking partners for research with robust and economical water-quality monitoring instruments designed to measure contaminants of concern in conjunction with the application and commercialization of the Robowell technology. Project publications and information about technology transfer opportunities are available on the Internet at URL http://ma.water.usgs.gov/automon/.

Nonhazardous Chemical Treatments and Smart Monitoring and Control System for Heating and Cooling Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

box with the dip slides provides application instructions and illustrates acceptable bacteria levels. Both dip slide and Biotrace ATP Luminometer...Control Good Control Poor Control Biotrace ATP Planktonic 100 to 300 RLU 300 to 1000 RLU >1000 RLU Dip Tube Anaerobic Bacteria 0 organism/mL ɝ...completed monthly to record biocide levels and bacteria tests. Another biocide test method, the Biotrace ATP Luminometer, measures planktonic

Solar Heating and Cooling Experiment for a School in Atlanta. Performance Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westinghouse Electric Corp., Falls Church, VA.

This report documents the performance and conclusions of a 13-month period of monitoring the performance of the experimental solar heating and cooling system installed in the George A. Towns Elementary School, Atlanta, Georgia. The objectives of the project were to (1) make a significant contribution to solar design, technology, and acceptability;…

Rapid Analysis, Self-Calibrating Array for Air Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Homer, Margie L.; Shevade, Abhijit V.; Lara, Liana; Huerta, Ramon; Vergara, Alexander; Muezzinoglua, Mehmet K.

2012-01-01

Human space missions have critical needs for monitoring and control for life support systems. These systems have monitoring needs that include feedback for closed loop processes and quality control for environmental factors. Sensors and monitoring technologies assure that the air environment and water supply for the astronaut crew habitat fall within acceptable limits, and that the life support system is functioning properly and efficiently. The longer the flight duration and the more distant the destination, the more critical it becomes to have carefully monitored and automated control systems for life support. Past experiments with the JPL ENose have demonstrated a lifetime of the sensor array, with the software, of around 18 months. The lifetime of the calibration, for some analytes, was as long as 24 months. We are working on a sensor array and new algorithms that will include sensor response time in the analysis. The preliminary array analysis for two analytes shows that the analysis time, of an event, can be dropped from 45 minutes to less than10 minutes and array training time can be cut substantially. We will describe the lifetime testing of an array and show lifetime data on individual sensors. This progress will lead to more rapid identification of analytes, and faster training time of the array.

Technical Note: A respiratory monitoring and processing system based on computer vision: prototype and proof of principle

PubMed Central

Atallah, Vincent; Escarmant, Patrick; Vinh‐Hung, Vincent

2016-01-01

Monitoring and controlling respiratory motion is a challenge for the accuracy and safety of therapeutic irradiation of thoracic tumors. Various commercial systems based on the monitoring of internal or external surrogates have been developed but remain costly. In this article we describe and validate Madibreast, an in‐house‐made respiratory monitoring and processing device based on optical tracking of external markers. We designed an optical apparatus to ensure real‐time submillimetric image resolution at 4 m. Using OpenCv libraries, we optically tracked high‐contrast markers set on patients' breasts. Validation of spatial and time accuracy was performed on a mechanical phantom and on human breast. Madibreast was able to track motion of markers up to a 5 cm/s speed, at a frame rate of 30 fps, with submillimetric accuracy on mechanical phantom and human breasts. Latency was below 100 ms. Concomitant monitoring of three different locations on the breast showed discrepancies in axial motion up to 4 mm for deep‐breathing patterns. This low‐cost, computer‐vision system for real‐time motion monitoring of the irradiation of breast cancer patients showed submillimetric accuracy and acceptable latency. It allowed the authors to highlight differences in surface motion that may be correlated to tumor motion. PACS number(s): 87.55.km PMID:27685116

Technical Note: A respiratory monitoring and processing system based on computer vision: prototype and proof of principle.

PubMed

Leduc, Nicolas; Atallah, Vincent; Escarmant, Patrick; Vinh-Hung, Vincent

2016-09-08

Monitoring and controlling respiratory motion is a challenge for the accuracy and safety of therapeutic irradiation of thoracic tumors. Various commercial systems based on the monitoring of internal or external surrogates have been developed but remain costly. In this article we describe and validate Madibreast, an in-house-made respiratory monitoring and processing device based on optical tracking of external markers. We designed an optical apparatus to ensure real-time submillimetric image resolution at 4 m. Using OpenCv libraries, we optically tracked high-contrast markers set on patients' breasts. Validation of spatial and time accuracy was performed on a mechanical phantom and on human breast. Madibreast was able to track motion of markers up to a 5 cm/s speed, at a frame rate of 30 fps, with submillimetric accuracy on mechanical phantom and human breasts. Latency was below 100 ms. Concomitant monitoring of three different locations on the breast showed discrepancies in axial motion up to 4 mm for deep-breathing patterns. This low-cost, computer-vision system for real-time motion monitoring of the irradiation of breast cancer patients showed submillimetric accuracy and acceptable latency. It allowed the authors to highlight differences in surface motion that may be correlated to tumor motion.v. © 2016 The Authors.

Development and implementation of a human accuracy program in patient foodservice.

PubMed

Eden, S H; Wood, S M; Ptak, K M

1987-04-01

For many years, industry has utilized the concept of human error rates to monitor and minimize human errors in the production process. A consistent quality-controlled product increases consumer satisfaction and repeat purchase of product. Administrative dietitians have applied the concepts of using human error rates (the number of errors divided by the number of opportunities for error) at four hospitals, with a total bed capacity of 788, within a tertiary-care medical center. Human error rate was used to monitor and evaluate trayline employee performance and to evaluate layout and tasks of trayline stations, in addition to evaluating employees in patient service areas. Long-term employees initially opposed the error rate system with some hostility and resentment, while newer employees accepted the system. All employees now believe that the constant feedback given by supervisors enhances their self-esteem and productivity. Employee error rates are monitored daily and are used to counsel employees when necessary; they are also utilized during annual performance evaluation. Average daily error rates for a facility staffed by new employees decreased from 7% to an acceptable 3%. In a facility staffed by long-term employees, the error rate increased, reflecting improper error documentation. Patient satisfaction surveys reveal satisfaction, for tray accuracy increased from 88% to 92% in the facility staffed by long-term employees and has remained above the 90% standard in the facility staffed by new employees.

Real-Time Payload Control and Monitoring on the World Wide Web

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sun, Charles; Windrem, May; Givens, John J. (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

World Wide Web (W3) technologies such as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and the Java object-oriented programming environment offer a powerful, yet relatively inexpensive, framework for distributed application software development. This paper describes the design of a real-time payload control and monitoring system that was developed with W3 technologies at NASA Ames Research Center. Based on Java Development Toolkit (JDK) 1.1, the system uses an event-driven "publish and subscribe" approach to inter-process communication and graphical user-interface construction. A C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) compatible inference engine provides the back-end intelligent data processing capability, while Oracle Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) provides the data management function. Preliminary evaluation shows acceptable performance for some classes of payloads, with Java's portability and multimedia support identified as the most significant benefit.

Feasibility and acceptance of a pharmacist-run tele-oncology service for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in ambulatory cancer patients.

PubMed

Yap, Kevin Y-L; Low, Hui X; Koh, Ken S; Un, Matthew; Shih, Vivianne; Chan, Alexandre

2013-05-01

The use of telemedicine for cancer patients is limited, particularly in Asia. These patients need to be monitored because more are being treated as outpatients, so that any treatment-related side effects can be managed. We assessed the feasibility and acceptance of a pharmacist-run tele-oncology service to monitor chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in ambulatory cancer patients. A single-center, prospective study was conducted at a local cancer center. Patients' CINV symptoms were monitored through short message service (SMS) for 5 days post-chemotherapy. Feasibility was measured by patients' adherence to the service, patient satisfaction, and number of pharmacist interventions. Acceptance was measured by the accrual rate. The accrual rate was 37.6% (68/181 patients). Sixty patients (median age, 49.5 years) completed the study. Overall adherence was 73.3%. The majority (90.0%) were comfortable with the duration of SMS monitoring, especially adherent patients (95.5% versus 75.0%, p=0.038). Over half (61.7%) found the SMS advice useful. Twenty-two intervention calls were made by pharmacists for uncontrolled CINV. A pharmacist-run tele-oncology service for real-time monitoring of CINV is feasible in ambulatory cancer patients. Incorporating the monitoring of other side effects will enhance its value and acceptance by patients for post-chemotherapy symptom management.

Microelectrode-based technology for the detection of low levels of bacteria

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, Tom D.; Hitchens, G. D.; Mishra, S. K.; Pierson, D. L.

1992-01-01

A microelectrode-based electrochemical detection method was used for quantitation of bacteria in water samples. The redox mediator, benzoquinone, was used to accept electrons from the bacterial metabolic pathway to create a flow of electrons by reducing the mediator. Electrochemical monitoring electrodes detected the reduced mediator as it diffused out of the cells and produced a small electrical current. By using a combination of microelectrodes and monitoring instrumentation, the cumulative current generated by a particular bacterial population could be monitored. Using commercially available components, an electrochemical detection system was assembled and tested to evaluate its potential as an emerging technology for rapid detection and quantitation of bacteria in water samples.

Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Detection in Low-Income, High-Rise Apartments Using Four or Fewer Passive Monitors.

PubMed

Vail, K M; Chandler, J G

2017-06-01

Bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., management in low-income, high-rise housing for the elderly and disabled can be difficult. Early detection is key to slowing their spread, and reducing management cost and time needed for control. To determine the minimum number of passive monitors needed to detect low-level bed bug infestations in this environment, we evaluated three monitors placed one, two, or four per apartment in a 3 by 3 experimental design. One sticky monitor, The Bedbug Detection System, and the two pitfall monitors, ClimbUp Insect Interceptors BG and BlackOut BedBug Detectors, were evaluated. Bed bugs were trapped by the ClimbUp Insect Interceptors BG and the BlackOut BedBug Detector in 88% and 79% of apartments, respectively, but only in 39% of the apartments monitored with The Bedbug Detection System. The Bedbug Detection System required significantly longer time to detect bed bugs than either the ClimbUp Insect Interceptor BG or the BlackOut BedBug Detector. With the less effective Bedbug Detection System data removed from analyses, detection rates ranged from 80 to 90%, with no significant differences among one, two, or four monitors per apartment. Results indicate it is especially important to include a bed placement when only placing a few monitors. Future work should compare the combination of cursory visual inspections with various monitor numbers and placements per apartment to determine the most efficient, cost-effective system that will be accepted and implemented in low-income housing. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The SysMan monitoring service and its management environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Debski, Andrzej; Janas, Ekkehard

1996-06-01

Management of modern information systems is becoming more and more complex. There is a growing need for powerful, flexible and affordable management tools to assist system managers in maintaining such systems. It is at the same time evident that effective management should integrate network management, system management and application management in a uniform way. Object oriented OSI management architecture with its four basic modelling concepts (information, organization, communication and functional models) together with widely accepted distribution platforms such as ANSA/CORBA, constitutes a reliable and modern framework for the implementation of a management toolset. This paper focuses on the presentation of concepts and implementation results of an object oriented management toolset developed and implemented within the framework of the ESPRIT project 7026 SysMan. An overview is given of the implemented SysMan management services including the System Management Service, Monitoring Service, Network Management Service, Knowledge Service, Domain and Policy Service, and the User Interface. Special attention is paid to the Monitoring Service which incorporates the architectural key entity responsible for event management. Its architecture and building components, especially filters, are emphasized and presented in detail.

A real-time data-acquisition and analysis system with distributed UNIX workstations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamashita, H.; Miyamoto, K.; Maruyama, K.; Hirosawa, H.; Nakayoshi, K.; Emura, T.; Sumi, Y.

1996-02-01

A compact data-acquisition system using three RISC/UNIX™ workstations (SUN™/SPARCstation™) with real-time capabilities of monitoring and analysis has been developed for the study of photonuclear reactions with the large-acceptance spectrometer TAGX. One workstation acquires data from memory modules in the front-end electronics (CAMAC and TKO) with a maximum speed of 300 Kbytes/s, where data size times instantaneous rate is 1 Kbyte × 300 Hz. Another workstation, which has real-time capability for run monitoring, gets the data with a buffer manager called NOVA. The third workstation analyzes the data and reconstructs the event. In addition to a general hardware and software description, priority settings and run control by shell scripts are described. This system has recently been used successfully in a two month long experiment.

Web-based biobank system infrastructure monitoring using Python, Perl, and PHP.

PubMed

Norling, Martin; Kihara, Absolomon; Kemp, Steve

2013-12-01

The establishment and maintenance of biobanks is only as worthwhile as the security and logging of the biobank contents. We have designed a monitoring system that continuously measures temperature and gas content, records the movement of samples in and out of the biobank, and also records the opening and closing of the freezers-storing the results and images in a database. We have also incorporated an early warning feature that sends out alerts, via SMS and email, to responsible persons if any measurement is recorded outside the acceptable limits, guaranteeing the integrity of biobanked samples, as well as reagents used in sample analysis. A surveillance system like this increases the value for any biobank as the initial investment is small and the value of having trustworthy samples for future research is high.

A real-time navigation monitoring expert system for the Space Shuttle Mission Control Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Lui; Fletcher, Malise

1993-01-01

The ONAV (Onboard Navigation) Expert System has been developed as a real time console assistant for use by ONAV flight controllers in the Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center. This expert knowledge based system is used to monitor the Space Shuttle onboard navigation system, detect faults, and advise flight operations personnel. This application is the first knowledge-based system to use both telemetry and trajectory data from the Mission Operations Computer (MOC). To arrive at this stage, from a prototype to real world application, the ONAV project has had to deal with not only AI issues but operating environment issues. The AI issues included the maturity of AI languages and the debugging tools, verification, and availability, stability and size of the expert pool. The environmental issues included real time data acquisition, hardware suitability, and how to achieve acceptance by users and management.

Faster Array Training and Rapid Analysis for a Sensor Array Intended for an Event Monitor in Air

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Homer, Margie L.; Shevade, A. V.; Fonollosa, J.; Huerta, R.

2013-01-01

Environmental monitoring, in particular, air monitoring, is a critical need for human space flight. Both monitoring and life support systems have needs for closed loop process feedback and quality control for environmental factors. Monitoring protects the air environment and water supply for the astronaut crew and different sensors help ensure that the habitat falls within acceptable limits, and that the life support system is functioning properly and efficiently. The longer the flight duration and the farther the destination, the more critical it becomes to have carefully monitored and automated control systems for life support. There is an acknowledged need for an event monitor which samples the air continuously and provides near real-time information on changes in the air. Past experiments with the JPL ENose have demonstrated a lifetime of the sensor array, with the software, of around 18 months. We are working on a sensor array and new algorithms that will incorporate transient sensor responses in the analysis. Preliminary work has already showed more rapid quantification and identification of analytes and the potential for faster training time of the array. We will look at some of the factors that contribute to demonstrating faster training time for the array. Faster training will decrease the integrated sensor exposure to training analytes, which will also help extend sensor lifetime.

Bed occupancy monitoring: data processing and clinician user interface design.

PubMed

Pouliot, Melanie; Joshi, Vilas; Goubran, Rafik; Knoefel, Frank

2012-01-01

Unobtrusive and continuous monitoring of patients, especially at their place of residence, is becoming a significant part of the healthcare model. A variety of sensors are being used to monitor different patient conditions. Bed occupancy monitoring provides clinicians a quantitative measure of bed entry/exit patterns and may provide information relating to sleep quality. This paper presents a bed occupancy monitoring system using a bed pressure mat sensor. A clinical trial was performed involving 8 patients to collect bed occupancy data. The trial period for each patient ranged from 5-10 weeks. This data was analyzed using a participatory design methodology incorporating clinician feedback to obtain bed occupancy parameters. The parameters extracted include the number of bed exits per night, the bed exit weekly average (including minimum and maximum), the time of day of a particular exit, and the amount of uninterrupted bed occupancy per night. The design of a clinical user interface plays a significant role in the acceptance of such patient monitoring systems by clinicians. The clinician user interface proposed in this paper was designed to be intuitive, easy to navigate and not cause information overload. An iterative design methodology was used for the interface design. The interface design is extendible to incorporate data from multiple sensors. This allows the interface to be part of a comprehensive remote patient monitoring system.

Cloud-Based Smart Health Monitoring System for Automatic Cardiovascular and Fall Risk Assessment in Hypertensive Patients.

PubMed

Melillo, P; Orrico, A; Scala, P; Crispino, F; Pecchia, L

2015-10-01

The aim of this paper is to describe the design and the preliminary validation of a platform developed to collect and automatically analyze biomedical signals for risk assessment of vascular events and falls in hypertensive patients. This m-health platform, based on cloud computing, was designed to be flexible, extensible, and transparent, and to provide proactive remote monitoring via data-mining functionalities. A retrospective study was conducted to train and test the platform. The developed system was able to predict a future vascular event within the next 12 months with an accuracy rate of 84 % and to identify fallers with an accuracy rate of 72 %. In an ongoing prospective trial, almost all the recruited patients accepted favorably the system with a limited rate of inadherences causing data losses (<20 %). The developed platform supported clinical decision by processing tele-monitored data and providing quick and accurate risk assessment of vascular events and falls.

Baby-Crying Acceptance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martins, Tiago; de Magalhães, Sérgio Tenreiro

The baby's crying is his most important mean of communication. The crying monitoring performed by devices that have been developed doesn't ensure the complete safety of the child. It is necessary to join, to these technological resources, means of communicating the results to the responsible, which would involve the digital processing of information available from crying. The survey carried out, enabled to understand the level of adoption, in the continental territory of Portugal, of a technology that will be able to do such a digital processing. It was used the TAM as the theoretical referential. The statistical analysis showed that there is a good probability of acceptance of such a system.

Lessons from UNSCOM and IAEA regarding remote monitoring and air sampling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dupree, S.A.

1996-01-01

In 1991, at the direction of the United Nations Security Council, UNSCOM and IAEA developed plans for On-going Monitoring and Verification (OMV) in Iraq. The plans were accepted by the Security Council and remote monitoring and atmospheric sampling equipment has been installed at selected sites in Iraq. The remote monitoring equipment consists of video cameras and sensors positioned to observe equipment or activities at sites that could be used to support the development or manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, or long-range missiles. The atmospheric sampling equipment provides unattended collection of chemical samples from sites that could be used tomore » support the development or manufacture of chemical weapon agents. To support OMV in Iraq, UNSCOM has established the Baghdad Monitoring and Verification Centre. Imagery from the remote monitoring cameras can be accessed in near-real time from the Centre through RIF communication links with the monitored sites. The OMV program in Iraq has implications for international cooperative monitoring in both global and regional contexts. However, monitoring systems such as those used in Iraq are not sufficient, in and of themselves, to guarantee the absence of prohibited activities. Such systems cannot replace on-site inspections by competent, trained inspectors. However, monitoring similar to that used in Iraq can contribute to openness and confidence building, to the development of mutual trust, and to the improvement of regional stability.« less

Implementation of Out-of-Office Blood Pressure Monitoring in the Netherlands: From Clinical Guidelines to Patients' Adoption of Innovation.

PubMed

Carrera, Pricivel M; Lambooij, Mattijs S

2015-10-01

Out-of-office blood pressure monitoring is promoted by various clinical guidelines toward properly diagnosing and effectively managing hypertension and engaging the patient in their care process. In the Netherlands, however, the Dutch cardiovascular risk management (CVRM) guidelines do not explicitly prescribe 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurement (ABPM) and home BP measurement (HBPM). The aim of this descriptive study was to develop an understanding of patients' and physicians' acceptance and use of out-of-office BP monitoring in the Netherlands given the CVRM recommendations.Three small focus group discussions (FGDs) with patients and 1 FGD with physicians were conducted to explore the mechanisms behind the acceptance and use of out-of-office BP monitoring and reveal real-world challenges that limit the implementation of out-of-office BP monitoring methods. To facilitate the FGDs, an analytical framework based on the technology acceptance model (TAM), the theory of planned behavior and the model of personal computing utilization was developed to guide the FGDs and analysis of the transcriptions of each FGD.ABPM was the out-of-office BP monitoring method prescribed by physicians and used by patients. HBPM was not offered to patients even with patients' feedback of poor tolerance of ABPM. Even as there was little awareness about HBPM among patients, there were a few patients who owned and used sphygmomanometers. Patients professed and seemed to exhibit self-efficacy, whereas physicians had reservations about (all of their) patients' self-efficacy in properly using ABPM. Since negative experience with ABPM impacted patients' acceptance of ABPM, the interaction of factors that determined acceptance and use was found to be dynamic among patients but not for physicians.In reference to the CVRM guidelines, physicians implemented out-of-office BP monitoring but showed a strong preference for ABPM even where there is poor tolerance of the method. We found that physicians' positive attitude to ABPM enabled the use of the method by patients which, in turn, impeded the diffusion of HBPM. For patients, the acceptance process of HBPM can only begin after the physician has adopted the innovation. Physicians are in a position to encourage as well as hinder out-of-office BP monitoring and self-management.

Printable thermoelectric devices and conductive patterns for medical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jungmin; Kim, Hyunjung; Chen, Linfeng; Choi, Sang H.; Varadan, Vijay K.

2012-10-01

Remote point-of-care is expected to revolutionize the modern medical practice, and many efforts have been made for the development of wireless health monitoring systems for continuously detecting the physiological signals of patients. To make the remote point-of-care generally accepted and widely used, it is necessary to develop cost-effective and durable wireless health monitoring systems. Printing technique will be helpful for the fabrication of high-quality and low-cost medical devices and systems because it allows high-resolution and high-speed fabrication, low material consumption and nano-sized patterning on both flexible and rigid substrates. Furthermore, application of thermoelectric generators can replace conventional batteries as the power sources for wireless health monitoring systems because thermoelectric generators can convert the wasted heat or the heat from nature into electricity which is required for the operation of the wireless health monitoring systems. In this research, we propose the concept of printable thermoelectric devices and conductive patterns for the realization of more portable and cost-effective medical devices. To print thermoelectric generators and conductive patterns on substrates, printing inks with special characteristics should be developed. For the development of thermoelectric inks, nano-structured thermoelectric materials are synthesized and characterized; and for the development of conductive inks, two kinds of surface treated carbon nanotubes are used as active materials.

Design of a Gaze-Sensitive Virtual Social Interactive System for Children With Autism

PubMed Central

Lahiri, Uttama; Warren, Zachary; Sarkar, Nilanjan

2013-01-01

Impairments in social communication skills are thought to be core deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In recent years, several assistive technologies, particularly Virtual Reality (VR), have been investigated to promote social interactions in this population. It is well known that children with ASD demonstrate atypical viewing patterns during social interactions and thus monitoring eye-gaze can be valuable to design intervention strategies. While several studies have used eye-tracking technology to monitor eye-gaze for offline analysis, there exists no real-time system that can monitor eye-gaze dynamically and provide individualized feedback. Given the promise of VR-based social interaction and the usefulness of monitoring eye-gaze in real-time, a novel VR-based dynamic eye-tracking system is developed in this work. This system, called Virtual Interactive system with Gaze-sensitive Adaptive Response Technology (VIGART), is capable of delivering individualized feedback based on a child’s dynamic gaze patterns during VR-based interaction. Results from a usability study with six adolescents with ASD are presented that examines the acceptability and usefulness of VIGART. The results in terms of improvement in behavioral viewing and changes in relevant eye physiological indexes of participants while interacting with VIGART indicate the potential of this novel technology. PMID:21609889

Design of a gaze-sensitive virtual social interactive system for children with autism.

PubMed

Lahiri, Uttama; Warren, Zachary; Sarkar, Nilanjan

2011-08-01

Impairments in social communication skills are thought to be core deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In recent years, several assistive technologies, particularly Virtual Reality (VR), have been investigated to promote social interactions in this population. It is well known that children with ASD demonstrate atypical viewing patterns during social interactions and thus monitoring eye-gaze can be valuable to design intervention strategies. While several studies have used eye-tracking technology to monitor eye-gaze for offline analysis, there exists no real-time system that can monitor eye-gaze dynamically and provide individualized feedback. Given the promise of VR-based social interaction and the usefulness of monitoring eye-gaze in real-time, a novel VR-based dynamic eye-tracking system is developed in this work. This system, called Virtual Interactive system with Gaze-sensitive Adaptive Response Technology (VIGART), is capable of delivering individualized feedback based on a child's dynamic gaze patterns during VR-based interaction. Results from a usability study with six adolescents with ASD are presented that examines the acceptability and usefulness of VIGART. The results in terms of improvement in behavioral viewing and changes in relevant eye physiological indexes of participants while interacting with VIGART indicate the potential of this novel technology. © 2011 IEEE

76 FR 17474 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Comments on a New Information Collection...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-29

... acceptance of an on-board monitoring system (OBMS), as a part of a Field Operational Test (FOT) study. DATES... Response: 20 minutes for the pre-study questionnaire, 15 minutes for during- and post-study questionnaires... submission must include the Agency name and the docket number for this Notice. Note that DOT posts all...

A plea for the development of an universally accepted modular tooth wear evaluation system.

PubMed

Wetselaar, P; Faris, A; Lobbezoo, F

2016-11-03

Tooth wear is considered an increasing oral health problem. Due to its multifactorial nature, recognizing and diagnosing of tooth wear is difficult but nevertheless important. Over the years, a wide variety of evaluation systems has been developed, yet none of them is universally accepted. This has implications for both research and clinical practice. This paper describes an in-depth analysis of four commonly used tooth wear evaluation systems, namely, the Eccles index, the Tooth Wear Index, the Lussi index, and the Basic Erosive Wear Examination. Comparing those systems revealed that despite several similarities, they differ considerably from each other. Notably, all four systems have their specific advantages and disadvantages. However, neither one of them meets all necessary characteristics of a hypothetical, broadly applicable tooth wear evaluation system. In fact, it is not realistic that a single system qualifies for all purposes (for example, diagnosing or monitoring individual patients, performing epidemiological studies, etc.). As a potentially feasible solution for this issue, the development of an evaluation system is recommended that consists of multiple, coherent modules, which cover different purposes.

Engine spectrometer probe and method of use

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barkhoudarian, Sarkis (Inventor); Kittinger, Scott A. (Inventor)

2006-01-01

The engine spectrometer probe and method of using the same of the present invention provides a simple engine spectrometer probe which is both lightweight and rugged, allowing an exhaust plume monitoring system to be attached to a vehicle, such as the space shuttle. The engine spectrometer probe can be mounted to limit exposure to the heat and debris of the exhaust plume. The spectrometer probe 50 comprises a housing 52 having an aperture 55 and a fiber optic cable 60 having a fiber optic tip 65. The fiber optic tip 65 has an acceptance angle 87 and is coupled to the aperture 55 so that the acceptance angle 87 intersects the exhaust plume 30. The spectrometer probe can generate a spectrum signal from light in the acceptance angle 506 and the spectrum signal can be provided to a spectrometer 508.

Preferred and Minimum Acceptable Listening Levels for Musicians while Using Floor and In-Ear Monitors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Federman, Jeremy; Ricketts, Todd

2008-01-01

Purpose: This study examined the impact that changing on-stage music and crowd noise levels during musical performance had on preferred listening levels (PLLs) and minimum acceptable listening levels (MALLs) across both floor and in-ear monitors. Method: Participants for this study were 23- to 48-year-old musicians, with and without hearing loss,…

DualTrust: A Distributed Trust Model for Swarm-Based Autonomic Computing Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maiden, Wendy M.; Dionysiou, Ioanna; Frincke, Deborah A.

2011-02-01

For autonomic computing systems that utilize mobile agents and ant colony algorithms for their sensor layer, trust management is important for the acceptance of the mobile agent sensors and to protect the system from malicious behavior by insiders and entities that have penetrated network defenses. This paper examines the trust relationships, evidence, and decisions in a representative system and finds that by monitoring the trustworthiness of the autonomic managers rather than the swarming sensors, the trust management problem becomes much more scalable and still serves to protect the swarm. We then propose the DualTrust conceptual trust model. By addressing themore » autonomic manager’s bi-directional primary relationships in the ACS architecture, DualTrust is able to monitor the trustworthiness of the autonomic managers, protect the sensor swarm in a scalable manner, and provide global trust awareness for the orchestrating autonomic manager.« less

Advanced visualization platform for surgical operating room coordination: distributed video board system.

PubMed

Hu, Peter F; Xiao, Yan; Ho, Danny; Mackenzie, Colin F; Hu, Hao; Voigt, Roger; Martz, Douglas

2006-06-01

One of the major challenges for day-of-surgery operating room coordination is accurate and timely situation awareness. Distributed and secure real-time status information is key to addressing these challenges. This article reports on the design and implementation of a passive status monitoring system in a 19-room surgical suite of a major academic medical center. Key design requirements considered included integrated real-time operating room status display, access control, security, and network impact. The system used live operating room video images and patient vital signs obtained through monitors to automatically update events and operating room status. Images were presented on a "need-to-know" basis, and access was controlled by identification badge authorization. The system delivered reliable real-time operating room images and status with acceptable network impact. Operating room status was visualized at 4 separate locations and was used continuously by clinicians and operating room service providers to coordinate operating room activities.

Risk Management Technique for design and operation of facilities and equipment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fedor, O. H.; Parsons, W. N.; Coutinho, J. De S.

1975-01-01

The Risk Management System collects information from engineering, operating, and management personnel to identify potentially hazardous conditions. This information is used in risk analysis, problem resolution, and contingency planning. The resulting hazard accountability system enables management to monitor all identified hazards. Data from this system are examined in project reviews so that management can decide to eliminate or accept these risks. This technique is particularly effective in improving the management of risks in large, complex, high-energy facilities. These improvements are needed for increased cooperation among industry, regulatory agencies, and the public.

Microprocessor-based cardiopulmonary monitoring system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

The system uses a dedicated microprocessor for transducer control and data acquisition and analysis. No data will be stored in this system, but the data will be transmitted to the onboard data system. The data system will require approximately 12 inches of rack space and will consume only 100 watts of power. An experiment specific control panel, through a series of lighted buttons, will guide the operator through the test series providing a smaller margin of error. The experimental validity of the system was verified, and the reproducibility of data and reliability of the system checked. In addition, ease of training, ease of operator interaction, and crew acceptance were evaluated in actual flight conditions.

Student and staff experiences of attendance monitoring in undergraduate obstetrics and gynecology: a cross-sectional survey

PubMed Central

Deane, Richard P; Murphy, Deirdre J

2016-01-01

Background Despite the widespread introduction of active learning strategies to engage students across modern medical curricula, student attendance and attendance monitoring remain a challenging issue for medical educators. In addition, there is little published evidence available to medical educators regarding the use of attendance monitoring systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the opinions of students and staff about the use of a paper-based student logbook to record student attendance across all clinical and classroom-based learning activities within an undergraduate clinical rotation in obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN). Methods Each student undertaking the clinical rotation in OBGYN was required to complete a paper-based logbook in a booklet format that listed every clinical and classroom-based activity that the student was expected to attend. A cross-sectional survey evaluating the acceptability, practicality, and effect on access to learning opportunities of using the logbook was undertaken. The survey was conducted among all medical students who completed their OBGYN rotation over a full academic year and staff who taught on the program. Results The response rate was 87% (n=128/147) among students and 80% (n=8/10) among staff. Monitoring attendance was widely acceptable to students (n=107/128, 84%) and staff (n=8/8, 100%). Most students (n=95/128, 74%) and staff (n=7/8, 88%) recommended that attendance should be mandatory during rotations. Almost all staff felt that attendance should contribute toward academic credit (n=7/8, 88%), but students were divided (n=73/128, 57%). Students (n=94/128, 73%) and staff (n=6/8, 75%) reported that the use of the logbook to record attendance with tutor signatures was a satisfactory system, although students questioned the need for recording attendance at every classroom-based activity. Most students felt that the logbook facilitated access to learning experiences during the rotation (n=90/128, 71%). Staff felt that the process of signing logbooks improved their interaction with students (n=6/8, 75%). Conclusion The survey showed that the use of a paper-based logbook to record medical student attendance with tutor signatures across all clinical and classroom-based learning activities was acceptable and practical for students and staff and was felt to facilitate access to learning opportunities. The study provides medical educators with evidence to support monitoring of attendance within clinical rotations. PMID:27099545

Student and staff experiences of attendance monitoring in undergraduate obstetrics and gynecology: a cross-sectional survey.

PubMed

Deane, Richard P; Murphy, Deirdre J

2016-01-01

Despite the widespread introduction of active learning strategies to engage students across modern medical curricula, student attendance and attendance monitoring remain a challenging issue for medical educators. In addition, there is little published evidence available to medical educators regarding the use of attendance monitoring systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the opinions of students and staff about the use of a paper-based student logbook to record student attendance across all clinical and classroom-based learning activities within an undergraduate clinical rotation in obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN). Each student undertaking the clinical rotation in OBGYN was required to complete a paper-based logbook in a booklet format that listed every clinical and classroom-based activity that the student was expected to attend. A cross-sectional survey evaluating the acceptability, practicality, and effect on access to learning opportunities of using the logbook was undertaken. The survey was conducted among all medical students who completed their OBGYN rotation over a full academic year and staff who taught on the program. The response rate was 87% (n=128/147) among students and 80% (n=8/10) among staff. Monitoring attendance was widely acceptable to students (n=107/128, 84%) and staff (n=8/8, 100%). Most students (n=95/128, 74%) and staff (n=7/8, 88%) recommended that attendance should be mandatory during rotations. Almost all staff felt that attendance should contribute toward academic credit (n=7/8, 88%), but students were divided (n=73/128, 57%). Students (n=94/128, 73%) and staff (n=6/8, 75%) reported that the use of the logbook to record attendance with tutor signatures was a satisfactory system, although students questioned the need for recording attendance at every classroom-based activity. Most students felt that the logbook facilitated access to learning experiences during the rotation (n=90/128, 71%). Staff felt that the process of signing logbooks improved their interaction with students (n=6/8, 75%). The survey showed that the use of a paper-based logbook to record medical student attendance with tutor signatures across all clinical and classroom-based learning activities was acceptable and practical for students and staff and was felt to facilitate access to learning opportunities. The study provides medical educators with evidence to support monitoring of attendance within clinical rotations.

Acceptance by laypersons and medical professionals of the personalized eHealth platform, eHealthMonitor.

PubMed

Griebel, Lena; Kolominsky-Rabas, Peter; Schaller, Sandra; Siudyka, Jakub; Sierpinski, Radoslaw; Papapavlou, Dimitrios; Simeonidou, Aliki; Prokosch, Hans-Ulrich; Sedlmayr, Martin

2017-09-01

Often, eHealth services are not accepted because of factors such as eHealth literacy or trust. Within this study, eHealthMonitor was evaluated in three European countries (Germany, Greece, and Poland) by medical professionals and laypersons with respect to numerous acceptance factors. Questionnaires were created on the basis of factors from literature and with the help of scales which have already been validated. A qualitative survey was conducted in Germany, Poland, and Greece. The eHealth literacy of all participants was medium/high. Laypersons mostly agreed that they could easily become skillful with eHealthMonitor and that other people thought that they should use eHealthMonitor. Amongst medical professionals, a large number were afraid that eHealthMonitor could violate their privacy or the privacy of their patients. Overall, the participants thought that eHealthMonitor was a good concept and that they would use it. The main hindrances to the use of eHealthMonitor were found in trust issues including data privacy. In the future, more research on the linkage of all measured factors is needed, for example, to address the question of whether highly educated people tend to mistrust eHealth information more than people with lower levels of education.

Failsafe automation of Phase II clinical trial interim monitoring for stopping rules.

PubMed

Day, Roger S

2010-02-01

In Phase II clinical trials in cancer, preventing the treatment of patients on a study when current data demonstrate that the treatment is insufficiently active or too toxic has obvious benefits, both in protecting patients and in reducing sponsor costs. Considerable efforts have gone into experimental designs for Phase II clinical trials with flexible sample size, usually implemented by early stopping rules. The intended benefits will not ensue, however, if the design is not followed. Despite the best intentions, failures can occur for many reasons. The main goal is to develop an automated system for interim monitoring, as a backup system supplementing the protocol team, to ensure that patients are protected. A secondary goal is to stimulate timely recording of patient assessments. We developed key concepts and performance needs, then designed, implemented, and deployed a software solution embedded in the clinical trials database system. The system has been in place since October 2007. One clinical trial tripped the automated monitor, resulting in e-mails that initiated statistician/investigator review in timely fashion. Several essential contributing activities still require human intervention, institutional policy decisions, and institutional commitment of resources. We believe that implementing the concepts presented here will provide greater assurance that interim monitoring plans are followed and that patients are protected from inadequate response or excessive toxicity. This approach may also facilitate wider acceptance and quicker implementation of new interim monitoring algorithms.

Patient monitoring in mobile health: opportunities and challenges.

PubMed

Mohammadzadeh, Niloofar; Safdari, Reza

2014-01-01

In most countries chronic diseases lead to high health care costs and reduced productivity of people in society. The best way to reduce costs of health sector and increase the empowerment of people is prevention of chronic diseases and appropriate health activities management through monitoring of patients. To enjoy the full benefits of E-health, making use of methods and modern technologies is very important. This literature review articles were searched with keywords like Patient monitoring, Mobile Health, and Chronic Disease in Science Direct, Google Scholar and Pub Med databases without regard to the year of publications. Applying remote medical diagnosis and monitoring system based on mobile health systems can help significantly to reduce health care costs, correct performance management particularly in chronic disease management. Also some challenges are in patient monitoring in general and specific aspects like threats to confidentiality and privacy, technology acceptance in general and lack of system interoperability with electronic health records and other IT tools, decrease in face to face communication between doctor and patient, sudden interruptions of telecommunication networks, and device and sensor type in specific aspect. It is obvious identifying the opportunities and challenges of mobile technology and reducing barriers, strengthening the positive points will have a significant role in the appropriate planning and promoting the achievements of the health care systems based on mobile and helps to design a roadmap for improvement of mobile health.

Flight Hydrogen Sensor for use in the ISS Oxygen Generation Assembly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

MSadoques, George, Jr.; Makel, Darby B.

2005-01-01

This paper provides a description of the hydrogen sensor Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) used on the Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA), to be operated on the International Space Station (ISS). The hydrogen sensor ORU is being provided by Makel Engineering, Inc. (MEI) to monitor the oxygen outlet for the presence of hydrogen. The hydrogen sensor ORU is a triple redundant design where each sensor converts raw measurements to actual hydrogen partial pressure that is reported to the OGA system controller. The signal outputs are utilized for system shutdown in the event that the hydrogen concentration in the oxygen outlet line exceeds the specified shutdown limit. Improvements have been made to the Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) based sensing element, screening, and calibration process to meet OGA operating requirements. Two flight hydrogen sensor ORUs have successfully completed the acceptance test phase. This paper also describes the sensor s performance during acceptance testing, additional tests planned to extend the operational performance calibration cycle, and integration with the OGA system.

Benefits of remote real-time side-effect monitoring systems for patients receiving cancer treatment.

PubMed

Kofoed, Sarah; Breen, Sibilah; Gough, Karla; Aranda, Sanchia

2012-03-05

In Australia, the incidence of cancer diagnoses is rising along with an aging population. Cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, are increasingly being provided in the ambulatory care setting. Cancer treatments are commonly associated with distressing and serious side-effects and patients often struggle to manage these themselves without specialized real-time support. Unlike chronic disease populations, few systems for the remote real-time monitoring of cancer patients have been reported. However, several prototype systems have been developed and have received favorable reports. This review aimed to identify and detail systems that reported statistical analyses of changes in patient clinical outcomes, health care system usage or health economic analyses. Five papers were identified that met these criteria. There was wide variation in the design of the monitoring systems in terms of data input method, clinician alerting and response, groups of patients targeted and clinical outcomes measured. The majority of studies had significant methodological weaknesses. These included no control group comparisons, small sample sizes, poor documentation of clinical interventions or measures of adherence to the monitoring systems. In spite of the limitations, promising results emerged in terms of improved clinical outcomes (e.g. pain, depression, fatigue). Health care system usage was assessed in two papers with inconsistent results. No studies included health economic analyses. The diversity in systems described, outcomes measured and methodological issues all limited between-study comparisons. Given the acceptability of remote monitoring and the promising outcomes from the few studies analyzing patient or health care system outcomes, future research is needed to rigorously trial these systems to enable greater patient support and safety in the ambulatory setting.

Benefits of remote real-time side-effect monitoring systems for patients receiving cancer treatment

PubMed Central

Kofoed, Sarah; Breen, Sibilah; Gough, Karla; Aranda, Sanchia

2012-01-01

In Australia, the incidence of cancer diagnoses is rising along with an aging population. Cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, are increasingly being provided in the ambulatory care setting. Cancer treatments are commonly associated with distressing and serious side-effects and patients often struggle to manage these themselves without specialized real-time support. Unlike chronic disease populations, few systems for the remote real-time monitoring of cancer patients have been reported. However, several prototype systems have been developed and have received favorable reports. This review aimed to identify and detail systems that reported statistical analyses of changes in patient clinical outcomes, health care system usage or health economic analyses. Five papers were identified that met these criteria. There was wide variation in the design of the monitoring systems in terms of data input method, clinician alerting and response, groups of patients targeted and clinical outcomes measured. The majority of studies had significant methodological weaknesses. These included no control group comparisons, small sample sizes, poor documentation of clinical interventions or measures of adherence to the monitoring systems. In spite of the limitations, promising results emerged in terms of improved clinical outcomes (e.g. pain, depression, fatigue). Health care system usage was assessed in two papers with inconsistent results. No studies included health economic analyses. The diversity in systems described, outcomes measured and methodological issues all limited between-study comparisons. Given the acceptability of remote monitoring and the promising outcomes from the few studies analyzing patient or health care system outcomes, future research is needed to rigorously trial these systems to enable greater patient support and safety in the ambulatory setting. PMID:25992209

Acceptability and Feasibility of Real-Time Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Interventions in Rural Uganda: Mixed-Method Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Atukunda, Esther C; Tumuhimbise, Wilson; Pisarski, Emily E; Tam, Melanie; Wyatt, Monique A; Ware, Norma C; Haberer, Jessica E

2018-01-01

Background Wireless electronic adherence monitors can detect antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence lapses and trigger interventions in real time, thus potentially avoiding unnecessary HIV viremia. Evidence about the acceptability and feasibility of these monitors and associated interventions, however, is limited. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of real-time adherence monitoring linked to text messaging (short message service, SMS) reminders and notifications to support adherence among individuals living with HIV who are taking ART in rural southwestern Uganda. Methods Individuals living with HIV who were initiating ART were enrolled in a pilot randomized controlled trial and followed up for 9 months. Participants received a real-time adherence monitor and were randomized to one of the following study arms: (1) scheduled SMS, (2) SMS triggered by missed or delayed doses, or (3) no SMS. SMS notifications were also sent to 45 patient-identified social supporters for sustained adherence lapses in the scheduled SMS and triggered SMS arms. Study participants and social supporters participated in qualitative semistructured in-depth interviews on acceptability and feasibility of this technology. An inductive, content analytic approach, framed by the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model, was used to analyze qualitative data. Quantitative feasibility data, including device functionality and SMS tracking data, were recorded based upon device metrics collected electronically and summarized descriptively. Results A total of 63 participants participated in the study. Participants reported that real-time monitoring intervention linked to SMS reminders and notifications are generally acceptable; the predominant feedback was perceived utility—the intervention was beneficial in motivating and reminding patients to take medication, as well as enabling provision of social support. The intervention was found to be technically feasible, as data were obtained from most participants as expected most of the time. Potential challenges included the impact of the technology on confidentiality, shared phone ownership, usability skills, and availability of electricity. Conclusions Real-time adherence monitoring integrated with SMS reminders and social support notifications is a generally acceptable (based primarily on perceived utility) and feasible intervention in a resource-limited country. Future efforts should focus on optimized device design, user training to overcome the challenges we encountered, cost effectiveness studies, as well as studying the monitoring aspect of the device without accompanying interventions. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01957865; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01957865 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6zFiDlXDa) PMID:29773527

Apollo experience report environmental acceptance testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laubach, C. H. M.

1976-01-01

Environmental acceptance testing was used extensively to screen selected spacecraft hardware for workmanship defects and manufacturing flaws. The minimum acceptance levels and durations and methods for their establishment are described. Component selection and test monitoring, as well as test implementation requirements, are included. Apollo spacecraft environmental acceptance test results are summarized, and recommendations for future programs are presented.

Helmet-based physiological signal monitoring system.

PubMed

Kim, Youn Sung; Baek, Hyun Jae; Kim, Jung Soo; Lee, Haet Bit; Choi, Jong Min; Park, Kwang Suk

2009-02-01

A helmet-based system that was able to monitor the drowsiness of a soldier was developed. The helmet system monitored the electrocardiogram, electrooculogram and electroencephalogram (alpha waves) without constraints. Six dry electrodes were mounted at five locations on the helmet: both temporal sides, forehead region and upper and lower jaw strips. The electrodes were connected to an amplifier that transferred signals to a laptop computer via Bluetooth wireless communication. The system was validated by comparing the signal quality with conventional recording methods. Data were acquired from three healthy male volunteers for 12 min twice a day whilst they were sitting in a chair wearing the sensor-installed helmet. Experimental results showed that physiological signals for the helmet user were measured with acceptable quality without any intrusions on physical activities. The helmet system discriminated between the alert and drowsiness states by detecting blinking and heart rate variability (HRV) parameters extracted from ECG. Blinking duration and eye reopening time were increased during the sleepiness state compared to the alert state. Also, positive peak values of the sleepiness state were much higher, and the negative peaks were much lower than that of the alert state. The LF/HF ratio also decreased during drowsiness. This study shows the feasibility for using this helmet system: the subjects' health status and mental states could be monitored without constraints whilst they were working.

Ability to monitor driving under the influence of marijuana among non-fatal motor-vehicle crashes: An evaluation of the Colorado electronic accident reporting system.

PubMed

Peterson, Alexis B; Sauber-Schatz, Erin K; Mack, Karin A

2018-06-01

As more states legalize medical/recreational marijuana use, it is important to determine if state motor-vehicle surveillance systems can effectively monitor and track driving under the influence (DUI) of marijuana. This study assessed Colorado's Department of Revenue motor-vehicle crash data system, Electronic Accident Reporting System (EARS), to monitor non-fatal crashes involving driving under the influence (DUI) of marijuana. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on surveillance system evaluation were used to assess EARS' usefulness, flexibility, timeliness, simplicity, acceptability, and data quality. We assessed system components, interviewed key stakeholders, and analyzed completeness of Colorado statewide 2014 motor-vehicle crash records. EARS contains timely and complete data, but does not effectively monitor non-fatal motor-vehicle crashes related to DUI of marijuana. Information on biological sample type collected from drivers and toxicology results were not recorded into EARS; however, EARS is a flexible system that can incorporate new data without increasing surveillance system burden. States, including Colorado, could consider standardization of drug testing and mandatory reporting policies for drivers involved in motor-vehicle crashes and proactively address the narrow window of time for sample collection to improve DUI of marijuana surveillance. Practical applications: The evaluation of state motor-vehicle crash systems' ability to capture crashes involving drug impaired driving (DUID) is a critical first step for identifying frequency and risk factors for crashes related to DUID. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Predicting acceptance and popularity in early adolescence as a function of hearing status, gender, and educational setting.

PubMed

Wolters, Nina; Knoors, Harry E T; Cillessen, Antonius H N; Verhoeven, Ludo

2011-01-01

This study examined associations of communicative skills, social behavior, and personality with acceptance and popularity as a function of hearing status, gender, and educational setting. Participants were 87 deaf and 672 hearing early adolescents of 52 6th grade classrooms in mainstream and special education. Acceptance varied as a function of hearing status by gender; popularity varied as a function of hearing status and educational setting. Deaf boys in mainstream education were less accepted and popular than their hearing classmates and than deaf peers in special education. Deaf girls in mainstream education were also less popular but not less accepted. Communicative skills varied as a function of hearing status, whereas social behavior varied as a function of educational setting. Deaf mainstreamed children showed less developed pragmatic and strategic communicative skills (monitoring, improvisation, initiating/maintaining) than their hearing classmates, but more social adjustment than deaf peers in special education (more prosocial behavior, less antisocial or withdrawn behavior, and more agreeableness). For acceptance, deaf girls in mainstream education compensated the lack of improvisation with higher levels of prosocial behavior, agreeableness, monitoring, and pragmatic skills, and lower levels of antisocial behavior than deaf boys. Monitoring and pragmatic skills negatively affected a deaf mainstream boy's acceptance. In special education, gender differences in prosocial behavior explained deaf boys' lower acceptance. Popularity was explained by pragmatic skills and improvisation as a function of hearing status. Voter population difference and different social behavior norms are considered as an explanation for popularity differences as a function of educational setting. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identifying early dehydration risk with home-based sensors during radiation treatment: a feasibility study on patients with head and neck cancer.

PubMed

Peterson, Susan K; Shinn, Eileen H; Basen-Engquist, Karen; Demark-Wahnefried, Wendy; Prokhorov, Alexander V; Baru, Chaitanya; Krueger, Ingolf H; Farcas, Emilia; Rios, Philip; Garden, Adam S; Beadle, Beth M; Lin, Kai; Yan, Yan; Martch, Stephanie L; Patrick, Kevin

2013-12-01

Systems that enable remote monitoring of patients' symptoms and other health-related outcomes may optimize cancer care outside of the clinic setting. CYCORE (CYberinfrastructure for COmparative effectiveness REsearch) is a software-based prototype for a user-friendly cyberinfrastructure supporting the comprehensive collection and analyses of data from multiple domains using a suite of home-based and mobile sensors. This study evaluated the feasibility of using CYCORE to address early at-home identification of dehydration risk in head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. Head and neck cancer patients used home-based sensors to capture weight, blood pressure, pulse, and patient-reported outcomes for two 5-day periods during radiation therapy. Data were sent to the radiation oncologist of each head and neck cancer patient, who viewed them online via a Web-based interface. Feasibility outcomes included study completion rate, acceptability and perceived usefulness of the intervention, and adherence to the monitoring protocol. We also evaluated whether sensor data could identify dehydration-related events. Fifty patients consented to participate, and 48 (96%) completed the study. More than 90% of patients rated their ease, self-efficacy, and satisfaction regarding use of the sensor suite as extremely favorable, with minimal concerns expressed regarding data privacy issues. Patients highly valued the ability to have immediate access to objective, self-monitoring data related to personal risk for dehydration. Clinician assessments indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the ease of using the CYCORE system and the resulting ability to monitor their patients remotely. Implementing CYCORE in a clinical oncology care setting is feasible and highly acceptable to both patients and providers.

Identifying Early Dehydration Risk With Home-Based Sensors During Radiation Treatment: A Feasibility Study on Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Systems that enable remote monitoring of patients’ symptoms and other health-related outcomes may optimize cancer care outside of the clinic setting. CYCORE (CYberinfrastructure for COmparative effectiveness REsearch) is a software-based prototype for a user-friendly cyberinfrastructure supporting the comprehensive collection and analyses of data from multiple domains using a suite of home-based and mobile sensors. This study evaluated the feasibility of using CYCORE to address early at-home identification of dehydration risk in head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. Methods Head and neck cancer patients used home-based sensors to capture weight, blood pressure, pulse, and patient-reported outcomes for two 5-day periods during radiation therapy. Data were sent to the radiation oncologist of each head and neck cancer patient, who viewed them online via a Web-based interface. Feasibility outcomes included study completion rate, acceptability and perceived usefulness of the intervention, and adherence to the monitoring protocol. We also evaluated whether sensor data could identify dehydration-related events. Results Fifty patients consented to participate, and 48 (96%) completed the study. More than 90% of patients rated their ease, self-efficacy, and satisfaction regarding use of the sensor suite as extremely favorable, with minimal concerns expressed regarding data privacy issues. Patients highly valued the ability to have immediate access to objective, self-monitoring data related to personal risk for dehydration. Clinician assessments indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the ease of using the CYCORE system and the resulting ability to monitor their patients remotely. Conclusion Implementing CYCORE in a clinical oncology care setting is feasible and highly acceptable to both patients and providers. PMID:24395986

Investigating User Identification in Remote Patient Monitoring Devices.

PubMed

Ondiege, Brian; Clarke, Malcolm

2017-09-13

With the increase in the number of people having a chronic disease, there is an increase in households having more than a single person suffering from the same chronic illness. One problem of monitoring such patients in their own home is that current devices have a limitation in the number of people who can use a single device. This study investigates the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) for identification in a multi-user environment. A mixed-method qualitative and quantitative approach was adopted, including focus groups, observations and a field trial. Data were collected in three phases. In Phase 1, five focus groups were conducted with patients to determine their beliefs, concerns and issues with using identification in remote patient monitoring devices. In Phase 2, participants were given a blood pressure monitor modified to include an NFC reader to enable identification. The modified device was given to patients living as a couple in the same household and both suffering from hypertension. Both patients used the device for a period of two weeks to observe their acceptance of the technology and determine their experience of usage. A total of 40 (20 couples) patients participated in the trial. Non-adherence to the full monitoring regimen was low and was mainly due to usability issues or commitments taking them away from the home and thus unable to take readings. After the trial period participants were invited to discuss their experiences with the technology in a focus group discussion (Phase 3), a total of five focus groups were conducted. Focus group discussions with the patients revealed that most participants liked using the system and were not apprehensive towards Healthcare Information Technology (HIT). The participants also had suggestions for improvements that could be made to the modified blood pressure monitor (such as, rechargeable in place batteries, integrate the components, easier to use cuff, and increased sensitivity of the NFC reader) that might improve the overall experience of the proposed technology and its acceptance. The study proposes a new framework, the Senior Patient Technology Acceptance Model (SPTAM) that offers an understanding of the needs of the elderly towards technology use and the factors that influence its acceptance. SPTAM emphasises that involving the patient in the early stages of development can lead to a more user-centred technology and help in identifying any underlying issues at an early stage, thus avoiding adding features which patients do not need. The findings from this empirical research can be used as recommendations to improve current RPM devices, save the NHS costs, inform standardization groups.

Investigating User Identification in Remote Patient Monitoring Devices

PubMed Central

Clarke, Malcolm

2017-01-01

With the increase in the number of people having a chronic disease, there is an increase in households having more than a single person suffering from the same chronic illness. One problem of monitoring such patients in their own home is that current devices have a limitation in the number of people who can use a single device. This study investigates the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) for identification in a multi-user environment. Methods: A mixed-method qualitative and quantitative approach was adopted, including focus groups, observations and a field trial. Data were collected in three phases. In Phase 1, five focus groups were conducted with patients to determine their beliefs, concerns and issues with using identification in remote patient monitoring devices. In Phase 2, participants were given a blood pressure monitor modified to include an NFC reader to enable identification. The modified device was given to patients living as a couple in the same household and both suffering from hypertension. Both patients used the device for a period of two weeks to observe their acceptance of the technology and determine their experience of usage. A total of 40 (20 couples) patients participated in the trial. Non-adherence to the full monitoring regimen was low and was mainly due to usability issues or commitments taking them away from the home and thus unable to take readings. After the trial period participants were invited to discuss their experiences with the technology in a focus group discussion (Phase 3), a total of five focus groups were conducted. Focus group discussions with the patients revealed that most participants liked using the system and were not apprehensive towards Healthcare Information Technology (HIT). The participants also had suggestions for improvements that could be made to the modified blood pressure monitor (such as, rechargeable in place batteries, integrate the components, easier to use cuff, and increased sensitivity of the NFC reader) that might improve the overall experience of the proposed technology and its acceptance. Conclusion: The study proposes a new framework, the Senior Patient Technology Acceptance Model (SPTAM) that offers an understanding of the needs of the elderly towards technology use and the factors that influence its acceptance. SPTAM emphasises that involving the patient in the early stages of development can lead to a more user-centred technology and help in identifying any underlying issues at an early stage, thus avoiding adding features which patients do not need. The findings from this empirical research can be used as recommendations to improve current RPM devices, save the NHS costs, inform standardization groups. PMID:28952556

The use of an improved technique to reduce the variability of output voltage in real-time Fibre Bragg Grating based monitoring system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vorathin, E.; Hafizi, Z. M.; Che Ghani, S. A.; Lim, K. S.; Aizzuddin, A. M.

2017-10-01

Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors have been widely utilized in the structural health monitoring (SHM) of structures. However, one of the main challenges of FBGs is the existence of inconsistency in output voltage during wavelength intensity demodulation utilizing photodetector (PD) to convert the light signal into digital voltage readings. Thus, the designation of this experimental work is to develop a robust FBG real-time monitoring system with the benefit of MATLAB graphical user interface (GUI) and voltage normalization algorithm to scale down the voltage inconsistency. Low-cost edge filter interrogation system has been practiced in the experimentation and splitter optical component is make use to reduce the intensity of the high power light source that leads to the formation of noise due to unwanted reflected wavelengths. The results revealed that with the advancement of the proposed monitoring system, the sensitivity of the FBG has been increased from 2.4 mV/N to 3.8 mV/N across the range of 50 N. The redundancy in output voltage variation data points has been reduced from 26 data/minute to 17 data/minute. The accuracy of the FBG in detecting the load induced falls in the acceptable range of total average error which is 1.38 %.

Monitoring trail conditions: New methodological considerations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marion, Jeffrey L.; Leung, Yu-Fai; Nepal, Sanjay K.

2006-01-01

The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) accommodates nearly 300 million visitors per year, visitation that has the potential to produce negative effects on fragile natural and cultural resources. The policy guidance from the NPS Management Policies recognizes the legitimacy of providing opportunities for public enjoyment of parks while acknowledging the need for managers to “seek ways to avoid, or to minimize to the greatest degree practicable, adverse impacts on park resources and values” (NPS 2001). Thus, relative to visitor use, park managers must evaluate the types and extents of resource impacts associated with recreational activities, and determine to what extent they are unacceptable and constitute impairment. Visitor impact monitoring programs can assist managers in making objective evaluations of impact acceptability and impairment and in selecting effective impact management practices by providing quantitative documentation of the types and extent of recreationrelated impacts on natural resources. Monitoring programs are explicitly authorized in Section 4.1 of the Management Policies: Natural systems in the national park system, and the human influences upon them, will be monitored to detect change. The Service will use the results of monitoring and research to understand the detected change and to develop appropriate management actions.

In-line wear monitor. Final report, July 1988-April 1989

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pieper, K.A.; Taylor, I.J.

This report describes construction and test results of an in-line monitor for critical ferrous and nonferrous metal debris in turbine engine lubrication systems. The in-line wear monitor (ILWM) uses the X-ray fluorescence principle for detecting metal debris on a continuous basis while the engine is running. The sensor portion of the system is engine mounted and contains a radioactive X-ray source, a flow cell to direct the oil across an X-ray permeable window, a proportional counter X-ray detector and its associated preamplifier and amplifier electronics. The data acquisition electronics is mounted on the airframe and contains a microprocessor based systemmore » for inputting pulses from the sensor, classifying and counting them according to energy bands, and analyzing the data and outputting metal concentration values to the engine monitoring system. The sensor portion of the system is designed to fit on a TF41 turbine engine in place of a tube between the oil tank and the oil pump. A TF41 engine monitoring system has been modified to accept the new signals from the ILWM on spare inputs so that none of the existing functions were disturbed. The ILWM has been flow tested at various flow rates, concentration levels, oil temperatures, and aerations. The wear monitor detected iron, copper, and both iron and copper together with less than 2 ppm one sigma statistical uncertainty for 30 minute count times over the 0-50 ppm range. There was no significant effect of flow rate or aeration on accuracy. The system is developed to the point that it can be tested in an actual flight environment.« less

Assessing the Analytical Performance of Systems for Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose: Concepts of Performance Evaluation and Definition of Metrological Key Terms

PubMed Central

Schnell, Oliver; Hinzmann, Rolf; Kulzer, Bernd; Freckmann, Guido; Erbach, Michael; Lodwig, Volker; Heinemann, Lutz

2013-01-01

Reliability of blood glucose (BG) measurements is a prerequisite for successful diabetes management. Publications on the evaluation of self-monitored glucose values, however, are frequently characterized by a confusion in terminology. We provide an inventory of key terms such as accuracy, trueness, precision, traceability, calibration, and matrix effect to avoid future misunderstanding. Definitions are taken from the metrological literature and international norms and explained in a language intended for nonspecialists in metrology. The terms are presented in light of the need to apply generally accepted definitions. In addition, a description of requirements and components for a sound evaluation of BG measurement systems is presented. These factors will also enable improvement in future comparisons of study results. PMID:24351185

An alternative sensor-based method for glucose monitoring in children and young people with diabetes

PubMed Central

Edge, Julie; Acerini, Carlo; Campbell, Fiona; Hamilton-Shield, Julian; Moudiotis, Chris; Rahman, Shakeel; Randell, Tabitha; Smith, Anne; Trevelyan, Nicola

2017-01-01

Objective To determine accuracy, safety and acceptability of the FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System in the paediatric population. Design, setting and patients Eighty-nine study participants, aged 4–17 years, with type 1 diabetes were enrolled across 9 diabetes centres in the UK. A factory calibrated sensor was inserted on the back of the upper arm and used for up to 14 days. Sensor glucose measurements were compared with capillary blood glucose (BG) measurements. Sensor results were masked to participants. Results Clinical accuracy of sensor results versus BG results was demonstrated, with 83.8% of results in zone A and 99.4% of results in zones A and B of the consensus error grid. Overall mean absolute relative difference (MARD) was 13.9%. Sensor accuracy was unaffected by patient factors such as age, body weight, sex, method of insulin administration or time of use (day vs night). Participants were in the target glucose range (3.9–10.0 mmol/L) ∼50% of the time (mean 12.1 hours/day), with an average of 2.2 hours/day and 9.5 hours/day in hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia, respectively. Sensor application, wear/use of the device and comparison to self-monitoring of blood glucose were rated favourably by most participants/caregivers (84.3–100%). Five device related adverse events were reported across a range of participant ages. Conclusions Accuracy, safety and user acceptability of the FreeStyle Libre System were demonstrated for the paediatric population. Accuracy of the system was unaffected by subject characteristics, making it suitable for a broad range of children and young people with diabetes. Trial registration number NCT02388815. PMID:28137708

Acceptability and User Satisfaction of a Smartphone-Based, Interactive Blood Glucose Management System in Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

PubMed Central

Mackillop, Lucy; Loerup, Lise; Kevat, Dev A.; Bartlett, Katy; Gibson, Oliver; Kenworthy, Yvonne; Levy, Jonathan C.; Tarassenko, Lionel; Farmer, Andrew

2014-01-01

Background: The increase in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is challenging maternity services. We have developed an interactive, smartphone-based, remote blood glucose (BG) monitoring system, GDm-health. Aims: The objective was to determine women’s satisfaction with using the GDm-health system and their attitudes toward their diabetes care. Methods: In a service development program involving 52 pregnant women (September 2012 to June 2013), BG was monitored using GDm-health from diagnosis until delivery. Following birth, women completed a structured questionnaire assessing (1) general satisfaction, (2) equipment issues, and (3) relationship with the diabetes care team. Responses were scored on a 7-point Likert-type scale. Reliability and validity of the questionnaire were assessed using statistical methods. Results: Of 52 women, 49 completed the questionnaire; 32 had glucose tolerance test confirmed GDM (gestation at recruitment 29 ± 4 weeks (mean ± SD), and 17 women previous GDM recommended for BG monitoring (18 ± 6 weeks). In all, 45 of 49 women agreed their care was satisfactory and the best for them, 47 of 49 and 43 of 49 agreed the equipment was convenient and reliable respectively, 42 of 49 agreed GDm-health fitted into their lifestyle, and 46 of 49 agreed they had a good relationship with their care team. Written comments supported these findings, with very positive reactions from the majority of women. Cronbach’s alpha was .89 with factor analysis corresponding with question thematic trends. Conclusions: This pilot demonstrates that GDm-health is acceptable and convenient for a large proportion of women. Effects on clinical and economic outcomes are currently under investigation in a randomized trial (clinicaltrials.gov NCT01916694). PMID:25361643

75 FR 45144 - Recovery Fact Sheet 9580.203, Debris Monitoring

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-02

...] Recovery Fact Sheet 9580.203, Debris Monitoring AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS. ACTION... accepting comments on Recovery Fact Sheet 9580.203, Debris Monitoring. DATES: Comments must be received by... guidelines. Specifically, the fact sheet provides information on debris monitoring roles and responsibilities...

Introduction of Syphilis Point-of-Care Tests, from Pilot Study to National Programme Implementation in Zambia: A Qualitative Study of Healthcare Workers' Perspectives on Testing, Training and Quality Assurance.

PubMed

Ansbro, Éimhín M; Gill, Michelle M; Reynolds, Joanna; Shelley, Katharine D; Strasser, Susan; Sripipatana, Tabitha; Tshaka Ncube, Alexander; Tembo Mumba, Grace; Terris-Prestholt, Fern; Peeling, Rosanna W; Mabey, David

2015-01-01

Syphilis affects 1.4 million pregnant women globally each year. Maternal syphilis causes congenital syphilis in over half of affected pregnancies, leading to early foetal loss, pregnancy complications, stillbirth and neonatal death. Syphilis is under-diagnosed in pregnant women. Point-of-care rapid syphilis tests (RST) allow for same-day treatment and address logistical barriers to testing encountered with standard Rapid Plasma Reagin testing. Recent literature emphasises successful introduction of new health technologies requires healthcare worker (HCW) acceptance, effective training, quality monitoring and robust health systems. Following a successful pilot, the Zambian Ministry of Health (MoH) adopted RST into policy, integrating them into prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV clinics in four underserved Zambian districts. We compare HCW experiences, including challenges encountered in scaling up from a highly supported NGO-led pilot to a large-scale MoH-led national programme. Questionnaires were administered through structured interviews of 16 HCWs in two pilot districts and 24 HCWs in two different rollout districts. Supplementary data were gathered via stakeholder interviews, clinic registers and supervisory visits. Using a conceptual framework adapted from health technology literature, we explored RST acceptance and usability. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Key themes in qualitative data were explored using template analysis. Overall, HCWs accepted RST as learnable, suitable, effective tools to improve antenatal services, which were usable in diverse clinical settings. Changes in training, supervision and quality monitoring models between pilot and rollout may have influenced rollout HCW acceptance and compromised testing quality. While quality monitoring was integrated into national policy and training, implementation was limited during rollout despite financial support and mentorship. We illustrate that new health technology pilot research can rapidly translate into policy change and scale-up. However, training, supervision and quality assurance models should be reviewed and strengthened as rollout of the Zambian RST programme continues.

Introduction of Syphilis Point-of-Care Tests, from Pilot Study to National Programme Implementation in Zambia: A Qualitative Study of Healthcare Workers’ Perspectives on Testing, Training and Quality Assurance

PubMed Central

Ansbro, Éimhín M.; Gill, Michelle M.; Reynolds, Joanna; Shelley, Katharine D.; Strasser, Susan; Sripipatana, Tabitha; Ncube, Alexander Tshaka; Tembo Mumba, Grace; Terris-Prestholt, Fern; Peeling, Rosanna W.; Mabey, David

2015-01-01

Syphilis affects 1.4 million pregnant women globally each year. Maternal syphilis causes congenital syphilis in over half of affected pregnancies, leading to early foetal loss, pregnancy complications, stillbirth and neonatal death. Syphilis is under-diagnosed in pregnant women. Point-of-care rapid syphilis tests (RST) allow for same-day treatment and address logistical barriers to testing encountered with standard Rapid Plasma Reagin testing. Recent literature emphasises successful introduction of new health technologies requires healthcare worker (HCW) acceptance, effective training, quality monitoring and robust health systems. Following a successful pilot, the Zambian Ministry of Health (MoH) adopted RST into policy, integrating them into prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV clinics in four underserved Zambian districts. We compare HCW experiences, including challenges encountered in scaling up from a highly supported NGO-led pilot to a large-scale MoH-led national programme. Questionnaires were administered through structured interviews of 16 HCWs in two pilot districts and 24 HCWs in two different rollout districts. Supplementary data were gathered via stakeholder interviews, clinic registers and supervisory visits. Using a conceptual framework adapted from health technology literature, we explored RST acceptance and usability. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Key themes in qualitative data were explored using template analysis. Overall, HCWs accepted RST as learnable, suitable, effective tools to improve antenatal services, which were usable in diverse clinical settings. Changes in training, supervision and quality monitoring models between pilot and rollout may have influenced rollout HCW acceptance and compromised testing quality. While quality monitoring was integrated into national policy and training, implementation was limited during rollout despite financial support and mentorship. We illustrate that new health technology pilot research can rapidly translate into policy change and scale-up. However, training, supervision and quality assurance models should be reviewed and strengthened as rollout of the Zambian RST programme continues. PMID:26030741

Performance Assessment of a Communicable Disease Surveillance System in Response to the Twin Earthquakes of East Azerbaijan.

PubMed

Babaie, Javad; Ardalan, Ali; Vatandoost, Hasan; Goya, Mohammad Mehdi; Akbari Sari, Ali

2015-08-01

Following the twin earthquakes on August 11, 2012, in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran, the provincial health center set up a surveillance system to monitor communicable diseases. This study aimed to assess the performance of this surveillance system. In this quantitative-qualitative study, performance of the communicable diseases surveillance system was assessed by using the updated guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Qualitative data were collected through interviews with the surveillance system participants, and quantitative data were obtained from the surveillance system. The surveillance system was useful, simple, representative, timely, and flexible. The data quality, acceptability, and stability of the surveillance system were 65.6%, 10.63%, and 100%, respectively. The sensitivity and positive predictive value were not calculated owing to the absence of a gold standard. The surveillance system satisfactorily met the goals expected for its setup. The data obtained led to the control of communicable diseases in the affected areas. Required interventions based on the incidence of communicable disease were designed and implemented. The results also reassured health authorities and the public. However, data quality and acceptability should be taken into consideration and reviewed for implementation in future disasters.

Optical glucose monitoring using vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talebi Fard, Sahba; Hofmann, Werner; Talebi Fard, Pouria; Kwok, Ezra; Amann, Markus-Christian; Chrostowski, Lukas

2009-08-01

Diabetes Mellitus is a common chronic disease that has become a public health issue. Continuous glucose monitoring improves patient health by stabilizing the glucose levels. Optical methods are one of the painless and promising methods that can be used for blood glucose predictions. However, having accuracies lower than what is acceptable clinically has been a major concern. Using lasers along with multivariate techniques such as Partial Least Square (PLS) can improve glucose predictions. This research involves investigations for developing a novel optical system for accurate glucose predictions, which leads to the development of a small, low power, implantable optical sensor for diabetes patients.

Gear-box fault detection using time-frequency based methods

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Odgaard, Peter Fogh; Stoustrup, Jakob

2015-01-01

Gear-box fault monitoring and detection is important for optimization of power generation and availability of wind turbines. The current industrial approach is to use condition monitoring systems, which runs in parallel with the wind turbine control system, using expensive additional sensors. An alternative would be to use the existing measurements which are normally available for the wind turbine control system. The usage of these sensors instead would cut down the cost of the wind turbine by not using additional sensors. One of these available measurements is the generator speed, in which changes in the gear-box resonance frequency can be detected.more » Two different time-frequency based approaches are presented in this paper. One is a filter based approach and the other is based on a Karhunen-Loeve basis. Both of them detects the gear-box fault with an acceptable detection delay.« less

Characteristics and verification of a car-borne survey system for dose rates in air: KURAMA-II.

PubMed

Tsuda, S; Yoshida, T; Tsutsumi, M; Saito, K

2015-01-01

The car-borne survey system KURAMA-II, developed by the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute, has been used for air dose rate mapping after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. KURAMA-II consists of a CsI(Tl) scintillation detector, a GPS device, and a control device for data processing. The dose rates monitored by KURAMA-II are based on the G(E) function (spectrum-dose conversion operator), which can precisely calculate dose rates from measured pulse-height distribution even if the energy spectrum changes significantly. The characteristics of KURAMA-II have been investigated with particular consideration to the reliability of the calculated G(E) function, dose rate dependence, statistical fluctuation, angular dependence, and energy dependence. The results indicate that 100 units of KURAMA-II systems have acceptable quality for mass monitoring of dose rates in the environment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Providers' perceptions of the implementation of a performance measurement system for substance abuse treatment: A process evaluation of the Service Quality Measures initiative.

PubMed

Myers, Bronwyn; Williams, Petal Petersen; Johnson, Kim; Govender, Rajen; Manderscheid, Ron; Koch, J Randy

2016-02-22

In South Africa, concerns exist about the quality of substance abuse treatment. We developed a performance measurement system, known as the Service Quality Measures (SQM) initiative, to monitor the quality of treatment and assess efforts to improve quality of care. In 2014, the SQM system was implemented at six treatment sites to evaluate how implementation protocols could be improved in preparation for wider roll-out. To describe providers' perceptions of the feasibility and acceptability of implementing the SQM system, including barriers to and facilitators of implementation. We conducted 15 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with treatment providers from six treatment sites (two sites in KwaZulu-Natal and four in the Western Cape). Providers were asked about their experiences in implementing the system, the perceived feasibility of the system, and barriers to implementation. All IDIs were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A framework approach was used to analyse the data. Providers reported that the SQM system was feasible to implement and acceptable to patients and providers. Issues identified through the IDIs included a perceived lack of clarity about sequencing of key elements in the implementation of the SQM system, questions on integration of the system into clinical care pathways, difficulties in tracking patients through the system, and concerns about maximising patient participation in the process. Findings suggest that the SQM system is feasible to implement and acceptable to providers, but that some refinements to the implementation protocols are needed to maximise patient participation and the likelihood of sustained implementation.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thrall, K.D.

The purpose of this project was to demonstrate the ``Exposure-to- Risk`` monitoring system in an actual occupational environment. The system is a unique combination of existing hardware with proprietary software to create an integrated means of assessing occupational exposures to volatile organic compounds. One component of this system utilizes a portable mass spectrometer developed by Teledyne Electronic Technologies. Integration of the system was accomplished under Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) funding. Commercialization of the system will take place following demonstration in an actual occupational environment, and will include, in part, Teledyne Electronic Technologies. The Exposure-to-Risk monitoring system will benefitmore » DOE by overcoming present-day limitations in worker health protection monitoring. There are numerous sites within the` DOE complex where many different hazardous chemicals are used on a routine basis. These chemicals range from paint stripers and cleaning solvents to chemical warfare agents, each having its own degree of potential adverse health risk to a worker. Thus, a real concern for DOE is to ensure that a worker is properly monitored to assess any adverse health risk from exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals. With current industrial hygiene technologies, this is an arduous task. The Exposure-to-Risk monitoring system integrates a patented breath-inlet device connecting a subject`s exhaled breath directly with a field-portable mass spectrometer with physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling to estimate the target tissue dose following a chemical exposure. Estimation of the adverse health risk prediction follows from the exposure/dose calculation based on currently accepted methodologies. This new system can determine, in the field, the possible adverse health risks on a daily basis to an individual worker.« less

Keep the driver in control: Automating automobiles of the future.

PubMed

Banks, Victoria A; Stanton, Neville A

2016-03-01

Automated automobiles will be on our roads within the next decade but the role of the driver has not yet been formerly recognised or designed. Rather, the driver is often left in a passive monitoring role until they are required to reclaim control from the vehicle. This research aimed to test the idea of driver-initiated automation, in which the automation offers decision support that can be either accepted or ignored. The test case examined a combination of lateral and longitudinal control in addition to an auto-overtake system. Despite putting the driver in control of the automated systems by enabling them to accept or ignore behavioural suggestions (e.g. overtake), there were still issues associated with increased workload and decreased trust. These issues are likely to have arisen due to the way in which the automated system has been designed. Recommendations for improvements in systems design have been made which are likely to improve trust and make the role of the driver more transparent concerning their authority over the automated system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Vibration monitoring via nano-composite piezoelectric foam bushings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bird, Evan T.; Merrell, A. Jake; Anderson, Brady K.; Newton, Cory N.; Rosquist, Parker G.; Fullwood, David T.; Bowden, Anton E.; Seeley, Matthew K.

2016-11-01

Most mechanical systems produce vibrations as an inherent side effect of operation. Though some vibrations are acceptable in operation, others can cause damage or signal a machine’s imminent failure. These vibrations would optimally be monitored in real-time, without human supervision to prevent failure and excessive wear in machinery. This paper explores a new alternative to currently-used machine-monitoring equipment, namely a piezoelectric foam sensor system. These sensors are made of a silicone-based foam embedded with nano- and micro-scale conductive particles. Upon impact, they emit an electric response that is directly correlated with impact energy, with no electrical power input. In the present work, we investigated their utility as self-sensing bushings on machinery. These sensors were found to accurately detect both the amplitude and frequency of typical machine vibrations. The bushings could potentially save time and money over other vibration sensing mechanisms, while simultaneously providing a potential control input that could be utilized for correcting vibrational imbalance.

Ceramic MEMS Designed for Wireless Pressure Monitoring in the Industrial Environment

PubMed Central

Pavlin, Marko; Belavic, Darko; Novak, Franc

2012-01-01

This paper presents the design of a wireless pressure-monitoring system for harsh-environment applications. Two types of ceramic pressure sensors made with a low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) were considered. The first type is a piezoresistive strain gauge pressure sensor. The second type is a capacitive pressure sensor, which is based on changes of the capacitance values between two electrodes: one electrode is fixed and the other is movable under an applied pressure. The design was primarily focused on low power consumption. Reliable operation in the presence of disturbances, like electromagnetic interference, parasitic capacitances, etc., proved to be contradictory constraints. A piezoresistive ceramic pressure sensor with a high bridge impedance was chosen for use in a wireless pressure-monitoring system and an acceptable solution using energy-harvesting techniques has been achieved. The described solution allows for the integration of a sensor element with an energy harvester that has a printed thick-film battery and complete electronics in a single substrate packaged inside a compact housing. PMID:22368471

Standing Naval Forces and Global Security

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-06-04

standards an- good engineering practices. The team submits a r:-,cr: to !PPC recommending that the prcject be accepted b NATO. 8. Audit . The...established. A system of common funds and trailing audits must be in effect to pay for the infrastructure. NATO infrastructure appears to be a good example to...Search And Rescue and maritime safety monitor marine polution 6. sharing maritime inteiiigence1 5 Commodore Bateman foresees coupling these activities or

Research and development of smart wearable health applications: the challenge ahead.

PubMed

Lymberis, Andreas

2004-01-01

Continuous monitoring of physiological and physical parameters is necessary for the assessment and management of personal health status. It can significantly contribute to the reduction of healthcare cost by avoiding unnecessary hospitalisations and ensuring that those who need urgent care get it sooner. In conjunction with cost-effective telemedicine platforms, ubiquitous health monitoring can significantly contribute to the enhancement of disease prevention and early diagnosis, disease management, treatment and home rehabilitation. Latest developments in the area of micro and nanotechnologies, information processing and wireless communication offer, today, the possibility for minimally (or non) invasive biomedical measurement but also wearable sensing, processing and data communication. Although the systems are being developed to satisfy specific user needs, a number of common critical issues have to be tackled to achieve reliable and acceptable smart health wearable applications e.g. biomedical sensors, user interface, clinical validation, data security and confidentiality, scenarios of use, decision support, user acceptance and business models. Major technological achievements have been realised the last few years. Cutting edge development combining functional clothing and integrated electronics open a new research area and possibilities for body sensing and communicating health parameters. This paper reviews the current status of research and development on smart wearable health systems and applications and discusses the outstanding issues and future challenges.

The Automated Instrumentation and Monitoring System (AIMS) reference manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yan, Jerry; Hontalas, Philip; Listgarten, Sherry

1993-01-01

Whether a researcher is designing the 'next parallel programming paradigm,' another 'scalable multiprocessor' or investigating resource allocation algorithms for multiprocessors, a facility that enables parallel program execution to be captured and displayed is invaluable. Careful analysis of execution traces can help computer designers and software architects to uncover system behavior and to take advantage of specific application characteristics and hardware features. A software tool kit that facilitates performance evaluation of parallel applications on multiprocessors is described. The Automated Instrumentation and Monitoring System (AIMS) has four major software components: a source code instrumentor which automatically inserts active event recorders into the program's source code before compilation; a run time performance-monitoring library, which collects performance data; a trace file animation and analysis tool kit which reconstructs program execution from the trace file; and a trace post-processor which compensate for data collection overhead. Besides being used as prototype for developing new techniques for instrumenting, monitoring, and visualizing parallel program execution, AIMS is also being incorporated into the run-time environments of various hardware test beds to evaluate their impact on user productivity. Currently, AIMS instrumentors accept FORTRAN and C parallel programs written for Intel's NX operating system on the iPSC family of multi computers. A run-time performance-monitoring library for the iPSC/860 is included in this release. We plan to release monitors for other platforms (such as PVM and TMC's CM-5) in the near future. Performance data collected can be graphically displayed on workstations (e.g. Sun Sparc and SGI) supporting X-Windows (in particular, Xl IR5, Motif 1.1.3).

DNA Probe Design for Preflight and Inflight Microbial Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fox, George E.

1999-01-01

Crew health is a dominant issue in manned space flight. Microbiological concerns, in particular, have repeatedly emerged as determinants of flight readiness. For example, in at least one case, suspected contamination of the potable water supply nearly forced a launch delay. In another instance, a crew member's urinary tract infection nearly led to early termination of the mission, in part due to the difficulty of accurately diagnosing the nature of the infection in-flight. Microbial problems are an increasing concern with the trend towards longer-duration missions. It is essential to the success of such missions that systems that deliver acceptable quality of air and water during the anticipated lifetime of the spacecraft be available. As mission duration and resupply intervals increase, it will be necessary to rely on advanced life support systems which incorporate both biological and physical-chemical recycling methods for air and water as well as provide food for the crew. It therefore is necessary to develop real-time, robust, in-flight monitoring procedures that are sensitive enough to detect less than 100 CFU (colony forming units) of bacteria per 100 milliliters of water. It would be desirable if the monitoring system could be readily "reprogrammed" to identify specific pathogens if an in-flight incident were to occur. Thus, the monitoring technology must simultaneously detect many organisms of interest, be subject to miniaturization and be highly automated The long range goal of project is to develop such monitoring systems.

Video Monitoring a Simulation-Based Quality Improvement Program in Bihar, India.

PubMed

Dyer, Jessica; Spindler, Hilary; Christmas, Amelia; Shah, Malay Bharat; Morgan, Melissa; Cohen, Susanna R; Sterne, Jason; Mahapatra, Tanmay; Walker, Dilys

2018-04-01

Simulation-based training has become an accepted clinical training andragogy in high-resource settings with its use increasing in low-resource settings. Video recordings of simulated scenarios are commonly used by facilitators. Beyond using the videos during debrief sessions, researchers can also analyze the simulation videos to quantify technical and nontechnical skills during simulated scenarios over time. Little is known about the feasibility and use of large-scale systems to video record and analyze simulation and debriefing data for monitoring and evaluation in low-resource settings. This manuscript describes the process of designing and implementing a large-scale video monitoring system. Mentees and Mentors were consented and all simulations and debriefs conducted at 320 Primary Health Centers (PHCs) were video recorded. The system design, number of video recordings, and inter-rater reliability of the coded videos were assessed. The final dataset included a total of 11,278 videos. Overall, a total of 2,124 simulation videos were coded and 183 (12%) were blindly double-coded. For the double-coded sample, the average inter-rater reliability (IRR) scores were 80% for nontechnical skills, and 94% for clinical technical skills. Among 4,450 long debrief videos received, 216 were selected for coding and all were double-coded. Data quality of simulation videos was found to be very good in terms of recorded instances of "unable to see" and "unable to hear" in Phases 1 and 2. This study demonstrates that video monitoring systems can be effectively implemented at scale in resource limited settings. Further, video monitoring systems can play several vital roles within program implementation, including monitoring and evaluation, provision of actionable feedback to program implementers, and assurance of program fidelity.

POOL WATER TREATMENT AND COOLING SYSTEM DESCRIPTION DOCUMENT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

V. King

2000-06-19

The Pool Water Treatment and Cooling System is located in the Waste Handling Building (WHB), and is comprised of various process subsystems designed to support waste handling operations. This system maintains the pool water temperature within an acceptable range, maintains water quality standards that support remote underwater operations and prevent corrosion, detects leakage from the pool liner, provides the capability to remove debris from the pool, controls the pool water level, and helps limit radiological exposure to personnel. The pool structure and liner, pool lighting, and the fuel staging racks in the pool are not within the scope of themore » Pool Water Treatment and Cooling System. Pool water temperature control is accomplished by circulating the pool water through heat exchangers. Adequate circulation and mixing of the pool water is provided to prevent localized thermal hotspots in the pool. Treatment of the pool water is accomplished by a water treatment system that circulates the pool water through filters, and ion exchange units. These water treatment units remove radioactive and non-radioactive particulate and dissolved solids from the water, thereby providing the water clarity needed to conduct waste handling operations. The system also controls pool water chemistry to prevent advanced corrosion of the pool liner, pool components, and fuel assemblies. Removal of radioactivity from the pool water contributes to the project ALARA (as low as is reasonably achievable) goals. A leak detection system is provided to detect and alarm leaks through the pool liner. The pool level control system monitors the water level to ensure that the minimum water level required for adequate radiological shielding is maintained. Through interface with a demineralized water system, adequate makeup is provided to compensate for loss of water inventory through evaporation and waste handling operations. Interface with the Site Radiological Monitoring System provides continuous radiological monitoring of the pool water. The Pool Water Treatment and Cooling System interfaces with the Waste Handling Building System, Site-Generated Radiological Waste Handling System, Site Radiological Monitoring System, Waste Handling Building Electrical System, Site Water System, and the Monitored Geologic Repository Operations Monitoring and Control System.« less

Challenges of physiological monitoring in a Navy operational setting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Banta, Guy R.

1988-01-01

Challenges to physiological monitoring in the Navy include environmental extremes, acceptance of use by test subjects, data transfer, data interpretation, and capability of relating collected data to valid operational relevant criterion measures. These problems are discussed with respect to diving, electrophysiological monitoring, in-flight monitoring, aircrew fatigue, in-flight cardiac stress, and in-flight monitoring devices.

Performance of two updated blood glucose monitoring systems: an evaluation following ISO 15197:2013.

PubMed

Pleus, Stefan; Baumstark, Annette; Rittmeyer, Delia; Jendrike, Nina; Haug, Cornelia; Freckmann, Guido

2016-05-01

Objective For patients with diabetes, regular self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is essential to ensure adequate glycemic control. Therefore, accurate and reliable blood glucose measurements with SMBG systems are necessary. The international standard ISO 15197 describes requirements for SMBG systems, such as limits within which 95% of glucose results have to fall to reach acceptable system accuracy. The 2013 version of this standard sets higher demands, especially regarding system accuracy, than the currently still valid edition. ISO 15197 can be applied by manufacturers to receive a CE mark for their system. Research design and methods This study was an accuracy evaluation following ISO 15197:2013 section 6.3 of two recently updated SMBG systems (Contour * and Contour TS; Bayer Consumer Care AG, Basel, Switzerland) with an improved algorithm to investigate whether the systems fulfill the requirements of the new standard. For this purpose, capillary blood samples of approximately 100 participants were measured with three test strip lots of both systems and deviations from glucose values obtained with a hexokinase-based comparison method (Cobas Integra † 400 plus; Roche Instrument Center, Rotkreuz, Switzerland) were determined. Percentages of values within the acceptance criteria of ISO 15197:2013 were calculated. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02358408). Main outcome Both updated systems fulfilled the system accuracy requirements of ISO 15197:2013 as 98.5% to 100% of the results were within the stipulated limits. Furthermore, all results were within the clinically non-critical zones A and B of the consensus error grid for type 1 diabetes. Conclusions The technical improvement of the systems ensured compliance with ISO 15197 in the hands of healthcare professionals even in its more stringent 2013 version. Alternative presentation of system accuracy results in radar plots provides additional information with certain advantages. In addition, the surveillance error grid offers a modern tool to assess a system's clinical performance.

MoniQA: a general approach to monitor quality assurance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobs, J.; Deprez, T.; Marchal, G.; Bosmans, H.

2006-03-01

MoniQA ("Monitor Quality Assurance") is a new, non-commercial, independent quality assurance software application developed in our medical physics team. It is a complete Java TM - based modular environment for the evaluation of radiological viewing devices and it thus fits in the global quality assurance network of our (film less) radiology department. The purpose of the software tool is to guide the medical physicist through an acceptance protocol and the radiologist through a constancy check protocol by presentation of the necessary test patterns and by automated data collection. Data are then sent to a central management system for further analysis. At the moment more than 55 patterns have been implemented, which can be grouped in schemes to implement protocols (i.e. AAPMtg18, DIN and EUREF). Some test patterns are dynamically created and 'drawn' on the viewing device with random parameters as is the case in a recently proposed new pattern for constancy testing. The software is installed on 35 diagnostic stations (70 monitors) in a film less radiology department. Learning time was very limited. A constancy check -with the new pattern that assesses luminance decrease, resolution problems and geometric distortion- takes only 2 minutes and 28 seconds per monitor. The modular approach of the software allows the evaluation of new or emerging test patterns. We will report on the software and its usability: practicality of the constancy check tests in our hospital and on the results from acceptance tests of viewing stations for digital mammography.

Random Vibration Testing of Advanced Wet Tantalum Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teverovsky, Alexander

2015-01-01

Advanced wet tantalum capacitors allow for improved performance of power supply systems along with substantial reduction of size and weight of the systems that is especially beneficial for space electronics. Due to launch-related stresses, acceptance testing of all space systems includes random vibration test (RVT). However, many types of advanced wet tantalum capacitors cannot pass consistently RVT at conditions specified in MIL-PRF-39006, which impedes their use in space projects. This requires a closer look at the existing requirements, modes and mechanisms of failures, specifics of test conditions, and acceptance criteria. In this work, different lots of advanced wet tantalum capacitors from four manufacturers have been tested at step stress random vibration conditions while their currents were monitored before, during, and after the testing. It has been shown that the robustness of the parts and their reliability are mostly due to effective self-healing processes and limited current spiking or minor scintillations caused by RVT do not increase the risk of failures during operation. A simple model for scintillations events has been used to simulate current spiking during RVT and optimize test conditions. The significance of scintillations and possible effects of gas generation have been discussed and test acceptance criteria for limited current spiking have been suggested.

Aircraft Operations Classification System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harlow, Charles; Zhu, Weihong

2001-01-01

Accurate data is important in the aviation planning process. In this project we consider systems for measuring aircraft activity at airports. This would include determining the type of aircraft such as jet, helicopter, single engine, and multiengine propeller. Some of the issues involved in deploying technologies for monitoring aircraft operations are cost, reliability, and accuracy. In addition, the system must be field portable and acceptable at airports. A comparison of technologies was conducted and it was decided that an aircraft monitoring system should be based upon acoustic technology. A multimedia relational database was established for the study. The information contained in the database consists of airport information, runway information, acoustic records, photographic records, a description of the event (takeoff, landing), aircraft type, and environmental information. We extracted features from the time signal and the frequency content of the signal. A multi-layer feed-forward neural network was chosen as the classifier. Training and testing results were obtained. We were able to obtain classification results of over 90 percent for training and testing for takeoff events.

Interoperability and security in wireless body area network infrastructures.

PubMed

Warren, Steve; Lebak, Jeffrey; Yao, Jianchu; Creekmore, Jonathan; Milenkovic, Aleksandar; Jovanov, Emil

2005-01-01

Wireless body area networks (WBANs) and their supporting information infrastructures offer unprecedented opportunities to monitor state of health without constraining the activities of a wearer. These mobile point-of-care systems are now realizable due to the convergence of technologies such as low-power wireless communication standards, plug-and-play device buses, off-the-shelf development kits for low-power microcontrollers, handheld computers, electronic medical records, and the Internet. To increase acceptance of personal monitoring technology while lowering equipment cost, advances must be made in interoperability (at both the system and device levels) and security. This paper presents an overview of WBAN infrastructure work in these areas currently underway in the Medical Component Design Laboratory at Kansas State University (KSU) and at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). KSU efforts include the development of wearable health status monitoring systems that utilize ISO/IEEE 11073, Bluetooth, Health Level 7, and OpenEMed. WBAN efforts at UAH include the development of wearable activity and health monitors that incorporate ZigBee-compliant wireless sensor platforms with hardware-level encryption and the TinyOS development environment. WBAN infrastructures are complex, requiring many functional support elements. To realize these infrastructures through collaborative efforts, organizations such as KSU and UAH must define and utilize standard interfaces, nomenclature, and security approaches.

The promise of wearable sensors and ecological momentary assessment measures for dynamical systems modeling in adolescents: a feasibility and acceptability study.

PubMed

Brannon, Erin E; Cushing, Christopher C; Crick, Christopher J; Mitchell, Tarrah B

2016-12-01

Intervention development can be accelerated by using wearable sensors and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to study how behaviors change within a person. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a novel, intensive EMA method for assessing physiology, behavior, and psychosocial variables utilizing two objective sensors and a mobile application (app). Adolescents (n = 20) enrolled in a 20-day EMA protocol. Participants wore a physiological monitor and an accelerometer that measured sleep and physical activity and completed four surveys per day on an app. Participants provided approximately 81 % of the expected survey data. Participants were compliant to the wrist-worn accelerometer (75.3 %), which is a feasible measurement of physical activity/sleep (74.1 % complete data). The data capture (47.8 %) and compliance (70.28 %) with the physiological monitor were lower than other study variables. The findings support the use of an intensive assessment protocol to study real-time relationships between biopsychosocial variables and health behaviors.

An ultrasound wearable system for the monitoring and acceleration of fracture healing in long bones.

PubMed

Protopappas, Vasilios C; Baga, Dina A; Fotiadis, Dimitrios I; Likas, Aristidis C; Papachristos, Athanasios A; Malizos, Konstantinos N

2005-09-01

An ultrasound wearable system for remote monitoring and acceleration of the healing process in fractured long bones is presented. The so-called USBone system consists of a pair of ultrasound transducers, implanted into the fracture region, a wearable device and a centralized unit. The wearable device is responsible to carry out ultrasound measurements using the axial-transmission technique and initiate therapy sessions of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound. The acquired measurements and other data are wirelessly transferred from the patient-site to the centralized unit, which is located in a clinical setting. The evaluation of the system on an animal tibial osteotomy model is also presented. A dataset was constructed for monitoring purposes consisting of serial ultrasound measurements, follow-up radiographs, quantitative computed tomography-based densitometry and biomechanical data. The animal study demonstrated the ability of the system to collect ultrasound measurements in an effective and reliable fashion and participating orthopaedic surgeons accepted the system for future clinical application. Analysis of the acquired measurements showed that the pattern of evolution of the ultrasound velocity through healing bones over the postoperative period monitors a dynamic healing process. Furthermore, the ultrasound velocity of radiographically healed bones returns to 80% of the intact bone value, whereas the correlation coefficient of the velocity with the material and mechanical properties of the healing bone ranges from 0.699 to 0.814. The USBone system constitutes the first telemedicine system for the out-hospital management of patients sustained open fractures and treated with external fixation devices.

Monitoring of recurrent and superior laryngeal nerve function using an Airwayscope™ during thyroid surgery.

PubMed

Ijichi, Kei; Sasano, Hiroshi; Harima, Megumi; Murakami, Shingo

2017-10-01

In thyroid surgery, intraoperative identification and preservation of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) and superior laryngeal nerve external branch (SLNEB) are crucial. Several reports have proposed that electromyography (EMG) monitoring is an acceptable adjunct for identification and preservation of the RLN. However, a limited number of hospitals have access to an EMG monitoring system. Therefore, the development of another viable monitoring method is required. The aim of the present study was to design a new RLN and SLNEB monitoring method combining an Airwayscope™ (AWS) and a facial nerve stimulator. The facial nerve-stimulating electrode stimulates the RLN or SLNEB, so that the movement of the vocal cord may be observed with an AWS. This monitoring method was performed on 10 patients with a thyroid tumor. In all the cases, RLN and SLNEB were identified and vocal cord function was preserved. All the patients exhibited normal vocal cord function following surgery. Thus, the new RLN and SLNEB monitoring method using an AWS and a facial nerve stimulator is useful in thyroid surgery, and this method may be used as a reliable and available alternative to EMG monitoring to ensure the normal function of the vocal cord.

A Supervisor-Targeted Implementation Approach to Promote System Change: The R3 Model.

PubMed

Saldana, Lisa; Chamberlain, Patricia; Chapman, Jason

2016-11-01

Opportunities to evaluate strategies to create system-wide change in the child welfare system (CWS) and the resulting public health impact are rare. Leveraging a real-world, system-initiated effort to infuse the use of evidence-based principles throughout a CWS workforce, a pilot of the R 3 model and supervisor-targeted implementation approach is described. The development of R 3 and its associated fidelity monitoring was a collaboration between the CWS and model developers. Outcomes demonstrate implementation feasibility, strong fidelity scale measurement properties, improved supervisor fidelity over time, and the acceptability and perception of positive change by agency leadership. The value of system-initiated collaborations is discussed.

Children's views on microneedle use as an alternative to blood sampling for patient monitoring.

PubMed

Mooney, Karen; McElnay, James C; Donnelly, Ryan F

2014-10-01

To explore children's views on microneedle use for this population, particularly as an alternative approach to blood sampling, in monitoring applications, and so, examine the acceptability of this approach to children. Focus groups were conducted with children (aged 10-14 years) in a range of schools across Northern Ireland. Convenience sampling was employed, i.e. children involved in a university-directed community-outreach project (Pharmacists in Schools) were recruited. A total of 86 children participated in 13 focus groups across seven schools in Northern Ireland. A widespread disapproval for blood sampling was evident, with pain, blood and traditional needle visualisation particularly unpopular aspects. In general, microneedles had greater visual acceptability and caused less fear. A patch-based design enabled minimal patient awareness of the monitoring procedure, with personalised designs, e.g. cartoon themes, favoured. Children's concerns included possible allergy and potential inaccuracies with this novel approach; however, many had confidence in the judgement of healthcare professionals if deeming this technique appropriate. They considered paediatric patient education critical for acceptance of this new approach and called for an alternative name, without any reference to 'needles'. The findings presented here support the development of blood-free, minimally invasive techniques and provide an initial indication of microneedle acceptability in children, particularly for monitoring purposes. A proactive response to these unique insights should enable microneedle array design to better meet the needs of this end-user group. Further work in this area is recommended to ascertain the perspectives of a purposive sample of children with chronic conditions who require regular monitoring. © 2013 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Aggregate gradation control program, Virginia.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1985-01-01

In 1983, Virginia implemented a specification for the acceptance of aggregate base and bituminous concrete in which the producer undertook the acceptance testing and state personnel did much reduced testing as a monitoring program. Although some peop...

Self-Monitoring in Middle Childhood: Personality and Social Correlates.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Musser, Lynn M.; Browne, Beverly A.

1991-01-01

Measures of self-monitoring and other measures were completed by 93 elementary school children on 3 occasions during a 15-month period. Self-monitoring was related to peer acceptance and self-esteem, but the relation may have been influenced by gender. Boys' self-monitoring correlated with popularity measures, whereas girls' did not. (BC)

Audio distribution and Monitoring Circuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirkland, J. M.

1983-01-01

Versatile circuit accepts and distributes TV audio signals. Three-meter audio distribution and monitoring circuit provides flexibility in monitoring, mixing, and distributing audio inputs and outputs at various signal and impedance levels. Program material is simultaneously monitored on three channels, or single-channel version built to monitor transmitted or received signal levels, drive speakers, interface to building communications, and drive long-line circuits.

An Economic Analysis of Two Groundwater Allocation Programs for the Salinas Valley

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-06-01

monitoring system would establish a definable and 17Each individual well would have a frequency generator, analog/ digital converter, microprocessor with...RTU). The cost for purchasing and installing the frequency generator is estimated to be $1,100. The RTU consists of an analog/ digital converter and a...programmable microprocessor that can accept up to eight inputs and one output. The unit can transmit and receive digital data via LAN network or

Performance Monitoring of Diabetic Patient Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-10-25

a process delay that is due to the dynamics of the glucose sensor. A. Bergman Model The Bergman and AIDA models both utilize a \\minimal model...approxima- tion of the process must be made to achieve reasonable performance. A rst order approximation, ~g(s), of both the Bergman and AIDA models is...Within the IMC framework, both the Bergman and AIDA models can be controlled within acceptable toler- ances. The simulated faults are stochastic

Software Technology for Adaptable Reliable Systems (STARS) Workshop March 24-27 1986.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-03-01

syntax is aug- monitor program behavior. Trace and mented to accept design notes in arbitrary single-step facilities will provide the capability ... capabilities of these worksta- inrs tions make them a logical choice for hosting The final component of Vise is the a visual development environment. We...the following When the user picks the desired action, capabilities : graphical program display and linguistic analysis is used to extract informa

The "Good, Bad and Ugly" pin site grading system: A reliable and memorable method for documenting and monitoring ring fixator pin sites.

PubMed

Clint, S A; Eastwood, D M; Chasseaud, M; Calder, P R; Marsh, D R

2010-02-01

Although there is much in the literature regarding pin site infections, there is no accepted, validated method for documenting their state. We present a system for reliably labelling pin sites on any ring fixator construct and an easy-to-remember grading system to document the state of each pin site. Each site is graded in terms of erythema, pain and discharge to give a 3-point scale, named "Good", "Bad" and "Ugly" for ease of recall. This system was tested for intra- and inter-observer reproducibility. 15 patients undergoing elective limb reconstruction were recruited. A total of 218 pin sites were independently scored by 2 examiners. 82 were then re-examined later by the same examiners. 514 pin sites were felt to be "Good", 80 "Bad" and 6 "Ugly". The reproducibility of the system was found to be excellent. We feel our system gives a quick, reliable and reproducible method to monitor individual pin sites and their response to treatment. Crown Copyright 2009. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SU-E-I-27: Establishing Target Exposure Index Values for Computed Radiography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Murphy, N; Tchou, P; Belcher, K

2014-06-01

Purpose: To develop a standard set of target exposure index (TEI) values to be applied to Agfa Computed Radiography (CR) readers in accordance with International Electrotechnical Committee 62494-1 (ed. 1.0). Methods: A large data cohort was collected from six USAF Medical Treatment Facilities that exclusively use Agfa CR Readers. Dose monitoring statistics were collected from each reader. The data was analyzed based on anatomic region, view, and processing speed class. The Agfa specific exposure metric, logarithmic mean (LGM), was converted to exposure index (EI) for each data set. The optimum TEI value was determined by minimizing the number of studiesmore » that fell outside the acceptable deviation index (DI) range of +/− 2 for phototimed techniques or a range of +/−3 for fixed techniques. An anthropomorphic radiographic phantom was used to corroborate the TEI recommendations. Images were acquired of several anatomic regions and views using standard techniques. The images were then evaluated by two radiologists as either acceptable or unacceptable. The acceptable image with the lowest exposure and EI value was compared to the recommended TEI values using a passing DI range. Results: Target EI values were determined for a comprehensive list of anatomic regions and views. Conclusion: Target EI values must be established on each CR unit in order to provide a positive feedback system for the technologist. This system will serve as a mechanism to prevent under or overexposures of patients. The TEI recommendations are a first attempt at a large scale process improvement with the goal of setting reasonable and standardized TEI values. The implementation and effectiveness of the recommended TEI values should be monitored and adjustments made as necessary.« less

Establishment of Karadeniz Technical University Permanent GNSS Station as Reactivated of TRAB IGS Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kazancı, Selma Zengin; Kayıkçı, Emine Tanır

2017-12-01

In recent years, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) have gained great importance in terms of the benefi ts it provides such as precise geodetic point positioning, determining crustal deformations, navigation, vehicle monitoring systems and meteorological applications etc. As in Turkey, for this purpose, each country has set up its own GNSS station networks like Turkish National Permanent RTK Network analyzed precise station coordinates and velocities together with the International GNSS Service, Turkish National Fundamental GPS Network and Turkish National Permanent GNSS Network (TNPGN) stations not only are utilized as precise positioning but also GNSS meteorology studies so total number of stations are increased. This work is related to the reactivated of the TRAB IGS station which was established in Karadeniz Technical University, Department of Geomatics Engineering. Within the COST ES1206 Action (GNSS4SWEC) KTU analysis center was established and Trop-NET system developed by Geodetic Observatory Pecny (GOP, RIGTC) in order to troposphere monitoring. The project titled "Using Regional GNSS Networks to Strengthen Severe Weather Prediction" was accepted to the scientifi c and technological research council of Turkey (TUBITAK). With this project, we will design 2 new constructed GNSS reference station network. Using observation data of network, we will compare water vapor distribution derived by GNSS Meteorology and GNSS Tomography. At this time, KTU AC was accepted as E-GVAP Analysis Centre in December 2016. KTU reference station is aimed to be a member of the EUREF network with these studies.

Mobile Health Apps to Facilitate Self-Care: A Qualitative Study of User Experiences

PubMed Central

Anderson, Kevin; Burford, Oksana; Emmerton, Lynne

2016-01-01

Objective Consumers are living longer, creating more pressure on the health system and increasing their requirement for self-care of chronic conditions. Despite rapidly-increasing numbers of mobile health applications (‘apps’) for consumers’ self-care, there is a paucity of research into consumer engagement with electronic self-monitoring. This paper presents a qualitative exploration of how health consumers use apps for health monitoring, their perceived benefits from use of health apps, and suggestions for improvement of health apps. Materials and Methods ‘Health app’ was defined as any commercially-available health or fitness app with capacity for self-monitoring. English-speaking consumers aged 18 years and older using any health app for self-monitoring were recruited for interview from the metropolitan area of Perth, Australia. The semi-structured interview guide comprised questions based on the Technology Acceptance Model, Health Information Technology Acceptance Model, and the Mobile Application Rating Scale, and is the only study to do so. These models also facilitated deductive thematic analysis of interview transcripts. Implicit and explicit responses not aligned to these models were analyzed inductively. Results Twenty-two consumers (15 female, seven male) participated, 13 of whom were aged 26–35 years. Eighteen participants reported on apps used on iPhones. Apps were used to monitor diabetes, asthma, depression, celiac disease, blood pressure, chronic migraine, pain management, menstrual cycle irregularity, and fitness. Most were used approximately weekly for several minutes per session, and prior to meeting initial milestones, with significantly decreased usage thereafter. Deductive and inductive thematic analysis reduced the data to four dominant themes: engagement in use of the app; technical functionality of the app; ease of use and design features; and management of consumers’ data. Conclusions The semi-structured interviews provided insight into usage, benefits and challenges of health monitoring using apps. Understanding the range of consumer experiences and expectations can inform design of health apps to encourage persistence in self-monitoring. PMID:27214203

Mobile Health Apps to Facilitate Self-Care: A Qualitative Study of User Experiences.

PubMed

Anderson, Kevin; Burford, Oksana; Emmerton, Lynne

2016-01-01

Consumers are living longer, creating more pressure on the health system and increasing their requirement for self-care of chronic conditions. Despite rapidly-increasing numbers of mobile health applications ('apps') for consumers' self-care, there is a paucity of research into consumer engagement with electronic self-monitoring. This paper presents a qualitative exploration of how health consumers use apps for health monitoring, their perceived benefits from use of health apps, and suggestions for improvement of health apps. 'Health app' was defined as any commercially-available health or fitness app with capacity for self-monitoring. English-speaking consumers aged 18 years and older using any health app for self-monitoring were recruited for interview from the metropolitan area of Perth, Australia. The semi-structured interview guide comprised questions based on the Technology Acceptance Model, Health Information Technology Acceptance Model, and the Mobile Application Rating Scale, and is the only study to do so. These models also facilitated deductive thematic analysis of interview transcripts. Implicit and explicit responses not aligned to these models were analyzed inductively. Twenty-two consumers (15 female, seven male) participated, 13 of whom were aged 26-35 years. Eighteen participants reported on apps used on iPhones. Apps were used to monitor diabetes, asthma, depression, celiac disease, blood pressure, chronic migraine, pain management, menstrual cycle irregularity, and fitness. Most were used approximately weekly for several minutes per session, and prior to meeting initial milestones, with significantly decreased usage thereafter. Deductive and inductive thematic analysis reduced the data to four dominant themes: engagement in use of the app; technical functionality of the app; ease of use and design features; and management of consumers' data. The semi-structured interviews provided insight into usage, benefits and challenges of health monitoring using apps. Understanding the range of consumer experiences and expectations can inform design of health apps to encourage persistence in self-monitoring.

A review on remote monitoring technology applied to implantable electronic cardiovascular devices.

PubMed

Costa, Paulo Dias; Rodrigues, Pedro Pereira; Reis, António Hipólito; Costa-Pereira, Altamiro

2010-12-01

Implantable electronic cardiovascular devices (IECD) include a broad spectrum of devices that have the ability to maintain rhythm, provide cardiac resynchronization therapy, and/or prevent sudden cardiac death. The incidence of bradyarrhythmias and other cardiac problems led to a broader use of IECD, which turned traditional follow-up into an extremely heavy burden for healthcare systems to support. Our aim was to assess the impact of remote monitoring on the follow-up of patients with IECD. We performed a review through PubMed using a specific query. The paper selection process included a three-step approach in which title, abstract, and cross-references were analyzed. Studies were then selected using previously defined inclusion criteria and analyzed according to the country of origin of the study, year, and journal of publication; type of study; and main issues covered. Twenty articles were included in this review. Eighty percent of the selected papers addressed clinical issues, from which 94% referred clinical events identification, clinical stability, time savings, or physician satisfaction as advantages, whereas 38% referred disadvantages that included both legal and technical issues. Forty-five percent of the papers referred patient issues, from which 89% presented advantages, focusing on patient acceptance/satisfaction, and patient time-savings. The main downsides were technical issues but patient privacy was also addressed. All the papers dealing with economic issues (20%) referred both advantages and disadvantages equally. Remote monitoring is presently a safe technology, widely accepted by patients and physicians, for its convenience, reassurance, and diagnostic potential. This review summarizes the principles of remote IECD monitoring presenting the current state-of-the-art. Patient safety and device interaction, applicability of current technology, and limitations of remote IECD monitoring are also addressed. The use of remote monitor should consider the selection of patients, the type of disease, and centers' availability to receive, interpret and respond to device alerts. Before remote IECD monitoring can be routinely used, technical, procedure, and ethical/legal issues should be addressed.

Reflective oxygen saturation monitoring at hypothenar and its validation by human hypoxia experiment.

PubMed

Guo, Tao; Cao, Zhengtao; Zhang, Zhengbo; Li, Deyu; Yu, Mengsun

2015-08-05

Pulse oxygen saturation (SpO2) is an important parameter for healthcare, and wearable sensors and systems for SpO2 monitoring have become increasingly popular. The aim of this paper is to develop a novel SpO2 monitoring system, which detects photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals at hypothenar with a reflection-mode sensor embedded into a glove. A special photo-detector section was designed with two photodiodes arranged symmetrically to the red and infrared light-emitting diodes (LED) to enhance the signal quality. The reflective sensor was placed in a soft silicon substrate sewn in a glove to fit the surface of the hypothenar. To lower the power consumption, the LED driving current was reduced and energy-efficient electronic components were applied. The performance for PPG signal detection and SpO2 monitoring was evaluated by human hypoxia experiments. Accelerometer-based adaptive noise cancellation (ANC) methods applying the least mean squares (LMS) and recursive least squares (RLS) algorithms were studied to suppress motion artifact. A total of 20 subjects participated in the hypoxia experiment. The degree of comfort for wearing this system was accepted by them. The PPG signals were detected effectively at SpO2 levels from about 100-70%. The experiment validated the accuracy of the system was 2.34%, compared to the invasive measurements. Both the LMS and RLS algorithms improved the performance during motion. The total current consumed by the system was only 8 mA. It is feasible to detect PPG signal and monitor SpO2 at the location of hypothenar. This novel system can achieve reliable SpO2 measurements at different SpO2 levels and on different individuals. The system is light-weighted, easy to wear and power-saving. It has the potential to be a solution for wearable monitoring, although more work should be conducted to improve the motion-resistant performance significantly.

Randomized comparison of two Internet-supported fertility-awareness-based methods of family planning.

PubMed

Fehring, Richard J; Schneider, Mary; Raviele, Kathleen; Rodriguez, Dana; Pruszynski, Jessica

2013-07-01

The aim was to compare the efficacy and acceptability of two Internet-supported fertility-awareness-based methods of family planning. Six hundred and sixty-seven women and their male partners were randomized into either an electronic hormonal fertility monitor (EHFM) group or a cervical mucus monitoring (CMM) group. Both groups utilized a Web site with instructions, charts and support. Acceptability was assessed online at 1, 3 and 6 months. Pregnancy rates were determined by survival analysis. The EHFM participants (N=197) had a total pregnancy rate of 7 per 100 users over 12 months of use compared with 18.5 for the CMM group (N=164). The log rank survival test showed a significant difference (p<.01) in survival functions. Mean acceptability for both groups increased significantly over time (p<.0001). Continuation rates at 12 months were 40.6% for the monitor group and 36.6% for the mucus group. In comparison with the CMM, the EHFM method of family planning was more effective. All users had an increase in acceptability over time. Results are tempered by the high dropout rate. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of Selected Task Performance Criteria at Initiating Adaptive Task Real locations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montgomery, Demaris A.

2001-01-01

In the current report various performance assessment methods used to initiate mode transfers between manual control and automation for adaptive task reallocation were tested. Participants monitored two secondary tasks for critical events while actively controlling a process in a fictional system. One of the secondary monitoring tasks could be automated whenever operators' performance was below acceptable levels. Automation of the secondary task and transfer of the secondary task back to manual control were either human- or machine-initiated. Human-initiated transfers were based on the operator's assessment of the current task demands while machine-initiated transfers were based on the operators' performance. Different performance assessment methods were tested in two separate experiments.

Advances in recreational water quality monitoring at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Wendy; Nevers, Meredith; Whitman, Richard L.

2006-01-01

Indiana Dunes has improved its ability to protect the health of swimmers through better science-based management and increased understanding of contaminants. Most research has focused on Escherichia coli and its nature, sources, and distribution because it is widely accepted as an indicator of potential pathogens. Though research on E. coli and recreational water quality is continually generating new information, public beach managers may gain valuable insight into this management issue from our experience at Indiana Dunes. This article reviews one of the longest maintained indicator bacteria monitoring programs in the National Park System, highlights lessons learned, and summarizes research findings that may be of interest to public beach managers.

Coliform Bacteria Monitoring in Fish Systems: Current Practices in Public Aquaria.

PubMed

Culpepper, Erin E; Clayton, Leigh A; Hadfield, Catherine A; Arnold, Jill E; Bourbon, Holly M

2016-06-01

Public aquaria evaluate coliform indicator bacteria levels in fish systems, but the purpose of testing, testing methods, and management responses are not standardized, unlike with the coliform bacteria testing for marine mammal enclosures required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An online survey was sent to selected aquaria to document current testing and management practices in fish systems without marine mammals. The information collected included indicator bacteria species, the size and type of systems monitored, the primary purpose of testing, sampling frequency, test methods, the criteria for interpreting results, corrective actions, and management changes to limit human exposure. Of the 25 institutions to which surveys were sent, 19 (76%) responded. Fourteen reported testing for fecal indicator bacteria in fish systems. The most commonly tested indicator species were total (86%) and fecal (79%) coliform bacteria, which were detected by means of the membrane filtration method (64%). Multiple types and sizes of systems were tested, and the guidelines for testing and corrective actions were highly variable. Only three institutions performed additional tests to confirm the identification of indicator organisms. The results from this study can be used to compare bacterial monitoring practices and protocols in fish systems, as an aid to discussions relating to the accuracy and reliability of test results, and to help implement appropriate management responses. Received August 23, 2015; accepted December 29, 2015.

Evaluation of advanced displays for engine monitoring and control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Summers, L. G.

1993-01-01

The relative effectiveness of two advanced display concepts for monitoring engine performance for commercial transport aircraft was studied. The concepts were the Engine Monitoring and Control System (EMACS) display developed by NASA Langley and a display by exception design. Both of these concepts were based on the philosophy of providing information that is directly related to the pilot's task. Both concepts used a normalized thrust display. In addition, EMACS used column deviation indicators; i.e., the difference between the actual parameter value and the value predicted by an engine model, for engine health monitoring; while the Display by Exception displayed the engine parameters if the automated system detected a difference between the actual and the predicted values. The results showed that the advanced display concepts had shorter detection and response times. There were no differences in any of the results between manual and auto throttles. There were no effects upon perceived workload or performance on the primary flight task. The majority of pilots preferred the advanced displays and thought they were operationally acceptable. Certification of these concepts depends on the validation of the engine model. Recommendations are made to improve both the EMACS and the display by exception display formats.

Generalized Philosophy of Alerting with Applications for Parallel Approach Collision Prevention

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winder, Lee F.; Kuchar, James K.

2000-01-01

The goal of the research was to develop formal guidelines for the design of hazard avoidance systems. An alerting system is automation designed to reduce the likelihood of undesirable outcomes that are due to rare failures in a human-controlled system. It accomplishes this by monitoring the system, and issuing warning messages to the human operators when thought necessary to head off a problem. On examination of existing and recently proposed logics for alerting it appears that few commonly accepted principles guide the design process. Different logics intended to address the same hazards may take disparate forms and emphasize different aspects of performance, because each reflects the intuitive priorities of a different designer. Because performance must be satisfactory to all users of an alerting system (implying a universal meaning of acceptable performance) and not just one designer, a proposed logic often undergoes significant piecemeal modification before gamma general acceptance. This report is an initial attempt to clarify the common performance goals by which an alerting system is ultimately judged. A better understanding of these goals will hopefully allow designers to reach the final logic in a quicker, more direct and repeatable manner. As a case study, this report compares three alerting logics for collision prevention during independent approaches to parallel runways, and outlines a fourth alternative incorporating elements of the first three, but satisfying stated requirements. Three existing logics for parallel approach alerting are described. Each follows from different intuitive principles. The logics are presented as examples of three "philosophies" of alerting system design.

Quest for harmonisation: differences and similarities in national programmes for GLP monitoring. A senior inspector's viewpoint.

PubMed

Helder, Theo

2008-01-01

The conditions under which safety data may be accepted by regulatory authorities (RAs) in OECD Countries do not only include the obligation to apply the principles of good laboratory practice (GLP) while producing these data, but also must countries, partaking in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) system for mutual acceptance of data (MAD), establish a monitoring programme to ensure proper application of the GLP principles. Detailed guidance to this end is given in the OECD GLP documents No. 2 and 3. Nevertheless, this guidance permits countries quite some freedom where it concerns the organisation of their programmes. Monitoring programmes may be embedded in governmental as well as private structures. It appears that GLP compliance monitoring is increasingly charged to accreditation bodies. Inspectors may be full-time or part-time workers, and there are differences in scheduling and performing inspections and study audits. Also the financing of the monitoring programmes is diverging: in some countries the programme is fully or partly paid by the inspected test facilities (TFs), while in other countries the financing comes from the national treasury. Is there a need for harmonisation in this area, as there is and was in the interpretation of the GLP principles themselves? Over the years more than ten consensus and advisory documents have been published by the OECD working group on GLP. The very existence of these documents is however no guarantee that the interpretation of the GLP principles by inspectors is similar, let alone identical. The most important criterion is, in fact, that there be no harm for human health and the environment.

Monitoring social indicators in the Bear Trap Canyon Wilderness 1988-1998

Treesearch

Joe L. Ashor

2000-01-01

Since its inception as a wilderness planning and management tool almost 15 years ago, the Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) process has stressed the importance of monitoring. Monitoring social conditions is critical to ensure that quality visitor experiences are maintained. Ten years of data collected from monitoring three river corridor-related social indicators in...

Automated Wetland Delineation from Multi-Frequency and Multi-Polarized SAR Images in High Temporal and Spatial Resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moser, L.; Schmitt, A.; Wendleder, A.

2016-06-01

Water scarcity is one of the main challenges posed by the changing climate. Especially in semi-arid regions where water reservoirs are filled during the very short rainy season, but have to store enough water for the extremely long dry season, the intelligent handling of water resources is vital. This study focusses on Lac Bam in Burkina Faso, which is the largest natural lake of the country and of high importance for the local inhabitants for irrigated farming, animal watering, and extraction of water for drinking and sanitation. With respect to the competition for water resources an independent area-wide monitoring system is essential for the acceptance of any decision maker. The following contribution introduces a weather and illumination independent monitoring system for the automated wetland delineation with a high temporal (about two weeks) and a high spatial sampling (about five meters). The similarities of the multispectral and multi-polarized SAR acquisitions by RADARSAT-2 and TerraSAR-X are studied as well as the differences. The results indicate that even basic approaches without pre-classification time series analysis or post-classification filtering are already enough to establish a monitoring system of prime importance for a whole region.

Development of a real time activity monitoring Android application utilizing SmartStep.

PubMed

Hegde, Nagaraj; Melanson, Edward; Sazonov, Edward

2016-08-01

Footwear based activity monitoring systems are becoming popular in academic research as well as consumer industry segments. In our previous work, we had presented developmental aspects of an insole based activity and gait monitoring system-SmartStep, which is a socially acceptable, fully wireless and versatile insole. The present work describes the development of an Android application that captures the SmartStep data wirelessly over Bluetooth Low energy (BLE), computes features on the received data, runs activity classification algorithms and provides real time feedback. The development of activity classification methods was based on the the data from a human study involving 4 participants. Participants were asked to perform activities of sitting, standing, walking, and cycling while they wore SmartStep insole system. Multinomial Logistic Discrimination (MLD) was utilized in the development of machine learning model for activity prediction. The resulting classification model was implemented in an Android Smartphone. The Android application was benchmarked for power consumption and CPU loading. Leave one out cross validation resulted in average accuracy of 96.9% during model training phase. The Android application for real time activity classification was tested on a human subject wearing SmartStep resulting in testing accuracy of 95.4%.

78 FR 64030 - Monitoring Criteria and Methods To Calculate Occupational Radiation Doses

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-25

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2013-0234] Monitoring Criteria and Methods To Calculate... regulatory guide (DG), DG-8031, ``Monitoring Criteria and Methods to Calculate Occupational Radiation Doses.'' This guide describes methods that the NRC staff considers acceptable for licensees to use to determine...

WASTE HANDLING BUILDING ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION DOCUMENT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

S.C. Khamamkar

2000-06-23

The Waste Handling Building Electrical System performs the function of receiving, distributing, transforming, monitoring, and controlling AC and DC power to all waste handling building electrical loads. The system distributes normal electrical power to support all loads that are within the Waste Handling Building (WHB). The system also generates and distributes emergency power to support designated emergency loads within the WHB within specified time limits. The system provides the capability to transfer between normal and emergency power. The system provides emergency power via independent and physically separated distribution feeds from the normal supply. The designated emergency electrical equipment will bemore » designed to operate during and after design basis events (DBEs). The system also provides lighting, grounding, and lightning protection for the Waste Handling Building. The system is located in the Waste Handling Building System. The system consists of a diesel generator, power distribution cables, transformers, switch gear, motor controllers, power panel boards, lighting panel boards, lighting equipment, lightning protection equipment, control cabling, and grounding system. Emergency power is generated with a diesel generator located in a QL-2 structure and connected to the QL-2 bus. The Waste Handling Building Electrical System distributes and controls primary power to acceptable industry standards, and with a dependability compatible with waste handling building reliability objectives for non-safety electrical loads. It also generates and distributes emergency power to the designated emergency loads. The Waste Handling Building Electrical System receives power from the Site Electrical Power System. The primary material handling power interfaces include the Carrier/Cask Handling System, Canister Transfer System, Assembly Transfer System, Waste Package Remediation System, and Disposal Container Handling Systems. The system interfaces with the MGR Operations Monitoring and Control System for supervisory monitoring and control signals. The system interfaces with all facility support loads such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, office, fire protection, monitoring and control, safeguards and security, and communications subsystems.« less

Managing brown bears and wilderness recreation on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobs, Michael J.; Schloeder, Catherine A.

1992-03-01

The Russian River-Cooper Lake-Resurrection River trail system, on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, traverses essential brown bear habitat. To set management guidelines for this area, the trail system was monitored using questionnaire cards and electronic trail counters from 1984 through 1987. This helped to determine the extent and type of human use and human-bear encounters in the area. Management recommendations were intended to reduce the potential displacement of brown bears by hikers and to inform wilderness users of the proper camping techniques to avoid attracting bears to the campsite. An average of 5800 visitors hiked or camped along the trail system each year. Encounters between hikers and brown bears averaged 7/yr while encounters with black bears averaged 35/yr. Minor problems occurred with both the electronic trail counters and the questionnaire. Modilications to these methods are discussed. A Limits of Acceptable Change format should be considered for the trail system to determine the character and future direction of recreational activities and monitoring of the trail system should continue in the future.

Artificial pancreas (AP) clinical trial participants' acceptance of future AP technology.

PubMed

Bevier, Wendy C; Fuller, Serena M; Fuller, Ryan P; Rubin, Richard R; Dassau, Eyal; Doyle, Francis J; Jovanovič, Lois; Zisser, Howard C

2014-09-01

Artificial pancreas (AP) systems are currently an active field of diabetes research. This pilot study examined the attitudes of AP clinical trial participants toward future acceptance of the technology, having gained firsthand experience. After possible influencers of AP technology adoption were considered, a 34-question questionnaire was developed. The survey assessed current treatment satisfaction, dimensions of clinical trial participant motivation, and variables of the technology acceptance model (TAM). Forty-seven subjects were contacted to complete the survey. The reliability of the survey scales was tested using Cronbach's α. The relationship of the factors to the likelihood of AP technology adoption was explored using regression analysis. Thirty-six subjects (76.6%) completed the survey. Of the respondents, 86.1% were either highly likely or likely to adopt the technology once available. Reliability analysis of the survey dimensions revealed good internal consistency, with scores of >0.7 for current treatment satisfaction, convenience (motivation), personal health benefit (motivation), perceived ease of use (TAM), and perceived usefulness (TAM). Linear modeling showed that future acceptance of the AP was significantly associated with TAM and the motivation variables of convenience plus the individual item benefit to others (R(2)=0.26, P=0.05). When insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor use were added, the model significance improved (R(2)=0.37, P=0.02). This pilot study demonstrated that individuals with direct AP technology experience expressed high likelihood of future acceptance. Results support the factors of personal benefit, convenience, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use as reliable scales that suggest system adoption in this highly motivated patient population.

Automatic documentation system extension to multi-manufacturers' computers and to measure, improve, and predict software reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simmons, D. B.

1975-01-01

The DOMONIC system has been modified to run on the Univac 1108 and the CDC 6600 as well as the IBM 370 computer system. The DOMONIC monitor system has been implemented to gather data which can be used to optimize the DOMONIC system and to predict the reliability of software developed using DOMONIC. The areas of quality metrics, error characterization, program complexity, program testing, validation and verification are analyzed. A software reliability model for estimating program completion levels and one on which to base system acceptance have been developed. The DAVE system which performs flow analysis and error detection has been converted from the University of Colorado CDC 6400/6600 computer to the IBM 360/370 computer system for use with the DOMONIC system.

Knowledge-Based Personal Health System to empower outpatients of diabetes mellitus by means of P4 Medicine.

PubMed

Bresó, Adrián; Sáez, Carlos; Vicente, Javier; Larrinaga, Félix; Robles, Montserrat; García-Gómez, Juan Miguel

2015-01-01

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and it imposes a large economic burden on healthcare systems. We present a web patient empowering system (PHSP4) that ensures continuous monitoring and assessment of the health state of patients with DM (type I and II). PHSP4 is a Knowledge-Based Personal Health System (PHS) which follows the trend of P4 Medicine (Personalized, Predictive, Preventive, and Participative). It provides messages to outpatients and clinicians about the achievement of objectives, follow-up, and treatments adjusted to the patient condition. Additionally, it calculates a four-component risk vector of the associated pathologies with DM: Nephropathy, Diabetic retinopathy, Diabetic foot, and Cardiovascular event. The core of the system is a Rule-Based System which Knowledge Base is composed by a set of rules implementing the recommendations of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) (American Diabetes Association: http://www.diabetes.org/ ) clinical guideline. The PHSP4 is designed to be standardized and to facilitate its interoperability by means of terminologies (SNOMED-CT [The International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization: http://www.ihtsdo.org/snomed-ct/ ] and UCUM [The Unified Code for Units of Measure: http://unitsofmeasure.org/ ]), standardized clinical documents (HL7 CDA R2 [Health Level Seven International: http://www.hl7.org/index.cfm ]) for managing Electronic Health Record (EHR). We have evaluated the functionality of the system and its users' acceptance of the system using simulated and real data, and a questionnaire based in the Technology Acceptance Model methodology (TAM). Finally results show the reliability of the system and the high acceptance of clinicians.

Product development using process monitoring and NDE data fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, Todd; Bossi, Richard H.

1998-03-01

Composite process/product development relies on both process monitoring information and nondestructive evaluation measurements for determining application suitability. In the past these activities have been performed and analyzed independently. Our present approach is to present the process monitoring and NDE data together in a data fusion workstation. This methodology leads to final product acceptance based on a combined process monitoring and NDE criteria. The data fusion work station combines process parameter and NDE data in a single workspace enabling all the data to be used in the acceptance/rejection decision process. An example application is the induction welding process, a unique joining method for assembling primary composite structure, that offers significant cost and weight advantages over traditional fasted structure. The determination of the required time, temperature and pressure conditions used in the process to achieve a complete weld is being aided by the use of ultrasonic inspection techniques. Full waveform ultrasonic inspection data is employed to evaluate the quality of spar cap to skin fit, an essential element of the welding process, and is processed to find a parameter that can be used for weld acceptance. Certification of the completed weld incorporates the data fusion methodology.

Design and package of a {sup 14}CO{sub 2} field analyzer The Global Monitor Platform (GMP)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bright, Michelle; Marino, Bruno D.V.; Gronniger, Glen

2011-08-01

Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) is widely accepted as a means to reduce and eliminate the fossil fuel CO{sub 2} (ff- CO{sub 2}) emissions from coal fired power plants. Success of CCS depends on near zero leakage rates over decadal time scales. Currently no commercial methods to determine leakage of ff-CO{sub 2} are available. The Global Monitor Platform (GMP) field analyzer provides high precision analysis of CO{sub 2} isotopes [12C (99%), 13C (<1%), 14C (1.2x10-10 %)] that can differentiate between fossil and biogenic CO{sub 2} emissions. Fossil fuels contain no {sup 14}C; their combustion should lower atmospheric amounts on localmore » to global scales. There is a clear mandate for monitoring, verification and accounting (MVA) of CCS systems nationally and globally to verify CCS integrity, treaty verification (Kyoto Protocol) and to characterize the nuclear fuel cycle. Planetary Emissions Management (PEM), working with the National Secure Manufacturing Center (NSMC), has the goal of designing, ruggedizing and packaging the GMP for field deployment. The system will conduct atmosphere monitoring then adapt the system to monitor water and soil evaluations. Measuring {sup 14}CO{sub 2} in real time will provide quantitative concentration data for ff-CO{sub 2} in the atmosphere and CCS leakage detection. Initial results will be discussed along with design changes for improved detection sensitivity and manufacturability.« less

An assessment of the performance and quality control procedures of PACS workstation monitors used in Irish radiology departments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wade, Cherrie; Brennan, Patrick C.; Mc Entee, Mark F.

2005-04-01

Diagnostic efficacy in soft-copy reporting relies heavily on the quality of workstation monitors and an investigation performed in 2002 demonstrated that CRT monitors in Dublin imaging departments were not operating at optimal levels. The current work examines the performance of CRTs being used in Dublin and other parts of Ireland to establish if problems reported in the earlier work have been rectified. All hospitals performing soft-copy reporting for general radiology using CRTs were included in the work. Examination of ambient lighting, calibration of monitors and analysis of CRT performance using the SMPTE test pattern and a selection of the AAPM test images was performed. Maximum luminance, spatial uniformity of luminance, temporal luminance stability, gamma, geometry, sharpness, veiling glare and spatial resolution of each monitor was evaluated. Ambient lighting in all reporting areas was within recommended levels. All the monitors were calibrated appropriately and were performing at acceptable levels for maximum luminance and temporal stability and only one of the thirty-three investigated failed to reach the standard for spatial uniformity. In contrast a number of the CRTs investigated showed poor adherence to acceptable levels for geometrical distortions, veiling glare and spatial resolution all of which are important influencers of image quality. Gamma values also appeared to be low for a number of monitors but this interpretation is provisional and subject to the establishment of ratified guideline values. The results demonstrate that although some improvement on the previous situation is evident, greater adherence to acceptable levels is required for certain parameters.

Analysis of decision fusion algorithms in handling uncertainties for integrated health monitoring systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zein-Sabatto, Saleh; Mikhail, Maged; Bodruzzaman, Mohammad; DeSimio, Martin; Derriso, Mark; Behbahani, Alireza

2012-06-01

It has been widely accepted that data fusion and information fusion methods can improve the accuracy and robustness of decision-making in structural health monitoring systems. It is arguably true nonetheless, that decision-level is equally beneficial when applied to integrated health monitoring systems. Several decisions at low-levels of abstraction may be produced by different decision-makers; however, decision-level fusion is required at the final stage of the process to provide accurate assessment about the health of the monitored system as a whole. An example of such integrated systems with complex decision-making scenarios is the integrated health monitoring of aircraft. Thorough understanding of the characteristics of the decision-fusion methodologies is a crucial step for successful implementation of such decision-fusion systems. In this paper, we have presented the major information fusion methodologies reported in the literature, i.e., probabilistic, evidential, and artificial intelligent based methods. The theoretical basis and characteristics of these methodologies are explained and their performances are analyzed. Second, candidate methods from the above fusion methodologies, i.e., Bayesian, Dempster-Shafer, and fuzzy logic algorithms are selected and their applications are extended to decisions fusion. Finally, fusion algorithms are developed based on the selected fusion methods and their performance are tested on decisions generated from synthetic data and from experimental data. Also in this paper, a modeling methodology, i.e. cloud model, for generating synthetic decisions is presented and used. Using the cloud model, both types of uncertainties; randomness and fuzziness, involved in real decision-making are modeled. Synthetic decisions are generated with an unbiased process and varying interaction complexities among decisions to provide for fair performance comparison of the selected decision-fusion algorithms. For verification purposes, implementation results of the developed fusion algorithms on structural health monitoring data collected from experimental tests are reported in this paper.

Development and Certification of Station Development Test Objective (SDTO) Experiment # 15012-U, "Near RealTime Water Quality Monitoring Demonstration for ISS Biocides Using Colorimetric Solid Phase Extraction (CSPE)"

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gazda, Daniel B.; Nolan, Daniel J.; Rutz, Jeffrey A.; Shcultz, John R.; Siperko, Lorraine M.; Porter, Marc D,; Lipert, Robert J.; Limardo, Jose G.; McCoy, J. Torin

2009-01-01

Scientists and engineers from the Wyle Integrated Science and Engineering Group are working with researchers at the University of Utah and Iowa State University to develop and certify an experimental water quality monitoring kit based on Colorimetric Solid Phase Extraction (CSPE). The kit will be launched as a Station Development Test Objective (SDTO) experiment and evaluated on the International Space Station (ISS) to determine the acceptability of CSPE technology for routine inflight water quality monitoring. Iodine and silver, the biocides used in the US and Russian on-orbit water systems, will serve as test analytes for the technology evaluation. This manuscript provides an overview of the CSPE SDTO experiment and details the development and certification of the experimental water quality monitoring kit. Initial results from reagent and standard solution stability testing and environmental testing performed on the kit hardware are also reported.

Report on monitoring and support instruments for solar physics research from Spacelab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

The Quick Reaction and Special Purpose Facility Definition Team for Solar Physics Spacelab Payloads examined a variety of instruments to fulfill the following functions: (1) solar physics research appropriate to Spacelab, (2) correlative data for research in such fields as aeronomy, magnetospheric physics, ionospheric physics, meteorology and climatology, (3) target selection for activity alert monitoring and (4) pointing accuracy monitoring of Spacelab platforms. In this examination the team accepted a number of restrictions and qualifications: (1) the cost of such instruments must be low, so as not to adversely impact the development of new, research class instrumentation in the early Spacelab era; (2) the instruments should be of such a size that they each would occupy a small fraction of a pointing system, and (3) the weight and power consumption of the instruments should also be small. With these restrictions, the instruments chosen are: the visible light telescope and magnetograph, the extreme-ultraviolet telescope, and the solar irradiance monitor.

An ex ante control chart for project monitoring using earned duration management observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mortaji, Seyed Taha Hossein; Noori, Siamak; Noorossana, Rassoul; Bagherpour, Morteza

2017-12-01

In the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in developing project control systems. The primary purpose of such systems is to indicate whether the actual performance is consistent with the baseline and to produce a signal in the case of non-compliance. Recently, researchers have shown an increased interest in monitoring project's performance indicators, by plotting them on the Shewhart-type control charts over time. However, these control charts are fundamentally designed for processes and ignore project-specific dynamics, which can lead to weak results and misleading interpretations. By paying close attention to the project baseline schedule and using statistical foundations, this paper proposes a new ex ante control chart which discriminates between acceptable (as-planned) and non-acceptable (not-as-planned) variations of the project's schedule performance. Such control chart enables project managers to set more realistic thresholds leading to a better decision making for taking corrective and/or preventive actions. For the sake of clarity, an illustrative example has been presented to show how the ex ante control chart is constructed in practice. Furthermore, an experimental investigation has been set up to analyze the performance of the proposed control chart. As expected, the results confirm that, when a project starts to deflect significantly from the project's baseline schedule, the ex ante control chart shows a respectable ability to detect and report right signals while avoiding false alarms.

Air Quality Side Event Proposal November 2016 GEO XIII ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Group on Earth Observations (GEO), which EPA has participated in since 2003, has put out a call for Side Events for its thirteenth annual international Plenary Meeting which is in St. Petersburg, Russia this year during November, 2016. EPA has put on Side Events on Air Quality and Health observational systems at eight of the previous Plenaries. This document is a Side Event proposal regarding air quality, health and next generation monitoring and observations techniques. It is submitted to the GEO Secretariat for consideration. If accepted, there will likely be presentations by EPA and NASA, other GEO Member Countries and UNEP and other GEO Participating Organizations at the Side Event. It is an opportunity to share scientific and technological advances in this area and build partnerships and collaboration. The Group on Earth Observations (GEO), which EPA has participated in since 2003, has put out a call for Side Events for its thirteenth annual international Plenary Meeting which is in St. Petersburg, Russia this year during November, 2016. EPA has put on Side Events on Air Quality and Health observational systems at eight of the previous Plenaries. This document is a Side Event proposal regarding air quality, health and next generation monitoring and observations techniques.  It is submitted to the GEO Secretariat for consideration. If accepted, there will likely be presentations by EPA and NASA, other GEO Member Countries and UNEP and other GEO P

FAULT PROPAGATION AND EFFECTS ANALYSIS FOR DESIGNING AN ONLINE MONITORING SYSTEM FOR THE SECONDARY LOOP OF A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PART OF A HYBRID ENERGY SYSTEM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Huijuan; Diao, Xiaoxu; Li, Boyuan

This paper studies the propagation and effects of faults of critical components that pertain to the secondary loop of a nuclear power plant found in Nuclear Hybrid Energy Systems (NHES). This information is used to design an on-line monitoring (OLM) system which is capable of detecting and forecasting faults that are likely to occur during NHES operation. In this research, the causes, features, and effects of possible faults are investigated by simulating the propagation of faults in the secondary loop. The simulation is accomplished by using the Integrated System Failure Analysis (ISFA). ISFA is used for analyzing hardware and softwaremore » faults during the conceptual design phase. In this paper, the models of system components required by ISFA are initially constructed. Then, the fault propagation analysis is implemented, which is conducted under the bounds set by acceptance criteria derived from the design of an OLM system. The result of the fault simulation is utilized to build a database for fault detection and diagnosis, provide preventive measures, and propose an optimization plan for the OLM system.« less

Eddy-Current Inspection Of Tab Seals On Beverage Cans

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

1994-01-01

Eddy-current inspection system monitors tab seals on beverage cans. Device inspects all cans at usual production rate of 1,500 to 2,000 cans per minute. Automated inspection of all units replaces visual inspection by microscope aided by mass spectrometry. System detects defects in real time. Sealed cans on conveyor pass near one of two coils in differential eddy-current probe. Other coil in differential eddy-current probe positioned near stationary reference can on which tab seal is known to be of acceptable quality. Signal of certain magnitude at output of probe indicates defective can, automatically ejected from conveyor.

Plantar pressure cartography reconstruction from 3 sensors.

PubMed

Abou Ghaida, Hussein; Mottet, Serge; Goujon, Jean-Marc

2014-01-01

Foot problem diagnosis is often made by using pressure mapping systems, unfortunately located and used in the laboratories. In the context of e-health and telemedicine for home monitoring of patients having foot problems, our focus is to present an acceptable system for daily use. We developed an ambulatory instrumented insole using 3 pressures sensors to visualize plantar pressure cartographies. We show that a standard insole with fixed sensor position could be used for different foot sizes. The results show an average error measured at each pixel of 0.01 daN, with a standard deviation of 0.005 daN.

Remote vibration monitoring system using wireless internet data transfer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemke, John

2000-06-01

Vibrations from construction activities can affect infrastructure projects in several ways. Within the general vicinity of a construction site, vibrations can result in damage to existing structures, disturbance to people, damage to sensitive machinery, and degraded performance of precision instrumentation or motion sensitive equipment. Current practice for monitoring vibrations in the vicinity of construction sites commonly consists of measuring free field or structural motions using velocity transducers connected to a portable data acquisition unit via cables. This paper describes an innovative way to collect, process, transmit, and analyze vibration measurements obtained at construction sites. The system described measures vibration at the sensor location, performs necessary signal conditioning and digitization, and sends data to a Web server using wireless data transmission and Internet protocols. A Servlet program running on the Web server accepts the transmitted data and incorporates it into a project database. Two-way interaction between the Web-client and the Web server is accomplished through the use of a Servlet program and a Java Applet running inside a browser located on the Web client's computer. Advantages of this system over conventional vibration data logging systems include continuous unattended monitoring, reduced costs associated with field data collection, instant access to data files and graphs by project team members, and the ability to remotely modify data sampling schemes.

Wearable photoplethysmography device prototype for wireless cardiovascular monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kviesis-Kipge, E.; Grabovskis, A.; Marcinkevics, Z.; Mecnika, V.; Rubenis, O.

2014-05-01

The aim of the study was to develop a prototype system of the smart garment for real time telemetric monitoring of human cardiovascular activity. Two types of photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors for low noise and artefact free signal recording from various sites of the human body that were suitable for integration into smart textile were investigated. The reflectance sensors with single and multiple photodiodes based on "pulse-duration-based signal conversion" signal acquisition principle were designed and evaluated. The technical parameters of the system were measured both on bench and in vivo. Overall, both types of PPG sensors showed acceptable signal quality SNR 86.56±3.00 dB, dynamic range 89.84 dB. However, in-vivo condition tests revealed lower noise and higher accuracy achieved by applying the multiple photodiodes sensor. We concluded that the proposed PPG device prototype is simple and reliable, and therefore, can be utilized in low-cost smart garments.

Long-term pavement monitoring program : development of pavement monitoring : prepared for alternative development workshop

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1984-08-01

Long-term monitoring efforts have been carried on for a number of years at state and national level and have been generally accepted. However, the shape that it takes in the future will depend very largely upon the decisions that are made in this Wor...

Test load verification through strain data analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Verderaime, V.; Harrington, F.

1995-01-01

A traditional binding acceptance criterion on polycrystalline structures is the experimental verification of the ultimate factor of safety. At fracture, the induced strain is inelastic and about an order-of-magnitude greater than designed for maximum expected operational limit. At this extreme strained condition, the structure may rotate and displace at the applied verification load such as to unknowingly distort the load transfer into the static test article. Test may result in erroneously accepting a submarginal design or rejecting a reliable one. A technique was developed to identify, monitor, and assess the load transmission error through two back-to-back surface-measured strain data. The technique is programmed for expediency and convenience. Though the method was developed to support affordable aerostructures, the method is also applicable for most high-performance air and surface transportation structural systems.

Monitoring diet and diet-related chronic disease risk factors in Finland.

PubMed

Männistö, Satu; Laatikainen, Tiina; Helakorpi, Satu; Valsta, Liisa M

2010-06-01

Health and dietary monitoring has a long history in Finland. The aim of this review is to summarise the main sources of Finnish dietary information including food balance sheets, household budget survey data, questionnaires related to dietary behaviour and risk factors of main chronic diseases as well as dietary surveys. According to these sources, dietary behaviour and food choices have changed considerably during the last decades. For example, the total fat intake (E %) has decreased remarkably from nearly 40 % in the late 1960s to close to 30 % in 2007. Furthermore, the type of fat consumed has changed noticeably due to the increased popularity of oil used in cooking and the large variety of softer spreads available. There has also been a notable decrease in intake of salt, and a multiple increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables since the 1970s. The future challenges of dietary monitoring include keeping the participation rates in dietary surveys at acceptable levels, controlling under/over-reporting of diet, developing a national monitoring system for children and adapting to international changes and requirements to harmonise dietary monitoring in Europe.

"It's Like a Cyber-Security Blanket": The Utility of Remote Activity Monitoring in Family Dementia Care.

PubMed

Mitchell, Lauren L; Peterson, Colleen M; Rud, Shaina R; Jutkowitz, Eric; Sarkinen, Andrielle; Trost, Sierra; Porta, Carolyn M; Finlay, Jessica M; Gaugler, Joseph E

2018-03-01

Technologies have emerged that aim to help older persons with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs) remain at home while also supporting their caregiving family members. However, the usefulness of these innovations, particularly in home-based care contexts, remains underexplored. The current study evaluated the acceptability and utility of an in-home remote activity monitoring (RAM) system for 30 family caregivers of persons with ADRD via quantitative survey data collected over a 6-month period and qualitative survey and interview data collected for up to 18 months. A parallel convergent mixed methods design was employed. The integrated qualitative and quantitative data suggested that RAM technology offered ongoing monitoring and provided caregivers with a sense of security. Considerable customization was needed so that RAM was most appropriate for persons with ADRD. The findings have important clinical implications when considering how RAM can supplement, or potentially substitute for, ADRD family care.

Nonintrusive biological signal monitoring in a car to evaluate a driver's stress and health state.

PubMed

Baek, Hyun Jae; Lee, Haet Bit; Kim, Jung Soo; Choi, Jong Min; Kim, Ko Keun; Park, Kwang Suk

2009-03-01

Nonintrusive monitoring of a driver's physiological signals was introduced and evaluated in a car as a test of extending the concept of ubiquitous healthcare to vehicles. Electrocardiogram, photoplethysmogram, galvanic skin response, and respiration were measured in the ubiquitous healthcare car (U-car) using nonintrusively installed sensors on the steering wheel, driver's seat, and seat belt. Measured signals were transmitted to the embedded computer via Bluetooth(R) communication and processed. We collected and analyzed physiological signals during driving in order to estimate a driver's stress state while using this system. In order to compare the effect of stress on physical and mental conditions, two categories of stresses were defined. Experimental results show that a driver's physiological signals were measured with acceptable quality for analysis without interrupting driving, and they were changed meaningfully due to elicited stress. This nonintrusive monitoring can be used to evaluate a driver's state of health and stress.

Mobile healthcare applications: system design review, critical issues and challenges.

PubMed

Baig, Mirza Mansoor; GholamHosseini, Hamid; Connolly, Martin J

2015-03-01

Mobile phones are becoming increasingly important in monitoring and delivery of healthcare interventions. They are often considered as pocket computers, due to their advanced computing features, enhanced preferences and diverse capabilities. Their sophisticated sensors and complex software applications make the mobile healthcare (m-health) based applications more feasible and innovative. In a number of scenarios user-friendliness, convenience and effectiveness of these systems have been acknowledged by both patients as well as healthcare providers. M-health technology employs advanced concepts and techniques from multidisciplinary fields of electrical engineering, computer science, biomedical engineering and medicine which benefit the innovations of these fields towards healthcare systems. This paper deals with two important aspects of current mobile phone based sensor applications in healthcare. Firstly, critical review of advanced applications such as; vital sign monitoring, blood glucose monitoring and in-built camera based smartphone sensor applications. Secondly, investigating challenges and critical issues related to the use of smartphones in healthcare including; reliability, efficiency, mobile phone platform variability, cost effectiveness, energy usage, user interface, quality of medical data, and security and privacy. It was found that the mobile based applications have been widely developed in recent years with fast growing deployment by healthcare professionals and patients. However, despite the advantages of smartphones in patient monitoring, education, and management there are some critical issues and challenges related to security and privacy of data, acceptability, reliability and cost that need to be addressed.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Perkins, Casey J.; Brigantic, Robert T.; Keating, Douglas H.

There is a need to develop and demonstrate technical approaches for verifying potential future agreements to limit and reduce total warhead stockpiles. To facilitate this aim, warhead monitoring systems employ both concepts of operations (CONOPS) and technologies. A systems evaluation approach can be used to assess the relative performance of CONOPS and technologies in their ability to achieve monitoring system objectives which include: 1) confidence that a treaty accountable item (TAI) initialized by the monitoring system is as declared; 2) confidence that there is no undetected diversion from the monitoring system; and 3) confidence that a TAI is dismantled asmore » declared. Although there are many quantitative methods that can be used to assess system performance for the above objectives, this paper focuses on a simulation perspective primarily for the ability to support analysis of the probabilities that are used to define operating characteristics of CONOPS and technologies. This paper describes a discrete event simulation (DES) model, comprised of three major sub-models: including TAI lifecycle flow, monitoring activities, and declaration behavior. The DES model seeks to capture all processes and decision points associated with the progressions of virtual TAIs, with notional characteristics, through the monitoring system from initialization through dismantlement. The simulation updates TAI progression (i.e., whether the generated test objects are accepted and rejected at the appropriate points) all the way through dismantlement. Evaluation of TAI lifecycles primarily serves to assess how the order, frequency, and combination of functions in the CONOPS affect system performance as a whole. It is important, however, to note that discrete event simulation is also capable (at a basic level) of addressing vulnerabilities in the CONOPS and interdependencies between individual functions as well. This approach is beneficial because it does not rely on complex mathematical models, but instead attempts to recreate the real world system as a decision and event driven simulation. Finally, because the simulation addresses warhead confirmation, chain of custody, and warhead dismantlement in a modular fashion, a discrete-event model could be easily adapted to multiple CONOPS for the exploration of a large number of “what if” scenarios.« less

Results in standardization of FOS to support the use of SHM systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Habel, Wolfgang R.; Krebber, Katerina; Daum, Werner

2016-05-01

Measurement and data recording systems are important parts of a holistic Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system. New sensor technologies such as fiber-optic sensors are often used; however, standards (or at least guidelines) are not yet available or internationally approved. This lack in standardization makes the acceptance of FOS technologies in complex SHM systems substantially difficult. A standard family for different FOS technologies is therefore being developed that should help to design SHM systems in an optimal way. International standardization activities take place in several standardization bodies such as IEC and ASTM, and within SHM societies such as ISHMII. The paper reports on activities in standardization of fiber-optic sensors, on results already achieved, and on newly started projects. Combined activities of fiber sensor experts and SHM experts from Civil Engineering are presented. These contributions should help owners of structures as well as developers of sensors and monitoring systems to select effective and validated sensing technologies. Using these standards, both parties find recommendations how to proceed in development of SHM systems to evaluate the structural behavior based on e.g. standardized fiber optic sensors, and to derive necessary measures, e.g. the optimal maintenance strategy.

A low frequency rotational energy harvesting system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Febbo, M.; Machado, S. P.; Ramirez, J. M.; Gatti, C. D.

2016-11-01

This paper presents a rotary power scavenging unit comprised of two systems of flexible beams connected by two masses which are joined by means of a spring, considering a PZT (QP16N, Midé Corporation) piezoelectric sheet mounted on one of the beams. The energy harvesting (EH) system is mounted rigidly on a rotating hub. The gravitational force on the masses causes sustained oscillatory motion in the flexible beams as long as there is rotary motion. The intention is to use the EH system in the wireless autonomous monitoring of wind turbines under different wind conditions. Specifically, the development is oriented to monitor the dynamic state of the blades of a wind generator of 30 KW which rotates between 50 and 150 rpm. The paper shows a complete set of experimental results on three devices, modifying the amount of beams in the frame supporting the system. The results show an acceptable sustained voltage generation for the expected range, in the three proposed cases. Therefore, it is possible to use this system for generating energy in a low-frequency rotating environment. As an alternative, the system can be easily adapted to include an array of piezoelectric sheets to each of the beams, to provide more power generation.

Evaluating the performance of a 50 kilowatt grid-connected photovoltaic system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chowdhury, B.H.; Muknahallipatn, S.; Cupal, J.J.

A 50-kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) system was built at the University of Wyoming (UW) in 1996. The system comprises of three sub-systems. The first sub-system, a 10 kW roof-integrated system is located on the roof of the Engineering Building. The second sub-system is a 5 kW rack-mounted, ballasted PV system located on another part of the roof. The third sub-system is a 35 kW shade structure and is located adjacent to the university's football stadium. The three sub-systems differ in their design strategy since each is being used for research and education at the university. Each sub-system, being located atmore » some distance away from one another, supplies a different part of the campus grid. Efforts are continuing for setting up a central monitoring system, which will receive data remotely from all locations. A part of this monitoring system is complete. The system as configured provides a great deal of flexibility, which is in turn demanded by the variety of signal types measured at each installation. Each installation requires measurement of multiple dc and ac voltages and currents and one slowly varying voltage (proportional to solar insolation). The simultaneous sampling, fast sample rate, and lowpass signal conditioning allow for accurate measurement of power factor and total harmonic distortion of the inverter outputs. Panel and inverter efficiencies can be determined via simultaneous DC and AC measurements. These performance monitors provide the essential data for characterization of the PV effect at the grid input, and enable the use of intelligent power factor correction and harmonic filtering. Monitoring of the system shows that the total harmonic distortion present in the ac power output is at or below the acceptable limit as recommended by IEEE 519-1992. The harmonic distortion worsens when the ac power reaches more than 3.8 kW. A number of reliability problems with PV modules and inverters have delayed full functionality of the system.« less

An alternative sensor-based method for glucose monitoring in children and young people with diabetes.

PubMed

Edge, Julie; Acerini, Carlo; Campbell, Fiona; Hamilton-Shield, Julian; Moudiotis, Chris; Rahman, Shakeel; Randell, Tabitha; Smith, Anne; Trevelyan, Nicola

2017-06-01

To determine accuracy, safety and acceptability of the FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System in the paediatric population. Eighty-nine study participants, aged 4-17 years, with type 1 diabetes were enrolled across 9 diabetes centres in the UK. A factory calibrated sensor was inserted on the back of the upper arm and used for up to 14 days. Sensor glucose measurements were compared with capillary blood glucose (BG) measurements. Sensor results were masked to participants. Clinical accuracy of sensor results versus BG results was demonstrated, with 83.8% of results in zone A and 99.4% of results in zones A and B of the consensus error grid. Overall mean absolute relative difference (MARD) was 13.9%. Sensor accuracy was unaffected by patient factors such as age, body weight, sex, method of insulin administration or time of use (day vs night). Participants were in the target glucose range (3.9-10.0 mmol/L) ∼50% of the time (mean 12.1 hours/day), with an average of 2.2 hours/day and 9.5 hours/day in hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia, respectively. Sensor application, wear/use of the device and comparison to self-monitoring of blood glucose were rated favourably by most participants/caregivers (84.3-100%). Five device related adverse events were reported across a range of participant ages. Accuracy, safety and user acceptability of the FreeStyle Libre System were demonstrated for the paediatric population. Accuracy of the system was unaffected by subject characteristics, making it suitable for a broad range of children and young people with diabetes. NCT02388815. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Tele-monitoring of ventilator-dependent patients: a European Respiratory Society Statement.

PubMed

Ambrosino, Nicolino; Vitacca, Michele; Dreher, Michael; Isetta, Valentina; Montserrat, Josep M; Tonia, Thomy; Turchetti, Giuseppe; Winck, Joao Carlos; Burgos, Felip; Kampelmacher, Michael; Vagheggini, Guido

2016-09-01

The estimated prevalence of ventilator-dependent individuals in Europe is 6.6 per 100 000 people. The increasing number and costs of these complex patients make present health organisations largely insufficient to face their needs. As a consequence, their burden lays mostly over families. The need to reduce healthcare costs and to increase safety has prompted the development of tele-monitoring for home ventilatory assistance.A European Respiratory Society Task Force produced a literature research based statement on commonly accepted clinical criteria for indications, follow-up, equipment, facilities, legal and economic issues of tele-monitoring of these patients.Many remote health monitoring systems are available, ensuring safety, feasibility, effectiveness, sustainability and flexibility to face different patients' needs. The legal problems associated with tele-monitoring are still controversial. National and European Union (EU) governments should develop guidelines and ethical, legal, regulatory, technical, administrative standards for remote medicine. The economic advantages, if any, of this new approach must be compared to a "gold standard" of home care that is very variable among different European countries and within each European country.Much more research is needed before considering tele-monitoring a real improvement in the management of these patients. Copyright ©ERS 2016.

Clinical application of a modern high-definition head-mounted display in sonography.

PubMed

Takeshita, Hideki; Kihara, Kazunori; Yoshida, Soichiro; Higuchi, Saori; Ito, Masaya; Nakanishi, Yasukazu; Kijima, Toshiki; Ishioka, Junichiro; Matsuoka, Yoh; Numao, Noboru; Saito, Kazutaka; Fujii, Yasuhisa

2014-08-01

Because of the remarkably improved image quality and wearability of modern head-mounted displays, a monitoring system using a head-mounted display rather than a fixed-site monitor for sonographic scanning has the potential to improve the diagnostic performance and lessen the examiner's physical burden during a sonographic examination. In a preclinical setting, 2 head-mounted displays, the HMZ-T2 (Sony Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) and the Wrap1200 (Vuzix Corporation, Rochester, NY), were found to be applicable to sonography. In a clinical setting, the feasibility of the HMZ-T2 was shown by its good image quality and acceptable wearability. This modern device is appropriate for clinical use in sonography. © 2014 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.

Structural damage detection for in-service highway bridge under operational and environmental variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Chenhao; Li, Jingcheng; Jang, Shinae; Sun, Xiaorong; Christenson, Richard

2015-03-01

Structural health monitoring has drawn significant attention in the past decades with numerous methodologies and applications for civil structural systems. Although many researchers have developed analytical and experimental damage detection algorithms through vibration-based methods, these methods are not widely accepted for practical structural systems because of their sensitivity to uncertain environmental and operational conditions. The primary environmental factor that influences the structural modal properties is temperature. The goal of this article is to analyze the natural frequency-temperature relationships and detect structural damage in the presence of operational and environmental variations using modal-based method. For this purpose, correlations between natural frequency and temperature are analyzed to select proper independent variables and inputs for the multiple linear regression model and neural network model. In order to capture the changes of natural frequency, confidence intervals to detect the damages for both models are generated. A long-term structural health monitoring system was installed on an in-service highway bridge located in Meriden, Connecticut to obtain vibration and environmental data. Experimental testing results show that the variability of measured natural frequencies due to temperature is captured, and the temperature-induced changes in natural frequencies have been considered prior to the establishment of the threshold in the damage warning system. This novel approach is applicable for structural health monitoring system and helpful to assess the performance of the structure for bridge management and maintenance.

Development and preliminary evaluation of a novel low cost VR-based upper limb stroke rehabilitation platform using Wii technology.

PubMed

Tsekleves, Emmanuel; Paraskevopoulos, Ioannis Theoklitos; Warland, Alyson; Kilbride, Cherry

2016-01-01

This paper proposes a novel system (using the Nintendo Wii remote) that offers customised, non-immersive, virtual reality-based, upper-limb stroke rehabilitation and reports on promising preliminary findings with stroke survivors. The system novelty lies in the high accuracy of the full kinematic tracking of the upper limb movement in real-time, offering strong personal connection between the stroke survivor and a virtual character when executing therapist prescribed adjustable exercises/games. It allows the therapist to monitor patient performance and to individually calibrate the system in terms of range of movement, speed and duration. The system was tested for acceptability with three stroke survivors with differing levels of disability. Participants reported an overwhelming connection with the system and avatar. A two-week, single case study with a long-term stroke survivor showed positive changes in all four outcome measures employed, with the participant reporting better wrist control and greater functional use. Activities, which were deemed too challenging or too easy were associated with lower scores of enjoyment/motivation, highlighting the need for activities to be individually calibrated. Given the preliminary findings, it would be beneficial to extend the case study in terms of duration and participants and to conduct an acceptability and feasibility study with community dwelling survivors. Implications for Rehabilitation Low-cost, off-the-shelf game sensors, such as the Nintendo Wii remote, are acceptable by stroke survivors as an add-on to upper limb stroke rehabilitation but have to be bespoked to provide high-fidelity and real-time kinematic tracking of the arm movement. Providing therapists with real-time and remote monitoring of the quality of the movement and not just the amount of practice, is imperative and most critical for getting a better understanding of each patient and administering the right amount and type of exercise. The ability to translate therapeutic arm movement into individually calibrated exercises and games, allows accommodation of the wide range of movement difficulties seen after stroke and the ability to adjust these activities (in terms of speed, range of movement and duration) will aid motivation and adherence - key issues in rehabilitation. With increasing pressures on resources and the move to more community-based rehabilitation, the proposed system has the potential for promoting the intensity of practice necessary for recovery in both community and acute settings.

Microbial Monitoring of the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pierson, Duane L.; Botkin, Douglas J.; Bruce, Rebekah J.; Castro, Victoria A.; Smith, Melanie J.; Oubre, Cherie M.; Ott, C. Mark

2013-01-01

Humans living and working in the harsh environment of space present many challenges for habitability engineers and microbiologists. Spacecraft must provide an internal environment in which physical (gas composition, pressure, temperature, and humidity), chemical, and biological environmental parameters are maintained at safe levels. Microorganisms are ubiquitous and will accompany all human-occupied spacecraft, but if biological contamination were to reach unacceptable levels, long-term human space flight would be impossible. Prevention of microbiological problems, therefore, must have a high priority. Historically, prevention of infectious disease in the crew has been the highest priority, but experience gained from the NASA-Mir program showed that microbial contamination of vehicle and life-support systems, such as biofouling of water and food, are of equal importance. The major sources of microbiological risk factors for astronauts include food, drinking water, air, surfaces, payloads, research animals, crew members, and personnel in close contact with the astronauts. In our efforts to eliminate or mitigate the negative effects of microorganisms in spacecraft, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) implemented comprehensive microbial analyses of the major risk factors. This included the establishment of acceptability requirements for food, water, air, surfaces, and crew members. A robust monitoring program was then implemented to verify that the risks were within acceptable limits. Prevention of microbiological problems is preferred over mitigation of problems during flight, and preventive steps must begin very early in the design phase. Spacecraft development must include requirements to control free water from humidity, condensate, hygiene activities, and other releases. If water is available, microbes are likely to grow because sufficient nutrients are potentially available. Materials selected for the spacecraft must not promote or support microbial growth. Air filtration can dramatically reduce the number of airborne bacteria, fungi, and particulates in spacecraft breathing air. Waterborne bacteria can be reduced to acceptable levels by thermal inactivation of bacteria during water processing, along with a residual biocide, and filtration at the point of use can ensure safety. System design must include onboard capability to achieve recovery of the system from contamination. Robust housekeeping procedures that include periodic cleaning and disinfection will prevent high levels of microbial growth on surfaces. Food for consumption in space must be thoroughly tested for excessive microbial content and pathogens before launch. Thorough preflight examination of flight crews, consumables, payloads, and the environment can greatly reduce pathogens in spacecraft. Many of the lessons learned from the Space Shuttle and previous programs were applied in the early design phase of the International Space Station, resulting in the safest space habitat to date. This presentation describes the monitoring program for the International Space Station and will summarize results from preflight and on-orbit monitoring.

Implementation of a critical incident reporting system in a neurosurgical department.

PubMed

Kantelhardt, P; Müller, M; Giese, A; Rohde, V; Kantelhardt, S R

2011-02-01

Critical incident monitoring is an important tool for quality improvement and the maintenance of high safety standards. It was developed for aviation safety and is now widely accepted as a useful tool to reduce medical care-related morbidity and mortality. Despite this widespread acceptance, the literature has no reports on any neurosurgical applications of critical incident monitoring. We describe the introduction of a mono-institutional critical incident reporting system in a neurosurgical department. Furthermore, we have developed a formula to assess possible counterstrategies. All staff members of a neurosurgical department were advised to report critical incidents. The anonymous reporting form contained a box for the description of the incident, several multiple-choice questions on specific risk factors, place and reason for occurrence of the incident, severity of the consequences and suggested counterstrategies. The incident data was entered into an online documentation system (ADKA DokuPik) and evaluated by an external specialist. For data analysis we applied a modified assessment scheme initially designed for flight safety. Data collection was started in September 2008. The average number of reported incidents was 18 per month (currently 216 in total). Most incidents occurred on the neurosurgical ward (64%). Human error was involved in 86% of the reported incidents. The largest group of incidents consisted of medication-related problems. Accordingly, counterstrategies were developed, resulting in a decrease in the relative number of reported medication-related incidents from 42% (March 09) to 30% (September 09). Implementation of the critical incident reporting system presented no technical problems. The reporting rate was high compared to that reported in the current literature. The formulation, evaluation and introduction of specific counterstrategies to guard against selected groups of incidents may improve patient safety in neurosurgical departments. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

A mobile and web-based clinical decision support and monitoring system for diabetes mellitus patients in primary care: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Kart, Özge; Mevsim, Vildan; Kut, Alp; Yürek, İsmail; Altın, Ayşe Özge; Yılmaz, Oğuz

2017-11-29

Physicians' guideline use rates for diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of diabetes mellitus (DM) is very low. Time constraints, patient overpopulation, and complex guidelines require alternative solutions for real time patient monitoring. Rapidly evolving e-health technology combined with clinical decision support and monitoring systems (CDSMS) provides an effective solution to these problems. The purpose of the study is to develop a user-friendly, comprehensive, fully integrated web and mobile-based Clinical Decision Support and Monitoring System (CDSMS) for the screening, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of DM diseases which is used by physicians and patients in primary care and to determine the effectiveness of the system. The CDSMS will be based on evidence-based guidelines for DM disease. A web and mobile-based application will be developed in which the physician will remotely monitor patient data through mobile applications in real time. The developed CDSMS will be tested in two stages. In the first stage, the usability, understandability, and adequacy of the application will be determined. Five primary care physicians will use the developed application for at least 16 DM patients. Necessary improvements will be made according to physician feedback. In the second phase, a parallel, single-blind, randomized controlled trial will be implemented. DM diagnosed patients will be recruited for the CDSMS trial by their primary care physicians. Ten physicians and their 439 patients will be involved in the study. Eligible participants will be assigned to intervention and control groups with simple randomization. The significance level will be accepted as p < 0.05. In the intervention group, the system will make recommendations on patient monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment. These recommendations will be implemented at the physician's discretion. Patients in the control group will be treated by physicians according to current DM treatment standards. Patients in both groups will be monitored for 6 months. Patient data will be compared between 0th and 6th month of the study. . Clinical and laboratory outcomes will be assessed in person while others will be self-assessed online. The developed system will be the first of its kind to utilize evidence based guidelines to provide health services to DM patients. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02917226 . 28 September 2016.

Recent Advances in Point-of-Access Water Quality Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korostynska, O.; Arshak, K.; Velusamy, V.; Arshak, A.; Vaseashta, Ashok

Clean water is one of our most valuable natural resources. In addition to providing safe drinking water it assures functional ecosystems that support fisheries and recreation. Human population growth and its associated increased demands on water pose risks to maintaining acceptable water quality. It is vital to assess source waters and the aquatic systems that receive inputs from industrial waste and sewage treatment plants, storm water systems, and runoff from urban and agricultural lands. Rapid and confident assessments of aquatic resources form the basis for sound environmental management. Current methods engaged in tracing the presence of various bacteria in water employ bulky laboratory equipment and are time consuming. Thus, real-time water quality monitoring is essential for National and International Health and Safety. Environmental water monitoring includes measurements of physical characteristics (e.g. pH, temperature, conductivity), chemical parameters (e.g. oxygen, alkalinity, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds), and abundance of certain biological taxa. Monitoring could also include assays of biological activity such as alkaline phosphatase, tests for toxins such as microcystins and direct measurements of pollutants such as heavy metals or hydrocarbons. Real time detection can significantly reduce the level of damage and also the cost to remedy the problem. This paper presents overview of state-of-the-art methods and devices used for point-of-access water quality monitoring and suggest further developments in this area.

New ANSI standard for thyroid phantom

DOE PAGES

Mallett, Michael W.; Bolch, Wesley E.; Fulmer, Philip C.; ...

2015-08-01

Here, a new ANSI standard titled “Thyroid Phantom Used in Occupational Monitoring” (Health Physics Society 2014) has been published. The standard establishes the criteria for acceptable design, fabrication, or modeling of a phantom suitable for calibrating in vivo monitoring systems to measure photon-emitting radionuclides deposited in the thyroid. The current thyroid phantom standard was drafted in 1973 (ANSI N44.3-1973), last reviewed in 1984, and a revision of the standard to cover a more modern approach was deemed warranted.

The perceptions of cognitively impaired patients and their caregivers of a home telecare system

PubMed Central

Mehrabian, Shima; Extra, Jocelyne; Wu, Ya-Huei; Pino, Maribel; Traykov, Latchezar; Rigaud, Anne-Sophie

2015-01-01

Assistive and telecare technologies have been developed to support older adults with cognitive impairments, as well as their caregivers, from their homes. The way potential users perceive telecare and smart home systems plays a key role in their acceptance of this new technology. We evaluate the acceptance of home telecare technologies among patients suffering from cognitive impairment and their caregivers. Prototypes of telecare devices were developed to demonstrate their features and capabilities and to train patients, families, and health care professionals in their use. We conducted semistructured interviews to elicit the perceptions of 30 patients with mild cognitive impairment, 32 patients with Alzheimer’s disease, and 30 caregivers, regarding the risks and advantages of home telecare and smart houses. Survey results reflected participants’ largely positive reactions to these technologies. Regarding home telecare, the cognitive stimulation program earned the highest proportion of positive responses, followed by the devices’ care of emergencies. The participants generally agreed that home telecare and smart houses could significantly improve their quality of life. However, some technical and ethical concerns, such as the way of provision, installation, and monitoring of the systems, were reported to be in need of addressing before implementation of this system. PMID:25552909

The perceptions of cognitively impaired patients and their caregivers of a home telecare system.

PubMed

Mehrabian, Shima; Extra, Jocelyne; Wu, Ya-Huei; Pino, Maribel; Traykov, Latchezar; Rigaud, Anne-Sophie

2015-01-01

Assistive and telecare technologies have been developed to support older adults with cognitive impairments, as well as their caregivers, from their homes. The way potential users perceive telecare and smart home systems plays a key role in their acceptance of this new technology. We evaluate the acceptance of home telecare technologies among patients suffering from cognitive impairment and their caregivers. Prototypes of telecare devices were developed to demonstrate their features and capabilities and to train patients, families, and health care professionals in their use. We conducted semistructured interviews to elicit the perceptions of 30 patients with mild cognitive impairment, 32 patients with Alzheimer's disease, and 30 caregivers, regarding the risks and advantages of home telecare and smart houses. Survey results reflected participants' largely positive reactions to these technologies. Regarding home telecare, the cognitive stimulation program earned the highest proportion of positive responses, followed by the devices' care of emergencies. The participants generally agreed that home telecare and smart houses could significantly improve their quality of life. However, some technical and ethical concerns, such as the way of provision, installation, and monitoring of the systems, were reported to be in need of addressing before implementation of this system.

Characterization of arterial traffic congestion through analysis of operational parameters (gap acceptance and lane changing).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-05-01

This project monitored an urban arterial highway to characterize recurring congestion. There were two major initiatives in the project. The first one focused on observed variations in gap acceptance and lane changing in relation to traffic flow rates...

Detection and avoidance of errors in computer software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kinsler, Les

1989-01-01

The acceptance test errors of a computer software project to determine if the errors could be detected or avoided in earlier phases of development. GROAGSS (Gamma Ray Observatory Attitude Ground Support System) was selected as the software project to be examined. The development of the software followed the standard Flight Dynamics Software Development methods. GROAGSS was developed between August 1985 and April 1989. The project is approximately 250,000 lines of code of which approximately 43,000 lines are reused from previous projects. GROAGSS had a total of 1715 Change Report Forms (CRFs) submitted during the entire development and testing. These changes contained 936 errors. Of these 936 errors, 374 were found during the acceptance testing. These acceptance test errors were first categorized into methods of avoidance including: more clearly written requirements; detail review; code reading; structural unit testing; and functional system integration testing. The errors were later broken down in terms of effort to detect and correct, class of error, and probability that the prescribed detection method would be successful. These determinations were based on Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) documents and interviews with the project programmers. A summary of the results of the categorizations is presented. The number of programming errors at the beginning of acceptance testing can be significantly reduced. The results of the existing development methodology are examined for ways of improvements. A basis is provided for the definition is a new development/testing paradigm. Monitoring of the new scheme will objectively determine its effectiveness on avoiding and detecting errors.

Hand hygiene monitoring technology: protocol for a systematic review

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Healthcare worker hand hygiene is thought to be one of the most important strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections, but compliance is generally poor. Hand hygiene improvement interventions must include audits of compliance (almost always with feedback), which are most often done by direct observation - a method that is expensive, subjective, and prone to bias. New technologies, including electronic and video hand hygiene monitoring systems, have the potential to provide continuous and objective monitoring of hand hygiene, regular feedback, and for some systems, real-time reminders. We propose a systematic review of the evidence supporting the effectiveness of these systems. The primary objective is to determine whether hand hygiene monitoring systems yield sustainable improvements in hand hygiene compliance when compared to usual care. Methods/Design MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and other relevant databases will be searched for randomized control studies and quasi-experimental studies evaluating a video or electronic hand hygiene monitoring system. A standard data collection form will be used to abstract relevant information from included studies. Bias will be assessed using the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care Group Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. Studies will be reviewed independently by two reviewers, with disputes resolved by a third reviewer. The primary outcome is directly observed hand hygiene compliance. Secondary outcomes include healthcare-associated infection incidence and improvements in hand hygiene compliance as measured by alternative metrics. Results will be qualitatively summarized with comparisons made between study quality, the measured outcome, and study-specific factors that may be expected to affect outcome (for example, study duration, frequency of feedback, use of real-time reminders). Meta-analysis will be performed if there is more than one study of similar systems with comparable outcome definitions. Discussion Electronic and video monitoring systems have the potential to improve hand hygiene compliance and prevent healthcare-associated infection, but are expensive, difficult to install and maintain, and may not be accepted by all healthcare workers. This review will assess the current evidence of effectiveness of these systems before their widespread adoption. Study registration PROSPERO registration number: CRD42013004519 PMID:24219817

Hand hygiene monitoring technology: protocol for a systematic review.

PubMed

Srigley, Jocelyn A; Lightfoot, David; Fernie, Geoff; Gardam, Michael; Muller, Matthew P

2013-11-12

Healthcare worker hand hygiene is thought to be one of the most important strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections, but compliance is generally poor. Hand hygiene improvement interventions must include audits of compliance (almost always with feedback), which are most often done by direct observation - a method that is expensive, subjective, and prone to bias. New technologies, including electronic and video hand hygiene monitoring systems, have the potential to provide continuous and objective monitoring of hand hygiene, regular feedback, and for some systems, real-time reminders. We propose a systematic review of the evidence supporting the effectiveness of these systems. The primary objective is to determine whether hand hygiene monitoring systems yield sustainable improvements in hand hygiene compliance when compared to usual care. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and other relevant databases will be searched for randomized control studies and quasi-experimental studies evaluating a video or electronic hand hygiene monitoring system. A standard data collection form will be used to abstract relevant information from included studies. Bias will be assessed using the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care Group Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. Studies will be reviewed independently by two reviewers, with disputes resolved by a third reviewer. The primary outcome is directly observed hand hygiene compliance. Secondary outcomes include healthcare-associated infection incidence and improvements in hand hygiene compliance as measured by alternative metrics. Results will be qualitatively summarized with comparisons made between study quality, the measured outcome, and study-specific factors that may be expected to affect outcome (for example, study duration, frequency of feedback, use of real-time reminders). Meta-analysis will be performed if there is more than one study of similar systems with comparable outcome definitions. Electronic and video monitoring systems have the potential to improve hand hygiene compliance and prevent healthcare-associated infection, but are expensive, difficult to install and maintain, and may not be accepted by all healthcare workers. This review will assess the current evidence of effectiveness of these systems before their widespread adoption. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42013004519.

The Modular Borehole Monitoring Program. A research program to optimize well-based monitoring for geologic carbon sequestration

DOE PAGES

Freifeld, Barry; Daley, Tom; Cook, Paul; ...

2014-12-31

Understanding the impacts caused by injection of large volumes of CO 2 in the deep subsurface necessitates a comprehensive monitoring strategy. While surface-based and other remote geophysical methods can provide information on the general morphology of a CO 2 plume, verification of the geochemical conditions and validation of the remote sensing data requires measurements from boreholes that penetrate the storage formation. Unfortunately, the high cost of drilling deep wellbores and deploying instrumentation systems constrains the number of dedicated monitoring borings as well as limits the technologies that can be incorporated in a borehole completion. The objective of the Modular Boreholemore » Monitoring (MBM) Program was to develop a robust suite of well-based tools optimized for subsurface monitoring of CO 2 that could meet the needs of a comprehensive well-based monitoring program. It should have enough flexibility to be easily reconfigured for various reservoir geometries and geologies. The MBM Program sought to provide storage operators with a turn-key fully engineered design that incorporated key technologies, function over the decades long time-span necessary for post-closure reservoir monitoring, and meet industry acceptable risk profiles for deep-well installations. While still within the conceptual design phase of the MBM program, the SECARB Anthropogenic Test in Citronelle, Alabama, USA was identified as a deployment site for our engineered monitoring systems. The initial step in designing the Citronelle MBM system was to down-select from the various monitoring tools available to include technologies that we considered essential to any program. Monitoring methods selected included U-tube geochemical sampling, discrete quartz pressure and temperature gauges, an integrated fibre-optic bundle consisting of distributed temperature and heat-pulse sensing, and a sparse string of conventional 3C-geophones. While not originally planned within the initial MBM work scope, the fibre-optic cable was able to also be used for the emergent technology of distributed acoustic sensing. The MBM monitoring string was installed in March, 2012. To date, the Citronelle MBM instruments continue to operate reliably. Results and lessons learned from the Citronelle MBM deployment are addressed along with examples of data being collected.« less

Energy storage devices for future hybrid electric vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karden, Eckhard; Ploumen, Servé; Fricke, Birger; Miller, Ted; Snyder, Kent

Powertrain hybridization as well as electrical energy management are imposing new requirements on electrical storage systems in vehicles. This paper characterizes the associated vehicle attributes and, in particular, the various levels of hybrids. New requirements for the electrical storage system are derived, including: shallow-cycle life, high dynamic charge acceptance particularly for regenerative braking and robust service life in sustained partial-state-of-charge usage. Lead/acid, either with liquid or absorptive glass-fibre mat electrolyte, is expected to remain the predominant battery technology for 14 V systems, including micro-hybrids, and with a cost-effective battery monitoring system for demanding applications. Advanced AGM batteries may be considered for mild or even medium hybrids once they have proven robustness under real-world conditions, particularly with respect to cycle life at partial-states-of-charge and dynamic charge acceptance. For the foreseeable future, NiMH and Li-ion are the dominating current and potential battery technologies for higher-functionality HEVs. Li-ion, currently at development and demonstration stages, offers attractive opportunities for improvements in performance and cost. Supercapacitors may be considered for pulse power applications. Aside from cell technologies, attention to the issue of system integration of the battery into the powertrain and vehicle is growing. Opportunities and challenges for potential "battery pack" system suppliers are discussed.

Electronic Adherence Monitoring in a High-Utilizing Pediatric Asthma Cohort: A Feasibility Study.

PubMed

Kenyon, Chén Collin; Chang, Joyce; Wynter, Sheri-Ann; Fowler, Jessica C; Long, Jin; Bryant-Stephens, Tyra C

2016-06-22

Inner-city, minority children with asthma have the highest rates of morbidity and death from asthma and the lowest rates of asthma controller medication adherence. Some recent electronic medication monitoring interventions demonstrated dramatic improvements in adherence in lower-risk populations. The feasibility and acceptability of such an intervention in the highest-risk children with asthma has not been studied. Our objective was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a community health worker-delivered electronic adherence monitoring intervention among the highest utilizers of acute asthma care in an inner-city practice. This was a prospective cohort pilot study targeting children with the highest frequency of asthma-related emergency department and hospital care within a local managed care Medicaid plan. The 3-month intervention included motivational interviewing, electronic monitoring of controller and rescue inhaler use, and outreach by a community health worker for predefined medication alerts. We measured acceptability by using a modified technology acceptability model and changes in asthma control using the Asthma Control Test (ACT). Given prominent feasibility issues, we describe qualitative patterns of medication use at baseline only. We enrolled 14 non-Hispanic black children with a median age of 3.5 years. Participants averaged 7.8 emergency or hospital visits in the year preceding enrollment. We observed three distinct patterns of baseline controller use: 4 patients demonstrated sustained use, 5 patients had periodic use, and 5 patients lapsed within 2 weeks. All participants initiated use of the electronic devices; however, no modem signal was transmitted for 5 or the 14 participants after a mean of 45 days. Of the 9 (64% of total) caregivers who completed the final study visit, all viewed the electronic monitoring device favorably and would recommend it to friends, and 5 (56%) believed that the device helped to improve asthma control. ACT scores improved by a mean of 2.7 points (P=.05) over the 3-month intervention. High-utilizer, minority families who completed a community health worker-delivered electronic adherence intervention found it generally acceptable. Prominent feasibility concerns, however, such as recruitment, data transmission failure, and lost devices, should be carefully considered when designing interventions in this setting.

An analysis of electronic document management in oncology care.

PubMed

Poulter, Thomas; Gannon, Brian; Bath, Peter A

2012-06-01

In this research in progress, a reference model for the use of electronic patient record (EPR) systems in oncology is described. The model, termed CICERO, comprises technical and functional components, and emphasises usability, clinical safety and user acceptance. One of the functional components of the model-an electronic document and records management (EDRM) system-is monitored in the course of its deployment at a leading oncology centre in the UK. Specifically, the user requirements and design of the EDRM solution are described.The study is interpretative and forms part a wider research programme to define and validate the CICERO model. Preliminary conclusions confirm the importance of a socio-technical perspective in Onco-EPR system design.

Monitoring mental health treatment acceptance and initial treatment adherence in veterans: veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom versus other veterans of other eras.

PubMed

Lindley, Steven; Cacciapaglia, Holly; Noronha, Delilah; Carlson, Eve; Schatzberg, Alan

2010-10-01

Identifying factors that influence mental health outcomes in veterans can aid in the redesign of programs to maximize the likelihood of early resolution of problems. To that end, we examined demographic and clinical process data from 2,684 veterans who scored positive on a mental health screen. We investigated this data set for patterns and possible predictors of mental health referral acceptance and attendance. The majority of patients had not received mental health treatment within the last two years (76%). Veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) were more likely to accept a mental health referral for depression but were equally likely to attend a mental health visit as other era veterans. Decreased acceptance was associated with provider type and contact method, clinic location, depression only, and specific age ranges (65-74). Among those who accepted a referral, decreased attendance was associated with clinic location, depression only, and retirement. No variables predicted OEF/OIF acceptance/attendance. In conclusion, our findings illustrate the importance of close, continual monitoring of clinical process data to help reveal targets for improving mental health care for veterans. © 2010 Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease.

ROBUST ONLINE MONITORING FOR CALIBRATION ASSESSMENT OF TRANSMITTERS AND INSTRUMENTATION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ramuhalli, Pradeep; Tipireddy, Ramakrishna; Lerchen, Megan E.

Robust online monitoring (OLM) technologies are expected to enable the extension or elimination of periodic sensor calibration intervals in operating and new reactors. Specifically, the next generation of OLM technology is expected to include newly developed advanced algorithms that improve monitoring of sensor/system performance and enable the use of plant data to derive information that currently cannot be measured. These advances in OLM technologies will improve the safety and reliability of current and planned nuclear power systems through improved accuracy and increased reliability of sensors used to monitor key parameters. In this paper, we discuss an overview of research beingmore » performed within the Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET)/Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation (ASI) program, for the development of OLM algorithms to use sensor outputs and, in combination with other available information, 1) determine whether one or more sensors are out of calibration or failing and 2) replace a failing sensor with reliable, accurate sensor outputs. Algorithm development is focused on the following OLM functions: • Signal validation – fault detection and selection of acceptance criteria • Virtual sensing – signal value prediction and acceptance criteria • Response-time assessment – fault detection and acceptance criteria selection A GP-based uncertainty quantification (UQ) method previously developed for UQ in OLM, was adapted for use in sensor-fault detection and virtual sensing. For signal validation, the various components to the OLM residual (which is computed using an AAKR model) were explicitly defined and modeled using a GP. Evaluation was conducted using flow loop data from multiple sources. Results using experimental data from laboratory-scale flow loops indicate that the approach, while capable of detecting sensor drift, may be incapable of discriminating between sensor drift and model inadequacy. This may be due to a simplification applied in the initial modeling, where the sensor degradation is assumed to be stationary. In the case of virtual sensors, the GP model was used in a predictive mode to estimate the correct sensor reading for sensors that may have failed. Results have indicated the viability of using this approach for virtual sensing. However, the GP model has proven to be computationally expensive, and so alternative algorithms for virtual sensing are being evaluated. Finally, automated approaches to performing noise analysis for extracting sensor response time were developed. Evaluation of this technique using laboratory-scale data indicates that it compares well with manual techniques previously used for noise analysis. Moreover, the automated and manual approaches for noise analysis also compare well with the current “gold standard”, hydraulic ramp testing, for response time monitoring. Ongoing research in this project is focused on further evaluation of the algorithms, optimization for accuracy and computational efficiency, and integration into a suite of tools for robust OLM that are applicable to monitoring sensor calibration state in nuclear power plants.« less

Monitoring health interventions – who's afraid of LQAS?

PubMed Central

Pezzoli, Lorenzo; Kim, Sung Hye

2013-01-01

Lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) is used to evaluate health services. Subunits of a population (lots) are accepted or rejected according to the number of failures in a random sample (N) of a given lot. If failures are greater than decision value (d), we reject the lot and recommend corrective actions in the lot (i.e. intervention area); if they are equal to or less than d, we accept it. We used LQAS to monitor coverage during the last 3 days of a meningitis vaccination campaign in Niger. We selected one health area (lot) per day reporting the lowest administrative coverage in the previous 2 days. In the sampling plan we considered: N to be small enough to allow us to evaluate one lot per day, deciding to sample 16 individuals from the selected villages of each health area, using probability proportionate to population size; thresholds and d to vary according to administrative coverage reported; α ≤5% (meaning that, if we would have conducted the survey 100 times, we would have accepted the lot up to five times when real coverage was at an unacceptable level) and β ≤20% (meaning that we would have rejected the lot up to 20 times, when real coverage was equal or above the satisfactory level). We classified all three lots as with the acceptable coverage. LQAS appeared to be a rapid, simple, and statistically sound method for in-process coverage assessment. We encourage colleagues in the field to consider using LQAS in complement with other monitoring techniques such as house-to-house monitoring. PMID:24206650

Monitoring health interventions--who's afraid of LQAS?

PubMed

Pezzoli, Lorenzo; Kim, Sung Hye

2013-11-08

Lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) is used to evaluate health services. Subunits of a population (lots) are accepted or rejected according to the number of failures in a random sample (N) of a given lot. If failures are greater than decision value (d), we reject the lot and recommend corrective actions in the lot (i.e. intervention area); if they are equal to or less than d, we accept it. We used LQAS to monitor coverage during the last 3 days of a meningitis vaccination campaign in Niger. We selected one health area (lot) per day reporting the lowest administrative coverage in the previous 2 days. In the sampling plan we considered: N to be small enough to allow us to evaluate one lot per day, deciding to sample 16 individuals from the selected villages of each health area, using probability proportionate to population size; thresholds and d to vary according to administrative coverage reported; α ≤5% (meaning that, if we would have conducted the survey 100 times, we would have accepted the lot up to five times when real coverage was at an unacceptable level) and β ≤20% (meaning that we would have rejected the lot up to 20 times, when real coverage was equal or above the satisfactory level). We classified all three lots as with the acceptable coverage. LQAS appeared to be a rapid, simple, and statistically sound method for in-process coverage assessment. We encourage colleagues in the field to consider using LQAS in complement with other monitoring techniques such as house-to-house monitoring.

REPORT ON AN ORBITAL MAPPING SYSTEM.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Colvocoresses, Alden P.; ,

1984-01-01

During June 1984, the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing accepted a committee report that defines an Orbital Mapping System (OMS) to follow Landsat and other Earth-sensing systems. The OMS involves the same orbital parameters of Landsats 1, 2, and 3, three wave bands (two in the visible and one in the near infrared) and continuous stereoscopic capability. The sensors involve solid-state linear arrays and data acquisition (including stereo) designed for one-dimensional data processing. It has a resolution capability of 10-m pixels and is capable of producing 1:50,000-scale image maps with 20-m contours. In addition to mapping, the system is designed to monitor the works of man as well as nature and in a cost-effective manner.

Explosive component acceptance tester using laser interferometer technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wickstrom, Richard D.; Tarbell, William W.

1993-01-01

Acceptance testing of explosive components requires a reliable and simple to use testing method that can discern less than optimal performance. For hot-wire detonators, traditional techniques use dent blocks or photographic diagnostic methods. More complicated approaches are avoided because of their inherent problems with setup and maintenance. A recently developed tester is based on using a laser interferometer to measure the velocity of flying plates accelerated by explosively actuated detonators. Unlike ordinary interferometers that monitor displacement of the test article, this device measures velocity directly and is commonly used with non-spectral surfaces. Most often referred to as the VISAR technique (Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflecting Surface), it has become the most widely-accepted choice for accurate measurement of velocity in the range greater than 1 mm/micro-s. Traditional VISAR devices require extensive setup and adjustment and therefore are unacceptable in a production-testing environment. This paper describes a new VISAR approach which requires virtually no adjustments, yet provides data with accuracy comparable to the more complicated systems. The device, termed the Fixed-Cavity VISAR, is currently being developed to serve as a product verification tool for hot-wire detonators and slappers. An extensive data acquisition and analysis computer code was also created to automate the manipulation of raw data into final results.

Feasibility and acceptability to patients of a longitudinal system for evaluating cancer-related symptoms and quality of life: pilot study of an e/Tablet data-collection system in academic oncology.

PubMed

Abernethy, Amy P; Herndon, James E; Wheeler, Jane L; Day, Jeannette M; Hood, Linda; Patwardhan, Meenal; Shaw, Heather; Lyerly, Herbert Kim

2009-06-01

Programmed, notebook-style, personal computers ("e/Tablets") can collect symptom and quality-of-life (QOL) data at the point of care. Patients use an e/Tablet in the clinic waiting area to complete electronic surveys. Information then travels wirelessly to a server, which generates a real-time report for use during the clinical visit. The objective of this study was to determine whether academic oncology patients find e/Tablets logistically acceptable and a satisfactory means of communicating symptoms to providers during repeated clinic visits. Sixty-six metastatic breast cancer patients at Duke Breast Cancer Clinic participated. E/Tablets were customized to electronically administer a satisfaction/acceptability survey, several validated questionnaires, and the Patient Care Monitor (PCM) review of symptoms survey. At each of the four visits within six months, participants completed the patient satisfaction/acceptability survey, which furnished data for the current analysis. Participant demographics were: mean age of 54 years, 77% Caucasian, and 47% with less than a college education. Participants reported that e/Tablets were easy to read (94%), easy to navigate (99%), and had a comfortable weight (90%); they found it easy to respond to questions using the e/Tablet (98%). Seventy-five percent initially indicated satisfaction with PCM for reporting symptoms; this proportion increased over time. By the last visit, 88% of participants indicated that they would recommend the PCM to other patients; 74% felt that the e/Tablet helped them remember symptoms to report to their clinician. E/Tablets offered a feasible and acceptable method for collecting longitudinal patient-reported symptom and QOL data within an academic, tertiary care, breast cancer clinic.

The Camino intracranial pressure device in clinical practice. Assessment in a 1000 cases.

PubMed

Gelabert-González, M; Ginesta-Galan, V; Sernamito-García, R; Allut, A G; Bandin-Diéguez, J; Rumbo, R M

2006-04-01

Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring has become standard in the management of neurocritical patients. A variety of monitoring techniques and devices are available, each offering advantages and disadvantages. Analysis of large populations has never been performed. A prospective study was designed to evaluate the Camino fiberoptic intraparenchymal cerebral pressure monitor for complications and accuracy. Between 1992-2004 one thousand consecutive patients had a fiberoptic ICP monitor placed. The most frequent indication for monitoring was severe head injury (697 cases). The average duration of ICP monitoring was 184.6 +/- 94.3 hours; the range was 16-581 hours. Zero drift (range, -17 to 21 mm Hg; mean 7.3 +/- 5.1) was recorded after the devices were removed from 624 patients. Mechanical complications such as: breakage of the optical fiber (n = 17); dislocations of the fixation screw (n = 15) or the probe (n = 13); and failure of ICP recording for unknown reasons (n = 4) were found in 49 Camino devices. The Camino ICP sensor remains one of the most popular ICP monitoring devices for use in critical neurosurgical patients. The system offers reliable ICP measurements in an acceptable percentage of device complications and the advantage of in vivo recalibration. The incidence of technical complications was low and similar to others devices.

Monitoring for neuroprotection. New technologies for the new millennium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andrews, R. J.

2001-01-01

Monitoring for neuroprotection, like surgery, has placed on emphasis on minimal or non-invasiveness. Monitoring of parameters that truly reflect the degree of injury to the nervous system is another goal. Thus, two themes for the coming decade in neuromonitoring will be: (1) less-invasive monitoring; and (2) parameters that more closely reflect the etiological factors in ischemic or other neuroinjury. In this paper, we review neuromonitoring techniques and devices that can be used readily in the operating room or intensive care unit setting. Those that require transport of the patient to a special facility (e.g., for computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging/spectroscopy) and those that have been in standard practice for neuromonitoring (e.g., electrophysiological monitoring--EEG, evoked potentials) are not considered. The two techniques considered in detail are (1) continuous multiparameter local brain tissue monitoring with microprobes, and (2) non-invasive continuous local brain tissue oxygenation monitoring by near infrared spectroscopy. Both techniques have been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical use. The rationale for their use, the nature of the devices, and clinical results to date are reviewed. It is expected that both techniques will gain wide acceptance during the coming decade; further advances in neuromonitoring that can be expected further into the twenty-first century are also discussed.

Actual issues of introduction of continuous emission monitoring systems for control of negative impact of TPP to atmospheric air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kondrateva, O. E.; Roslyakov, P. V.; Borovkova, A. M.; Loktionov, O. A.

2017-11-01

Over the past 3 years there have been significant changes in Russian environmental legislation related to the transition to technological regulation based on the principles of the best available technologies (BAT). These changes also imply control and accounting of the harmful impact of industrial enterprises on the environment. Therefore, a mandatory requirement for equipping automatic continuous emission monitoring systems (ACEMS) is established for all large TPPs. For a successful practical solution of the problem of introducing such systems in the whole country there is an urgent need to develop the governing regulatory document for the design and operation of systems for continuous monitoring of TPP emissions into the air, allowing within reasonable limits to unify these systems for their work with the state data fund of state environmental monitoring and make easier the process of their implementation at operating facilities for industrial enterprises. Based on the large amount of research in the field of creation of ACEMS, which conducted in National Research University “MPEI”, a draft guidance document was developed, which includes the following regulatory provisions: goals and objectives of ACEMS, the stages of their introduction rules of carrying out preliminary inspection of energy facilities, requirements to develop technical specifications, general requirements for the operation of ACEMS, requirements to the structure and elements of ACEMS, recommendations on selection of places of measuring equipment installation, rules for execution, commissioning and acceptance testing, continuous measurement method, method for determination of the current gross and specific emissions. The draft guidance document, developed by the National Research University “MPEI”, formed the basis of the Preliminary national standards PNST 187-2017 “Automatic systems for continuous control and metering of contaminants emissions from thermal electric power stations into the atmospheric air. General requirements”. [1

Use of Text Messaging for Monitoring Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Physical Activity, and Screen Time in Children: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shapiro, Jennifer R.; Bauer, Stephanie; Hamer, Robert M.; Kordy, Hans; Ward, Dianne; Bulik, Cynthia M.

2008-01-01

Objective: To examine acceptability, attrition, adherence, and preliminary efficacy of mobile phone short message service (SMS; text messaging) for monitoring healthful behaviors in children. Design: All randomized children received a brief psychoeducational intervention. They then either monitored target behaviors via SMS with feedback or via…

Patient-perceived acceptability and behaviour change benefits of inhaler reminders and adherence feedback: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Foster, Juliet M; Reddel, Helen K; Usherwood, Tim; Sawyer, Susan M; Smith, Lorraine

2017-08-01

Little is known about patients' perceptions of electronic inhaler reminders, which have emerged in recent years as adherence promotion aids. This study explored asthma patients' attitudes toward the acceptability and utility of inhaler reminders. Participants from a 6-month cluster randomized controlled trial who received reminders for missed doses via SmartTrack adherence monitors (Adherium Ltd) were interviewed to explore their perceptions; interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. 18 participants (50% male, mean age 39 years [range 17-68]) were interviewed. Three themes were identified. Acceptability and Feasibility: Interviewees found the monitor easy to use. For some, concerns about the monitor itself affected adherence, e.g. leaving it at home to avoid breakage. Positive features included that reminders played only for missed doses, and the choice of reminder tunes. Utility and Behavioural Impact: Interviewees described reminders as an effective "training" tool for adherence, encouraging habit-formation, behaviour change and attitude change. Reminders were considered less acceptable or useful by participants who preferred taking medication only when symptomatic or who doubted the necessity or safety of their medication. Sustainability: Some interviewees reported sustained behaviour change, supported by reminders, through the establishment of routine or via experiential learning that good adherence improved their asthma. Other interviewees wanted ongoing support (i.e. reminders or substitute adherence cues) after study end. Patients with asthma found 6-months' use of reminders and adherence feedback acceptable and useful for improving their adherence attitudes, adherence behaviours and confidence in asthma self-management. Some patients may benefit from ongoing adherence support. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated semiconductor optical sensors for chronic, minimally-invasive imaging of brain function.

PubMed

Lee, Thomas T; Levi, Ofer; Cang, Jianhua; Kaneko, Megumi; Stryker, Michael P; Smith, Stephen J; Shenoy, Krishna V; Harris, James S

2006-01-01

Intrinsic optical signal (IOS) imaging is a widely accepted technique for imaging brain activity. We propose an integrated device consisting of interleaved arrays of gallium arsenide (GaAs) based semiconductor light sources and detectors operating at telecommunications wavelengths in the near-infrared. Such a device will allow for long-term, minimally invasive monitoring of neural activity in freely behaving subjects, and will enable the use of structured illumination patterns to improve system performance. In this work we describe the proposed system and show that near-infrared IOS imaging at wavelengths compatible with semiconductor devices can produce physiologically significant images in mice, even through skull.

Automated lifestyle coaching for cerebro-cardiovascular disease prevention.

PubMed

Spassova, Lübomira; Vittore, Debora; Droste, Dirk; Rösch, Norbert

2013-01-01

As soon as telemedicine aims at supporting the prevention of ischemic events (e.g., stroke and myocardial infarction), the mere monitoring of vital parameters is not sufficient. Instead, the patients should be supported in their efforts to actively reduce their individual risk factors and to achieve and maintain a healthier lifestyle. The Luxembourg-based CAPSYS project (Computer-Aided Prevention System) aims at combining the advantages of telephone coaching with those of home telemonitoring and with methods of computer-aided decision support in direct contact with the patients. The suitability and user acceptance of the system is currently being evaluated in a first pilot study.

Effectiveness of glucose monitoring systems modified for the visually impaired.

PubMed

Bernbaum, M; Albert, S G; Brusca, S; McGinnis, J; Miller, D; Hoffmann, J W; Mooradian, A D

1993-10-01

To compare three glucose meters modified for use by individuals with diabetes and visual impairment regarding accuracy, precision, and clinical reliability. Ten subjects with diabetes and visual impairment performed self-monitoring of blood glucose using each of the three commercially available blood glucose meters modified for visually impaired users (the AccuChek Freedom [Boehringer Mannheim, Indianapolis, IN], the Diascan SVM [Home Diagnostics, Eatontown, NJ], and the One Touch [Lifescan, Milpitas, CA]). The meters were independently evaluated by a laboratory technologist for precision and accuracy determinations. Only two meters were acceptable with regard to laboratory precision (coefficient of variation < 10%)--the Accuchek and the One Touch. The Accuchek and the One Touch did not differ significantly with regard to laboratory estimates of accuracy. A great discrepancy of the clinical reliability results was observed between these two meters. The Accuchek maintained a high degree of reliability (y = 0.99X + 0.44, r = 0.97, P = 0.001). The visually impaired subjects were unable to perform reliable testing using the One Touch system because of a lack of appropriate tactile landmarks and auditory signals. In addition to laboratory assessments of glucose meters, monitoring systems designed for the visually impaired must include adequate tactile and audible feedback features to allow for the acquisition and placement of appropriate blood samples.

Monitored natural attenuation forum: MNA of metals and radionuclides

EPA Science Inventory

While the natural attenuation of many organic compounds is established and accepted by the regulated and regulatory communities, there is some debate whether monitored natural attenuation (MNA) of metals and radionuclides is a reasonable remedial alternative to consider. Do you...

Accepted monitoring or endured quarantine? Ebola contacts' perceptions in Senegal.

PubMed

Desclaux, Alice; Badji, Dioumel; Ndione, Albert Gautier; Sow, Khoudia

2017-04-01

During the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola epidemic, transmission chains were controlled through contact tracing, i.e., identification and follow-up of people exposed to Ebola cases. WHO recommendations for daily check-ups of physical symptoms with social distancing for 21 days were unevenly applied and sometimes interpreted as quarantine. Criticisms arose regarding the use of coercion and questioned contact tracing on ethical grounds. This article aims to analyze contact cases' perceptions and acceptance of contact monitoring at the field level. In Senegal, an imported case of Ebola virus disease in September 2014 resulted in placing 74 contact cases in home containment with daily visits by volunteers. An ethnographic study based on in-depth interviews with all stakeholders performed in September-October 2014 showed four main perceptions of monitoring: a biosecurity preventive measure, suspension of professional activity, stigma attached to Ebola, and a social obligation. Contacts demonstrated diverse attitudes. Initially, most contacts agreed to comply because they feared being infected. They adhered to the national Ebola response measures and appreciated the empathy shown by volunteers. Later, acceptance was improved by the provision of moral, economic, and social support, and by the final lack of any new contamination. But it was limited by the socio-economic impact on fulfilling basic needs, the fear of being infected, how contacts' family members interpreted monitoring, conflation of contacts as Ebola cases, and challenging the rationale for containment. Acceptance was also related to individual aspects, such as the professional status of women and health workers who had been exposed, and contextual aspects, such as the media's role in the social production of stigma. Ethnographic results show that, even when contacts adhere rather than comply to containment through coercion, contact monitoring raises several ethical issues. These insights should contribute to the ethics debate about individual rights versus crisis public health measures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wireless fetal heart rate monitoring in inpatient full-term pregnant women: testing functionality and acceptability.

PubMed

Boatin, Adeline A; Wylie, Blair; Goldfarb, Ilona; Azevedo, Robin; Pittel, Elena; Ng, Courtney; Haberer, Jessica

2015-01-01

We tested functionality and acceptability of a wireless fetal monitoring prototype technology in pregnant women in an inpatient labor unit in the United States. Women with full-term singleton pregnancies and no evidence of active labor were asked to wear the prototype technology for 30 minutes. We assessed functionality by evaluating the ability to successfully monitor the fetal heartbeat for 30 minutes, transmit this data to Cloud storage and view the data on a web portal. Three obstetricians also rated fetal cardiotocographs on ease of readability. We assessed acceptability by administering closed and open-ended questions on perceived utility and likeability to pregnant women and clinicians interacting with the prototype technology. Thirty-two women were enrolled, 28 of whom (87.5%) successfully completed 30 minutes of fetal monitoring including transmission of cardiotocographs to the web portal. Four sessions though completed, were not successfully uploaded to the Cloud storage. Six non-study clinicians interacted with the prototype technology. The primary technical problem observed was a delay in data transmission between the prototype and the web portal, which ranged from 2 to 209 minutes. Delays were ascribed to Wi-Fi connectivity problems. Recorded cardiotocographs received a mean score of 4.2/5 (± 1.0) on ease of readability with an interclass correlation of 0.81(95%CI 0.45, 0.96). Both pregnant women and clinicians found the prototype technology likable (81.3% and 66.7% respectively), useful (96.9% and 66.7% respectively), and would either use it again or recommend its use to another pregnant woman (77.4% and 66.7% respectively). In this pilot study we found that this wireless fetal monitoring prototype technology has potential for use in a United States inpatient setting but would benefit from some technology changes. We found it to be acceptable to both pregnant women and clinicians. Further research is needed to assess feasibility of using this technology in busy inpatient settings.

Teledermatological monitoring of leg ulcers in cooperation with home care nurses.

PubMed

Binder, Barbara; Hofmann-Wellenhof, Rainer; Salmhofer, Wolfgang; Okcu, Aslihan; Kerl, Helmut; Soyer, H Peter

2007-12-01

To examine the feasibility and acceptance of teledermatology for wound management for patients with leg ulcers by home care nurses and evaluate the reduction of costs and the acceptance of teledermatology by patients and home care nurses. Case series of telemonitored patients with leg ulcers including cost-effectiveness analysis. Home monitoring by home care nurses. Sixteen patients with 45 leg ulcers of different origin were included. After an initial outpatient visit when the leg ulcers were assessed and classified, teledermatological follow-up was done by home care nurses. Relevant clinical information and 1 to 4 digital images of the wound and surrounding skin were transmitted weekly via a secure Web site to an expert at the wound care center, who assessed the wound and made therapeutic recommendations. Of the 707 images transmitted for teleconsultation, in 644 (89%) the quality of the images was excellent or sufficient and the experts were confident in giving therapeutic recommendations. Of the 45 ulcers, 32 (71%) decreased in size and 14 (31%) healed completely, whereas 10 of the 45 ulcers (22%) increased slightly in size despite the teledermatological monitoring. In 3 ulcers (7%), no measurement was possible owing to the overly large size of the ulcers. The acceptance of telemedicine was very good by most patients. Of 15 home care nurses working in the district, 7 were very satisfied with teledermatological monitoring of wound care. There was a reduction of 46% in transportation costs for the insurance companies as well as for the patients owing to a significant decrease in the number of visits to general physicians or the wound care center. The acceptance of teledermatological monitoring of wound care was very high by patients, home care nurses, and wound experts. Decreased health care costs by reducing the number of visits to wound care centers or specialist physicians and improvement in quality of life for patients with leg ulcers using telemedicine seems possible. Teledermatology offers great potential for long-term wound care.

Preliminary analysis of the implications of natural radiations on geostationary operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, J. W.; Denn, F. M.

1976-01-01

The natural radiations present at geostationary orbit are discussed. Low-level galactic cosmic rays are important for careers spending a year or more at geostationary altitude. Trapped radiation will on occasion require interruption of extravehicular activity (EVA). The spacesuit shield requirements are strongly affected by the number of interruptions allowed. EVA cannot proceed during a large solar event and maximum allowable doses are exceeded in a few hours unless a heavily shielded area is provided. A shelter of 10 g/sq cm with personal shielding for the eyes and testes would contain exposure to within the presently accepted exposure constraints. Since radiation levels can increase unexpectedly to serious levels, an onboard radiation monitoring system with rate and integration capabilities is required for both surface-dose and depth-dose monitoring.

Fatigue and post-fatigue performance of Fabry-Perot FOS installed on CFRP-strengthened RC-beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gheorghiu, Catalin; Labossiere, Pierre; Proulx, Jean

2004-07-01

There is a growing need for built-in monitoring systems for civil engineering infrastructures, due to problems such as increasing traffic loads and rising costs of maintenance and repair. Fibre optic sensors (FOS), capable of reading various parameters are promising candidates for life-long health monitoring of these structures. However, since FOS have only been introduced recently into the field of structural monitoring, their acceptance and widespread implementation will be conditioned by their durability under severe climatic and loading conditions. This paper reports on the performance of strain extrinsic FOS attached to carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) plates used to strengthen concrete structures. The specimens tested in this project are reinforced concrete (RC) beams with an additional external CFRP reinforcement. The FOS-instrumented beams were first subjected to fatigue loading for various numbers of cycles and load amplitudes. Then, they were tested monotonically to failure under four-point-bending. The test results provide an insight on the fatigue and post-fatigue behaviour of FOS used for monitoring reinforced concrete structures.

The Role of Satellite Earth Observation Data in Monitoring and Verifying International Environmental Treaties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, Shaida

2004-01-01

The term verification implies compliance verification in the language of treaty negotiation and implementation, particularly in the fields of disarmament and arms control. The term monitoring on the other hand, in both environmental and arms control treaties, has a much broader interpretation which allows for use of supporting data sources that are not necessarily acceptable or adequate for direct verification. There are many ways that satellite Earth observation (EO) data can support international environmental agreements, from national forest inventories to use in geographic information system (GIs) tools. Though only a few references to satellite EO data and their use exist in the treaties themselves, an expanding list of applications can be considered in support of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). This paper explores the current uses of satellite Earth observation data which support monitoring activities of major environmental treaties and draws conclusions about future missions and their data use. The scope of the study includes all phases of environmental treaty fulfillment - development, monitoring, and enforcement - and includes a multinational perspective on the use of satellite Earth observation data for treaty support.

Changing tides: Adaptive monitoring, assessment, and management of pharmaceutical hazards in the environment through time.

PubMed

Gaw, Sally; Brooks, Bryan W

2016-04-01

Pharmaceuticals are ubiquitous contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. Adaptive monitoring, assessment, and management programs will be required to reduce the environmental hazards of pharmaceuticals of concern. Potentially underappreciated factors that drive the environmental dose of pharmaceuticals include regulatory approvals, marketing campaigns, pharmaceutical subsidies and reimbursement schemes, and societal acceptance. Sales data for 5 common antidepressants (duloxetine [Cymbalta], escitalopram [Lexapro], venlafaxine [Effexor], bupropion [Wellbutrin], and sertraline [Zoloft]) in the United States from 2004 to 2008 were modeled to explore how environmental hazards in aquatic ecosystems changed after patents were obtained or expired. Therapeutic hazard ratios for Effexor and Lexapro did not exceed 1; however, the therapeutic hazard ratio for Zoloft declined whereas the therapeutic hazard ratio for Cymbalta increased as a function of patent protection and sale patterns. These changes in therapeutic hazard ratios highlight the importance of considering current and future drivers of pharmaceutical use when prioritizing pharmaceuticals for water quality monitoring programs. When urban systems receiving discharges of environmental contaminants are examined, water quality efforts should identify, prioritize, and select target analytes presently in commerce for effluent monitoring and surveillance. © 2015 SETAC.

Psycho-social aspects of personal health monitoring: a descriptive literature review.

PubMed

Muehlan, Holger; Schmidt, Silke

2013-01-01

We aimed at providing a short review on already published studies addressing psycho-social issues of personal health monitoring (PHM). Both core questions addressed within this review are: What is the impact of PHM on intended psycho-social and health-related outcomes? And which psycho-social issues affected by or related to PHM have already been investigated? This descriptive review based on a literature search using various databases (Psycinfo, Psyndex, Pubmed, SSCI). Resulting 428 abstracts were coded regarding their psycho-social content. Inspection of results was carried out along the relevance of the papers regarding psycho-social issues. Research in PHM focuses on telemonitoring and smart home applications: Tele-monitoring studies are directed to outcome-related questions, smart home studies to feasibility issues. Despite of technological matters, comparability of both systems in psycho-social issues is lacking. Tele-monitoring has been proven for impact on patient groups with chronic diseases, yet smart home still lacks evidence in health-related and psycho-social matters. Smart home applications have been investigated with respect to attitudes, perceptions and concerns of end-users, telemonitoring regarding acceptance and adherence.

Continuous glucose monitoring: quality of hypoglycaemia detection.

PubMed

Zijlstra, E; Heise, T; Nosek, L; Heinemann, L; Heckermann, S

2013-02-01

To evaluate the accuracy of a (widely used) continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)-system and its ability to detect hypoglycaemic events. A total of 18 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus used continuous glucose monitoring (Guardian REAL-Time CGMS) during two 9-day in-house periods. A hypoglycaemic threshold alarm alerted patients to sensor readings <70 mg/dl. Continuous glucose monitoring sensor readings were compared to laboratory reference measurements taken every 4 h and in case of a hypoglycaemic alarm. A total of 2317 paired data points were evaluated. Overall, the mean absolute relative difference (MARD) was 16.7%. The percentage of data points in the clinically accurate or acceptable Clarke Error Grid zones A + B was 94.6%. In the hypoglycaemic range, accuracy worsened (MARD 38.8%) leading to a failure to detect more than half of the true hypoglycaemic events (sensitivity 37.5%). Furthermore, more than half of the alarms that warn patients for hypoglycaemia were false (false alert rate 53.3%). Above the low alert threshold, the sensor confirmed 2077 of 2182 reference values (specificity 95.2%). Patients using continuous glucose monitoring should be aware of its limitation to accurately detect hypoglycaemia. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

A more acceptable endoluminal implantation for remotely monitoring ingestible sensors anchored to the stomach wall.

PubMed

Ohta, Hidetoshi; Izumi, Shintaro; Yoshimoto, Masahiko

2015-01-01

Several types of implant devices have been proposed and introduced into healthcare and telemedicine systems for monitoring physiological parameters, sometimes for very long periods of time. To our disappointment, most of the devices are implanted invasively and by surgery. We often have to surgically remove such devices after they have finished their mission or before the battery becomes worn out. Wearable devices have the possibility to become new modalities for monitoring vital parameters less-invasively. However, for round-the-clock monitoring of data from sensors over long periods of time, it would be better to put them inside the body to avoid causing inconvenience to patients in their daily lives. This study tested a less invasive endoluminal approach and innovative tools (developed during our research into therapeutic capsule endoscopy) for remotely anchoring ingestible sensors to the stomach wall. Preliminary investigations are also described about wireless communication (NFC, ZigBee, and Bluetooth) for low power consumption and inductive extracorporeal power feeding wirelessly to the circuits in a phantom lined with swine gastric mucosa. Electrocardiogram and pH were monitored and those parameters were successfully transmitted by wireless communication ICs to the Internet via a portable device.

40 CFR 61.14 - Monitoring requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... determination of whether acceptable operating and maintenance procedures are being used will be based on information which may include, but not be limited to, review of operating and maintenance procedures...) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS General Provisions § 61.14 Monitoring requirements...

40 CFR 61.14 - Monitoring requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... determination of whether acceptable operating and maintenance procedures are being used will be based on information which may include, but not be limited to, review of operating and maintenance procedures...) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS General Provisions § 61.14 Monitoring requirements...

40 CFR 61.14 - Monitoring requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... determination of whether acceptable operating and maintenance procedures are being used will be based on information which may include, but not be limited to, review of operating and maintenance procedures...) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS General Provisions § 61.14 Monitoring requirements...

40 CFR 61.14 - Monitoring requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... determination of whether acceptable operating and maintenance procedures are being used will be based on information which may include, but not be limited to, review of operating and maintenance procedures...) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS General Provisions § 61.14 Monitoring requirements...

40 CFR 61.14 - Monitoring requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... determination of whether acceptable operating and maintenance procedures are being used will be based on information which may include, but not be limited to, review of operating and maintenance procedures...) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS General Provisions § 61.14 Monitoring requirements...

Monitoring of Biodiversity Indicators in Boreal Forests: A Need for Improved Focus

Treesearch

Ian D. Thompson

2006-01-01

The general principles of scale and coarse and fine filters have been widely accepted, but management agencies and industry are still grappling with the question of what to monitor to detect changes in forest biodiversity after forest management. Part of this problem can be attributed to the lack of focused questions for monitoring associated with an absence of null...

Monitoring Business Activity

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-01

AFRL-IF-RS-TR-2006-88 Final Technical Report March 2006 MONITORING BUSINESS ACTIVITY New York University...REPORT DATE MARCH 2006 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED Final Sep 01 – Oct 05 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE MONITORING BUSINESS ACTIVITY 6. AUTHOR(S...Accepted to Journal of Machine Learning Research, pending revisions. CeDER Working Paper #CeDER-04-08, Stern School of Business , New York University

Laparoscopic female sterilisation by a single port through monitor--a better alternative.

PubMed

Sewta, Rajender Singh

2011-04-01

Female sterilisation by tubal occlusion method by laparocator is most widely used and accepted technique of all family planning measures all over the world. After the development of laparoscopic surgery in all faculties of surgery by monitor, now laparoscopic female sterilisation has been developed to do under monitor control by two ports--one for laparoscope and second for ring applicator. But the technique has been modified using single port with monitor through laparocator in which camera is fitted on the eye piece of laparocator (the same laparocator which is commonly used in camps without monitor since a long time in India). In this study over a period of about 2 years, a total 2011 cases were operated upon. In this study, I used camera and monitor through a single port by laparocator to visualise as well as to apply ring on fallopian tubes. The result is excellent and is a better alternative to conventional laparoscopic sterilisation and double puncture technique through camera--which give two scars and an extra assistant is required. However, there was no failure and the strain on surgeon's eye was minimum. Single port is much easier, safe, equally effective and better acceptable method.

A Systematic and Integrated Review of Mobile-Based Technology to Promote Active Lifestyles in People With Type 2 Diabetes.

PubMed

McMillan, Kathryn Anne; Kirk, Alison; Hewitt, Allan; MacRury, Sandra

2017-03-01

The aim was to review studies examining the effectiveness, acceptability, and feasibility of mobile-based technology for promoting active lifestyles in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Benefits of leading an active lifestyle following a diagnosis of T2D, including improved glycemic control, have been reported. Studies examining the specific use of mobile-based technologies to promote an active lifestyle in T2D have not previously been reviewed. Research studies examining effectiveness, feasibility or acceptability of mobile-based technology for active lifestyle promotion for T2D management were included (n = 9). The databases searched included PubMed, Medline, ScienceDirect, and ACM Digital Library (January 2005 to October 2015). Studies were categorized as (1) informing, (2) monitoring, (3) provoking, or (4) sustaining behavior change. Technologies used included smartphone or tablet apps, diabetes personal digital assistant, continuous glucose monitor and accelerometer, pedometer, and a website delivered by a smartphone. No articles examined the effectiveness of mobile-based technology in monitoring health behaviors and behavior change. Four of the studies found mobile-based technology to be motivational and supportive for behavior change. The visual reinforcement was identified as motivational. The feasibility and acceptability of using mobile-based technology to provide sustained lifestyle change and the effectiveness of mobile-based technology in monitoring health behaviors and behavior change have not been investigated. No studies examined all 3 of the outcomes or focused decreasing the participants' sedentary behavior. Limited research has examined the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of mobile-based technology to promote active lifestyles and subsequently good diabetes management in people with T2D.

In-Flight Water Quality Monitoring on the International Space Station (ISS): Measuring Biocide Concentrations with Colorimetric Solid Phase Extraction (CSPE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gazda, Daniel B.; Schultz, John R.; Siperko, Lorraine M.; Porter, Marc D.; Lipert, Robert J.; Flint, Stephanie M.; McCoy, J. Torin

2011-01-01

The colorimetric water quality monitoring kit (CWQMK) was delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) on STS-128/17A and was initially deployed in September 2009. The kit was flown as a station development test objective (SDTO) experiment to evaluate the acceptability of colorimetric solid phase extraction (CSPE) technology for routine water quality monitoring on the ISS. During the SDTO experiment, water samples from the U.S. water processor assembly (WPA), the U.S. potable water dispenser (PWD), and the Russian system for dispensing ground-supplied water (SVO-ZV) were collected and analyzed with the CWQMK. Samples from the U.S. segment of the ISS were analyzed for molecular iodine, which is the biocide added to water in the WPA. Samples from the SVOZV system were analyzed for ionic silver, the biocide used on the Russian segment of the ISS. In all, thirteen in-flight analysis sessions were completed as part of the SDTO experiment. This paper provides an overview of the experiment and reports the results obtained with the CWQMK. The forward plan for certifying the CWQMK as operational hardware and expanding the capabilities of the kit are also discussed.

Implant experience with an implantable hemodynamic monitor for the management of symptomatic heart failure.

PubMed

Steinhaus, David; Reynolds, Dwight W; Gadler, Fredrik; Kay, G Neal; Hess, Mike F; Bennett, Tom

2005-08-01

Management of congestive heart failure is a serious public health problem. The use of implantable hemodynamic monitors (IHMs) may assist in this management by providing continuous ambulatory filling pressure status for optimal volume management. The Chronicle system includes an implanted monitor, a pressure sensor lead with passive fixation, an external pressure reference (EPR), and data retrieval and viewing components. The tip of the lead is placed near the right ventricular outflow tract to minimize risk of sensor tissue encapsulation. Implant technique and lead placement is similar to that of a permanent pacemaker. After the system had been successfully implanted in 148 patients, the type and frequency of implant-related adverse events were similar to a single-chamber pacemaker implant. R-wave amplitude was 15.2 +/- 6.7 mV and the pressure waveform signal was acceptable in all but two patients in whom presence of artifacts required lead repositioning. Implant procedure time was not influenced by experience, remaining constant throughout the study. Based on this evaluation, permanent placement of an IHM in symptomatic heart failure patients is technically feasible. Further investigation is warranted to evaluate the use of the continuous hemodynamic data in management of heart failure patients.

Dried blood spot HIV-1 RNA quantification: A useful tool for viral load monitoring among HIV-infected individuals in India

PubMed Central

Neogi, Ujjwal; Gupta, Soham; Rodridges, Rashmi; Sahoo, Pravat Nalini; Rao, Shwetha D.; Rewari, Bharat B.; Shastri, Suresh; De Costa, Ayesha; Shet, Anita

2012-01-01

Background & objectives: Monitoring of HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral treatment (ART) ideally requires periodic viral load measurements to ascertain adequate response to treatment. While plasma viral load monitoring is widely available in high-income settings, it is rarely used in resource-limited regions because of high cost and need for sophisticated sample transport. Dried blood spot (DBS) as source specimens for viral load measurement has shown promise as an alternative to plasma specimens and is likely to be a useful tool for Indian settings. The present study was undertaken to investigate the performance of DBS in HIV-1 RNA quantification against the standard plasma viral load assay. Methods: Between April-June 2011, 130 samples were collected from HIV-1-infected (n=125) and non-infected (n=5) individuals in two district clinics in southern India. HIV-1 RNA quantification was performed from DBS and plasma using Abbott m2000rt system after manual RNA extraction. Statistical analysis included correlation, regression and Bland-Altman analysis. Results: The sensitivity of DBS viral load was 97 per cent with viral loads >3.0 log10 copies/ml. Measurable viral load (>3.0 log 10 copies/ml) results obtained for the 74 paired plasma-DBS samples showed positive correlation between both the assays (r=0.96). For clinically acceptable viral load threshold values of >5,000 copies/ml, Bland-Altman plots showed acceptable limits of agreement (−0.21 to +0.8 log10 copies/ml). The mean difference was 0.29 log10 copies/ml. The cost of DBS was $2.67 lower compared to conventional plasma viral load measurement in the setting Interpretation & conclusions: The significant positive correlation with standard plasma-based assay and lower cost of DBS viral load monitoring suggest that DBS sampling can be a feasible and economical means of viral load monitoring in HIV-infected individual in India and in other resource-limited settings globally. PMID:23391790

Air quality in passenger cars of the ground railway transit system in Beijing, China.

PubMed

Li, Tian-Tian; Bai, Yu-Hua; Liu, Zhao-Rong; Liu, Jin-Feng; Zhang, Guang-Shan; Li, Jin-Long

2006-08-15

This study examined the concentrations of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, TVOC, TSP, PM(10), PM(2.5), PM(1), benzene, toluene and xylene in passenger cars of the Beijing Ground Railway Transit System (Line No. 13). This system connects the northern suburb and downtown, and is equipped with air-conditioned passenger cars. In-train air quality monitoring was performed in both summer (July and August) and winter (December). To obtain representative data, the sampling design considered both rush and regular hours, urban and suburban areas, as well as the number of passengers. Meanwhile, questionnaires were distributed to the passengers. The monitoring results indicated that, overall, the air quality in the passenger cars was acceptable with a few exceptions, which is consistent with the passengers' perception. Concentrations of some air pollutants showed significant seasonal variations and had the significant difference between rush hour and regular hour. Furthermore, the in-train air quality was greatly influenced by the number of passengers. This paper describes the experimental design, and presents the preliminary results.

Online helium inventory monitoring of JLab cryogenic systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasan, N.; Knudsen, P.; Wright, M.

2017-12-01

There are five cryogenic plants at Jefferson Lab which support the LINAC, experiment hall end-stations and test facility. The majority of JLab’s helium inventory, which is around 15 tons, is allocated in the LINAC cryo-modules, with the majority of the balance of helium distributed at the cryogenic-plant level mainly as stored gas and liquid for stable operation. Due to the organic evolution of the five plants and independent actions within the experiment halls, the traditional inventory management strategy suffers from rapid identification of potential leaks. This can easily result in losses many times higher than the normally accepted (average) loss rate. A real-time program to quickly identify potential excessive leakage was developed and tested. This program was written in MATLAB© for portability, easy diagnostics and modification. It interfaces directly with EPICS to access the cryogenic system state, and with and NIST REFPROP© for real fluid properties. This program was validated against the actual helium offloaded into the system. The present paper outlines the details of the inventory monitoring program, its validation and a sample of the achieved results.

Use of text messaging for monitoring sugar-sweetened beverages, physical activity, and screen time in children: a pilot study.

PubMed

Shapiro, Jennifer R; Bauer, Stephanie; Hamer, Robert M; Kordy, Hans; Ward, Dianne; Bulik, Cynthia M

2008-01-01

To examine acceptability, attrition, adherence, and preliminary efficacy of mobile phone short message service (SMS; text messaging) for monitoring healthful behaviors in children. All randomized children received a brief psychoeducational intervention. They then either monitored target behaviors via SMS with feedback or via paper diaries (PD) or participated in a no-monitoring control (C) for 8 weeks. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Fifty-eight children (age 5-13) and parents participated; 31 completed (SMS: 13/18, PD: 7/18, C: 11/22). Children and parents participated in a total of 3 group education sessions (1 session weekly for 3 weeks) to encourage increasing physical activity and decreasing screen time and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Treatment acceptability, attrition, and adherence to self-monitoring. Descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests were used to analyze differences across time and group. Children in SMS had somewhat lower attrition (28%) than both PD (61%) and C (50%), and significantly greater adherence to self-monitoring than PD (43% vs 19%, P < .02). Short message service may be a useful tool for self-monitoring healthful behaviors in children, although the efficacy of this approach needs further study. Implications suggest that novel technologies may play a role in improving health.

Lancing: Quo Vadis?

PubMed Central

Heinemann, Lutz; Boecker, Dirk

2011-01-01

Today, lancing fingertips or alternative sites for obtaining a blood sample for self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is a standard procedure for most patients with diabetes. The need for frequent lancing and associated discomfort and pain can be seen as a key hurdle for patients to comply with SMBG regimens. This article provides an overview of the status quo and future of lancing, focusing on key areas for future developments driven by customer and market needs. We also review technical issues and provide a background for possible improvements. The act of puncturing the skin with a lancet to obtain a blood sample seems to remain the standard procedure for the foreseeable future, because alternate ways of providing a blood sample have not demonstrated overall superiority (e.g., with laser technology). Other methods, which avoid lancing entirely, have also not gained broad market acceptance (e.g., minimally invasive continuous glucose monitoring) or not shown technical viability (e.g., noninvasive glucose monitoring). In relation to blood glucose (BG) meters and test strips, lancing has been a “stepchild” with regards to commercial attention and development efforts. Nevertheless, significant technological improvements have been made in this field to address key customer needs, including better performance (regarding pain, wound healing, and long-term sensitivity), reduced cost, and higher integration with other components of BG monitoring (e.g., integration of the lancing device with the glucose monitor). From a technical perspective, it is apparent that highly comfortable lancing can be accomplished; however, this still requires fairly advanced and complex devices. New developments are necessary to achieve this level of sophistication and performance with less intricate and costly system designs. Manufacturers' motivation to pursue these developments is compromised by the fact that they might not recoup their development cost on commercial advanced lancing systems through direct profits, but only through its positive influence on adherence and increased more profitable sensor utilization. We believe that two main driving forces will continue to push the evolution of lancing and sampling technology: (1) the need for maximum lancing comfort and (2) the advent of fully integrated systems, realizing a device in which all steps for SMBG are incorporated, thus providing a “one-step” experience. Rendering lancing a “nonissue” will eliminate a key barrier to adherence with appropriate SMBG regimens. Providing sophisticated lancing devices that allow the highest level of comfort and/or seamless blood sampling is key to improving user acceptance. This may have a greater impact on metabolic control than many of the new and expensive antidiabetic drugs. PMID:21880240

Next Generation System and Software Architectures: Challenges from Future NASA Exploration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sterritt, Roy; Rouff, Christopher A.; Hinchey, Michael G.; Rash, James L.; Truszkowski, Walt

2006-01-01

The four key objective properties of a system that are required of it in order for it to qualify as "autonomic" are now well-accepted-self-configuring, self-healing, self-protecting, and self-optimizing- together with the attribute properties-viz. self-aware, environment-aware, self-monitoring and self- adjusting. This paper describes the need for next generation system software architectures, where components are agents, rather than objects masquerading as agents, and where support is provided for self-* properties (both existing self-chop and emerging self-* properties). These are discussed as exhibited in NASA missions, and in particular with reference to a NASA concept mission, ANTS, which is illustrative of future NASA exploration missions based on the technology of intelligent swarms.

Hydrological processes and model representation: impact of soft data on calibration

Treesearch

J.G. Arnold; M.A. Youssef; H. Yen; M.J. White; A.Y. Sheshukov; A.M. Sadeghi; D.N. Moriasi; J.L. Steiner; Devendra Amatya; R.W. Skaggs; E.B. Haney; J. Jeong; M. Arabi; P.H. Gowda

2015-01-01

Hydrologic and water quality models are increasingly used to determine the environmental impacts of climate variability and land management. Due to differing model objectives and differences in monitored data, there are currently no universally accepted procedures for model calibration and validation in the literature. In an effort to develop accepted model calibration...

National Transonic Facility model and model support vibration problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, Clarence P., Jr.; Popernack, Thomas G., Jr.; Gloss, Blair B.

1990-01-01

Vibrations of models and model support system were encountered during testing in the National Transonic Facility. Model support system yaw plane vibrations have resulted in model strain gage balance design load limits being reached. These high levels of vibrations resulted in limited aerodynamic testing for several wind tunnel models. The yaw vibration problem was the subject of an intensive experimental and analytical investigation which identified the primary source of the yaw excitation and resulted in attenuation of the yaw oscillations to acceptable levels. This paper presents the principal results of analyses and experimental investigation of the yaw plane vibration problems. Also, an overview of plans for development and installation of a permanent model system dynamic and aeroelastic response measurement and monitoring system for the National Transonic Facility is presented.

An e-health system for the elderly (Butler Project): a pilot study on acceptance and satisfaction.

PubMed

Botella, Cristina; Etchemendy, Ernestina; Castilla, Diana; Baños, Rosa María; García-Palacios, Azucena; Quero, Soledad; Alcañiz, Mariano; Lozano, José Antonio

2009-06-01

The Butler Project is a technological e-health platform that uses the Internet to connect various users; it was designed to deliver health care to the elderly. The Butler platform has three levels of implementation: diagnosis (mood monitoring, alert system, management reports), therapy (training in inducing positive moods, memory work), and entertainment (e-mail, chat, video, photo albums, music, friend forums, accessibility to the Internet). The objective of this work is to describe the psychological aspects of the platform and to present data obtained from four users. Results show that after using the system, the participants increased their positive emotions and decreased their negative ones; in addition, they obtained high levels of satisfaction and experienced little difficulty in using the system.

AERMOD performance evaluation for three coal-fired electrical generating units in Southwest Indiana.

PubMed

Frost, Kali D

2014-03-01

An evaluation of the steady-state dispersion model AERMOD was conducted to determine its accuracy at predicting hourly ground-level concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) by comparing model-predicted concentrations to a full year of monitored SO2 data. The two study sites are comprised of three coal-fired electrical generating units (EGUs) located in southwest Indiana. The sites are characterized by tall, buoyant stacks,flat terrain, multiple SO2 monitors, and relatively isolated locations. AERMOD v12060 and AERMOD v12345 with BETA options were evaluated at each study site. For the six monitor-receptor pairs evaluated, AERMOD showed generally good agreement with monitor values for the hourly 99th percentile SO2 design value, with design value ratios that ranged from 0.92 to 1.99. AERMOD was within acceptable performance limits for the Robust Highest Concentration (RHC) statistic (RHC ratios ranged from 0.54 to 1.71) at all six monitors. Analysis of the top 5% of hourly concentrations at the six monitor-receptor sites, paired in time and space, indicated poor model performance in the upper concentration range. The amount of hourly model predicted data that was within a factor of 2 of observations at these higher concentrations ranged from 14 to 43% over the six sites. Analysis of subsets of data showed consistent overprediction during low wind speed and unstable meteorological conditions, and underprediction during stable, low wind conditions. Hourly paired comparisons represent a stringent measure of model performance; however given the potential for application of hourly model predictions to the SO2 NAAQS design value, this may be appropriate. At these two sites, AERMOD v12345 BETA options do not improve model performance. A regulatory evaluation of AERMOD utilizing quantile-quantile (Q-Q) plots, the RHC statistic, and 99th percentile design value concentrations indicates that model performance is acceptable according to widely accepted regulatory performance limits. However, a scientific evaluation examining hourly paired monitor and model values at concentrations of interest indicates overprediction and underprediction bias that is outside of acceptable model performance measures. Overprediction of 1-hr SO2 concentrations by AERMOD presents major ramifications for state and local permitting authorities when establishing emission limits.

Time-lapse monitoring of soil water content using electromagnetic conductivity imaging

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The volumetric soil water content (VWC) is fundamental to agriculture. Unfortunately, the universally accepted thermogravimetric method is labour intensive and time-consuming to use for field-scale monitoring. Electromagnetic (EM) induction instruments have proven to be useful in mapping the spatio-...

Advanced Monitoring to Improve Combustion Turbine/Combined Cycle Reliability, Availability & Maintainability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leonard Angello

2005-09-30

Power generators are concerned with the maintenance costs associated with the advanced turbines that they are purchasing. Since these machines do not have fully established Operation and Maintenance (O&M) track records, power generators face financial risk due to uncertain future maintenance costs. This risk is of particular concern, as the electricity industry transitions to a competitive business environment in which unexpected O&M costs cannot be passed through to consumers. These concerns have accelerated the need for intelligent software-based diagnostic systems that can monitor the health of a combustion turbine in real time and provide valuable information on the machine's performancemore » to its owner/operators. EPRI, Impact Technologies, Boyce Engineering, and Progress Energy have teamed to develop a suite of intelligent software tools integrated with a diagnostic monitoring platform that, in real time, interpret data to assess the 'total health' of combustion turbines. The 'Combustion Turbine Health Management System' (CTHMS) will consist of a series of 'Dynamic Link Library' (DLL) programs residing on a diagnostic monitoring platform that accepts turbine health data from existing monitoring instrumentation. CTHMS interprets sensor and instrument outputs, correlates them to a machine's condition, provide interpretative analyses, project servicing intervals, and estimate remaining component life. In addition, the CTHMS enables real-time anomaly detection and diagnostics of performance and mechanical faults, enabling power producers to more accurately predict critical component remaining useful life and turbine degradation.« less

Computerized Automated Reminder Diabetes System (CARDS): E-Mail and SMS Cell Phone Text Messaging Reminders to Support Diabetes Management

PubMed Central

Hanauer, David A.; Wentzell, Katherine; Laffel, Nikki

2009-01-01

Abstract Background: Cell phone text messaging, via the Short Messaging Service (SMS), offers the promise of a highly portable, well-accepted, and inexpensive modality for engaging youth and young adults in the management of their diabetes. This pilot and feasibility study compared two-way SMS cell phone messaging with e-mail reminders that were directed at encouraging blood glucose (BG) monitoring. Methods: Forty insulin-treated adolescents and young adults with diabetes were randomized to receive electronic reminders to check their BG levels via cell phone text messaging or e-mail reminders for a 3-month pilot study. Electronic messages were automatically generated, and participant replies with BG results were processed by the locally developed Computerized Automated Reminder Diabetes System (CARDS). Participants set their schedule for reminders on the secure CARDS website where they could also enter and review BG data. Results: Of the 40 participants, 22 were randomized to receive cell phone text message reminders and 18 to receive e-mail reminders; 18 in the cell phone group and 11 in the e-mail group used the system. Compared to the e-mail group, users in the cell phone group received more reminders (180.4 vs. 106.6 per user) and responded with BG results significantly more often (30.0 vs. 6.9 per user, P=0.04). During the first month cell phone users submitted twice as many BGs as e-mail users (27.2 vs. 13.8 per user); by month 3, usage waned. Conclusions: Cell phone text messaging to promote BG monitoring is a viable and acceptable option in adolescents and young adults with diabetes. However, maintaining interest levels for prolonged intervals remains a challenge. PMID:19848576

Computerized Automated Reminder Diabetes System (CARDS): e-mail and SMS cell phone text messaging reminders to support diabetes management.

PubMed

Hanauer, David A; Wentzell, Katherine; Laffel, Nikki; Laffel, Lori M

2009-02-01

Cell phone text messaging, via the Short Messaging Service (SMS), offers the promise of a highly portable, well-accepted, and inexpensive modality for engaging youth and young adults in the management of their diabetes. This pilot and feasibility study compared two-way SMS cell phone messaging with e-mail reminders that were directed at encouraging blood glucose (BG) monitoring. Forty insulin-treated adolescents and young adults with diabetes were randomized to receive electronic reminders to check their BG levels via cell phone text messaging or e-mail reminders for a 3-month pilot study. Electronic messages were automatically generated, and participant replies with BG results were processed by the locally developed Computerized Automated Reminder Diabetes System (CARDS). Participants set their schedule for reminders on the secure CARDS website where they could also enter and review BG data. Of the 40 participants, 22 were randomized to receive cell phone text message reminders and 18 to receive e-mail reminders; 18 in the cell phone group and 11 in the e-mail group used the system. Compared to the e-mail group, users in the cell phone group received more reminders (180.4 vs. 106.6 per user) and responded with BG results significantly more often (30.0 vs. 6.9 per user, P = 0.04). During the first month cell phone users submitted twice as many BGs as e-mail users (27.2 vs. 13.8 per user); by month 3, usage waned. Cell phone text messaging to promote BG monitoring is a viable and acceptable option in adolescents and young adults with diabetes. However, maintaining interest levels for prolonged intervals remains a challenge.

Fish welfare assurance system: initial steps to set up an effective tool to safeguard and monitor farmed fish welfare at a company level.

PubMed

van de Vis, J W; Poelman, M; Lambooij, E; Bégout, M-L; Pilarczyk, M

2012-02-01

The objective was to take a first step in the development of a process-oriented quality assurance (QA) system for monitoring and safeguarding of fish welfare at a company level. A process-oriented approach is focused on preventing hazards and involves establishment of critical steps in a process that requires careful control. The seven principles of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) concept were used as a framework to establish the QA system. HACCP is an internationally agreed approach for management of food safety, which was adapted for the purpose of safeguarding and monitoring the welfare of farmed fish. As the main focus of this QA system is farmed fish welfare assurance at a company level, it was named Fish Welfare Assurance System (FWAS). In this paper we present the initial steps of setting up FWAS for on growing of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), carp (Cyprinus carpio) and European eel (Anguilla anguilla). Four major hazards were selected, which were fish species dependent. Critical Control Points (CCPs) that need to be controlled to minimize or avoid the four hazards are presented. For FWAS, monitoring of CCPs at a farm level is essential. For monitoring purposes, Operational Welfare Indicators (OWIs) are needed to establish whether critical biotic, abiotic, managerial and environmental factors are controlled. For the OWIs we present critical limits/target values. A critical limit is the maximum or minimum value to which a factor must be controlled at a critical control point to prevent, eliminate or reduce a hazard to an acceptable level. For managerial factors target levels are more appropriate than critical limits. Regarding the international trade of farmed fish products, we propose that FWAS needs to be standardized in aquaculture chains. For this standardization a consensus on the concept of fish welfare, methods to assess welfare objectively and knowledge on the needs of farmed fish are required.

Applications of aerospace technology in biology and medicine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rouse, D. J.

1983-01-01

Utilization of NASA technology and its application to medicine is discussed. The introduction of new or improved commercially available medical products and incorporation of aerospace technology is outlined. A biopolar donor-recipient model of medical technology transfer is presented to provide a basis for the methodology. The methodology is designed to: (1) identify medical problems and NASA technology that, in combination, constitute opportunities for successful medical products; (2) obtain the early participation of industry in the transfer process; and (3) obtain acceptance by the medical community of new medical products based on NASA technology. Two commercial transfers were completed: the ocular screening device, a system for quick detection of vision problems in preschool children, and Porta-Fib III, a hospital monitoring unit. Two institutional transfers were completed: implant materials testing, the application of NASA fracture control technology to improve reliability of metallic prostheses, and incinerator monitoring, a quadrupole mass spectrometer to monitor combustion products of municipal incinerators. Mobility aids for the blind and ultrasound diagnosis of burn depth are also studied.

1st SSME test of 2006

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-01-09

Water vapor surges from the flame deflector of the A-2 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center on Jan. 9 during the first space shuttle main engine test of the year. The test was an engine acceptance test of flight engine 2058. It's the first space shuttle main engine to be completely assembled at Kennedy Space Center. Objectives also included first-time (green run) tests of a high-pressure oxidizer turbo pump and an Advanced Health System Monitor engine controller. The test ran for the planned duration of 520 seconds.

Electronic Adherence Monitoring in a High-Utilizing Pediatric Asthma Cohort: A Feasibility Study

PubMed Central

Chang, Joyce; Wynter, Sheri-Ann; Fowler, Jessica C; Long, Jin; Bryant-Stephens, Tyra C

2016-01-01

Background Inner-city, minority children with asthma have the highest rates of morbidity and death from asthma and the lowest rates of asthma controller medication adherence. Some recent electronic medication monitoring interventions demonstrated dramatic improvements in adherence in lower-risk populations. The feasibility and acceptability of such an intervention in the highest-risk children with asthma has not been studied. Objective Our objective was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a community health worker-delivered electronic adherence monitoring intervention among the highest utilizers of acute asthma care in an inner-city practice. Methods This was a prospective cohort pilot study targeting children with the highest frequency of asthma-related emergency department and hospital care within a local managed care Medicaid plan. The 3-month intervention included motivational interviewing, electronic monitoring of controller and rescue inhaler use, and outreach by a community health worker for predefined medication alerts. We measured acceptability by using a modified technology acceptability model and changes in asthma control using the Asthma Control Test (ACT). Given prominent feasibility issues, we describe qualitative patterns of medication use at baseline only. Results We enrolled 14 non-Hispanic black children with a median age of 3.5 years. Participants averaged 7.8 emergency or hospital visits in the year preceding enrollment. We observed three distinct patterns of baseline controller use: 4 patients demonstrated sustained use, 5 patients had periodic use, and 5 patients lapsed within 2 weeks. All participants initiated use of the electronic devices; however, no modem signal was transmitted for 5 or the 14 participants after a mean of 45 days. Of the 9 (64% of total) caregivers who completed the final study visit, all viewed the electronic monitoring device favorably and would recommend it to friends, and 5 (56%) believed that the device helped to improve asthma control. ACT scores improved by a mean of 2.7 points (P=.05) over the 3-month intervention. Conclusions High-utilizer, minority families who completed a community health worker-delivered electronic adherence intervention found it generally acceptable. Prominent feasibility concerns, however, such as recruitment, data transmission failure, and lost devices, should be carefully considered when designing interventions in this setting. PMID:27335355

Monitoring the onset of neuromuscular blockade with double burst stimulation (DBS).

PubMed

Gorgias, N; Maidatsi, P; Zaralidou, A; Ourailoglou, V; Fakidou, A; Giala, M

1998-11-01

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the suitability of the DBS mode in the determination of the proper time to perform tracheal intubation following cisatracurium muscle relaxation. The DBS3.3 pattern was administered to the ulnar nerve at the wrist in 45 patients paralyzed with cisatracurium 0.15 mg.kg-1 and tracheal intubation was attempted immediately after the disappearance of both palpable contractions of the adductor pollicis. Intubation conditions were assessed with a standard four-graded scoring system and the onset time of the relaxant was determined. Forty-two patients (93%) exhibited acceptable intubation conditions as soon as both responses to DBS were absent and the estimated apparent onset time, according to the stimulation mode applied, was 114.68 +/- 13.2 sec. Our data suggest that disappearance of both palpable responses to DBS3.3 may be used as an accurate predictor of acceptable intubation conditions, following nondepolarizing relaxants such as cisatracurium.

Assessing and Maximizing the Acceptability of Global Positioning System Device Use for Studying the Role of Human Movement in Dengue Virus Transmission in Iquitos, Peru

PubMed Central

Paz-Soldan, Valerie A.; Stoddard, Steven T.; Vazquez-Prokopec, Gonzalo; Morrison, Amy C.; Elder, John P.; Kitron, Uriel; Kochel, Tadeusz J.; Scott, Thomas W.

2010-01-01

As use of global positioning system (GPS) technology to study disease transmission increases, it is important to assess possible barriers to its use from the perspective of potential study participants. Fifteen focus group discussions stratified by sex, age, and motherhood status were conducted in 2008 in Iquitos, Peru. All participants said they would accept using a GPS unit for study purposes for 2–4 weeks. Participants' main concerns included caring properly for the unit, whether the unit would audio/videotape them, health effects of prolonged use, responsibility for units, and confidentiality of information. A pilot study was then conducted in which 126 persons were asked to carry GPS units for 2–4 weeks; 98% provided consent. All persons used the units expressing minimal concerns, although 44% reported forgetting the device at least once. Our study is the first to highlight participant concerns related to use of GPS for long-term monitoring of individual behavior in a resource-limited setting. PMID:20348526

Utilising handheld computers to monitor and support patients receiving chemotherapy: results of a UK-based feasibility study.

PubMed

Kearney, N; Kidd, L; Miller, M; Sage, M; Khorrami, J; McGee, M; Cassidy, J; Niven, K; Gray, P

2006-07-01

Recent changes in cancer service provision mean that many patients spend a limited time in hospital and therefore experience and must cope with and manage treatment-related side effects at home. Information technology can provide innovative solutions in promoting patient care through information provision, enhancing communication, monitoring treatment-related side effects and promoting self-care. The aim of this feasibility study was to evaluate the acceptability of using handheld computers as a symptom assessment and management tool for patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer. A convenience sample of patients (n = 18) and health professionals (n = 9) at one Scottish cancer centre was recruited. Patients used the handheld computer to record and send daily symptom reports to the cancer centre and receive instant, tailored symptom management advice during two treatment cycles. Both patients' and health professionals' perceptions of the handheld computer system were evaluated at baseline and at the end of the project. Patients believed the handheld computer had improved their symptom management and felt comfortable in using it. The health professionals also found the handheld computer to be helpful in assessing and managing patients' symptoms. This project suggests that a handheld-computer-based symptom management tool is feasible and acceptable to both patients and health professionals in complementing the care of patients receiving chemotherapy.

Gaining Regulator Acceptance of Natural Attenuation as a Remediation Tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hughes, M.B.

Monitored natural attenuation (MNA) makes use of biological degradation, chemical reactions with natural materials, and other processes to clean up contaminated soils and groundwater. In the past, the regulatory community has been slow to accept natural attenuation due to a misperception that natural attenuation is a ''do nothing'' approach. Recently however, regulators have been more open to considering MNA as part of an overall clean-up plan that includes active treatment technologies to remove or contain the source of contamination at a site. MNA is currently being implemented at the Savannah River Site for remediation of selected contaminants. The South Carolinamore » Department of Health and Environmental Control, who has regulatory authority over these actions, has accepted this process. Significant overall cost savings are forecast. Additionally, there will be less disruption to the ecosystem, compared with engineered technologies. This paper describes the monitored natural attenuation concept as well as the process of constructive engagement with the regulators to achieve acceptance. Application to DOE, DOD, and commercial sites, as well as acceptability to other regulatory bodies, will be discussed with an emphasis on strategies to prevent false starts in the negotiation process and inventing options that result in mutual gains for all parties.« less

Experiences of model year 2011 Dodge and Jeep owners with collision avoidance and related technologies.

PubMed

Cicchino, Jessica B; McCartt, Anne T

2015-01-01

Crash avoidance technologies have the potential to prevent or mitigate many crashes, but their effectiveness depends on drivers' acceptance and proper use. Owners of 2011 Dodge Charger, Dodge Durango, and Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles were interviewed about their experiences with their vehicles' technologies. Interviews were conducted in April 2013 with 215 owners of Dodge and Jeep vehicles with adaptive cruise control and forward collision warning and 215 owners with blind spot monitoring and rear cross-path detection. Most owners said that they always keep each collision avoidance technology turned on, and more than 90% of owners with each system would want the technology again on their next vehicle. The majority believed that the systems had helped prevent a collision; this ranged from 54% of drivers with forward collision warning to more than three-quarters with blind spot monitoring and rear cross-path detection. Some owners reported behavioral changes with the systems, but over-reliance on them is not prevalent. Reported use of the systems varied by the age and gender of the driver and duration of vehicle ownership to a greater degree than in previous surveys of luxury Volvo and Infiniti vehicles with collision avoidance technologies. Notably, drivers aged 40 and younger were most likely to report that forward collision warning had alerted them multiple times and that it had prevented a collision and that they follow the vehicle ahead less closely with adaptive cruise control. Reports of waiting for the alert from forward collision warning before braking were infrequent but increased with duration of ownership. However, these reports could reflect confusion of the system with adaptive cruise control, which alerts drivers when braking is necessary to maintain a preset speed or following distance but a crash is not imminent. Consistent with previous surveys of luxury vehicle owners with collision avoidance technologies, acceptance and use remains high among owners of more mainstream vehicles. Varying experiences with the technologies by driver age and gender suggest that safety benefits are not uniform for all drivers, and differential benefits may become increasingly apparent as collision avoidance technologies become available to a more heterogeneous population of drivers. The potential for over-reliance on the technologies should continue to be monitored, especially as drivers gain more experience with them.

Development and Implementation of a Simplified Tool Measuring System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jenn-Yih; Lee, Bean-Yin; Lee, Kuang-Chyi; Chen, Zhao-Kai

2010-01-01

This paper presents a simplified system for measuring geometric profiles of end mills. Firstly, a CCD camera was used to capture images of cutting tools. Then, an image acquisition card with the encoding function was adopted to convert the source of image into an USB port of a PC, and the image could be shown on a monitor. In addition, two linear scales were mounted on the X-Y table for positioning and measuring purposes. The signals of the linear scales were transmitted into a 4-axis quadrature encoder with 4-channel counter card for position monitoring. The C++ Builder was utilized for designing the user friendly human machine interface of the measuring system of tools. There is a cross line on the image of the interface to show a coordinate for the position measurement. Finally, a well-known tool measuring and inspection machine was employed for the measuring standard. This study compares the difference of the measuring results by using the machine and the proposed system. Experimental results show that the percentage of measuring error is acceptable for some geometric parameters of the square or ball nose end mills. Therefore, the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented approach.

Understanding the potential role of mobile phone-based monitoring on asthma self-management: qualitative study.

PubMed

Pinnock, H; Slack, R; Pagliari, C; Price, D; Sheikh, A

2007-05-01

National and international healthcare policy increasingly seeks technological solutions to the challenge of providing care for people with long-term conditions. Novel technologies, however, have the potential to change the dynamics of disease monitoring and self-management. We aimed to explore the opinions and concerns of people with asthma and primary care clinicians on the potential role of mobile phone monitoring technology (transmitting symptoms and peak flows, with immediate feedback of control and reminder of appropriate actions) in supporting asthma self-management. This qualitative study recruited 48 participants (34 adults and teenagers with asthma, 14 asthma nurses and doctors) from primary care in Lothian (Central Scotland) and Kent (South East England). Thirty-nine participated in six focus groups, which included a demonstration of the technology; nine gave in-depth interviews before and after a 4-week trial of the technology. Participants considered that mobile phone-based monitoring systems can facilitate guided self-management although, paradoxically, may engender dependence on professional/technological support. In the early phases, as patients are learning to accept, understand and control their asthma, this support was seen as providing much-needed confidence. During the maintenance phase, when self-management predominates, patient and professionals were concerned that increased dependence may be unhelpful, although they appreciated that maintaining an on-going record could facilitate consultations. Mobile phone-based monitoring systems have the potential to support guided self-management by aiding transition from clinician-supported early phases to effective self-management during the maintenance phase. Continuing development, adoption and formal evaluation of these systems should take account of the insights provided by our data.

76 FR 39074 - Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-05

... Bluefish, Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committees will hold public meetings. DATES... Bluefish, Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committees will meet on Friday, July 29... and specify overfishing level and acceptable biological catch (ABC) for bluefish, summer flounder...

Automatic, nondestructive test monitors in-process weld quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deal, F. C.

1968-01-01

Instrument automatically and nondestructively monitors the quality of welds produced in microresistance welding. It measures the infrared energy generated in the weld as the weld is made and compares this energy with maximum and minimum limits of infrared energy values previously correlated with acceptable weld-strength tolerances.

The Slow Control System of the Auger Fluorescence Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barenthien, N.; Bethge, C.; Daumiller, K.; Gemmeke, H.; Kampert, K.-H.; Wiebusch, C.

2003-07-01

The fluorescence detector (FD) of the Pierre Auger experiment [1] comprises 24 telescopes that will be situated in 4 remote buildings in the Pampa Amarilla. It is planned to run the fluorescence detectors in absence of operators on site. Therefore, the main task of the Slow Control System (SCS) is to ensure a secure remote operation of the FD system. The Slow Control System works autonomously and continuously monitors those parameters which may disturb a secure operation. Commands from the data-acquisition system or the remote operator are accepted only if they do not violate safety rules that depend on the actual experimental conditions (e.g. high-voltage, wind-sp eed, light, etc.). In case of malfunctions (power failure, communication breakdown, ...) the SCS performs an orderly shutdown and subsequent startup of the fluorescence detector system. The concept and the implementation of the Slow Control System are presented.

Integration of passive driver-assistance systems with on-board vehicle systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savchenko, V. V.; Poddubko, S. N.

2018-02-01

Implementation in OIAS such functions as driver’s state monitoring and high-precision calculation of the current navigation coordinates of the vehicle, modularity of the OIAS construction and the possible increase in the functionality through integration with other onboard systems has a promising development future. The development of intelligent transport systems and their components allows setting and solving fundamentally new tasks for the safety of human-to-machine transport systems, and the automatic analysis of heterogeneous information flows provides a synergistic effect. The analysis of cross-modal information exchange in human-machine transport systems, from uniform methodological points of view, will allow us, with an accuracy acceptable for solving applied problems, to form in real time an integrated assessment of the state of the basic components of the human-to-machine system and the dynamics in changing situation-centered environment, including the external environment, in their interrelations.

Women's experiences of continuous fetal monitoring - a mixed-methods systematic review.

PubMed

Crawford, Alexandra; Hayes, Dexter; Johnstone, Edward D; Heazell, Alexander E P

2017-12-01

Antepartum stillbirth is often preceded by detectable signs of fetal compromise, including changes in fetal heart rate and movement. It is hypothesized that continuous fetal monitoring could detect these signs more accurately and objectively than current forms of fetal monitoring and allow for timely intervention. This systematic review aimed to explore available evidence on women's experiences of continuous fetal monitoring to investigate its acceptability before clinical implementation and to inform clinical studies. Systematic searching of four electronic databases (Embase, PsycINFO, MEDLINE and CINAHL), using key terms defined by initial scoping searches, identified a total of 35 studies. Following title and abstract screening by two independent researchers, five studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies were not excluded based on language, methodology or quality assessment. An integrative methodology was used to synthesize qualitative and quantitative data together. Forms of continuous fetal monitoring used included Monica AN24 monitors (n = 4) and phonocardiography (n = 1). Four main themes were identified: practical limitations of the device, negative emotions, positive perceptions, and device implementation. Continuous fetal monitoring was reported to have high levels of participant satisfaction and was preferred by women to intermittent cardiotocography. This review suggests that continuous fetal monitoring is accepted by women. However, it has also highlighted both the paucity and heterogeneity of current studies and suggests that further research should be conducted into women's experiences of continuous fetal monitoring before such devices can be used clinically. © 2017 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Towards Real Time Diagnostics of Hybrid Welding Laser/GMAW

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Timothy Mcjunkin; Dennis C. Kunerth; Corrie Nichol

2013-07-01

Methods are currently being developed towards a more robust system real time feedback in the high throughput process combining laser welding with gas metal arc welding. A combination of ultrasonic, eddy current, electronic monitoring, and visual techniques are being applied to the welding process. Initial simulation and bench top evaluation of proposed real time techniques on weld samples are presented along with the concepts to apply the techniques concurrently to the weld process. Consideration for the eventual code acceptance of the methods and system are also being researched as a component of this project. The goal is to detect defectsmore » or precursors to defects and correct when possible during the weld process.« less

Towards real time diagnostics of Hybrid Welding Laser/GMAW

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McJunkin, T. R.; Kunerth, D. C.; Nichol, C. I.

2014-02-18

Methods are currently being developed towards a more robust system real time feedback in the high throughput process combining laser welding with gas metal arc welding. A combination of ultrasonic, eddy current, electronic monitoring, and visual techniques are being applied to the welding process. Initial simulation and bench top evaluation of proposed real time techniques on weld samples are presented along with the concepts to apply the techniques concurrently to the weld process. Consideration for the eventual code acceptance of the methods and system are also being researched as a component of this project. The goal is to detect defectsmore » or precursors to defects and correct when possible during the weld process.« less

Towards real time diagnostics of Hybrid Welding Laser/GMAW

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McJunkin, T. R.; Kunerth, D. C.; Nichol, C. I.; Todorov, E.; Levesque, S.

2014-02-01

Methods are currently being developed towards a more robust system real time feedback in the high throughput process combining laser welding with gas metal arc welding. A combination of ultrasonic, eddy current, electronic monitoring, and visual techniques are being applied to the welding process. Initial simulation and bench top evaluation of proposed real time techniques on weld samples are presented along with the concepts to apply the techniques concurrently to the weld process. Consideration for the eventual code acceptance of the methods and system are also being researched as a component of this project. The goal is to detect defects or precursors to defects and correct when possible during the weld process.

MONITORED NATURAL ATTENUATION AND RISK MANAGEMENT OF MTBE IN GROUND WATER

EPA Science Inventory

Monitored natural attenuation (as U.S. EPA defines the term) is a remedy, where natural processes bring the concentration of MTBE to an acceptable level in a reasonable period of time. The longevity of the plume is its critical property. The rate of attenuation is typically con...

Accuracy of activPAL Self-Attachment Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kringen, Nina L.; Healy, Genevieve N.; Winkler, Elisabeth A. H.; Clark, Bronwyn K.

2016-01-01

This study examined the accuracy of self-attachment of the activPAL activity monitor. A convenience sample of 50 participants self-attached the monitor after being presented with written material only (WMO) and then written and video (WV) instructions; and completed a questionnaire regarding the acceptability of the instructional methods.…

Prospective Memory and Task Interference in a Continuous Monitoring Dynamic Display Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loft, Shayne; Remington, Roger W.

2010-01-01

Theories and methods from the prospective memory literature were used to anticipate how individuals would maintain and retrieve intentions in a continuous monitoring dynamic display task. Participants accepted aircraft into sectors and detected aircraft conflicts during an air traffic control simulation. They were sometimes required to substitute…

A systematic review of clinician and staff views on the acceptability of incorporating remote monitoring technology into primary care.

PubMed

Davis, Melinda M; Freeman, Michele; Kaye, Jeffrey; Vuckovic, Nancy; Buckley, David I

2014-05-01

Remote monitoring technology (RMT) may enhance healthcare quality and reduce costs. RMT adoption depends on perceptions of the end-user (e.g., patients, caregivers, healthcare providers). We conducted a systematic review exploring the acceptability and feasibility of RMT use in routine adult patient care, from the perspectives of primary care clinicians, administrators, and clinic staff. We searched the databases of Medline, IEEE Xplore, and Compendex for original articles published from January 1996 through February 2013. We manually screened bibliographies of pertinent studies and consulted experts to identify English-language studies meeting our inclusion criteria. Of 939 citations identified, 15 studies reported in 16 publications met inclusion criteria. Studies were heterogeneous by country, type of RMT used, patient and provider characteristics, and method of implementation and evaluation. Clinicians, staff, and administrators generally held positive views about RMTs. Concerns emerged regarding clinical relevance of RMT data, changing clinical roles and patterns of care (e.g., reduced quality of care from fewer patient visits, overtreatment), insufficient staffing or time to monitor and discuss RMT data, data incompatibility with a clinic's electronic health record (EHR), and unclear legal liability regarding response protocols. This small body of heterogeneous literature suggests that for RMTs to be adopted in primary care, researchers and developers must ensure clinical relevance, support adequate infrastructure, streamline data transmission into EHR systems, attend to changing care patterns and professional roles, and clarify response protocols. There is a critical need to engage end-users in the development and implementation of RMT.

A Systematic Review of Clinician and Staff Views on the Acceptability of Incorporating Remote Monitoring Technology into Primary Care

PubMed Central

Freeman, Michele; Kaye, Jeffrey; Vuckovic, Nancy; Buckley, David I.

2014-01-01

Abstract Objective: Remote monitoring technology (RMT) may enhance healthcare quality and reduce costs. RMT adoption depends on perceptions of the end-user (e.g., patients, caregivers, healthcare providers). We conducted a systematic review exploring the acceptability and feasibility of RMT use in routine adult patient care, from the perspectives of primary care clinicians, administrators, and clinic staff. Materials and Methods: We searched the databases of Medline, IEEE Xplore, and Compendex for original articles published from January 1996 through February 2013. We manually screened bibliographies of pertinent studies and consulted experts to identify English-language studies meeting our inclusion criteria. Results: Of 939 citations identified, 15 studies reported in 16 publications met inclusion criteria. Studies were heterogeneous by country, type of RMT used, patient and provider characteristics, and method of implementation and evaluation. Clinicians, staff, and administrators generally held positive views about RMTs. Concerns emerged regarding clinical relevance of RMT data, changing clinical roles and patterns of care (e.g., reduced quality of care from fewer patient visits, overtreatment), insufficient staffing or time to monitor and discuss RMT data, data incompatibility with a clinic's electronic health record (EHR), and unclear legal liability regarding response protocols. Conclusions: This small body of heterogeneous literature suggests that for RMTs to be adopted in primary care, researchers and developers must ensure clinical relevance, support adequate infrastructure, streamline data transmission into EHR systems, attend to changing care patterns and professional roles, and clarify response protocols. There is a critical need to engage end-users in the development and implementation of RMT. PMID:24731239

Implementation and assessment of an animal management system for small-animal micro-CT / micro-SPECT imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holdsworth, David W.; Detombe, Sarah A.; Chiodo, Chris; Fricke, Stanley T.; Drangova, Maria

2011-03-01

Advances in laboratory imaging systems for CT, SPECT, MRI, and PET facilitate routine micro-imaging during pre-clinical investigations. Challenges still arise when dealing with immune-compromised animals, biohazardous agents, and multi-modality imaging. These challenges can be overcome with an appropriate animal management system (AMS), with the capability for supporting and monitoring a rat or mouse during micro-imaging. We report the implementation and assessment of a new AMS system for mice (PRA-3000 / AHS-2750, ASI Instruments, Warren MI), designed to be compatible with a commercial micro-CT / micro-SPECT imaging system (eXplore speCZT, GE Healthcare, London ON). The AMS was assessed under the following criteria: 1) compatibility with the imaging system (i.e. artifact generation, geometric dimensions); 2) compatibility with live animals (i.e. positioning, temperature regulation, anesthetic supply); 3) monitoring capabilities (i.e. rectal temperature, respiratory and cardiac monitoring); 4) stability of co-registration; and 5) containment. Micro-CT scans performed using a standardized live-animal protocol (90 kVp, 40 mA, 900 views, 16 ms per view) exhibited low noise (+/-19 HU) and acceptable artifact from high-density components within the AMS (e.g. ECG pad contacts). Live mice were imaged repeatedly (with removal and replacement of the AMS) and spatial registration was found to be stable to within +/-0.07 mm. All animals tolerated enclosure within the AMS for extended periods (i.e. > one hour) without distress, based on continuous recordings of rectal temperature, ECG waveform and respiratory rate. A sealed AMS system extends the capability of a conventional micro-imaging system to include immune-compromised and biosafety level 2 mouse-imaging protocols.

Multimodal Wireless Sensor Network-Based Ambient Assisted Living in Real Homes with Multiple Residents

PubMed Central

Tunca, Can; Alemdar, Hande; Ertan, Halil; Incel, Ozlem Durmaz; Ersoy, Cem

2014-01-01

Human activity recognition and behavior monitoring in a home setting using wireless sensor networks (WSNs) provide a great potential for ambient assisted living (AAL) applications, ranging from health and wellbeing monitoring to resource consumption monitoring. However, due to the limitations of the sensor devices, challenges in wireless communication and the challenges in processing large amounts of sensor data in order to recognize complex human activities, WSN-based AAL systems are not effectively integrated in the home environment. Additionally, given the variety of sensor types and activities, selecting the most suitable set of sensors in the deployment is an important task. In order to investigate and propose solutions to such challenges, we introduce a WSN-based multimodal AAL system compatible for homes with multiple residents. Particularly, we focus on the details of the system architecture, including the challenges of sensor selection, deployment, networking and data collection and provide guidelines for the design and deployment of an effective AAL system. We also present the details of the field study we conducted, using the systems deployed in two different real home environments with multiple residents. With these systems, we are able to collect ambient sensor data from multiple homes. This data can be used to assess the wellbeing of the residents and identify deviations from everyday routines, which may be indicators of health problems. Finally, in order to elaborate on the possible applications of the proposed AAL system and to exemplify directions for processing the collected data, we provide the results of several human activity inference experiments, along with examples on how such results could be interpreted. We believe that the experiences shared in this work will contribute towards accelerating the acceptance of WSN-based AAL systems in the home setting. PMID:24887044

Multimodal wireless sensor network-based ambient assisted living in real homes with multiple residents.

PubMed

Tunca, Can; Alemdar, Hande; Ertan, Halil; Incel, Ozlem Durmaz; Ersoy, Cem

2014-05-30

Human activity recognition and behavior monitoring in a home setting using wireless sensor networks (WSNs) provide a great potential for ambient assisted living (AAL) applications, ranging from health and wellbeing monitoring to resource consumption monitoring. However, due to the limitations of the sensor devices, challenges in wireless communication and the challenges in processing large amounts of sensor data in order to recognize complex human activities, WSN-based AAL systems are not effectively integrated in the home environment. Additionally, given the variety of sensor types and activities, selecting the most suitable set of sensors in the deployment is an important task. In order to investigate and propose solutions to such challenges, we introduce a WSN-based multimodal AAL system compatible for homes with multiple residents. Particularly, we focus on the details of the system architecture, including the challenges of sensor selection, deployment, networking and data collection and provide guidelines for the design and deployment of an effective AAL system. We also present the details of the field study we conducted, using the systems deployed in two different real home environments with multiple residents. With these systems, we are able to collect ambient sensor data from multiple homes. This data can be used to assess the wellbeing of the residents and identify deviations from everyday routines, which may be indicators of health problems. Finally, in order to elaborate on the possible applications of the proposed AAL system and to exemplify directions for processing the collected data, we provide the results of several human activity inference experiments, along with examples on how such results could be interpreted. We believe that the experiences shared in this work will contribute towards accelerating the acceptance of WSN-based AAL systems in the home setting.

Integrating mHealth in Oncology: Experience in the Province of Trento.

PubMed

Galligioni, Enzo; Piras, Enrico Maria; Galvagni, Michele; Eccher, Claudio; Caramatti, Silvia; Zanolli, Daniela; Santi, Jonni; Berloffa, Flavio; Dianti, Marco; Maines, Francesca; Sannicolò, Mirella; Sandri, Marco; Bragantini, Lara; Ferro, Antonella; Forti, Stefano

2015-05-13

The potential benefits of the introduction of electronic and mobile health (mHealth) information technologies, to support the safe delivery of intravenous chemotherapy or oral anticancer therapies, could be exponential in the context of a highly integrated computerized system. Here we describe a safe therapy mobile (STM) system for the safe delivery of intravenous chemotherapy, and a home monitoring system for monitoring and managing toxicity and improving adherence in patients receiving oral anticancer therapies at home. The STM system is fully integrated with the electronic oncological patient record. After the prescription of chemotherapy, specific barcodes are automatically associated with the patient and each drug, and a bedside barcode reader checks the patient, nurse, infusion bag, and drug sequence in order to trace the entire administration process, which is then entered in the patient's record. The usability and acceptability of the system was investigated by means of a modified questionnaire administered to nurses. The home monitoring system consists of a mobile phone or tablet diary app, which allows patients to record their state of health, the medications taken, their side effects, and a Web dashboard that allows health professionals to check the patient data and monitor toxicity and treatment adherence. A built-in rule-based alarm module notifies health care professionals of critical conditions. Initially developed for chronic patients, the system has been subsequently customized in order to monitor home treatments with capecitabine or sunitinib in cancer patients (Onco-TreC). The STM system never failed to match the patient/nurse/drug sequence association correctly, and proved to be accurate and reliable in tracing and recording the entire administration process. The questionnaires revealed that the users were generally satisfied and had a positive perception of the system's usefulness and ease of use, and the quality of their working lives. The pilot studies with the home monitoring system with 43 chronic patients have shown that the approach is reliable and useful for clinicians and patients, but it is also necessary to pay attention to the expectations that mHealth solutions may raise in users. The Onco-TreC version has been successfully laboratory tested, and is now ready for validation. The STM and Onco-TreC systems are fully integrated with our complex and composite information system, which guarantees privacy, security, interoperability, and real-time communications between patients and health professionals. They need to be validated in order to confirm their positive contribution to the safer administration of anticancer drugs.

Mercury Emission Measurement in Coal-Fired Boilers by Continuous Mercury Monitor and Ontario Hydro Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Yanqun; Zhou, Jinsong; He, Sheng; Cai, Xiaoshu; Hu, Changxin; Zheng, Jianming; Zhang, Le; Luo, Zhongyang; Cen, Kefa

2007-06-01

The mercury emission control approach attaches more importance. The accurate measurement of mercury speciation is a first step. Because OH method (accepted method) can't provide the real-time data and 2-week time for results attained, it's high time to seek on line mercury continuous emission monitors(Hg-CEM). Firstly, the gaseous elemental and oxidized mercury were conducted to measure using OH and CEM method under normal operation conditions of PC boiler after ESP, the results between two methods show good consistency. Secondly, through ESP, gaseous oxidized mercury decrease a little and particulate mercury reduce a little bit, but the elemental mercury is just the opposite. Besides, the WFGD system achieved to gaseous oxidized mercury removal of 53.4%, gaseous overall mercury and elemental mercury are 37.1% and 22.1%, respectively.

SprayQc: a real-time LC-MS/MS quality monitoring system to maximize uptime using off the shelf components.

PubMed

Scheltema, Richard A; Mann, Matthias

2012-06-01

With the advent of high-throughput mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics, the magnitude and complexity of the performed experiments has increased dramatically. Likewise, investments in chromatographic and MS instrumentation are a large proportion of the budget of proteomics laboratories. Guarding measurement quality and maximizing uptime of the LC-MS/MS systems therefore requires constant care despite automated workflows. We describe a real-time surveillance system, called SprayQc, that continuously monitors the status of the peripheral equipment to ensure that operational parameters are within an acceptable range. SprayQc is composed of multiple plug-in software components that use computer vision to analyze electrospray conditions, monitor the chromatographic device for stable backpressure, interact with a column oven to control pressure by temperature, and ensure that the mass spectrometer is still acquiring data. Action is taken when a failure condition has been detected, such as stopping the column oven and the LC flow, as well as automatically notifying the appropriate operator. Additionally, all defined metrics can be recorded synchronized on retention time with the MS acquisition file, allowing for later inspection and providing valuable information for optimization. SprayQc has been extensively tested in our laboratory, supports third-party plug-in development, and is freely available for download from http://sourceforge.org/projects/sprayqc .

Definition of an Acceptable Glass composition Region (AGCR) via an Index System and a Partitioning Function

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peeler, D. K.; Taylor, A. S.; Edwards, T.B.

2005-06-26

The objective of this investigation was to appeal to the available ComPro{trademark} database of glass compositions and measured PCTs that have been generated in the study of High Level Waste (HLW)/Low Activity Waste (LAW) glasses to define an Acceptable Glass Composition Region (AGCR). The term AGCR refers to a glass composition region in which the durability response (as defined by the Product Consistency Test (PCT)) is less than some pre-defined, acceptable value that satisfies the Waste Acceptance Product Specifications (WAPS)--a value of 10 g/L was selected for this study. To assess the effectiveness of a specific classification or index systemmore » to differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable glasses, two types of errors (Type I and Type II errors) were monitored. A Type I error reflects that a glass with an acceptable durability response (i.e., a measured NL [B] < 10 g/L) is classified as unacceptable by the system of composition-based constraints. A Type II error occurs when a glass with an unacceptable durability response is classified as acceptable by the system of constraints. Over the course of the efforts to meet this objective, two approaches were assessed. The first (referred to as the ''Index System'') was based on the use of an evolving system of compositional constraints which were used to explore the possibility of defining an AGCR. This approach was primarily based on ''glass science'' insight to establish the compositional constraints. Assessments of the Brewer and Taylor Index Systems did not result in the definition of an AGCR. Although the Taylor Index System minimized Type I errors which allowed access to composition regions of interest to improve melt rate or increase waste loadings for DWPF as compared to the current durability model, Type II errors were also committed. In the context of the application of a particular classification system in the process control system, Type II errors are much more serious than Type I errors. A Type I error only reflects that the particular constraint system being used is overly conservative (i.e., its application restricts access to glasses that have an acceptable measured durability response). A Type II error results in a more serious misclassification that could result in allowing the transfer of a Slurry Mix Evaporator (SME) batch to the melter, which is predicted to produce a durable product based on the specific system applied but in reality does not meet the defined ''acceptability'' criteria. More specifically, a nondurable product could be produced in DWPF. Given the presence of Type II errors, the Index System approach was deemed inadequate for further implementation consideration at the DWPF. The second approach (the JMP partitioning process) was purely data driven and empirically derived--glass science was not a factor. In this approach, the collection of composition--durability data in ComPro was sequentially partitioned or split based on the best available specific criteria and variables. More specifically, the JMP software chose the oxide (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} for this dataset) that most effectively partitions the PCT responses (NL [B]'s)--perhaps not 100% effective based on a single oxide. Based on this initial split, a second request was made to split a particular set of the ''Y'' values (good or bad PCTs based on the 10 g/L limit) based on the next most critical ''X'' variable. This ''splitting'' or ''partitioning'' process was repeated until an AGCR was defined based on the use of only 3 oxides (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, CaO, and MgO) and critical values of > 3.75 wt% Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, {ge} 0.616 wt% CaO, and < 3.521 wt% MgO. Using this set of criteria, the ComPro database was partitioned in which no Type II errors were committed. The automated partitioning function screened or removed 978 of the 2406 ComPro glasses which did cause some initial concerns regarding excessive conservatism regardless of its ability to identify an AGCR. However, a preliminary review of glasses within the 1428 ''acceptable'' glasses defining the ACGR includes glass systems of interest to support the accelerated mission.« less

Therapeutic drug monitoring of infliximab: performance evaluation of three commercial ELISA kits.

PubMed

Schmitz, Ellen M H; van de Kerkhof, Daan; Hamann, Dörte; van Dongen, Joost L J; Kuijper, Philip H M; Brunsveld, Luc; Scharnhorst, Volkher; Broeren, Maarten A C

2016-07-01

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of infliximab (IFX, Remicade®) can aid to optimize therapy efficacy. Many assays are available for this purpose. However, a reference standard is lacking. Therefore, we evaluated the analytical performance, agreement and clinically relevant differences of three commercially available IFX ELISA kits on an automated processing system. The kits of Theradiag (Lisa Tracker Infliximab), Progenika (Promonitor IFX) and apDia (Infliximab ELISA) were implemented on an automated processing system. Imprecision was determined by triplicate measurements of patient samples on five days. Agreement was evaluated by analysis of 30 patient samples and four spiked samples by the selected ELISA kits and the in-house IFX ELISA of Sanquin Diagnostics (Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Therapeutic consequences were evaluated by dividing patients into four treatment groups using cut-off levels of 1, 3 and 7 μg/mL and determining assay concordance. Within-run and between-run imprecision were acceptable (≤12% and ≤17%, respectively) within the quantification range of the selected ELISA kits. The apDia assay had the best precision and agreement to target values. Statistically significant differences were found between all assays except between Sanquin Diagnostics and the Lisa Tracker assay. The Promonitor assay measured the lowest IFX concentrations, the apDia assay the highest. When patients were classified in four treatment categories, 70% concordance was achieved. Although all assays are suitable for TDM, significant differences were observed in both imprecision and agreement. Therapeutic consequences were acceptable when patients were divided in treatment categories, but this could be improved by assay standardization.

Plan for the control of Legionella infections in long-term care facilities: role of environmental monitoring.

PubMed

Cristino, Sandra; Legnani, Pier Paolo; Leoni, Erica

2012-04-01

In accordance with the international and national guidelines, the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) has established regional guidelines for the surveillance and prevention of legionellosis based on the concept of risk assessment, with particular attention to environmental monitoring. The aim of this study was to verify how environmental surveillance in the context of risk assessment plans could help to guide decisions about preventive strategies against Legionella infections in Long Term Care Facilities (LTCF). In six LTCFs in the city of Bologna (Emilia-Romagna Region) a self-control plan was implemented that included the environmental monitoring of Legionella spp. and the surveillance of hospital-acquired Legionnaires' Disease. At baseline, four hot water systems were colonized by Legionella pneumophila (3 LCTFs) and Legionella londiniensis (1 LCTF). In each establishment specific control measures were adopted based on the characteristics of the system, the virulence of the strain and the level of the contamination. The monitoring, carried out for around two years, was also extended to the ways in which the system and the distal water distribution points were used and maintained with respect to the good practices in operation and management. The adopted actions (shock and/or continuous disinfection treatments) and the implementation of the good practice measures reduced the contamination to acceptable and stable levels. No cases of hospital-acquired legionellosis occurred during the period of study. The environmental surveillance was successful in evaluating the risk and identifying the most suitable preventive strategies. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

The promise of acceptance as an NGO security management approach.

PubMed

Fast, Larissa; Freeman, Faith; O'Neill, Michael; Rowley, Elizabeth

2015-04-01

This paper explores three questions related to acceptance as a security management approach. Acceptance draws upon relationships with community members, authorities, belligerents and other stakeholders to provide consent for the presence and activities of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), thereby reducing threats from these actors. Little is documented about how NGOs gain and maintain acceptance, how they assess and monitor the presence and degree of acceptance, or how they determine whether acceptance is effective in a particular context. Based on field research conducted in April 2011 in Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda, we address each of these three issues and argue that acceptance must be actively sought as both a programme and a security management strategy. In the paper we delineate elements common to all three contexts as well as missed opportunities, which identify areas that NGOs can and should address as part of an acceptance approach. © 2015 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2015.

An intervention fidelity framework for technology-based behavioral interventions.

PubMed

Devito Dabbs, Annette; Song, Mi-Kyung; Hawkins, Robert; Aubrecht, Jill; Kovach, Karen; Terhorst, Lauren; Connolly, Mary; McNulty, Mary; Callan, Judith

2011-01-01

Despite the proliferation of health technologies, descriptions of the unique considerations and practical guidance for evaluating the intervention fidelity of technology-based behavioral interventions are lacking. The aims of this study were to (a) discuss how technology-based behavioral interventions challenge conventions about how intervention fidelity is conceptualized and evaluated, (b) propose an intervention fidelity framework that may be more appropriate for technology-based behavioral interventions, and (c) present a plan for operationalizing each concept in the framework using the intervention fidelity monitoring plan for Pocket PATH (Personal Assistant for Tracking Health), a mobile health technology designed to promote self-care behaviors after lung transplantation, as an exemplar. The literature related to intervention fidelity and technology acceptance was used to identify the issues that are unique to the fidelity of technology-based behavioral interventions and thus important to include in a proposed intervention fidelity framework. An intervention fidelity monitoring plan for technology-based behavioral interventions was developed as an example. The intervention fidelity monitoring plan was deemed feasible and practical to implement and showed utility in operationalizing the concepts such as assessing interventionists' delivery and participants' acceptance of the technology-based behavioral intervention. The framework has the potential to guide the development of implementation fidelity monitoring tools for other technology-based behavioral interventions. Further application and testing of this framework will allow for a better understanding of the role that technology acceptance plays in the adoption and enactment of the behaviors that technology-based behavioral interventions are intended to promote.

Barriers to Implementation of Recommendations for Transport of Children in Ground Ambulances.

PubMed

Woods, Rashida H; Shah, Manish; Doughty, Cara; Gilchrest, Anthony

2017-10-16

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released draft recommendations in 2010 on the safe transport of children in ground ambulances. The purpose of this study was to assess awareness of these guidelines among emergency medical service (EMS) agencies and to identify implementation barriers. We conducted a cross-sectional, anonymous online survey of 911-responding, ground transport EMS agencies in Texas. Demographics, modes of transport based on case scenarios, and barriers to implementation were assessed. Of 62 eligible EMS agencies that took the survey, 35.7% were aware of the NHTSA guidelines, 62.5% agreed they would improve safety, and 41.1% planned to implement them. Seventy-five percent of EMS agencies used the ideal or acceptable alternative to transport children requiring continuous monitoring, and 69.5% chose ideal or acceptable alternatives for children requiring spinal immobilization. The ideal or acceptable alternative was not chosen for children who were not injured or ill (93.2%), ill or injured but not requiring continuous monitoring (53.3%), and situations when multiple patients required transport (57.6%). The main requirements for implementation were provider education, ambulance interior modifications, new guidelines in the EMS agency, and purchase of new equipment. Few EMS agencies are aware of the NHTSA guidelines on safe transport of children in ground ambulances. Although most agencies appropriately transport children who require monitoring, interventions, or spinal immobilization, they use inappropriate means to transport children in situations with multiple patients, lack of injury or illness, or lack of need for monitoring.

A Survey of Restraint Methods for the Safe Transport of Children in Ground Ambulances.

PubMed

Woods, Rashida H; Shah, Manish; Doughty, Cara; Gilchrest, Anthony

2018-03-01

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released draft recommendations in 2010 on the safe transport of children in ground ambulances. The purpose of this study was to assess awareness of these guidelines among emergency medical service (EMS) agencies and to identify implementation barriers. We conducted a cross-sectional, anonymous online survey of 911-responding, ground transport EMS agencies in Texas. Demographics, modes of transport based on case scenarios, and barriers to implementation were assessed. Of 62 eligible EMS agencies that took the survey, 35.7% were aware of the NHTSA guidelines, 62.5% agreed they would improve safety, and 41.1% planned to implement them. Seventy-five percent of EMS agencies used the ideal or acceptable alternative to transport children requiring continuous monitoring, and 69.5% chose ideal or acceptable alternatives for children requiring spinal immobilization. The ideal or acceptable alternative was not chosen for children who were not injured or ill (93.2%), ill or injured but not requiring continuous monitoring (53.3%), and situations when multiple patients required transport (57.6%). The main requirements for implementation were provider education, ambulance interior modifications, new guidelines in the EMS agency, and purchase of new equipment. Few EMS agencies are aware of the NHTSA guidelines on safe transport of children in ground ambulances. Although most agencies appropriately transport children who require monitoring, interventions, or spinal immobilization, they use inappropriate means to transport children in situations with multiple patients, lack of injury or illness, or lack of need for monitoring.

A microfluidic paper-based analytical device for the assay of albumin-corrected fructosamine values from whole blood samples.

PubMed

Boonyasit, Yuwadee; Laiwattanapaisal, Wanida

2015-01-01

A method for acquiring albumin-corrected fructosamine values from whole blood using a microfluidic paper-based analytical system that offers substantial improvement over previous methods is proposed. The time required to quantify both serum albumin and fructosamine is shortened to 10 min with detection limits of 0.50 g dl(-1) and 0.58 mM, respectively (S/N = 3). The proposed system also exhibited good within-run and run-to-run reproducibility. The results of the interference study revealed that the acceptable recoveries ranged from 95.1 to 106.2%. The system was compared with currently used large-scale methods (n = 15), and the results demonstrated good agreement among the techniques. The microfluidic paper-based system has the potential to continuously monitor glycemic levels in low resource settings.

Oral and maxillofacial surgery with computer-assisted navigation system.

PubMed

Kawachi, Homare; Kawachi, Yasuyuki; Ikeda, Chihaya; Takagi, Ryo; Katakura, Akira; Shibahara, Takahiko

2010-01-01

Intraoperative computer-assisted navigation has gained acceptance in maxillofacial surgery with applications in an increasing number of indications. We adapted a commercially available wireless passive marker system which allows calibration and tracking of virtually every instrument in maxillofacial surgery. Virtual computer-generated anatomical structures are displayed intraoperatively in a semi-immersive head-up display. Continuous observation of the operating field facilitated by computer assistance enables surgical navigation in accordance with the physician's preoperative plans. This case report documents the potential for augmented visualization concepts in surgical resection of tumors in the oral and maxillofacial region. We report a case of T3N2bM0 carcinoma of the maxillary gingival which was surgically resected with the assistance of the Stryker Navigation Cart System. This system was found to be useful in assisting preoperative planning and intraoperative monitoring.

[Introduction of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) principles at the flight catering food production plant].

PubMed

Popova, A Yu; Trukhina, G M; Mikailova, O M

In the article there is considered the quality control and safety system implemented in the one of the largest flight catering food production plant for airline passengers and flying squad. The system for the control was based on the Hazard Analysis And Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles and developed hygienic and antiepidemic measures. There is considered the identification of hazard factors at stages of the technical process. There are presented results of the analysis data of monitoring for 6 critical control points over the five-year period. The quality control and safety system permit to decline food contamination risk during acceptance, preparation and supplying of in-flight meal. There was proved the efficiency of the implemented system. There are determined further ways of harmonization and implementation for HACCP principles in the plant.

Development of a web-based epidemiological surveillance system with health system response for improving maternal and newborn health: Field-testing in Thailand.

PubMed

Liabsuetrakul, Tippawan; Prappre, Tagoon; Pairot, Pakamas; Oumudee, Nurlisa; Islam, Monir

2017-06-01

Surveillance systems are yet to be integrated with health information systems for improving the health of pregnant mothers and their newborns, particularly in developing countries. This study aimed to develop a web-based epidemiological surveillance system for maternal and newborn health with integration of action-oriented responses and automatic data analysis with results presentations and to assess the system acceptance by nurses and doctors involved in various hospitals in southern Thailand. Freeware software and scripting languages were used. The system can be run on different platforms, and it is accessible via various electronic devices. Automatic data analysis with results presentations in the forms of graphs, tables and maps was part of the system. A multi-level security system was incorporated into the program. Most doctors and nurses involved in the study felt the system was easy to use and useful. This system can be integrated into country routine reporting system for monitoring maternal and newborn health and survival.

[QUALITY MEASURES IN MEDICINE-- A PLEA FOR NEW, VALUE BASED THINKING].

PubMed

Fisher, Menachem; Wagner, Oded; Keinarl, Talia; Solt, Ido

2015-09-01

Quality is an important and basic conduct of complex systems in general and health systems in particular. Quality is a cornerstone of medicine, necessary in the eyes of the community of consumers, caregivers, and the systems that manage both. In Israel, the Ministry of Health has set the quality issue on the agenda of healthcare organizations in all existing frameworks. In this article we seek to offer an acceptable alternative perspective, in examining the quality of public health. We suggest highlighting the ethical aspect of medical care, while reducing the quantitative monitoring component of existing quality metrics. Relying solely on indices has negative effects that might cause damage. The proposed alternative focuses on the personal responsibility of health care providers, using. values and moral reasonin.

Assessing performance of closed-loop insulin delivery systems by continuous glucose monitoring: drawbacks and way forward.

PubMed

Hovorka, Roman; Nodale, Marianna; Haidar, Ahmad; Wilinska, Malgorzata E

2013-01-01

We investigated whether continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) levels can accurately assess glycemic control while directing closed-loop insulin delivery. Data were analyzed retrospectively from 33 subjects with type 1 diabetes who underwent closed-loop and conventional pump therapy on two separate nights. Glycemic control was evaluated by reference plasma glucose and contrasted against three methods based on Navigator (Abbott Diabetes Care, Alameda, CA) CGM levels. Glucose mean and variability were estimated by unmodified CGM levels with acceptable clinical accuracy. Time when glucose was in target range was overestimated by CGM during closed-loop nights (CGM vs. plasma glucose median [interquartile range], 86% [65-97%] vs. 75% [59-91%]; P=0.04) but not during conventional pump therapy (57% [32-72%] vs. 51% [29-68%]; P=0.82) providing comparable treatment effect (mean [SD], 28% [29%] vs. 23% [21%]; P=0.11). Using the CGM measurement error of 15% derived from plasma glucose-CGM pairs (n=4,254), stochastic interpretation of CGM gave unbiased estimate of time in target during both closed-loop (79% [62-86%] vs. 75% [59-91%]; P=0.24) and conventional pump therapy (54% [33-66%] vs. 51% [29-68%]; P=0.44). Treatment effect (23% [24%] vs. 23% [21%]; P=0.96) and time below target were accurately estimated by stochastic CGM. Recalibrating CGM using reference plasma glucose values taken at the start and end of overnight closed-loop was not superior to stochastic CGM. CGM is acceptable to estimate glucose mean and variability, but without adjustment it may overestimate benefit of closed-loop. Stochastic CGM provided unbiased estimate of time when glucose is in target and below target and may be acceptable for assessment of closed-loop in the outpatient setting.

A Smartphone-based Medication Self-management System with Realtime Medication Monitoring

PubMed Central

Hayakawa, M.; Uchimura, Y.; Omae, K.; Waki, K.; Fujita, H.; Ohe, K.

2013-01-01

Background Most patients cannot remember their entire medication regimen and occasionally forget to take their medication. Objectives The objective of the study was to design, develop, and demonstrate the feasibility of a new type of medication self-management system using smartphones with real-time medication monitoring. Methods We designed and developed a smartphone-based medication self-management system (SMSS) based on interviews of 116 patients. The system offered patients two main functions by means of smartphones: (1) storage and provision of an accurate, portable medication history and medication-taking records of patients; and (2) provision of a reminder to take medication only when the patient has forgotten to take his/her medication. These functions were realized by two data input methods: (a) reading of prescription data represented in two-dimensional barcodes using the smartphone camera and getting the photographic images of the pills; and (b) real-time medication monitoring by novel user-friendly wireless pillboxes. Results Interviews suggested that a pocket-sized pillbox was demanded to support patient’s medication-taking outside the home and pillboxes for home use should be adaptable to the different means of pillbox storage. In accordance with the result, we designed and developed SMSS. Ten patients participated in the feasibility study. In 17 out of 47 cases (36.2%), patients took their medication upon being presented with reminders by the system. Correct medication-taking occurrence was improved using this system. Conclusions The SMSS is acceptable to patients and has the advantage of supporting ubiquitous medication self-management using a smartphone. We believe that the proposed system is feasible and provides an innovative solution to encourage medication self-management. PMID:23650486

A technology-enabled adherence enhancement system for people with bipolar disorder: results from a feasibility and patient acceptance analysis

PubMed Central

Sajatovic, Martha; Davis, Michael S; Cassidy, Kristin A; Nestor, Joseph; Sams, Johnny; Fuentes-Casiano, Edna

2015-01-01

Objective As poor medication adherence is common in bipolar disorder (BD), technology-assisted approaches may help to monitor and enhance adherence. This study evaluated preliminary feasibility, patient satisfaction and effects on adherence, BD knowledge, and BD symptoms associated with the use of a multicomponent technology-assisted adherence enhancement system. Methods This prospective study tested the system in five BD patients over a 15-day period. System components included: 1) an automated pill cap with remote monitoring sensor; 2) a multimedia adherence enhancement program; and 3) a treatment incentive program. This study evaluated system usability, patient satisfaction and effects on adherence (Morisky scale), knowledge (treatment knowledge test [TKT]), and symptoms (internal state scale [ISS]). Results Mean age of the sample was 62 years, 4/5 (80%) Caucasian, and 4/5 (80%) single/divorced or widowed. Most participants (4/5, 80%) were on a single BD medication. Participants had BD for an average of 21 years. Challenges included attaching the pill sensor to standard pharmacy bottles for individuals using very large pill containers or those with multiday pill boxes. Three of five (60%) individuals completed the full 15-day period. Usability scores were high overall. Mean Morisky scores improved. Means on all four subscales of the ISS were all in the direction of improvement. On the TKT, there was a 40% increase in mean scores. Conclusion A multicomponent technology-assisted BD adherence enhancement system is feasible. Challenges include accommodating multiple types of pill containers and monitoring multiple drugs simultaneously. The system can also generate adherence information that is potentially useful for treatment planning. PMID:26089652

Rapid, Long-term Monitoring of CO2 Concentration and δ13CO2 at CCUS Sites Allows Discrimination of Leakage Patterns from Natural Background Values

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galfond, B.; Riemer, D. D.; Swart, P. K.

2014-12-01

In order for Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) to gain wide acceptance as a method for mitigating atmospheric CO2 concentrations, schemes must be devised to ensure that potential leakage is detected. New regulations from the US Environmental Protection Agency require monitoring and accounting for Class VI injection wells, which will remain a barrier to wide scale CCUS deployment until effective and efficient monitoring techniques have been developed and proven. Monitoring near-surface CO2 at injection sites to ensure safety and operational success requires high temporal resolution CO2 concentration and carbon isotopic (δ13C) measurements. The only technologies currently capable of this rapid measurement of δ13C are optical techniques such as Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy (CRDS). We have developed a comprehensive remote monitoring approach using CRDS and a custom manifold system to obtain accurate rapid measurements from a large sample area over an extended study period. Our modified Picarro G1101-i CRDS allows for automated rapid and continuous field measurement of δ13CO2 and concentrations of relevant gas species. At our field site, where preparations have been underway for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) operations, we have been able to measure biogenic effects on a diurnal scale, as well as variation due to precipitation and seasonality. Taking these background trends into account, our statistical treatment of real data has been used to improve signal-to-noise ratios by an order of magnitude over published models. Our system has proven field readiness for the monitoring of sites with even modest CO2 fluxes.

Infrared thermography for condition monitoring - A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagavathiappan, S.; Lahiri, B. B.; Saravanan, T.; Philip, John; Jayakumar, T.

2013-09-01

Temperature is one of the most common indicators of the structural health of equipment and components. Faulty machineries, corroded electrical connections, damaged material components, etc., can cause abnormal temperature distribution. By now, infrared thermography (IRT) has become a matured and widely accepted condition monitoring tool where the temperature is measured in real time in a non-contact manner. IRT enables early detection of equipment flaws and faulty industrial processes under operating condition thereby, reducing system down time, catastrophic breakdown and maintenance cost. Last three decades witnessed a steady growth in the use of IRT as a condition monitoring technique in civil structures, electrical installations, machineries and equipment, material deformation under various loading conditions, corrosion damages and welding processes. IRT has also found its application in nuclear, aerospace, food, paper, wood and plastic industries. With the advent of newer generations of infrared camera, IRT is becoming a more accurate, reliable and cost effective technique. This review focuses on the advances of IRT as a non-contact and non-invasive condition monitoring tool for machineries, equipment and processes. Various conditions monitoring applications are discussed in details, along with some basics of IRT, experimental procedures and data analysis techniques. Sufficient background information is also provided for the beginners and non-experts for easy understanding of the subject.

Cold chain monitoring during cold transportation of human corneas for transplantation.

PubMed

Net, M; Trias, E; Navarro, A; Ruiz, A; Diaz, P; Fontenla, J R; Manyalich, M

2003-08-01

As recommended by international standards the cornea should be maintained in a specific temperature range (2 degrees -8 degrees C) to guarantee its viability. However, there is no standard packaging method to maintain these conditions during transport. Our packaging system is similar to those used by the main eye banks in Spain and elsewhere in Europe. The objective is to monitor the cold chain in the current packaging method to validate the maintenance of temperature within the adequate range for a minimum 24-hour period. The effects of the following variables were studied: number and freezing temperature of the cold packs; air volume in the packaging system; position of the cornea in the packaging system; and the wall section of the container. Exterior temperature was maintained constant at 20 degrees to 24 degrees C. The cold chain was monitored using a device that measures temperature continuously and for which a histogram of temperature variation can be downloaded to a computer for further analysis. When the cold packs were frozen to -40 degrees C or the number of cold packs increased to four, the temperature decreased quickly to 0 degrees C and the transport period was not prolonged. The main objective was to improve isolation by reducing inner air volume, and maintaining the position of the cornea in the container. The currently used cold packaging systems (not frozen, 4 degrees C) do not maintain the temperature within the accepted range for the required distribution period. The improved system maintains the cornea at between 2 degrees C and 6 degrees C for a minimum of 24 hours.

Acceptance and Use of Mobile Technology for Health Self-Monitoring in Lung Transplant Recipients during the First Year Post-Transplantation.

PubMed

Jiang, Yun; Sereika, Susan M; Dabbs, Annette DeVito; Handler, Steven M; Schlenk, Elizabeth A

2016-01-01

To describe lung transplant recipients (LTRs') acceptance and use of mobile technology for health self-monitoring during the first year post-transplantation, and explore correlates of the use of technology in the 0 to 2, >2 to ≤6, >6 to ≤12, and 0 to 12 months. Secondary analysis of data from 96 LTR assigned to use Pocket PATH(®), a smartphone application, for daily health self-monitoring in a randomized controlled trial. Use of Pocket PATH was categorized as low, moderate, and high use. Proportional odds models for ordinal logistic regression were employed to explore correlates of use of technology. LTR reported high acceptance of Pocket PATH at baseline. However, acceptance was not associated with actual use over the 12 months (p=0.45~0.96). Actual use decreased across time intervals (p<0.001). Increased self-care agency was associated with the increased odds of higher use in women (p=0.03) and those less satisfied with technology training (p=0.02) in the first 2 months. Higher use from >2 to ≤6 months was associated with greater satisfaction with technology training (OR=3.37, p=0.01) and shorter length of hospital stay (OR=0.98, p=0.02). Higher use from >6 to ≤12 months was associated with older age (OR=1.05, p=0.02), lower psychological distress (OR=0.43, p=0.02), and better physical functioning (OR=1.09, p=0.01). Higher use over 12 months was also associated with older age (OR=1.05, p=0.007), better physical functioning (OR=1.13, p=0.001), and greater satisfaction with technology training (OR=3.05, p=0.02). Correlates were different for short- and long-term use of mobile technology for health self-monitoring in the first year post-transplantation. It is important to follow up with LTR with longer hospital stay, poor physical functioning, and psychological distress, providing ongoing education to improve their long-term use of technology for health self-monitoring.

Acceptance and Use of Mobile Technology for Health Self-Monitoring in Lung Transplant Recipients during the First Year Post-Transplantation

PubMed Central

Sereika, Susan M.; Dabbs, Annette DeVito; Handler, Steven M.; Schlenk, Elizabeth A.

2016-01-01

Summary Objectives To describe lung transplant recipients (LTRs’) acceptance and use of mobile technology for health self-monitoring during the first year post-transplantation, and explore correlates of the use of technology in the 0 to 2, >2 to ≤6, >6 to ≤12, and 0 to 12 months. Methods Secondary analysis of data from 96 LTR assigned to use Pocket PATH®, a smartphone application, for daily health self-monitoring in a randomized controlled trial. Use of Pocket PATH was categorized as low, moderate, and high use. Proportional odds models for ordinal logistic regression were employed to explore correlates of use of technology. Results LTR reported high acceptance of Pocket PATH at baseline. However, acceptance was not associated with actual use over the 12 months (p=0.45~0.96). Actual use decreased across time intervals (p<0.001). Increased self-care agency was associated with the increased odds of higher use in women (p=0.03) and those less satisfied with technology training (p=0.02) in the first 2 months. Higher use from >2 to ≤6 months was associated with greater satisfaction with technology training (OR=3.37, p=0.01) and shorter length of hospital stay (OR=0.98, p=0.02). Higher use from >6 to ≤12 months was associated with older age (OR=1.05, p=0.02), lower psychological distress (OR=0.43, p=0.02), and better physical functioning (OR=1.09, p=0.01). Higher use over 12 months was also associated with older age (OR=1.05, p=0.007), better physical functioning (OR=1.13, p=0.001), and greater satisfaction with technology training (OR=3.05, p=0.02). Conclusions Correlates were different for short- and long-term use of mobile technology for health self-monitoring in the first year post-transplantation. It is important to follow up with LTR with longer hospital stay, poor physical functioning, and psychological distress, providing ongoing education to improve their long-term use of technology for health self-monitoring. PMID:27437052

Electrochemical noise measurements of sustained microbially influenced pitting corrosion in a laboratory flow loop system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Y.; Frank, J.R.; St. Martin, E.J.

Because of the chaotic nature of the corrosion process and the complexity of the electrochemical noise signals that are generated, there is no generally accepted method of measuring and interpreting these signals that allows the consistent detection and identification of sustained localized pitting (SLP) as compared to general corrosion. The authors have reexamined electrochemical noise analysis (ENA) of localized corrosion using different hardware, signal collection, and signal processing designs than those used in conventional ENA techniques. The new data acquisition system was designed to identify and monitor the progress of SLP by analyzing the power spectral density (PSD) of themore » trend of the corrosion current noise level (CNL) and potential noise level (PNL). Each CNL and PNL data point was calculated from the root-mean-square value of the ac components of current and potential fluctuation signals, which were measured simultaneously during a short time period. The PSD analysis results consistently demonstrated that the trends of PNL and CNL contain information that can be used to differentiate between SLP and general corrosion mechanisms. The degree of linear slope in the low-frequency portion of the PSD analysis was correlated with the SLP process. Laboratory metal coupons as well as commercial corrosion probes were tested to ensure the reproducibility and consistency of the results. The on-line monitoring capability of this new ENA method was evaluated in a bench-scale flow-loop system, which simulated microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) activity. The conditions in the test flow-loop system were controlled by the addition of microbes and different substrates to favor accelerated corrosion. The ENA results demonstrated that this in-situ corrosion monitoring system could effectively identify SLP corrosion associated with MIC, compared to a more uniform general corrosion mechanism. A reduction in SLP activity could be clearly detected by the ENA monitoring system when a corrosion inhibitor was added into one of the test loops during the corrosion testing.« less

Electrochemical noise measurements of sustained microbially influenced pitting corrosion in a laboratory flow loop system.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Y. J.

Because of the chaotic nature of the corrosion process and the complexity of the electrochemical noise signals that are generated, there is no generally accepted method of measuring and interpreting these signals that allows the consistent detection and identification of sustained localized pitting (SLP) as compared to general corrosion. We have reexamined electrochemical noise analysis (ENA) of localized corrosion using different hardware, signal collection, and signal processing designs than those used in conventional ENA techniques. The new data acquisition system was designed to identify and monitor the progress of SLP by analyzing the power spectral density (PSD) of the trendmore » of the corrosion current noise level (CNL) and potential noise level (PNL). Each CNL and PNL data point was calculated from the root-mean- square value of the ac components of current and potential fluctuation signals, which were measured simultaneously during a short time period. The PSD analysis results consistently demonstrated that the trends of PNL and CNL contain information that can be used to differentiate between SLP and general corrosion mechanisms. The degree of linear slope in the low-frequency portion of the PSD analysis was correlated with the SLP process. Laboratory metal coupons as well as commercial corrosion probes were tested to ensure the reproducibility and consistency of the results. The on-line monitoring capability of this new ENA method was evaluated in a bench-scale flow-loop system, which simulated microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) activity. The conditions in the test flow-loop system were controlled by the addition of microbes and different substrates to favor accelerated corrosion. The ENA results demonstrated that this in-situ corrosion monitoring system could effectively identify SLP corrosion associated with MIC, compared to a more uniform general corrosion mechanism. A reduction in SLP activity could be clearly detected by the ENA monitoring system when a corrosion inhibitor was added into one of the test loops during the corrosion testing.« less

Real world implementation lessons and outcomes from the Worker Interactive Networking (WIN) project: workplace-based online caregiver support and remote monitoring of elders at home.

PubMed

Mahoney, Diane M F; Mutschler, Phyllis H; Tarlow, Barbara; Liss, Ellen

2008-04-01

The objective of this research was to determine the feasibility of and receptivity to the first computerized workplace-based direct caregiver intervention and to assess the effects on businesses, working family caregivers, and their elderly relatives. Working family caregivers, with at least one health and/or safety concern related to an elder residing alone at home during the workday, were recruited from five companies (n = 27). Caregivers received free computer access to the Worker Interactive Networking (WIN) Internet online caregiver support group and a remote elder monitoring system at home for 6 months. The remote monitoring system provided Web-based status reports and e-mail/pager alerts when individualized parameters were exceeded. Motion sensor signals were transmitted to a transponder that uploaded via wireless cellular communications to the project server, thereby not interfering with elders' telephone use. Formative qualitative analyses clarified acceptance and implementation issues. Summative quantitative evaluation determined pilot intervention effects and was conducted by external evaluators. Despite interoperability and cellular reception issues, the system was successfully deployed across four states to a variety of businesses and housing types. Positive results occurred on worker morale, productivity, and reduction of caregiver stress. Participants found it easy to learn and use. Elders did not find the technology "intrusive" or "isolating." Contrary to their expectations, managers reported no abuse of Internet access. Workers expressed a willingness to pay for a similar system in the future ranging from $10 to $130, depending on the features. They would pay the most for the option involving a geriatric nurse coach. The WIN system innovatively tailored to users' wants, and provided users customized control and personalized support. Use of the system was associated with positive outcomes. Enrollment response suggests a specific niche market for remote home monitoring, making it a manageable employee benefit.

Thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) quality assurance network in the Czech Republic.

PubMed

Kroutilķková, Daniela; Novotný, Josef; Judas, Libor

2003-02-01

The Czech thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) quality assurance network was established in 1997. Its aim is to pursue a regular independent quality audit in Czech radiotherapy centres and to support state supervision. The audit is realised via mailed TL dosimetry. The TLD system consists of encapsulated LiF:Mg,Ti powder (type MT-N) read with Harshaw manual reader model 4000. Basic mode of the TLD audit covers measurements under reference conditions, specifically beam calibration checks for all clinically used photon and electron beams. Advanced mode consists of measurements under both reference and non-reference conditions using a solid multipurpose phantom ('Leuven phantom') for photon beams. The radiotherapy centres are instructed to deliver to the TLD on central beam axis absorbed dose of 2 Gy calculated with their treatment planning system for a particular treatment set-up. The TLD measured doses are compared with the calculated ones. Deviations of +/-3% are considered acceptable for both basic and advanced mode of the audit. There are 34 radiotherapy centres in the Czech Republic. They undergo the basic mode of the TLD audit regularly every 2 years. If a centre shows a deviation outside the acceptance level, it is audited more often. Presently, most of the checked beams comply with the acceptance level. The advanced TLD audit has been implemented as a pilot study for the present. The results were mostly within the acceptance limit for the measurements on-axis, whereas for off-axis points they fell beyond the limit more frequently, especially for set-ups with inhomogeneities, oblique incidence and wedges. The results prove the importance of the national TLD quality assurance network. It has contributed to the improvement of clinical dosimetry in the Czech Republic. In addition, it helps the regulatory authority to monitor effectively and regularly radiotherapy centres.

The Karlsburg Diabetes Management System: translation from research to eHealth application.

PubMed

Salzsieder, Eckhard; Augstein, Petra

2011-01-01

Several telemedicine-based eHealth programs exist, but patient-focused personalized decision support (PDS) is usually lacking. We evaluated the acceptance, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of telemedicine-assisted PDS in routine outpatient diabetes care. Data are derived from the Diabetiva® program of the German health insurance company BKK TAUNUS. Diabetiva offers telemedicine-based outpatient health care in combination with PDS generated by the Karlsburg Diabetes Management System, KADIS®. This retrospective analysis is based on data from the first year of running KADIS-based PDS in routine diabetes care. Participants were insured persons diagnosed with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. For final analysis, patients were grouped retrospectively as users or nonusers according to physician acceptance or not (based on questionnaires) of the KADIS-based PDS. A total of 538 patients participated for more than one year in the Diabetiva program. Of these patients, 289 had complete data sets (two continuous glucose monitoring measurements, two or more hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values, and a signed questionnaire) and were included in the final data analysis. Of the physicians, 74% accepted KADIS-based PDS, a rate that was clearly related to HbA1c at the beginning of the observation. If KADIS-based PDS was accepted, HbA1c decreased by 0.4% (7.1% to 6.7%). In contrast, rejection of KADIS-based PDS resulted in an HbA1c increase of 0.5% (6.8% to 7.3%). The insurance company revealed an annual cost reduction of about 900 € per participant in the Diabetiva program. KADIS-based PDS in combination with telemedicine has high potential to improve the outcome of routine outpatient diabetes care. © 2010 Diabetes Technology Society.

Optofluidic UV-Vis spectrophotometer for online monitoring of photocatalytic reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ning; Tan, Furui; Zhao, Yu; Tsoi, Chi Chung; Fan, Xudong; Yu, Weixing; Zhang, Xuming

2016-06-01

On-chip integration of optical detection units into the microfluidic systems for online monitoring is highly desirable for many applications and is also well in line with the spirit of optofluidics technology-fusion of optics and microfluidics for advanced functionalities. This paper reports the construction of a UV-Vis spectrophotometer on a microreactor, and demonstrates the online monitoring of the photocatalytic degradations of methylene blue and methyl orange under different flow rates and different pH values by detecting the intensity change and/or the peak shift. The integrated device consists of a TiO2-coated glass substrate, a PDMS micro-sized reaction chamber and two flow cells. By comparing with the results of commercial equipment, we have found that the measuring range and the sensitivity are acceptable, especially when the transmittance is in the range of 0.01-0.9. This integrated optofluidic device can significantly cut down the test time and the sample volume, and would provide a versatile platform for real-time characterization of photochemical performance. Moreover, its online monitoring capability may enable to access the usually hidden information in biochemical reactions like intermediate products, time-dependent processes and reaction kinetics.

Reliability of image-free navigation to monitor lower-limb alignment.

PubMed

Pearle, Andrew D; Goleski, Patrick; Musahl, Volker; Kendoff, Daniel

2009-02-01

Proper alignment of the mechanical axis of the lower limb is the principal goal of a high tibial osteotomy. A well-accepted and relevant technical specification is the coronal plane lower-limb alignment. Target values for coronal plane alignment after high tibial osteotomy include 2 degrees of overcorrection, while tolerances for this specification have been established as 2 degrees to 4 degrees. However, the role of axial plane and sagittal plane realignment after high tibial osteotomy is poorly understood; consequently, targets and tolerance for this technical specification remain undefined. This article reviews the literature concerning the reliability and precision of navigation in monitoring the clinically relevant specification of lower-limb alignment in high tibial osteotomy. We conclude that image-free navigation registration may be clinically useful for intraoperative monitoring of the coronal plane only. Only fair and poor results for the axial and sagittal planes can be obtained by image-free navigation systems. In the future, combined image-based data, such as those from radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging, and gait analysis, may be used to help to improve the accuracy and reproducibility of quantitative intraoperative monitoring of lower-limb alignment.

Iodine sorption study on the proposed use of Viton A in a shuttle galley water accumulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibbons, Randall E.; Schultz, John R.; Sauer, Richard L.

1988-01-01

The installation of a Viton A accumulator in the Shuttle galley has been proposed to prevent overpressurization of the hot water supply system. A laboratory study has been conducted to determine if there would be any interaction between the Viton A material and the iodine used to disinfect the water. Coupons of Viton A were exposed for 24 hours to aqueous iodine solutions similar in quality to the Shuttle's potable water. Changes in the iodine residual were monitored to determine the rate of iodine sorption by the coupon. Total organic carbon (TOC) was monitored to determine the rate of desorption of organic materials from the Viton A. The same coupons were then soaked in reagent-grade water for 24 hours, and iodine was monitored to determine the rate of iodine desorption. The coupons were again exposed to iodine solutions for 24 hours and iodine and TOC were monitored. No significant change in the iodine sorption rate was detected between the first and second exposures. A triangle taste test indicated at a 1 percent confidence level that the water exposed to Viton A had a different taste which was less acceptable to the panelists.

Optofluidic UV-Vis spectrophotometer for online monitoring of photocatalytic reactions

PubMed Central

Wang, Ning; Tan, Furui; Zhao, Yu; Tsoi, Chi Chung; Fan, Xudong; Yu, Weixing; Zhang, Xuming

2016-01-01

On-chip integration of optical detection units into the microfluidic systems for online monitoring is highly desirable for many applications and is also well in line with the spirit of optofluidics technology–fusion of optics and microfluidics for advanced functionalities. This paper reports the construction of a UV-Vis spectrophotometer on a microreactor, and demonstrates the online monitoring of the photocatalytic degradations of methylene blue and methyl orange under different flow rates and different pH values by detecting the intensity change and/or the peak shift. The integrated device consists of a TiO2-coated glass substrate, a PDMS micro-sized reaction chamber and two flow cells. By comparing with the results of commercial equipment, we have found that the measuring range and the sensitivity are acceptable, especially when the transmittance is in the range of 0.01–0.9. This integrated optofluidic device can significantly cut down the test time and the sample volume, and would provide a versatile platform for real-time characterization of photochemical performance. Moreover, its online monitoring capability may enable to access the usually hidden information in biochemical reactions like intermediate products, time-dependent processes and reaction kinetics. PMID:27352840

Optofluidic UV-Vis spectrophotometer for online monitoring of photocatalytic reactions.

PubMed

Wang, Ning; Tan, Furui; Zhao, Yu; Tsoi, Chi Chung; Fan, Xudong; Yu, Weixing; Zhang, Xuming

2016-06-29

On-chip integration of optical detection units into the microfluidic systems for online monitoring is highly desirable for many applications and is also well in line with the spirit of optofluidics technology-fusion of optics and microfluidics for advanced functionalities. This paper reports the construction of a UV-Vis spectrophotometer on a microreactor, and demonstrates the online monitoring of the photocatalytic degradations of methylene blue and methyl orange under different flow rates and different pH values by detecting the intensity change and/or the peak shift. The integrated device consists of a TiO2-coated glass substrate, a PDMS micro-sized reaction chamber and two flow cells. By comparing with the results of commercial equipment, we have found that the measuring range and the sensitivity are acceptable, especially when the transmittance is in the range of 0.01-0.9. This integrated optofluidic device can significantly cut down the test time and the sample volume, and would provide a versatile platform for real-time characterization of photochemical performance. Moreover, its online monitoring capability may enable to access the usually hidden information in biochemical reactions like intermediate products, time-dependent processes and reaction kinetics.

MONITORED NATURAL ATTENUATION AND RISK MANAGEMENT OF MTBE AND TBA IN GROUND WATER

EPA Science Inventory

Monitored natural attenuation (as U.S. EPA defines the term) is a remedy, where natural processes bring the concentration of MTBE or TBA to an acceptable level in a reasonable period of time. The longevity of the plume is its critical property. The rate of attenuation is typica...

The Europe 2020 Index

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pasimeni, Paolo

2013-01-01

This paper presents a new index to quantify, measure and monitor the progress towards the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy. This index is based on a set of relevant, accepted, credible, easy to monitor and robust indicators presented by the European Commission at the time the strategy was launched. The internal analysis of the index shows…

New Approach to Purging Monitoring Wells: Lower Flow Rates Reduce Required Purging Volumes and Sample Turbidity

EPA Science Inventory

It is generally accepted that monitoring wells must be purged to access formation water to obtain “representative” ground water quality samples. Historically anywhere from 3 to 5 well casing volumes have been removed prior to sample collection to evacuate the standing well water...

Deficiencies in drinking water distribution systems in developing countries.

PubMed

Lee, Ellen J; Schwab, Kellogg J

2005-06-01

Rapidly growing populations and migration to urban areas in developing countries has resulted in a vital need for the establishment of centralized water systems to disseminate potable water to residents. Protected source water and modern, well-maintained drinking water treatment plants can provide water adequate for human consumption. However, ageing, stressed or poorly maintained distribution systems can cause the quality of piped drinking water to deteriorate below acceptable levels and pose serious health risks. This review will outline distribution system deficiencies in developing countries caused by: the failure to disinfect water or maintain a proper disinfection residual; low pipeline water pressure; intermittent service; excessive network leakages; corrosion of parts; inadequate sewage disposal; and inequitable pricing and usage of water. Through improved research, monitoring and surveillance, increased understanding of distribution system deficiencies may focus limited resources on key areas in an effort to improve public health and decrease global disease burden.

Field evaluation and assessment of thermal energy storage for residential space heating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hersh, H. N.

1982-02-01

A data base was developed based on two heating seasons and 45 test and 30 control homes in Maine and Vermont. Based on first analysis of monitored temperatures and electrical energy used for space heating, fuel bills and reports of users and utilities, the technical performance of TES ceramic and hydronic systems is deemed to be technically satisfactory and there is a high degree of customer acceptance and positive attitudes towards TES. Analysis of house data shows a high degree of variability in electric heat energy demand for a given degree-day. An analysis is underway to investigate relative differences in the efficiency of electricity utilization of storage and direct heating devices. The much higher price of storge systems relative to direct systems is an impediment to market penetration. A changing picture of rate structures may encourage direct systems at the expense of storage systems.

Inter-satellite links for satellite autonomous integrity monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez-Pérez, Irma; García-Serrano, Cristina; Catalán Catalán, Carlos; García, Alvaro Mozo; Tavella, Patrizia; Galleani, Lorenzo; Amarillo, Francisco

2011-01-01

A new integrity monitoring mechanisms to be implemented on-board on a GNSS taking advantage of inter-satellite links has been introduced. This is based on accurate range and Doppler measurements not affected neither by atmospheric delays nor ground local degradation (multipath and interference). By a linear combination of the Inter-Satellite Links Observables, appropriate observables for both satellite orbits and clock monitoring are obtained and by the proposed algorithms it is possible to reduce the time-to-alarm and the probability of undetected satellite anomalies.Several test cases have been run to assess the performances of the new orbit and clock monitoring algorithms in front of a complete scenario (satellite-to-satellite and satellite-to-ground links) and in a satellite-only scenario. The results of this experimentation campaign demonstrate that the Orbit Monitoring Algorithm is able to detect orbital feared events when the position error at the worst user location is still under acceptable limits. For instance, an unplanned manoeuvre in the along-track direction is detected (with a probability of false alarm equals to 5 × 10-9) when the position error at the worst user location is 18 cm. The experimentation also reveals that the clock monitoring algorithm is able to detect phase jumps, frequency jumps and instability degradation on the clocks but the latency of detection as well as the detection performances strongly depends on the noise added by the clock measurement system.

Development of eHOME, a Mobile Instrument for Reporting, Monitoring, and Consulting Drug-Related Problems in Home Care: Human-Centered Design Study

PubMed Central

Sino, Carolina Geertruida Maria; Heerdink, Eibert Rob; Schuurmans, Marieke Joanna

2018-01-01

Background Home care patients often use many medications and are prone to drug-related problems (DRPs). For the management of problems related to drug use, home care could add to the multidisciplinary expertise of general practitioners (GPs) and pharmacists. The home care observation of medication-related problems by home care employees (HOME)-instrument is paper-based and assists home care workers in reporting potential DRPs. To facilitate the multiprofessional consultation, a digital report of DRPs from the HOME-instrument and digital monitoring and consulting of DRPs between home care and general practices and pharmacies is desired. Objective The objective of this study was to develop an electronic HOME system (eHOME), a mobile version of the HOME-instrument that includes a monitoring and a consulting system for primary care. Methods The development phase of the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework was followed in which an iterative human-centered design (HCD) approach was applied. The approach involved a Delphi round for the context of use and user requirements analysis of the digital HOME-instrument and the monitoring and consulting system followed by 2 series of pilots for testing the usability and redesign. Results By using an iterative design approach and by involving home care workers, GPs, and pharmacists throughout the process as informants, design partners, and testers, important aspects that were crucial for system realization and user acceptance were revealed. Through the report webpage interface, which includes the adjusted content of the HOME-instrument and added home care practice–based problems, home care workers can digitally report observed DRPs. Furthermore, it was found that the monitoring and consulting webpage interfaces enable digital consultation between home care and general practices and pharmacies. The webpages were considered convenient, clear, easy, and usable. Conclusions By employing an HCD approach, the eHOME-instrument was found to be an easy-to-use system. The systematic approach promises a valuable contribution for the future development of digital mobile systems of paper-based tools. PMID:29514771

Development of eHOME, a Mobile Instrument for Reporting, Monitoring, and Consulting Drug-Related Problems in Home Care: Human-Centered Design Study.

PubMed

Dijkstra, Nienke Elske; Sino, Carolina Geertruida Maria; Heerdink, Eibert Rob; Schuurmans, Marieke Joanna

2018-03-07

Home care patients often use many medications and are prone to drug-related problems (DRPs). For the management of problems related to drug use, home care could add to the multidisciplinary expertise of general practitioners (GPs) and pharmacists. The home care observation of medication-related problems by home care employees (HOME)-instrument is paper-based and assists home care workers in reporting potential DRPs. To facilitate the multiprofessional consultation, a digital report of DRPs from the HOME-instrument and digital monitoring and consulting of DRPs between home care and general practices and pharmacies is desired. The objective of this study was to develop an electronic HOME system (eHOME), a mobile version of the HOME-instrument that includes a monitoring and a consulting system for primary care. The development phase of the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework was followed in which an iterative human-centered design (HCD) approach was applied. The approach involved a Delphi round for the context of use and user requirements analysis of the digital HOME-instrument and the monitoring and consulting system followed by 2 series of pilots for testing the usability and redesign. By using an iterative design approach and by involving home care workers, GPs, and pharmacists throughout the process as informants, design partners, and testers, important aspects that were crucial for system realization and user acceptance were revealed. Through the report webpage interface, which includes the adjusted content of the HOME-instrument and added home care practice-based problems, home care workers can digitally report observed DRPs. Furthermore, it was found that the monitoring and consulting webpage interfaces enable digital consultation between home care and general practices and pharmacies. The webpages were considered convenient, clear, easy, and usable. By employing an HCD approach, the eHOME-instrument was found to be an easy-to-use system. The systematic approach promises a valuable contribution for the future development of digital mobile systems of paper-based tools. ©Nienke Elske Dijkstra, Carolina Geertruida Maria Sino, Eibert Rob Heerdink, Marieke Joanna Schuurmans. Originally published in JMIR Human Factors (http://humanfactors.jmir.org), 07.03.2018.

Requirements for future automotive batteries - a snapshot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karden, Eckhard; Shinn, Paul; Bostock, Paul; Cunningham, James; Schoultz, Evan; Kok, Daniel

Introduction of new fuel economy, performance, safety, and comfort features in future automobiles will bring up many new, power-hungry electrical systems. As a consequence, demands on automotive batteries will grow substantially, e.g. regarding reliability, energy throughput (shallow-cycle life), charge acceptance, and high-rate partial state-of-charge (HRPSOC) operation. As higher voltage levels are mostly not an economically feasible alternative for the short term, the existing 14 V electrical system will have to fulfil these new demands, utilizing advanced 12 V energy storage devices. The well-established lead-acid battery technology is expected to keep playing a key role in this application. Compared to traditional starting-lighting-ignition (SLI) batteries, significant technological progress has been achieved or can be expected, which improve both performance and service life. System integration of the storage device into the vehicle will become increasingly important. Battery monitoring systems (BMS) are expected to become a commodity, penetrating the automotive volume market from both highly equipped premium cars and dedicated fuel-economy vehicles (e.g. stop/start). Battery monitoring systems will allow for more aggressive battery operating strategies, at the same time improving the reliability of the power supply system. Where a single lead-acid battery cannot fulfil the increasing demands, dual-storage systems may form a cost-efficient extension. They consist either of two lead-acid batteries or of a lead-acid battery plus another storage device.

Development and Testing of a Mobile Phone App for Self-Monitoring of Calcium Intake in Young Women.

PubMed

Tay, Ilona; Garland, Suzanne; Gorelik, Alexandra; Wark, John Dennis

2017-03-07

Interventions to prevent osteoporosis by increasing dairy intake or physical activity in young women have been limited to increasing osteoporosis knowledge and awareness. However, findings have shown that this does not always lead to a change in behaviors. Self-monitoring using mobile devices in behavioral interventions has yielded significant and positive outcomes. Yet, to our knowledge, mobile self-monitoring has not been used as an intervention strategy to increase calcium intake, particularly in young women, for better bone health outcomes. As development and testing of mobile app-based interventions requires a sequence of steps, our study focused on testing the acceptability and usability of Calci-app, a dietary app to self-monitor calcium consumption, before it is used in a behavioral change intervention in young women aged 18-25 years. Calci-app development followed 4 steps: (1) conceptualization, (2) development and pretesting, (3) pilot testing, and (4) mixed methods evaluation. We present the development process of Calci-app and evaluation of the acceptability and usability of the app in young women. Overall, 78% (31/40) of study participants completed the 5-day food record with high compliance levels (defined as more than 3 days of full or partial completion). There was a significant reduction in the proportion of participants completing all meal entries over the 5 days (P=.01). Participants generally found Calci-app easy and convenient to use, but it was time-consuming and they expressed a lack of motivation to use the app. We present a detailed description of the development process of Calci-app and an evaluation of its usability and acceptability to self-monitor dietary calcium intake. The findings from this preliminary study demonstrated acceptable use of Calci-app to self-monitor calcium consumption. However, for regular and long-term use the self-monitoring function in Calci-app could be expanded to allow participants to view their total daily calcium intake compared with the recommended daily intake. Additionally, to facilitate sustainable lifestyle behavior modifications, a combination of various behavior change techniques should be considered, such as education, goal setting, and advice to participants based on their stage of change. The feedback on barriers and facilitators from testing Calci-app will be used to design a bone health mHealth intervention to modify risky lifestyle behaviors in young women for better bone health outcomes. ©Ilona Tay, Suzanne Garland, Alexandra Gorelik, John Dennis Wark. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 07.03.2017.

Development and Testing of a Mobile Phone App for Self-Monitoring of Calcium Intake in Young Women

PubMed Central

Tay, Ilona

2017-01-01

Background Interventions to prevent osteoporosis by increasing dairy intake or physical activity in young women have been limited to increasing osteoporosis knowledge and awareness. However, findings have shown that this does not always lead to a change in behaviors. Self-monitoring using mobile devices in behavioral interventions has yielded significant and positive outcomes. Yet, to our knowledge, mobile self-monitoring has not been used as an intervention strategy to increase calcium intake, particularly in young women, for better bone health outcomes. Objective As development and testing of mobile app–based interventions requires a sequence of steps, our study focused on testing the acceptability and usability of Calci-app, a dietary app to self-monitor calcium consumption, before it is used in a behavioral change intervention in young women aged 18-25 years. Methods Calci-app development followed 4 steps: (1) conceptualization, (2) development and pretesting, (3) pilot testing, and (4) mixed methods evaluation. Results We present the development process of Calci-app and evaluation of the acceptability and usability of the app in young women. Overall, 78% (31/40) of study participants completed the 5-day food record with high compliance levels (defined as more than 3 days of full or partial completion). There was a significant reduction in the proportion of participants completing all meal entries over the 5 days (P=.01). Participants generally found Calci-app easy and convenient to use, but it was time-consuming and they expressed a lack of motivation to use the app. Conclusions We present a detailed description of the development process of Calci-app and an evaluation of its usability and acceptability to self-monitor dietary calcium intake. The findings from this preliminary study demonstrated acceptable use of Calci-app to self-monitor calcium consumption. However, for regular and long-term use the self-monitoring function in Calci-app could be expanded to allow participants to view their total daily calcium intake compared with the recommended daily intake. Additionally, to facilitate sustainable lifestyle behavior modifications, a combination of various behavior change techniques should be considered, such as education, goal setting, and advice to participants based on their stage of change. The feedback on barriers and facilitators from testing Calci-app will be used to design a bone health mHealth intervention to modify risky lifestyle behaviors in young women for better bone health outcomes. PMID:28270379

An education management information system with simultaneous monitoring of stress stimulators for students Mental Health management.

PubMed

Manimaran, S; Jayakumar, S; Lakshmi, K Bhagya

2016-11-14

Education Management Information System (EMIS) is a widely acceptable and developing technology within the Information Technology field. The advancement in technology in this century is being collaborated with scientific invention or explorer and information strengthening or development. This paper presents the results and experiences gained from applying students oriented EMIS for monitoring and managing mental health. The Mental Health of students depends on the acquiring adequate knowledge on basic concepts within a time period or academic schedule. It's obviously significance to evaluate and appraise the stress stimulators as a challenge or threat. The theoretical framework for the study was designed for analyzing the stress stimulators, academic performance and EMIS accessibility. The sample examined in this study was stratified random sample from 75 students specifically all engineering college in Dindigul District of Tamilnadu. The primary factor is the academic stress stimulators that form one module of EMIS for each of the key variable such as curriculum & instruction related stressors, placement related, teamwork related and assessment related. The Mental Health related stress stimulators namely curriculum & syllabus, placement related, assessment related and team work related have a significant influence on academic performance by students in various institution. The important factor leading to the EMIS application in monitoring stress stimulators is curriculum & syllabus related and assessment related.

A realist review of the partograph: when and how does it work for labour monitoring?

PubMed

Bedwell, Carol; Levin, Karen; Pett, Celia; Lavender, Dame Tina

2017-01-13

The partograph (or partogram) is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), for monitoring labour wellbeing and progress. Concerns about limitations in the way the partograph is used in the clinical context and the potential impact on its effectiveness have led to this realist systematic review of partograph use. This review aimed to answer two key questions, 1) What is it about the partograph that works (or does not work); for whom does it work; and in what circumstances? 2) What are the essential inputs required for the partograph to work? A comprehensive search strategy encompassed key databases; including papers of varying methodologies. Papers were selected for inclusion if the focus of the paper was the partograph and related to context, mechanism or outcome. Ninety five papers were included for data synthesis. Two authors completed data extraction and synthesis. The evidence synthesis relates the evidence to identified theories of health worker acceptability, health system support, effective referral systems, human resources and health worker competence, highlighting barriers and facilitators. This first comprehensive realist synthesis of the partograph, provides the international community of maternity clinicians with a picture of potential issues and solutions related to successful labour recording and management, which is also translatable to other monitoring approaches.

Development of wireless sensor network for monitoring indoor air pollutant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saad, Shaharil Mad; Shakaff, Ali Yeon Md; Saad, Abdul Rahman Mohd; Yusof @ Kamarudin, Azman Muhamad

2015-05-01

The air that we breathe with everyday contains variety of contaminants and particles. Some of these contaminants and particles are hazardous to human health. Most of the people don't realize that the content of air they being exposed to whether it was a good or bad air quality. The air quality whether in indoor or outdoor environment can be influenced by physical factors like dust particles, gaseous pollutants (including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds) and biological like molds and bacteria growth which largely depend on temperature and humidity condition of a room. These kinds of pollutants can affect human health, physical reaction, comfort or work performance. In this study, a wireless sensor network (WSN) monitoring system for monitor air pollutant in indoor environment was developed. The system was divided into three parts: web-based interface program, sensing module and a base station. The measured data was displayed on the web which is can be accessed by the user. The result shows that the overall measured parameters were meet the acceptable limit, requirement and criteria of indoor air pollution inside the building. The research can be used to improve the indoor air quality level in order to create a comfortable working and healthy environment for the occupants inside the building.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Turkington, T.

This education session will cover the physics and operation principles of gamma cameras and PET scanners. The first talk will focus on PET imaging. An overview of the principles of PET imaging will be provided, including positron decay physics, and the transition from 2D to 3D imaging. More recent advances in hardware and software will be discussed, such as time-of-flight imaging, and improvements in reconstruction algorithms that provide for options such as depth-of-interaction corrections. Quantitative applications of PET will be discussed, as well as the requirements for doing accurate quantitation. Relevant performance tests will also be described. Learning Objectives: Bemore » able to describe basic physics principles of PET and operation of PET scanners. Learn about recent advances in PET scanner hardware technology. Be able to describe advances in reconstruction techniques and improvements Be able to list relevant performance tests. The second talk will focus on gamma cameras. The Nuclear Medicine subcommittee has charged a task group (TG177) to develop a report on the current state of physics testing of gamma cameras, SPECT, and SPECT/CT systems. The report makes recommendations for performance tests to be done for routine quality assurance, annual physics testing, and acceptance tests, and identifies those needed satisfy the ACR accreditation program and The Joint Commission imaging standards. The report is also intended to be used as a manual with detailed instructions on how to perform tests under widely varying conditions. Learning Objectives: At the end of the presentation members of the audience will: Be familiar with the tests recommended for routine quality assurance, annual physics testing, and acceptance tests of gamma cameras for planar imaging. Be familiar with the tests recommended for routine quality assurance, annual physics testing, and acceptance tests of SPECT systems. Be familiar with the tests of a SPECT/CT system that include the CT images for SPECT reconstructions. Become knowledgeable of items to be included in annual acceptance testing reports including CT dosimetry and PACS monitor measurements. T. Turkington, GE Healthcare.« less

Factors affecting mobile diabetes monitoring adoption among physicians: questionnaire study and path model.

PubMed

Okazaki, Shintaro; Castañeda, José Alberto; Sanz, Silvia; Henseler, Jörg

2012-12-21

Patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes often find it difficult to control their blood glucose level on a daily basis because of distance or physical incapacity. With the increase in Internet-enabled smartphone use, this problem can be resolved by adopting a mobile diabetes monitoring system. Most existing studies have focused on patients' usability perceptions, whereas little attention has been paid to physicians' intentions to adopt this technology. The aim of the study was to evaluate the perceptions and user acceptance of mobile diabetes monitoring among Japanese physicians. A questionnaire survey of physicians was conducted in Japan. The structured questionnaire was prepared in a context of a mobile diabetes monitoring system that controls blood glucose, weight, physical activity, diet, insulin and medication, and blood pressure. Following a thorough description of mobile diabetes monitoring with a graphical image, questions were asked relating to system quality, information quality, service quality, health improvement, ubiquitous control, privacy and security concerns, perceived value, subjective norms, and intention to use mobile diabetes monitoring. The data were analyzed by partial least squares (PLS) path modeling. In total, 471 physicians participated from 47 prefectures across Japan, of whom 134 were specialized in internal and gastrointestinal medicine. Nine hypotheses were tested with both the total sample and the specialist subsample; results were similar for both samples in terms of statistical significance and the strength of path coefficients. We found that system quality, information quality, and service quality significantly affect overall quality. Overall quality determines the extent to which physicians perceive the value of mobile health monitoring. However, in contrast to our initial predictions, overall quality does not have a significant direct effect on the intention to use mobile diabetes monitoring. With regard to net benefits, both ubiquitous control and health improvement are significant predictors. Net benefits in turn significantly motivate physicians to use mobile health monitoring, and has a strong influence on perceived value. Perceived value and subjective norms are predictors of intention to use. In our sample, concerns over privacy and security risk have no significant effects on intention to use mobile diabetes monitoring. Among the 3 control variables, only age significantly affected intention to use mobile diabetes monitoring, whereas experience and gender were not significant predictors of intention. Physicians consider perceived value and net benefits as the most important motivators to use mobile diabetes monitoring. Overall quality assessment does affect their intention to use this technology, but only indirectly through perceived value. Net benefits seem to be a strong driver in both a direct and indirect manner, implying that physicians may perceive health improvement with ubiquitous control as a true utility by enhancing cost-effective monitoring, and simultaneously recognize it as a way to create value for their clinical practices.

Managing for climate change on protected areas: An adaptive management decision making framework.

PubMed

Tanner-McAllister, Sherri L; Rhodes, Jonathan; Hockings, Marc

2017-12-15

Current protected area management is becoming more challenging with advancing climate change and current park management techniques may not be adequate to adapt for effective management into the future. The framework presented here provides an adaptive management decision making process to assist protected area managers with adapting on-park management to climate change. The framework sets out a 4 step process. One, a good understanding of the park's context within climate change. Secondly, a thorough understanding of the park management systems including governance, planning and management systems. Thirdly, a series of management options set out as an accept/prevent change style structure, including a systematic assessment of those options. The adaptive approaches are defined as acceptance of anthropogenic climate change impact and attempt to adapt to a new climatic environment or prevention of change and attempt to maintain current systems under new climatic variations. Last, implementation and monitoring of long term trends in response to ecological responses to management interventions and assessing management effectiveness. The framework addresses many issues currently with park management in dealing with climate change including the considerable amount of research focussing on 'off-reserve' strategies, and threats and stress focused in situ park management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detection of errant laser beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Arthur F. D. S.; Edwards, Stanley A.; Barrett, J. A.; Bandle, Anthony M.

1990-10-01

The new generation of automated laser machine tools poses problems for those responsible for setting safety standards. While traditional safeguarding will frustrate full exploitation of this hybrid technology, wholesale abandonment of effective containment in favour of safety monitoring and control systems is unlikely to be acceptable. Long term, quantitative risk assessment will resolve this dilemma. Short term, guide lines will have to be derived from practical considerations of the laser facility design, materials, primary safety devices and procedures. Earlier risk assessments are reviewed relative to the emerging perspective of high average power laser installations. Aspects of extended beam delivery systems and equipment utilization and maintenance are examined to assess possible interaction with operational safety and in particular the potential to adversely influence errant laser beam occurrances (ELBO). To satisfy international safety standards for a laser enclosure which offers flexibility and is cost effective a detection system is described which continuously surveys the inside of the enclosure. Extensive trials have been carried out with high average power lasers (up to 10kW) where a range of engineering materials has been exposed to a laser beam. It is shown that the ratio of detection and shut down time to the burn through time can be an acceptable risk and thus indicate which materials will prove adequate.

Day, night and all-weather security surveillance automation synergy from combining two powerful technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morellas, Vassilios; Johnson, Andrew; Johnston, Chris

2006-07-01

Thermal imaging is rightfully a real-world technology proven to bring confidence to daytime, night-time and all weather security surveillance. Automatic image processing intrusion detection algorithms are also a real world technology proven to bring confidence to system surveillance security solutions. Together, day, night and all weather video imagery sensors and automated intrusion detection software systems create the real power to protect early against crime, providing real-time global homeland protection, rather than simply being able to monitor and record activities for post event analysis. These solutions, whether providing automatic security system surveillance at airports (to automatically detect unauthorized aircraft takeoff andmore » landing activities) or at high risk private, public or government facilities (to automatically detect unauthorized people or vehicle intrusion activities) are on the move to provide end users the power to protect people, capital equipment and intellectual property against acts of vandalism and terrorism. As with any technology, infrared sensors and automatic image intrusion detection systems for global homeland security protection have clear technological strengths and limitations compared to other more common day and night vision technologies or more traditional manual man-in-the-loop intrusion detection security systems. This paper addresses these strength and limitation capabilities. False Alarm (FAR) and False Positive Rate (FPR) is an example of some of the key customer system acceptability metrics and Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD) and Minimum Resolvable Temperature are examples of some of the sensor level performance acceptability metrics. (authors)« less

EmerLoc: location-based services for emergency medical incidents.

PubMed

Maglogiannis, I; Hadjiefthymiades, S

2007-10-01

Recent developments in positioning systems and telecommunications have provided the technology needed for the development of location aware medical applications. We developed a system, named EmerLoc, which is based upon this technology and uses a set of sensors that are attached to the patient's body, a micro-computing unit which is responsible for processing the sensor readings and a central monitoring unit, which coordinates the data flow. To demonstrate that the proposed system is technically feasible and acceptable for the potential users. Transmission speed is assessed mostly by means of transmission of DICOM compliant images in various operational scenarios. The positioning functionality was established both outdoor using GPS and indoor using the UCLA Nibble system. User acceptability was assessed in a hospital setting by 15 physicians who filled in a questionnaire after having used the system in an experimental setting. Transmission speeds ranged from 88kB/s for a IEEE 802.11 infrastructure to 2.5kB/s for a GSM/GPRS scenario. Positioning accuracy based on GPS was 5-10m. The physicians rated the technical aspects on average above 3 on a 5-point scale. Only the data presentation was assessed to be not satisfactory (2.81 on a 5-point scale). The reported results prove the feasibility of the proposed architecture and its alignment with widely established practices and standards, while the reaction of potential users who evaluated the system is quite positive.

Comparison of exposure estimation methods for air pollutants: ambient monitoring data and regional air quality simulation.

PubMed

Bravo, Mercedes A; Fuentes, Montserrat; Zhang, Yang; Burr, Michael J; Bell, Michelle L

2012-07-01

Air quality modeling could potentially improve exposure estimates for use in epidemiological studies. We investigated this application of air quality modeling by estimating location-specific (point) and spatially-aggregated (county level) exposure concentrations of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM(2.5)) and ozone (O(3)) for the eastern U.S. in 2002 using the Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system and a traditional approach using ambient monitors. The monitoring approach produced estimates for 370 and 454 counties for PM(2.5) and O(3), respectively. Modeled estimates included 1861 counties, covering 50% more population. The population uncovered by monitors differed from those near monitors (e.g., urbanicity, race, education, age, unemployment, income, modeled pollutant levels). CMAQ overestimated O(3) (annual normalized mean bias=4.30%), while modeled PM(2.5) had an annual normalized mean bias of -2.09%, although bias varied seasonally, from 32% in November to -27% in July. Epidemiology may benefit from air quality modeling, with improved spatial and temporal resolution and the ability to study populations far from monitors that may differ from those near monitors. However, model performance varied by measure of performance, season, and location. Thus, the appropriateness of using such modeled exposures in health studies depends on the pollutant and metric of concern, acceptable level of uncertainty, population of interest, study design, and other factors. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tips and Traps: Lessons From Codesigning a Clinician E-Monitoring Tool for Computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

PubMed Central

Hawken, Susan J; Stasiak, Karolina; Lucassen, Mathijs FG; Fleming, Theresa; Shepherd, Matthew; Greenwood, Andrea; Osborne, Raechel; Merry, Sally N

2017-01-01

Background Computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (cCBT) is an acceptable and promising treatment modality for adolescents with mild-to-moderate depression. Many cCBT programs are standalone packages with no way for clinicians to monitor progress or outcomes. We sought to develop an electronic monitoring (e-monitoring) tool in consultation with clinicians and adolescents to allow clinicians to monitor mood, risk, and treatment adherence of adolescents completing a cCBT program called SPARX (Smart, Positive, Active, Realistic, X-factor thoughts). Objective The objectives of our study were as follows: (1) assess clinicians’ and adolescents’ views on using an e-monitoring tool and to use this information to help shape the development of the tool and (2) assess clinician experiences with a fully developed version of the tool that was implemented in their clinical service. Methods A descriptive qualitative study using semistructured focus groups was conducted in New Zealand. In total, 7 focus groups included clinicians (n=50) who worked in primary care, and 3 separate groups included adolescents (n=29). Clinicians were general practitioners (GPs), school guidance counselors, clinical psychologists, youth workers, and nurses. Adolescents were recruited from health services and a high school. Focus groups were run to enable feedback at 3 phases that corresponded to the consultation, development, and postimplementation stages. Thematic analysis was applied to transcribed responses. Results Focus groups during the consultation and development phases revealed the need for a simple e-monitoring registration process with guides for end users. Common concerns were raised in relation to clinical burden, monitoring risk (and effects on the therapeutic relationship), alongside confidentiality or privacy and technical considerations. Adolescents did not want to use their social media login credentials for e-monitoring, as they valued their privacy. However, adolescents did want information on seeking help and personalized monitoring and communication arrangements. Postimplementation, clinicians who had used the tool in practice revealed no adverse impact on the therapeutic relationship, and adolescents were not concerned about being e-monitored. Clinicians did need additional time to monitor adolescents, and the e-monitoring tool was used in a different way than was originally anticipated. Also, it was suggested that the registration process could be further streamlined and integrated with existing clinical data management systems, and the use of clinician alerts could be expanded beyond the scope of simply flagging adolescents of concern. Conclusions An e-monitoring tool was developed in consultation with clinicians and adolescents. However, the study revealed the complexity of implementing the tool in clinical practice. Of salience were privacy, parallel monitoring systems, integration with existing electronic medical record systems, customization of the e-monitor, and preagreed monitoring arrangements between clinicians and adolescents. PMID:28077345

Live long and prosper: potentials of low-cost consumer devices for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

PubMed

Meyer, Jochen; Hein, Andreas

2013-01-01

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the major causes of death worldwide. Personal behavior such as physical activity considerably influences the risk of incurring a CVD. In the last years numerous products such as pedometers have become available on the mass market that allow monitoring relevant behaviors and vital parameters. These devices are sufficiently precise, affordable, and easy to use. While today they are mostly lifestyle oriented they also have considerable potential for health and prevention. Our goal is to investigate how recent low-cost devices can be used in real-life settings for the prevention of CVD, and whether using these devices has an advantage over subjective self-assessment. We also examine whether it is feasible to use multiple of such devices in parallel. We observe whether and how persons are willing and able to use multiple devices in their daily lives. We compare the devices' measurements with subjective self-assessment. We make use of existing low-cost consumer devices to monitor a user's behavior. By mapping the devices' features with pre-defined prevention goals we ensure that the system collects meaningful data that can be used to monitor the individual's behavior. We conducted a user study with 10 healthy adults to measure usability and to identify problems with sensor use in real life. The participants used the devices' original portals to monitor their behavior. The subjects (age range 35-75) used an off-the-shelf pedometer and a sports watch for 4 weeks. The participants responded in principle positively to the use of the devices. Analyzing the sensor data, we found that the users had some difficulties in operating the devices. We also found that the participants' self-assessment of their health behavior was too optimistic compared to the monitored data. They rated the usability of the overall system with 71 of up to 100 points in the "System Usability Scale". Our study indicates that today's devices are suitable for a long term monitoring of health for the prevention of CVD. Using the devices provides more precise data than a subjective self-assessment. However usability and acceptance of the systems are still major topics.

Efficient generation of receiver operating characteristics for the evaluation of damage detection in practical structural health monitoring applications.

PubMed

Liu, Chang; Dobson, Jacob; Cawley, Peter

2017-03-01

Permanently installed guided wave monitoring systems are attractive for monitoring large structures. By frequently interrogating the test structure over a long period of time, such systems have the potential to detect defects much earlier than with conventional one-off inspection, and reduce the time and labour cost involved. However, for the systems to be accepted under real operational conditions, their damage detection performance needs to be evaluated in these practical settings. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) is an established performance metric for one-off inspections, but the generation of the ROC requires many test structures with realistic damage growth at different locations and different environmental conditions, and this is often impractical. In this paper, we propose an evaluation framework using experimental data collected over multiple environmental cycles on an undamaged structure with synthetic damage signatures added by superposition. Recent advances in computation power enable examples covering a wide range of practical scenarios to be generated, and for multiple cases of each scenario to be tested so that the statistics of the performance can be evaluated. The proposed methodology has been demonstrated using data collected from a laboratory pipe specimen over many temperature cycles, superposed with damage signatures predicted for a flat-bottom hole growing at different rates at various locations. Three damage detection schemes, conventional baseline subtraction, singular value decomposition (SVD) and independent component analysis (ICA), have been evaluated. It has been shown that in all cases, the component methods perform significantly better than the residual method, with ICA generally the better of the two. The results have been validated using experimental data monitoring a pipe in which a flat-bottom hole was drilled and enlarged over successive temperature cycles. The methodology can be used to evaluate the performance of an installed monitoring system and to show whether it is capable of detecting particular damage growth at any given location. It will enable monitoring results to be evaluated rigorously and will be valuable in the development of safety cases.

Efficient generation of receiver operating characteristics for the evaluation of damage detection in practical structural health monitoring applications

PubMed Central

Dobson, Jacob; Cawley, Peter

2017-01-01

Permanently installed guided wave monitoring systems are attractive for monitoring large structures. By frequently interrogating the test structure over a long period of time, such systems have the potential to detect defects much earlier than with conventional one-off inspection, and reduce the time and labour cost involved. However, for the systems to be accepted under real operational conditions, their damage detection performance needs to be evaluated in these practical settings. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) is an established performance metric for one-off inspections, but the generation of the ROC requires many test structures with realistic damage growth at different locations and different environmental conditions, and this is often impractical. In this paper, we propose an evaluation framework using experimental data collected over multiple environmental cycles on an undamaged structure with synthetic damage signatures added by superposition. Recent advances in computation power enable examples covering a wide range of practical scenarios to be generated, and for multiple cases of each scenario to be tested so that the statistics of the performance can be evaluated. The proposed methodology has been demonstrated using data collected from a laboratory pipe specimen over many temperature cycles, superposed with damage signatures predicted for a flat-bottom hole growing at different rates at various locations. Three damage detection schemes, conventional baseline subtraction, singular value decomposition (SVD) and independent component analysis (ICA), have been evaluated. It has been shown that in all cases, the component methods perform significantly better than the residual method, with ICA generally the better of the two. The results have been validated using experimental data monitoring a pipe in which a flat-bottom hole was drilled and enlarged over successive temperature cycles. The methodology can be used to evaluate the performance of an installed monitoring system and to show whether it is capable of detecting particular damage growth at any given location. It will enable monitoring results to be evaluated rigorously and will be valuable in the development of safety cases. PMID:28413339

Minimizing the Disruptive Effects of Prospective Memory in Simulated Air Traffic Control

PubMed Central

Loft, Shayne; Smith, Rebekah E.; Remington, Roger

2015-01-01

Prospective memory refers to remembering to perform an intended action in the future. Failures of prospective memory can occur in air traffic control. In two experiments, we examined the utility of external aids for facilitating air traffic management in a simulated air traffic control task with prospective memory requirements. Participants accepted and handed-off aircraft and detected aircraft conflicts. The prospective memory task involved remembering to deviate from a routine operating procedure when accepting target aircraft. External aids that contained details of the prospective memory task appeared and flashed when target aircraft needed acceptance. In Experiment 1, external aids presented either adjacent or non-adjacent to each of the 20 target aircraft presented over the 40min test phase reduced prospective memory error by 11% compared to a condition without external aids. In Experiment 2, only a single target aircraft was presented a significant time (39min–42min) after presentation of the prospective memory instruction, and the external aids reduced prospective memory error by 34%. In both experiments, costs to the efficiency of non-prospective memory air traffic management (non-target aircraft acceptance response time, conflict detection response time) were reduced by non-adjacent aids compared to no aids or adjacent aids. In contrast, in both experiments, the efficiency of the prospective memory air traffic management (target aircraft acceptance response time) was facilitated by adjacent aids compared to non-adjacent aids. Together, these findings have potential implications for the design of automated alerting systems to maximize multi-task performance in work settings where operators monitor and control demanding perceptual displays. PMID:24059825

Results of the performance verification of the CoaguChek XS system.

PubMed

Plesch, W; Wolf, T; Breitenbeck, N; Dikkeschei, L D; Cervero, A; Perez, P L; van den Besselaar, A M H P

2008-01-01

This is the first paper reporting a performance verification study of a point-of-care (POC) monitor for prothrombin time (PT) testing according to the requirements given in chapter 8 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17593:2007 standard "Clinical laboratory testing and in vitro medical devices - Requirements for in vitro monitoring systems for self-testing of oral anticoagulant therapy". The monitor under investigation was the new CoaguChek XS system which is designed for use in patient self testing. Its detection principle is based on the amperometric measurement of the thrombin activity generated by starting the coagulation cascade using a recombinant human thromboplastin. The system performance verification study was performed at four study centers using venous and capillary blood samples on two test strip lots. Laboratory testing was performed from corresponding frozen plasma samples with six commercial thromboplastins. Samples from 73 normal donors and 297 patients on oral anticoagulation therapy were collected. Results were assessed using a refined data set of 260 subjects according to the ISO 17593:2007 standard. Each of the two test strip lots met the acceptance criteria of ISO 17593:2007 versus all thromboplastins (bias -0.19 to 0.18 INR; >97% of data within accuracy limits). The coefficient of variation for imprecision of the PT determinations in INR ranged from 2.0% to 3.2% in venous, and from 2.9% to 4.0% in capillary blood testing. Capillary versus venous INR data showed agreement of results with regression lines equal to the line of identity. The new system demonstrated a high level of trueness and accuracy, and low imprecision in INR testing. It can be concluded that the CoaguChek XS system complies with the requirements in chapter 8 of the ISO standard 17593:2007.

Towards Context-Aware and User-Centered Analysis in Assistive Environments: A Methodology and a Software Tool.

PubMed

Fontecha, Jesús; Hervás, Ramón; Mondéjar, Tania; González, Iván; Bravo, José

2015-10-01

One of the main challenges on Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) is to reach an appropriate acceptance level of the assistive systems, as well as to analyze and monitor end user tasks in a feasible and efficient way. The development and evaluation of AAL solutions based on user-centered perspective help to achive these goals. In this work, we have designed a methodology to integrate and develop analytics user-centered tools into assistive systems. An analysis software tool gathers information of end users from adapted psychological questionnaires and naturalistic observation of their own context. The aim is to enable an in-deep analysis focused on improving the life quality of elderly people and their caregivers.

Trust in smart systems: sharing driving goals and giving information to increase trustworthiness and acceptability of smart systems in cars.

PubMed

Verberne, Frank M F; Ham, Jaap; Midden, Cees J H

2012-10-01

We examine whether trust in smart systems is generated analogously to trust in humans and whether the automation level of smart systems affects trustworthiness and acceptability of those systems. Trust is an important factor when considering acceptability of automation technology. As shared goals lead to social trust, and intelligent machines tend to be treated like humans, the authors expected that shared driving goals would also lead to increased trustworthiness and acceptability of adaptive cruise control (ACC) systems. In an experiment, participants (N = 57) were presented with descriptions of three ACCs with different automation levels that were described as systems that either shared their driving goals or did not. Trustworthiness and acceptability of all the ACCs were measured. ACCs sharing the driving goals of the user were more trustworthy and acceptable than were ACCs not sharing the driving goals of the user. Furthermore, ACCs that took over driving tasks while providing information were more trustworthy and acceptable than were ACCs that took over driving tasks without providing information. Trustworthiness mediated the effects of both driving goals and automation level on acceptability of ACCs. As when trusting other humans, trusting smart systems depends on those systems sharing the user's goals. Furthermore, based on their description, smart systems that take over tasks are judged more trustworthy and acceptable when they also provide information. For optimal acceptability of smart systems, goals of the user should be shared by the smart systems, and smart systems should provide information to their user.

Security and privacy issues with health care information technology.

PubMed

Meingast, Marci; Roosta, Tanya; Sastry, Shankar

2006-01-01

The face of health care is changing as new technologies are being incorporated into the existing infrastructure. Electronic patient records and sensor networks for in-home patient monitoring are at the current forefront of new technologies. Paper-based patient records are being put in electronic format enabling patients to access their records via the Internet. Remote patient monitoring is becoming more feasible as specialized sensors can be placed inside homes. The combination of these technologies will improve the quality of health care by making it more personalized and reducing costs and medical errors. While there are benefits to technologies, associated privacy and security issues need to be analyzed to make these systems socially acceptable. In this paper we explore the privacy and security implications of these next-generation health care technologies. We describe existing methods for handling issues as well as discussing which issues need further consideration.

PERFORM: A System for Monitoring, Assessment and Management of Patients with Parkinson's Disease

PubMed Central

Tzallas, Alexandros T.; Tsipouras, Markos G.; Rigas, Georgios; Tsalikakis, Dimitrios G.; Karvounis, Evaggelos C.; Chondrogiorgi, Maria; Psomadellis, Fotis; Cancela, Jorge; Pastorino, Matteo; Waldmeyer, María Teresa Arredondo; Konitsiotis, Spiros; Fotiadis, Dimitrios I.

2014-01-01

In this paper, we describe the PERFORM system for the continuous remote monitoring and management of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The PERFORM system is an intelligent closed-loop system that seamlessly integrates a wide range of wearable sensors constantly monitoring several motor signals of the PD patients. Data acquired are pre-processed by advanced knowledge processing methods, integrated by fusion algorithms to allow health professionals to remotely monitor the overall status of the patients, adjust medication schedules and personalize treatment. The information collected by the sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes) is processed by several classifiers. As a result, it is possible to evaluate and quantify the PD motor symptoms related to end of dose deterioration (tremor, bradykinesia, freezing of gait (FoG)) as well as those related to over-dose concentration (Levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID)). Based on this information, together with information derived from tests performed with a virtual reality glove and information about the medication and food intake, a patient specific profile can be built. In addition, the patient specific profile with his evaluation during the last week and last month, is compared to understand whether his status is stable, improving or worsening. Based on that, the system analyses whether a medication change is needed—always under medical supervision—and in this case, information about the medication change proposal is sent to the patient. The performance of the system has been evaluated in real life conditions, the accuracy and acceptability of the system by the PD patients and healthcare professionals has been tested, and a comparison with the standard routine clinical evaluation done by the PD patients' physician has been carried out. The PERFORM system is used by the PD patients and in a simple and safe non-invasive way for long-term record of their motor status, thus offering to the clinician a precise, long-term and objective view of patient's motor status and drug/food intake. Thus, with the PERFORM system the clinician can remotely receive precise information for the PD patient's status on previous days and define the optimal therapeutical treatment. PMID:25393786

PERFORM: a system for monitoring, assessment and management of patients with Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Tzallas, Alexandros T; Tsipouras, Markos G; Rigas, Georgios; Tsalikakis, Dimitrios G; Karvounis, Evaggelos C; Chondrogiorgi, Maria; Psomadellis, Fotis; Cancela, Jorge; Pastorino, Matteo; Waldmeyer, María Teresa Arredondo; Konitsiotis, Spiros; Fotiadis, Dimitrios I

2014-11-11

In this paper, we describe the PERFORM system for the continuous remote monitoring and management of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The PERFORM system is an intelligent closed-loop system that seamlessly integrates a wide range of wearable sensors constantly monitoring several motor signals of the PD patients. Data acquired are pre-processed by advanced knowledge processing methods, integrated by fusion algorithms to allow health professionals to remotely monitor the overall status of the patients, adjust medication schedules and personalize treatment. The information collected by the sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes) is processed by several classifiers. As a result, it is possible to evaluate and quantify the PD motor symptoms related to end of dose deterioration (tremor, bradykinesia, freezing of gait (FoG)) as well as those related to over-dose concentration (Levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID)). Based on this information, together with information derived from tests performed with a virtual reality glove and information about the medication and food intake, a patient specific profile can be built. In addition, the patient specific profile with his evaluation during the last week and last month, is compared to understand whether his status is stable, improving or worsening. Based on that, the system analyses whether a medication change is needed--always under medical supervision--and in this case, information about the medication change proposal is sent to the patient. The performance of the system has been evaluated in real life conditions, the accuracy and acceptability of the system by the PD patients and healthcare professionals has been tested, and a comparison with the standard routine clinical evaluation done by the PD patients' physician has been carried out. The PERFORM system is used by the PD patients and in a simple and safe non-invasive way for long-term record of their motor status, thus offering to the clinician a precise, long-term and objective view of patient's motor status and drug/food intake. Thus, with the PERFORM system the clinician can remotely receive precise information for the PD patient's status on previous days and define the optimal therapeutical treatment.

Cargo Movement Operations System (CMOS). System Segment Specification, Updated, Increment II

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-02

CMOS PMO ACCEPTS COMMENT: YES [ ] NO [ ] ERCI ACCEPTS COMMENT: YES [ ] NO [ ] COMMENT DISPOSITION: ACCEPT [ ] REJECT [ 3 COMMENT STATUS: OPEN [ ] CLOSED...ACCEPTS COMMENT: YES [ ] NO [ ] ERCI ACCEPTS COMMENT: YES [ ] NO [ ] COMMENT DISPOSITION: COMMENT STATUS: OPEN [ ] CLOSED [ ] ORIGINATOR CONTROL...the LAN. CMOS PMO ACCEPTS COMMENT: YES [ ] NO [ ] ERCI ACCEPTS COMMENT: YES [ ] NO [ ] COMMENT DISPOSITION: COMMENT STATUS: OPEN [ ] CLOSED

Clinical evaluation of the FreeStyle Precision Pro system.

PubMed

Brazg, Ronald; Hughes, Kristen; Martin, Pamela; Coard, Julie; Toffaletti, John; McDonnell, Elizabeth; Taylor, Elizabeth; Farrell, Lausanne; Patel, Mona; Ward, Jeanne; Chen, Ting; Alva, Shridhara; Ng, Ronald

2013-06-05

A new version of international standard (ISO 15197) and CLSI Guideline (POCT12) with more stringent accuracy criteria are near publication. We evaluated the glucose test performance of the FreeStyle Precision Pro system, a new blood glucose monitoring system (BGMS) designed to enhance accuracy for point-of-care testing (POCT). Precision, interference and system accuracy with 503 blood samples from capillary, venous and arterial sources were evaluated in a multicenter study. Study results were analyzed and presented in accordance with the specifications and recommendations of the final draft ISO 15197 and the new POCT12. The FreeStyle Precision Pro system demonstrated acceptable precision (CV <5%), no interference across a hematocrit range of 15-65%, and, except for xylose, no interference from 24 of 25 potentially interfering substances. It also met all accuracy criteria specified in the final draft ISO 15197 and POCT12, with 97.3-98.9% of the individual results of various blood sample types agreeing within ±12 mg/dl of the laboratory analyzer values at glucose concentrations <100mg/dl and within ±12.5% of the laboratory analyzer values at glucose concentrations ≥100 mg/dl. The FreeStyle Precision Pro system met the tighter accuracy requirements, providing a means for enhancing accuracy for point-of-care blood glucose monitoring. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploring the feasibility and acceptability of sensor monitoring of gait and falls in the homes of persons with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Newland, Pamela; Wagner, Joanne M; Salter, Amber; Thomas, Florian P; Skubic, Marjorie; Rantz, Marilyn

2016-09-01

Gait parameters variability and falls are problems for persons with MS and have not been adequately captured in the home. Our goal was to explore the feasibility and acceptability of monitoring of gait and falls in the homes of persons with MS over a period of 30 days. To test the feasibility of measuring gait and falls for 30days in the home of persons with MS, spatiotemporal gait parameters stride length, stride time, and gait speed were compared. A 3D infrared depth imaging system has been developed to objectively measure gait and falls in the home environment. Participants also completed a 16-foot GaitRite electronic pathway walk to validate spatiotemporal parameters of gait (gait speed (cm/s), stride length (cm), and gait cycle time(s)) during the timed 25 foot walking test (T25FWT). We also documented barriers to feasibility of installing the in-home sensors for these participants. The results of the study suggest that the Kinect sensor may be used as an alternative device to measure gait for persons with MS, depending on the desired accuracy level. Ultimately, using in-home sensors to analyze gait parameters in real time is feasible and could lead to better analysis of gait in persons with MS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Contingency plan to provide safe drinking water for the city of Milan, Tennessee

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Talbot, J.J.; Brew, P.

1994-12-31

The city of Milan, in western Tennessee, supplies drinking water to approximately 4,000 customers. Environmental investigations conducted by the US Army have detected low concentrations of RDX, a compound used in the manufacture of explosives, in two of the three city water supply wells. The RDX is traceable to the Milan Army Ammunition Plant nearby. The levels of RDX are being monitored and current trends indicate that levels in the wells will exceed the EPA Health Advisory Limits in the near term. In order to ensure an uninterrupted supply of acceptable quality drinking water for the city residents, the Armymore » prepared and is implementing a Contingency Plan. The plan evaluated remedial alternatives to be implemented once a trigger level of RDX is reached, including institutional controls, installation of an RDX treatment system for the water supply system, and construction of a new well field. Institutional controls include: shutting down existing wells; continued monitoring; and promulgation of ground water ordinances. Treatment technologies evaluated include: ultraviolet light and hydrogen peroxide; or removal using granular activated carbon.« less

A management-control system to assist with the development, contracting, and monitoring of new services for older people: you can always get what you want (with apologies to the Rolling Stones).

PubMed

Jacobs, Stephen

2007-10-01

Implementing community services can be a very complex process where people end up "not seeing the wood for the trees" and then accepting a compromise nobody wants. Neither agency theory nor stewardship theory is particularly robust when explaining the reality that funders and managers of community health service for older people face in managing contracts. There are particular difficulties with goal divergence between policy directives and implementation practices, which result from goals not being well understood and performance requirements being ambiguously defined and infrequently monitored. This leads to accountability issues for public managers, and raises efficiency and effectiveness issues. This paper provides an interim report on a project developing a management-control system to provide a process for health planners and funders to use when developing and contracting services. A major focus is inviting stakeholders into a process of communication that ensures that they have shared understandings of where they want to get to, and what has to be done to get there.

Acceptability of mHealth Technology for Self-Monitoring Eating and Activity among Rural Men.

PubMed

Eisenhauer, Christine M; Hageman, Patricia A; Rowland, Sheri; Becker, Betsy J; Barnason, Susan A; Pullen, Carol H

2017-03-01

To examine rural men's use and perceptions of mobile and wireless devices to self-monitor eating and physical activity (mHealth). Men in this 3-week pilot study used FitBit One ® to log daily food intake and monitor activity. A companion application (app) allowed activity monitoring of fellow participants. Health-related text messages were received 1-3 times daily. A purposive sample of 12 rural men (ages 40-67) was recruited by community leaders. (1) baseline heart rate, blood pressure, and BMI, (2) FitBit One ® usage, (3) investigator-generated surveys on acceptability of mHealth, and (4) focus group on experience with mHealth. Men were overweight (n = 3) or obese (n = 9) and 9 of 12 were hypertensive. Nine of twelve wore FitBit One ® all 21 days. Eleven of 12 men logged food, with 9 of 12 doing this at least 15 of 21 days. Self-monitoring and daily text messaging increased awareness of energy intake and output. Companion app's food log needed targeting for rural foods. Rotating seasons (occupational, religious, recreational) and weak cellular signals created contextual barriers to self-monitoring eating and activity. FitBit One ® and text messaging were perceived as useful among the rural men, while the companion apps require adaptation to reflect dietary norms. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Using artificial intelligence to automate remittance processing.

PubMed

Adams, W T; Snow, G M; Helmick, P M

1998-06-01

The consolidated business office of the Allegheny Health Education Research Foundation (AHERF), a large integrated healthcare system based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, sought to improve its cash-related business office activities by implementing an automated remittance processing system that uses artificial intelligence. The goal was to create a completely automated system whereby all monies it processed would be tracked, automatically posted, analyzed, monitored, controlled, and reconciled through a central database. Using a phased approach, the automated payment system has become the central repository for all of the remittances for seven of the hospitals in the AHERF system and has allowed for the complete integration of these hospitals' existing billing systems, document imaging system, and intranet, as well as the new automated payment posting, and electronic cash tracking and reconciling systems. For such new technology, which is designed to bring about major change, factors contributing to the project's success were adequate planning, clearly articulated objectives, marketing, end-user acceptance, and post-implementation plan revision.

[Pilot plan for a mobile health communication and monitoring system for people with diabetes].

PubMed

Alcayaga, Claudia; Pérez, Janet Carola; Bustamante, Claudia; Campos, Solange; Lange, Ilta; Zuñiga, Francisca

2014-01-01

mHealth is a practical, useful, and available tool for one-way or two-way communication between health professionals and patients. It is especially promising in countries such as Chile, with widespread and growing mobile telephone coverage that is very well accepted by the public. Our objective is to demonstrate the process for designing a mobile communication and monitoring model, aimed at providing communication between professionals in primary healthcare centers and their patients, to facilitate timely diagnosis and initiation of treatment for type 2 diabetes. This model's characteristics include use of mobile telephones as a communication tool, a one-way method (from health centers to patients), integration into in-person care delivered at health centers, use of different communication strategies (voice and written), and integrated functioning using open-source software. The system includes personalized communication, automated voice communication, and automated written communication using short message service (SMS). We describe the strategies and components of the system. The lessons learned include the contribution from successful implementation of COSMOS (consolidated online modulated operating systems), a technological innovation, to support the health care of people with suspected type 2 diabetes in primary healthcare centers. Working together with teams in the field is essential to this achievement.

Using soil quality indicators for monitoring sustainable forest management

Treesearch

James A. Burger; Garland Gray; D. Andrew Scott

2010-01-01

Most private and public forest land owners and managers are compelled to manage their forests sustainably, which means management that is economically viable,environmentally sound, and socially acceptable. To meet this mandate, the USDA Forest Service protects the productivity of our nation’s forest soils by monitoring and evaluating management activities to ensure...

Biosensor Technologies for Augmented Brain-Computer Interfaces in the Next Decades

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-13

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2211 Augmented brain–computer interface (ABCI);biosensor; cognitive-state monitoring; electroencephalogram( EEG ); human...biosensor; cognitive-state monitoring; electroencephalogram ( EEG ); human brain imaging Manuscript received November 28, 2011; accepted December 20...magnetic reso- nance imaging (fMRI) [1], positron emission tomography (PET) [2], electroencephalograms ( EEGs ) and optical brain imaging techniques (i.e

Acceptability of the Kalman filter to monitor pronghorn population size

Treesearch

Raymond L. Czaplewski

1986-01-01

Pronghorn antelope are important components of grassland and steppe ecosystems in Wyoming. Monitoring data on the size and population dynamics of these herds are expensive and gathered only a few times each year. Reliable data include estimates of animals harvested and proportion of bucks, does, and fawns. A deterministic simulation model has been used to improve...

Multileaf collimator performance monitoring and improvement using semiautomated quality control testing and statistical process control.

PubMed

Létourneau, Daniel; Wang, An; Amin, Md Nurul; Pearce, Jim; McNiven, Andrea; Keller, Harald; Norrlinger, Bernhard; Jaffray, David A

2014-12-01

High-quality radiation therapy using highly conformal dose distributions and image-guided techniques requires optimum machine delivery performance. In this work, a monitoring system for multileaf collimator (MLC) performance, integrating semiautomated MLC quality control (QC) tests and statistical process control tools, was developed. The MLC performance monitoring system was used for almost a year on two commercially available MLC models. Control charts were used to establish MLC performance and assess test frequency required to achieve a given level of performance. MLC-related interlocks and servicing events were recorded during the monitoring period and were investigated as indicators of MLC performance variations. The QC test developed as part of the MLC performance monitoring system uses 2D megavoltage images (acquired using an electronic portal imaging device) of 23 fields to determine the location of the leaves with respect to the radiation isocenter. The precision of the MLC performance monitoring QC test and the MLC itself was assessed by detecting the MLC leaf positions on 127 megavoltage images of a static field. After initial calibration, the MLC performance monitoring QC test was performed 3-4 times/week over a period of 10-11 months to monitor positional accuracy of individual leaves for two different MLC models. Analysis of test results was performed using individuals control charts per leaf with control limits computed based on the measurements as well as two sets of specifications of ± 0.5 and ± 1 mm. Out-of-specification and out-of-control leaves were automatically flagged by the monitoring system and reviewed monthly by physicists. MLC-related interlocks reported by the linear accelerator and servicing events were recorded to help identify potential causes of nonrandom MLC leaf positioning variations. The precision of the MLC performance monitoring QC test and the MLC itself was within ± 0.22 mm for most MLC leaves and the majority of the apparent leaf motion was attributed to beam spot displacements between irradiations. The MLC QC test was performed 193 and 162 times over the monitoring period for the studied units and recalibration had to be repeated up to three times on one of these units. For both units, rate of MLC interlocks was moderately associated with MLC servicing events. The strongest association with the MLC performance was observed between the MLC servicing events and the total number of out-of-control leaves. The average elapsed time for which the number of out-of-specification or out-of-control leaves was within a given performance threshold was computed and used to assess adequacy of MLC test frequency. A MLC performance monitoring system has been developed and implemented to acquire high-quality QC data at high frequency. This is enabled by the relatively short acquisition time for the images and automatic image analysis. The monitoring system was also used to record and track the rate of MLC-related interlocks and servicing events. MLC performances for two commercially available MLC models have been assessed and the results support monthly test frequency for widely accepted ± 1 mm specifications. Higher QC test frequency is however required to maintain tighter specification and in-control behavior.

An evaluation and comparison of intraventricular, intraparenchymal, and fluid-coupled techniques for intracranial pressure monitoring in patients with severe traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Vender, John; Waller, Jennifer; Dhandapani, Krishnan; McDonnell, Dennis

2011-08-01

Intracranial pressure measurements have become one of the mainstays of traumatic brain injury management. Various technologies exist to monitor intracranial pressure from a variety of locations. Transducers are usually placed to assess pressure in the brain parenchyma and the intra-ventricular fluid, which are the two most widely accepted compartmental monitoring sites. The individual reliability and inter-reliability of these devices with and without cerebrospinal fluid diversion is not clear. The predictive capability of monitors in both of these sites to local, regional, and global changes also needs further clarification. The technique of monitoring intraventricular pressure with a fluid-coupled transducer system is also reviewed. There has been little investigation into the relationship among pressure measurements obtained from these two sources using these three techniques. Eleven consecutive patients with severe, closed traumatic brain injury not requiring intracranial mass lesion evacuation were admitted into this prospective study. Each patient underwent placement of a parenchymal and intraventricular pressure monitor. The ventricular catheter tubing was also connected to a sensor for fluid-coupled measurement. Pressure from all three sources was measured hourly with and without ventricular drainage. Statistically significant correlation within each monitoring site was seen. No monitoring location was more predictive of global pressure changes or more responsive to pressure changes related to patient stimulation. However, the intraventricular pressure measurements were not reliable in the presence of cerebrospinal fluid drainage whereas the parenchymal measurements remained unaffected. Intraparenchymal pressure monitoring provides equivalent, statistically similar pressure measurements when compared to intraventricular monitors in all care and clinical settings. This is particularly valuable when uninterrupted cerebrospinal fluid drainage is desirable.

Development and comparison of user acceptance of advanced comprehensive triage PDA support system with a traditional terminal alternative system.

PubMed

Chang, Polun; Tzeng, Yuann-Meei; Wu, Shiao-Chi; Sang, Ying-Yang; Chen, Shih-Shin

2003-01-01

An advanced PDA support system for the triage was designed to evaluate users inverted exclamation mark | acceptance of this system compared with a traditional terminal system. Davis inverted exclamation mark | Technology Acceptance Model was used to evaluate users inverted exclamation mark | acceptance. All 72 ER nurses in a 2700-bed medical center were invited for the study. The results showed that the PDA system was easier to operate than the terminal one, but had worse interface. The subjects showed significantly greater willingness to accept the terminal system instead of the PDA system. The comparative acceptance of PDA, compared with that of the old system, might still be marginally too low if its interface couldn inverted exclamation mark |t be improved or no other unique practical benefits could be verified.

Progress in distributed fiber optic temperature sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartog, Arthur H.

2002-02-01

The paper reviews the adoption of distributed temperature sensing (DTS) technology based on Raman backscatter. With one company alone having installed more than 400 units, the DTS is becoming accepted practice in several applications, notably in energy cable monitoring, specialised fire detection and oil production monitoring. The paper will provide case studies in these applications. In each case the benefit (whether economic or safety) will be addressed, together with key application engineering issues. The latter range from the selection and installation of the fibre sensor, the specific performance requirements of the opto-electronic equipment and the issues of data management. The paper will also address advanced applications of distributed sensing, notably the problem of monitoring very long ranges, which apply in subsea DC energy cables or in subsea oil wells linked to platforms through very long (e.g. 30km flowlines). These applications are creating the need for a new generation of DTS systems able to achieve measurements at up to 40km with very high temperature resolution, without sacrificing spatial resolution. This challenge is likely to drive the development of new concepts in the field of distributed sensing.

Impedance based sensor technology to monitor stiffness of biological structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Annamdas, Venu Gopal Madhav; Annamdas, Kiran Kishore Kumar

2010-04-01

In countries like USA or Japan it is not so uncommon to have wooden structures in their homes. However, metals and its alloys are the most widely used engineering materials in construction of any military or civil structure. Revisiting natural disasters like the recent Haiti earthquake (12 Jan 2010) or Katrina (cyclones) reminds the necessity to have better housing infrastructure with robust monitoring systems. Traditionally wood is accepted as excellent rehabilitation material, after any disaster. The recycling materials extracted from in-organic, biodegradable wastes, also can be used for rehabilitation. The key issue which dampens the life of these rehabilitated structure including green materials (like wood) is unnecessary deposits (nails, screws, bolts etc)/damages due to insect attack. Thus, a few health monitoring techniques have emerged in the recent past. Electromechanical Impedance technique is one such technique, which is simple but robust to detect variations in the integrity of structures. In this paper, impedance based piezoceramic sensor was bonded on wooden sample, which was used to study changes due to metallic (steel nails) deposits at various locations. A study of weight deposits on aluminum plate was used for comparisons.

Smart Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel - Integrated Structural Health Monitoring System to Meet Space Exploration and International Space Station Mission Assurance Needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saulsberry, Regor; Nichols, Charles; Waller, Jess

2012-01-01

Currently there are no integrated NDE methods for baselining and monitoring defect levels in fleet for Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPVs) or related fracture critical composites, or for performing life-cycle maintenance inspections either in a traditional remove-and-inspect mode or in a more modern in situ inspection structural health monitoring (SHM) mode. Implicit in SHM and autonomous inspection is the existence of quantitative accept-reject criteria. To be effective, these criteria must correlate with levels of damage known to cause composite failure. Furthermore, implicit in SHM is the existence of effective remote sensing hardware and automated techniques and algorithms for interpretation of SHM data. SHM of facture critical composite structures, especially high pressure COPVs, is critical to the success of nearly every future NASA space exploration program as well as life extension of the International Space Station. It has been clearly stated that future NASA missions may not be successful without SHM [1]. Otherwise, crews will be busy addressing subsystem health issues and not focusing on the real NASA mission

Acceptability and perceptions of end-users towards an online sports-health surveillance system

PubMed Central

Barboza, Saulo Delfino; Bolling, Caroline Silveira; Nauta, Joske; van Mechelen, Willem; Verhagen, Evert

2017-01-01

Aim To describe the acceptability and the perceptions of athletes and staff members (ie, end-users) towards an online sports-health surveillance system. Methods A pilot study with a mixed-methods approach was pursued. Descriptive analysis was conducted to present the adherence of judo (n=34), swimming (n=21) and volleyball (n=14) athletes to an online registration of their sport exposure and any health complaints between April 2014 and January 2015. End-users’ perceptions towards the system were investigated qualitatively with semistructured interviews (n=21). Qualitative analysis was based on the constant comparative method using principles of the grounded theory. Results The response rates of judo, swimming and volleyball athletes were 50% (SD 23), 61% (SD 27) and 56% (SD 25), respectively. Most athletes found it simple to register their sport exposure and health complaints online; however, personal communication was still preferred for this purpose. The system facilitated the communication between medical and trainer staff, who were able to identify in the system reports health complaints from athletes that were not necessarily communicated face-to-face. Therefore, staff members reported that they were able to intervene earlier to prevent minor health complaints from becoming severe health problems. However, staff members expected higher adherence of athletes to the online follow-ups, and athletes expected to receive feedback on their inputs to the system. Conclusion An online system can be used in sporting settings complementary to regular strategies for monitoring athletes’ health. However, providing feedback on athletes’ inputs is important to maintain their adherence to such an online system. PMID:29071115

48 CFR 46.502 - Responsibility for acceptance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Responsibility for acceptance. 46.502 Section 46.502 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACT MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Acceptance 46.502 Responsibility for acceptance. Acceptance of...

GP-support by means of AGnES-practice assistants and the use of telecare devices in a sparsely populated region in Northern Germany – proof of concept

PubMed Central

Berg, Neeltje van den; Fiß, Thomas; Meinke, Claudia; Heymann, Romy; Scriba, Sibylle; Hoffmann, Wolfgang

2009-01-01

Background In many rural regions in Germany, the proportion of the elderly population increases rapidly. Simultaneously, about one-third of the presently active GPs will retire until 2010. Often it is difficult to find successors for vacant GP-practices. These regions require innovative concepts to avoid the imminent shortage in primary health care. The AGnES-concept comprises the delegation of GP-home visits to qualified AGnES-practice assistants (AGnES: GP-supporting, community-based, e-health-assisted, systemic intervention). Main objectives were the assessment of the acceptance of the AGnES-concept by the participating GPs, patients, and AGnES-practice assistants, the kind of delegated tasks, and the feasibility of home telecare in a GP-practice. Methods In this paper, we report first results of the implementation of this concept in regular GP-practices, conducted November 2005 – March 2007 on the Island of Rügen, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. This study was meant as a proof of concept. The GP delegated routine home-visits to qualified practice employees (here: registered nurses). Eligible patients were provided with telecare-devices to monitor disease-related physiological values. All delegated tasks, modules conducted and questionnaire responses were documented. The participating patients were asked for their acceptance based on standardized questionnaires. The GPs and AGnES-practice assistants were asked for their judgement about different project components, the quality of health care provision and the competences of the AGnES-practice assistants. Results 550 home visits were conducted. 105 patients, two GPs and three AGnES-practice assistants (all registered nurses) participated in the project. 48 patients used telecare-devices to monitor health parameters. 87.4% of the patients accepted AGnES-care as comparable to common GP-care. In the course of the project, the GPs delegated an increasing number of both monitoring and interventional tasks to the AGnES-practice assistants. The GPs agreed that delegating tasks to a qualified practice assistant relieves them in their daily work. Conclusion A part of the GPs home visits can be delegated to AGnES-practice assistants to support GPs in regions with an imminent or already existing undersupply in primary care. The project triggered discussions among the institutions involved in the German healthcare system and supported a reconciliation of the respective competences of physicians and other medical professions. PMID:19545376

Public trust and vaccine acceptance-international perspectives

PubMed Central

Ozawa, Sachiko; Stack, Meghan L

2013-01-01

Vaccines save millions of lives every year. They are one of the safest and most effective public health interventions in keeping populations healthy while bringing numerous social and economic benefits. Vaccines play an important role in ensuring that children, regardless of where they live, can have a healthy start to life. New financing mechanisms that allow poorer countries to gain access to vaccines faster than ever mean additional deaths and disabilities are projected to be saved during the Decade of Vaccines (2011–2020). Trust in vaccines and in the health system is an important element of public health programs that aim to deliver life-saving vaccines. Indeed, understanding the contributors and threats to trust is essential to explaining vaccine acceptance, particularly as they vary across epidemiologic conditions, specific vaccines and cultural and sociopolitical settings. Greater efforts to communicate the benefits and risks of vaccines and address issues with evidence-based information will help improve and sustain public trust in vaccines and health systems worldwide. Measuring and monitoring trust levels and focusing on deliberate efforts to build trust in vaccines are important steps to reducing vaccine confidence gaps when they occur. PMID:23733039

Development and application of a long dynamic range nitrous oxide monitoring system.

PubMed

Ward, B G

1985-12-01

The laboratory and field evaluation of a nitrous oxide monitor for an extremely wide range of cumulative exposures are reviewed. The passive sampling behavior and high analyte capacity show it to be useful for short-term and full workweek exposure monitoring. The monitor has application for both area and personnel surveillance. The principal criterion is for an accurate report of exposure time of the monitor. Application of the monitor to real workplace environments--with and without a reference method--demonstrated the ability of workweek monitoring as a valuable and potentially superior way of documenting exposure stress of employees. Environmental factors such as humidity and temperature variation are shown to have acceptably small effects on both short- and long-term exposure data; barometric pressure affects the data in a predictable manner. Paired dosimeters show good agreement in the workplace environment throughout the range of 6-40 cumulative hours of exposure. In both hospital and dental operating suites, work logistics and work group relationships were readily traceable on a week-by-week basis during a continuous weekly monitoring program. Source emissions and appropriate worker and work area exposure relationships were clearly evident, with appropriate reduction of all exposures as a result of an abbreviated work schedule. The ability to effectively track employee and area exposure excursions in an integrated weekly manner leads to a whole series of new applications and concepts of industrial hygiene surveillance. Such approaches could effectively replace the speculative statistical approaches currently in use with actual data on a cost effective basis.

Human-Robot Control Strategies for the NASA/DARPA Robonaut

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diftler, M. A.; Culbert, Chris J.; Ambrose, Robert O.; Huber, E.; Bluethmann, W. J.

2003-01-01

The Robotic Systems Technology Branch at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) is currently developing robot systems to reduce the Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) and planetary exploration burden on astronauts. One such system, Robonaut, is capable of interfacing with external Space Station systems that currently have only human interfaces. Robonaut is human scale, anthropomorphic, and designed to approach the dexterity of a space-suited astronaut. Robonaut can perform numerous human rated tasks, including actuating tether hooks, manipulating flexible materials, soldering wires, grasping handrails to move along space station mockups, and mating connectors. More recently, developments in autonomous control and perception for Robonaut have enabled dexterous, real-time man-machine interaction. Robonaut is now capable of acting as a practical autonomous assistant to the human, providing and accepting tools by reacting to body language. A versatile, vision-based algorithm for matching range silhouettes is used for monitoring human activity as well as estimating tool pose.

Medical knowledge packages and their integration into health-care information systems and the World Wide Web.

PubMed

Adlassnig, Klaus-Peter; Rappelsberger, Andrea

2008-01-01

Software-based medical knowledge packages (MKPs) are packages of highly structured medical knowledge that can be integrated into various health-care information systems or the World Wide Web. They have been established to provide different forms of clinical decision support such as textual interpretation of combinations of laboratory rest results, generating diagnostic hypotheses as well as confirmed and excluded diagnoses to support differential diagnosis in internal medicine, or for early identification and automatic monitoring of hospital-acquired infections. Technically, an MKP may consist of a number of inter-connected Arden Medical Logic Modules. Several MKPs have been integrated thus far into hospital, laboratory, and departmental information systems. This has resulted in useful and widely accepted software-based clinical decision support for the benefit of the patient, the physician, and the organization funding the health care system.

Does daily nurse staffing match ward workload variability? Three hospitals' experiences.

PubMed

Gabbay, Uri; Bukchin, Michael

2009-01-01

Nurse shortage and rising healthcare resource burdens mean that appropriate workforce use is imperative. This paper aims to evaluate whether daily nursing staffing meets ward workload needs. Nurse attendance and daily nurses' workload capacity in three hospitals were evaluated. Statistical process control was used to evaluate intra-ward nurse workload capacity and day-to-day variations. Statistical process control is a statistics-based method for process monitoring that uses charts with predefined target measure and control limits. Standardization was performed for inter-ward analysis by converting ward-specific crude measures to ward-specific relative measures by dividing observed/expected. Two charts: acceptable and tolerable daily nurse workload intensity, were defined. Appropriate staffing indicators were defined as those exceeding predefined rates within acceptable and tolerable limits (50 percent and 80 percent respectively). A total of 42 percent of the overall days fell within acceptable control limits and 71 percent within tolerable control limits. Appropriate staffing indicators were met in only 33 percent of wards regarding acceptable nurse workload intensity and in only 45 percent of wards regarding tolerable workloads. The study work did not differentiate crude nurse attendance and it did not take into account patient severity since crude bed occupancy was used. Double statistical process control charts and certain staffing indicators were used, which is open to debate. Wards that met appropriate staffing indicators prove the method's feasibility. Wards that did not meet appropriate staffing indicators prove the importance and the need for process evaluations and monitoring. Methods presented for monitoring daily staffing appropriateness are simple to implement either for intra-ward day-to-day variation by using nurse workload capacity statistical process control charts or for inter-ward evaluation using standardized measure of nurse workload intensity. The real challenge will be to develop planning systems and implement corrective interventions such as dynamic and flexible daily staffing, which will face difficulties and barriers. The paper fulfils the need for workforce utilization evaluation. A simple method using available data for daily staffing appropriateness evaluation, which is easy to implement and operate, is presented. The statistical process control method enables intra-ward evaluation, while standardization by converting crude into relative measures enables inter-ward analysis. The staffing indicator definitions enable performance evaluation. This original study uses statistical process control to develop simple standardization methods and applies straightforward statistical tools. This method is not limited to crude measures, rather it uses weighted workload measures such as nursing acuity or weighted nurse level (i.e. grade/band).

HuMOVE: a low-invasive wearable monitoring platform in sexual medicine.

PubMed

Ciuti, Gastone; Nardi, Matteo; Valdastri, Pietro; Menciassi, Arianna; Basile Fasolo, Ciro; Dario, Paolo

2014-10-01

To investigate an accelerometer-based wearable system, named Human Movement (HuMOVE) platform, designed to enable quantitative and continuous measurement of sexual performance with minimal invasiveness and inconvenience for users. Design, implementation, and development of HuMOVE, a wearable platform equipped with an accelerometer sensor for monitoring inertial parameters for sexual performance assessment and diagnosis, were performed. The system enables quantitative measurement of movement parameters during sexual intercourse, meeting the requirements of wearability, data storage, sampling rate, and interfacing methods, which are fundamental for human sexual intercourse performance analysis. HuMOVE was validated through characterization using a controlled experimental test bench and evaluated in a human model during simulated sexual intercourse conditions. HuMOVE demonstrated to be a robust and quantitative monitoring platform and a reliable candidate for sexual performance evaluation and diagnosis. Characterization analysis on the controlled experimental test bench demonstrated an accurate correlation between the HuMOVE system and data from a reference displacement sensor. Experimental tests in the human model during simulated intercourse conditions confirmed the accuracy of the sexual performance evaluation platform and the effectiveness of the selected and derived parameters. The obtained outcomes also established the project expectations in terms of usability and comfort, evidenced by the questionnaires that highlighted the low invasiveness and acceptance of the device. To the best of our knowledge, HuMOVE platform is the first device for human sexual performance analysis compatible with sexual intercourse; the system has the potential to be a helpful tool for physicians to accurately classify sexual disorders, such as premature or delayed ejaculation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Integrated Approach for the Monitoring of Brain and Autonomic Response of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders during Treatment by Wearable Technologies

PubMed Central

Billeci, Lucia; Tonacci, Alessandro; Tartarisco, Gennaro; Narzisi, Antonio; Di Palma, Simone; Corda, Daniele; Baldus, Giovanni; Cruciani, Federico; Anzalone, Salvatore M.; Calderoni, Sara; Pioggia, Giovanni; Muratori, Filippo

2016-01-01

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are associated with physiological abnormalities, which are likely to contribute to the core symptoms of the condition. Wearable technologies can provide data in a semi-naturalistic setting, overcoming the limitations given by the constrained situations in which physiological signals are usually acquired. In this study an integrated system based on wearable technologies for the acquisition and analysis of neurophysiological and autonomic parameters during treatment is proposed and an application on five children with ASD is presented. Signals were acquired during a therapeutic session based on an imitation protocol in ASD children. Data were analyzed with the aim of extracting quantitative EEG (QEEG) features from EEG signals as well as heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) from ECG. The system allowed evidencing changes in neurophysiological and autonomic response from the state of disengagement to the state of engagement of the children, evidencing a cognitive involvement in the children in the tasks proposed. The high grade of acceptability of the monitoring platform is promising for further development and implementation of the tool. In particular if the results of this feasibility study would be confirmed in a larger sample of subjects, the system proposed could be adopted in more naturalistic paradigms that allow real world stimuli to be incorporated into EEG/psychophysiological studies for the monitoring of the effect of the treatment and for the implementation of more individualized therapeutic programs. PMID:27445652

CLOUDCLOUD : general-purpose instrument monitoring and data managing software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dias, António; Amorim, António; Tomé, António

2016-04-01

An effective experiment is dependent on the ability to store and deliver data and information to all participant parties regardless of their degree of involvement in the specific parts that make the experiment a whole. Having fast, efficient and ubiquitous access to data will increase visibility and discussion, such that the outcome will have already been reviewed several times, strengthening the conclusions. The CLOUD project aims at providing users with a general purpose data acquisition, management and instrument monitoring platform that is fast, easy to use, lightweight and accessible to all participants of an experiment. This work is now implemented in the CLOUD experiment at CERN and will be fully integrated with the experiment as of 2016. Despite being used in an experiment of the scale of CLOUD, this software can also be used in any size of experiment or monitoring station, from single computers to large networks of computers to monitor any sort of instrument output without influencing the individual instrument's DAQ. Instrument data and meta data is stored and accessed via a specially designed database architecture and any type of instrument output is accepted using our continuously growing parsing application. Multiple databases can be used to separate different data taking periods or a single database can be used if for instance an experiment is continuous. A simple web-based application gives the user total control over the monitored instruments and their data, allowing data visualization and download, upload of processed data and the ability to edit existing instruments or add new instruments to the experiment. When in a network, new computers are immediately recognized and added to the system and are able to monitor instruments connected to them. Automatic computer integration is achieved by a locally running python-based parsing agent that communicates with a main server application guaranteeing that all instruments assigned to that computer are monitored with parsing intervals as fast as milliseconds. This software (server+agents+interface+database) comes in easy and ready-to-use packages that can be installed in any operating system, including Android and iOS systems. This software is ideal for use in modular experiments or monitoring stations with large variability in instruments and measuring methods or in large collaborations, where data requires homogenization in order to be effectively transmitted to all involved parties. This work presents the software and provides performance comparison with previously used monitoring systems in the CLOUD experiment at CERN.

The wireless networking system of Earthquake precursor mobile field observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, C.; Teng, Y.; Wang, X.; Fan, X.; Wang, X.

2012-12-01

The mobile field observation network could be real-time, reliably record and transmit large amounts of data, strengthen the physical signal observations in specific regions and specific period, it can improve the monitoring capacity and abnormal tracking capability. According to the features of scatter everywhere, a large number of current earthquake precursor observation measuring points, networking technology is based on wireless broadband accessing McWILL system, the communication system of earthquake precursor mobile field observation would real-time, reliably transmit large amounts of data to the monitoring center from measuring points through the connection about equipment and wireless accessing system, broadband wireless access system and precursor mobile observation management center system, thereby implementing remote instrument monitoring and data transmition. At present, the earthquake precursor field mobile observation network technology has been applied to fluxgate magnetometer array geomagnetic observations of Tianzhu, Xichang,and Xinjiang, it can be real-time monitoring the working status of the observational instruments of large area laid after the last two or three years, large scale field operation. Therefore, it can get geomagnetic field data of the local refinement regions and provide high-quality observational data for impending earthquake tracking forecast. Although, wireless networking technology is very suitable for mobile field observation with the features of simple, flexible networking etc, it also has the phenomenon of packet loss etc when transmitting a large number of observational data due to the wireless relatively weak signal and narrow bandwidth. In view of high sampling rate instruments, this project uses data compression and effectively solves the problem of data transmission packet loss; Control commands, status data and observational data transmission use different priorities and means, which control the packet loss rate within an acceptable range and do not affect real-time observation curve. After field running test and earthquake tracking project applications, the field mobile observation wireless networking system is operate normally, various function have good operability and show good performance, the quality of data transmission meet the system design requirements and play a significant role in practical applications.

Food safety objectives for Listeria monocytogenes in Spanish food sampled in cafeterias and restaurants.

PubMed

Doménech, E; Amorós, J A; Escriche, I

2011-09-01

To gain more insight into the context of food safety management by public administrations, food safety objectives must be studied. The Valencian administration quantified the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in cafeterias and restaurants in this region of Spain between 2002 and 2010. The results obtained from this survey are presented here for 2,262 samples of fish, salad, egg, cold meat, and mayonnaise dishes. Microbiological criteria defined for L. monocytogenes were used to differentiate acceptable and unacceptable samples; more than 99.9% of the samples were acceptable. These findings indicate that established food safety objectives are achievable, consumer health at the time of consumption can be safeguarded, and food safety management systems such as hazard analysis critical control point plans or good manufacturing practices implemented in food establishments are effective. Monitoring of foods and food safety is an important task that must continue to reduce the current L. monocytogenes prevalence of 0.1% in restaurant or cafeteria dishes, which could adversely affect consumer health.

Knowledge Integration and Use-Case Analysis for a Customized Drug-Drug Interaction CDS Service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kam, Hye Jin; Park, Man Young; Kim, Woojae; Yoon, Duk Yong; Ahn, Eun Kyoung; Park, Rae Woong

Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) are thought to reduce adverse drug events (ADEs) by monitoring drug-drug interactions(DDIs). However, clinically improper or excessive alerts can result in high alert overrides. A tailored CDS service, which is appropriate for clinicians and their ordering situations, is required to increase alert acceptance. In this study, we conducted a 12-week pilot project adopting a tailed CDSS at an emergency department. The new CDSS was conducted via a stepwise integration of additional new rules. The alert status with changes in acceptance rate was analyzed. The most frequent DDI alerts were related to prescriptions of anti-inflammatory drugs. The percentages of alert overrides for each stage were 98.0%, 96.0%, 96.9%, and 98.1%, respectively. 91.5% of overridden alerts were related to discharge medications. To reduce the potential hazards of ADEs, the development of an effective customized DDI CDSS is required, via in-depth analysis on alert patterns and overridden reasons.

A company-instituted program to improve blood pressure control in primary care.

PubMed

Alderman, M H; Melcher, L A

1981-01-01

An occupation-based effort to improve the outcome of antihypertensive therapy provided in the community was instituted by the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1977. The goal of the program was to utilize the administrative and organizational resources of the company to enhance employee/patient adherence to treatment provided in conventional primary care settings. Key elements of the program were: companywide education and on-site screening, referral to community physicians and company assumption of all patient costs, linked to a monitoring system to permit oversight of care. Initially, 98% of employees were screened, 70% accepted referral for care and 59% fully adhered to program performance criteria. Blood pressure control has risen from 36% at the beginning to 69% at the end of the second year. Fully compliant patients have achieved the greatest lowering of blood pressure and compiled the best work attendance record. Program costs are modest and acceptance by employees and physicians supports the concept that occupation-based, systematic efforts can enhance the impact of primary care.

137Cs Radiological risk estimation of NSD facility at Karawang site by using RESRAD onsite application: effect of cover thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Setiawan, B.; Prihastuti, S.; Moersidik, S. S.

2018-02-01

The operational of near surface disposal facility during waste packages loading activity into the facility, or in a monitoring activity around disposal facility at Karawang area is predicted to give a radiological risk to radiation workers. The thickness of disposal facility cover system affected the number of radiological risk of workers. Due to this reason, a radiological risk estimation needs to be considered. RESRAD onsite code is applied for this purpose by analyse the individual accepted dose and radiological risk data of radiation workers. The obtained results and then are compared with radiation protection reference in accordance with national regulation. In this case, the data from the experimental result of Karawang clay as host of disposal facility such as Kd value of 137Cs was used. Results showed that the thickness of the cover layer of disposal facility affected to the radiological risk which accepted by workers in a near surface disposal facility.

The Use Of Fiber Optic Chemical Sensors (FOGS) In Medical Applications: Enzyme-Based Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klainer, Stanley M.; Harris, J. Milton

1988-06-01

The potential of fiber optic chemical sensors (FOGS) for medical applications is an accepted fact. Indeed, many companies are arduously pursuing the pH, pCO2, and p02 sensors. These, however, only represent the beginning of what, eventually, could be the next generation approach to diagnostics and monitoring. The key to a good FOGS system is to: (i) make, or adapt, accepted laboratory chemistry so that it works, without loss of sensitivity or specificity, on a fiber optic; (ii) assure that sensor neither affects, or is affected by, the biological meltum into which it is placed; (iii) have optimized, dedicated instrumentation to illuminate the sensor, and to handle and process its output signal; and (iv) perform a necessary diagnostic, monitoring or clinical function better, faster, more accurately or less expensively than existing approacbes. Theoretically, there are no limits to the reactions that can be selected to identify and quantify a particular chemical or physical happening using a species specific FOGS. In practice, however, the choices are restricted because: (i) many of the existing tests use sample prepreparation, such as concentration and purification, which is not possible for many FOGS usages; (ii) the chemistry on the fiber must meet FDA criteria; (iii) the chemistry is not stable enough for long term storage and (iv) measurements which are marginal in the laboratory, will not work on a fiber. In the present research the potential of using enzymes as the sensing material is being evaluated. To date emphasis has been placed on the immobilization of the enzyme on the fiber optic without loss of activity or specificity. The selected enzyme for this effort is 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. It was selected with the eventual goal of analyzing bile acid concentrations.

Food Fortification Stability Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sirmons, T. A.; Cooper, M. R.; Douglas, G. L.

2016-01-01

This study aims to assess the stability of vitamin content, sensory acceptability and color variation in fortified spaceflight foods over a period of 2 years. Findings will identify optimal formulation, processing, and storage conditions to maintain stability and acceptability of commercially available fortification nutrients. Changes in food quality are being monitored to indicate whether fortification affects quality over time (compared to the unfortified control), thus indicating their potential for use on long-duration missions.

Food Fortification Stability Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sirmons, T. A.; Cooper, M. R.; Douglas, G. L.

2017-01-01

This study aimed to assess the stability of vitamin content, sensory acceptability and color variation in fortified spaceflight foods over a period of two years. Findings will help to identify optimal formulation, processing, and storage conditions to maintain stability and acceptability of commercially available fortification nutrients. Changes in food quality were monitored to indicate whether fortification affects quality over time (compared to the unfortified control), thus indicating their potential for use on long-duration missions.

Technical Note: Evaluation of the latency and the beam characteristics of a respiratory gating system using an Elekta linear accelerator and a respiratory indicator device, Abches.

PubMed

Saito, Masahide; Sano, Naoki; Ueda, Koji; Shibata, Yuki; Kuriyama, Kengo; Komiyama, Takafumi; Marino, Kan; Aoki, Shinichi; Onishi, Hiroshi

2018-01-01

To evaluate the basic performance of a respiratory gating system using an Elekta linac and an Abches respiratory-monitoring device. The gating system was comprised of an Elekta Synergy linac equipped with a Response TM gating interface module and an Abches respiratory-monitoring device. The latencies from a reference respiratory signal to the resulting Abches gating output signal and the resulting monitor-ion-chamber output signal were measured. Then, the flatness and symmetry of the gated beams were measured using a two-dimensional ionization chamber array for fixed and arc beams, respectively. Furthermore, the beam quality, TPR 20,10 , and the output of the fixed gated beams were also measured using a Farmer chamber. Each of the beam characteristics was compared with each of those for nongated irradiation. The full latencies at beam-on and beam-off for 6-MV gated beams were 336.4 ± 23.4 ms and 87.6 ± 7.1 ms, respectively. The differences in flatness between the gated and nongated beams were within 0.91% and 0.87% for the gun-target and left-right directions, respectively. In the same manner, the beam symmetries were within 0.68% and 0.82%, respectively. The percentage differences in beam quality and beam output were below 1% for a beam-on time range of 1.1-7 s. The latency of the Elekta gating system combined with Abches was found to be acceptable using our measurement method. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the beam characteristics of the gating system using our respiratory indicator were comparable with the nongated beams for a single-arc gated beam delivery. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Community Engagement to Optimize the Use of Web-Based and Wearable Technology in a Cardiovascular Health and Needs Assessment Study: A Mixed Methods Approach.

PubMed

Yingling, Leah R; Brooks, Alyssa T; Wallen, Gwenyth R; Peters-Lawrence, Marlene; McClurkin, Michael; Cooper-McCann, Rebecca; Wiley, Kenneth L; Mitchell, Valerie; Saygbe, Johnetta N; Johnson, Twanda D; Curry, Rev Kendrick E; Johnson, Allan A; Graham, Avis P; Graham, Lennox A; Powell-Wiley, Tiffany M

2016-04-25

Resource-limited communities in Washington, D.C. have high rates of obesity-related cardiovascular disease in addition to inadequate physical activity (PA) facilities and limited Internet access. Engaging community members in the design and implementation of studies to address these health disparities is essential to the success of community-based PA interventions. The objective of the study was to use qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of PA-monitoring wristbands and Web-based technology by predominantly African American, church-based populations in resource-limited Washington, D.C. neighborhoods. To address cardiovascular health in at-risk populations in Washington, D.C., we joined community leaders to establish a community advisory board, the D.C. Cardiovascular Health and Obesity Collaborative (D.C. CHOC). As their first initiative, the Washington, D.C. Cardiovascular Health and Needs Assessment intends to evaluate cardiovascular health, social determinants of health, and PA-monitoring technologies. At the recommendation of D.C. CHOC members, we conducted a focus group and piloted the proposed PA-monitoring system with community members representing churches that would be targeted by the Cardiovascular Health and Needs Assessment. Participants (n=8) agreed to wear a PA-monitoring wristband for two weeks and to log cardiovascular health factors on a secure Internet account. Wristbands collected accelerometer-based data that participants uploaded to a wireless hub at their church. Participants agreed to return after two weeks to participate in a moderated focus group to share experiences using this technology. Feasibility was measured by Internet account usage, wristband utilization, and objective PA data. Acceptability was evaluated through thematic analysis of verbatim focus group transcripts. Study participants (5 males, 3 females) were African American and age 28-70 years. Participant wristbands recorded data on 10.1±1.6 days. Two participants logged cardiovascular health factors on the website. Focus group transcripts revealed that participants felt positively about incorporating the device into their church-based populations, given improvements were made to device training, hub accessibility, and device feedback. PA-monitoring wristbands for objectively measuring PA appear to be a feasible and acceptable technology in Washington, D.C., resource-limited communities. User preferences include immediate device feedback, hands-on device training, explicit instructions, improved central hub accessibility, and designation of a church member as a trained point-of-contact. When implementing technology-based interventions in resource-limited communities, engaging the targeted community may aid in early identification of issues, suggestions, and preferences. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01927783; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01927783 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6f8wL117u).

Feasibility of a Mobile Phone–Based Data Service for Functional Insulin Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

PubMed Central

Kollmann, Alexander; Riedl, Michaela; Kastner, Peter; Ludvik, Bernhard

2007-01-01

Background Patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) have to be active participants in their treatment because they are inevitably responsible for their own day-to-day-care. Availability of mobile Internet access is advancing rapidly and mobile phones are now widely available at low cost. Thus, mobile phones have the potential to assist in daily diabetes management and to enable a telemedical interaction between patients and health care professionals. Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility and user acceptance of a mobile phone–based data service to assist DM1 patients on intensive insulin treatment. Methods A software application called Diab-Memory (based on Java 2 Mobile Edition) has been developed to support patients when entering diabetes-related data with synchronization to the remote database at the monitoring center. The data were then processed to generate statistics and trends, which were provided for the patient and his/her health care professional via a Web portal. The system has been evaluated in the course of a clinical before-after pilot trial. Outcome measures focused on patients’ adherence to the therapy, availability of the monitoring system, and the effects on metabolic status. General user acceptance of the system was evaluated using a questionnaire. Results Ten patients (four female) with DM1 participated in the trial. Mean age was 36.6 years (± 11.0 years) and prestudy glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was 7.9% (± 1.1%). A total of 3850 log-ins were registered during the 3 months of the study. The total number of received datasets was 13003, which equates to an average of 14 transmitted parameters per patient per day. The service was well accepted by the patients (no dropouts), and data transmission via mobile phone was successful on the first attempt in 96.5% of cases. Upon completion of the study, a statistically significant improvement in metabolic control was observed (HbA1c: prestudy 7.9% ± 1.1% versus poststudy 7.5% ± 0.9%;P= .02). While there was a slight decrease in average blood glucose level (prestudy 141.8 mg/dL ± 22.5 mg/dL vs poststudy 141.2 mg/dL ± 23.1 mg/dL;P= .69), the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion The results of the clinical pilot trial indicate that this proposed diabetes management system was well accepted by the patients and practical for daily usage. Thus, using the mobile phone as patient terminal seems to provide a ubiquitous, easy-to-use, and cost efficient solution for patient-centered data acquisition in the management of DM1. To confirm the promising results of the pilot trial further research has to be done to study long-term effects on glycemic control and cost-effectiveness. PMID:18166525

Longitudinal Trajectories of Parental Involvement in Type 1 Diabetes and Adolescents’ Adherence

PubMed Central

King, Pamela S.; Berg, Cynthia A.; Butner, Jonathan; Butler, Jorie M.; Wiebe, Deborah J.

2016-01-01

Objective The purpose of this study was to examine longitudinal trajectories of parental involvement and adolescent adherence to the Type 1 diabetes regimen, to determine whether changes in multiple facets of parental involvement over time predicted subsequent changes in adolescents’ adherence, and to examine whether adolescent self-efficacy mediated the effect of parental involvement on adherence. Method Two hundred fifty-two adolescents (M age = 12.49 years, SD = 1.53; 53.6% females) diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes mellitus, their mothers, and 188 fathers were enrolled in a 2.5-year longitudinal study. Across 5 time points, up to 252 adolescents and their parents completed measures of adherence, parental involvement (diabetes monitoring, behavioral involvement in diabetes management, and acceptance), and adolescent diabetes self-efficacy. Results Using multilevel modeling, analyses indicated significant average declines over time in adherence and most indicators of parental involvement. Lagged multilevel models indicated that declines in mothers’ and fathers’ acceptance and diabetes monitoring predicted subsequent declines in adolescents’ adherence. Additional analyses revealed that longitudinal associations between both maternal acceptance and diabetes monitoring and subsequent adolescent adherence were mediated by adolescents’ self-efficacy. Conclusions Results of this study, which were largely consistent across reporters, highlight the importance of maintaining parental involvement in diabetes across adolescence and suggest that parental involvement is beneficial for adolescents’ adherence, in part, because it contributes to higher self-efficacy for diabetes management among adolescents. PMID:23795709

Feasibility and Acceptability of Utilizing a Smartphone Based Application to Monitor Outpatient Discharge Instruction Compliance in Cardiac Disease Patients around Discharge from Hospitalization

PubMed Central

Layton, Aimee M.; Whitworth, James; Peacock, James; Bartels, Matthew N.; Jellen, Patricia A.; Thomashow, Byron M.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of utilizing a smartphone based application to monitor compliance in patients with cardiac disease around discharge. For 60 days after discharge, patients' medication compliance, physical activity, follow-up care, symptoms, and reading of education material were monitored daily with the application. 16 patients were enrolled in the study (12 males, 4 females, age 55 ± 18 years) during their hospital stay. Five participants were rehospitalized during the study and did not use the application once discharged. Seven participants completed 1–30 days and four patients completed >31 days. For those 11 patients, medication reminders were utilized 37% (1–30-day group) and 53% (>31-day group) of the time, education material was read 44% (1–30) and 53% (>31) of the time, and physical activity was reported 25% (1–30) and 42% (>31) of the time. Findings demonstrated that patients with stable health utilized the application, even if only minimally. Patients with decreased breath sounds by physical exam and who reported their health as fair to poor on the day of discharge were less likely to utilize the application. Acceptability of the application to report health status varied among the stable patients. PMID:25574165

User's guide to the Event Monitor: Part of Prognosis Model Version 6

Treesearch

Nicholas L. Crookston

1990-01-01

Describes how to use the Event Monitor to dynamically invoke management activities in the Prognosis Model for Stand Development. The program accepts statements of conditions -- expressed as logical expressions of stand-state variables -- to be met and sets of activities to be simulated when the conditions are met. The combination of a condition and a set of activities...

Box-ticking and Olympic high jumping - Physicians' perceptions and acceptance of national physician validation systems.

PubMed

Sehlbach, Carolin; Govaerts, Marjan J B; Mitchell, Sharon; Rohde, Gernot G U; Smeenk, Frank W J M; Driessen, Erik W

2018-05-24

National physician validation systems aim to ensure lifelong learning through periodic appraisals of physicians' competence. Their effectiveness is determined by physicians' acceptance of and commitment to the system. This study, therefore, sought to explore physicians' perceptions and self-reported acceptance of validation across three different physician validation systems in Europe. Using a constructivist grounded-theory approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 32 respiratory specialists from three countries with markedly different validation systems: Germany, which has a mandatory, credit-based system oriented to continuing professional development; Denmark, with mandatory annual dialogs and ensuing, non-compulsory activities; and the UK, with a mandatory, portfolio-based revalidation system. We analyzed interview data with a view to identifying factors influencing physicians' perceptions and acceptance. Factors that influenced acceptance were the assessment's authenticity and alignment of its requirements with clinical practice, physicians' beliefs about learning, perceived autonomy, and organizational support. Users' acceptance levels determine any system's effectiveness. To support lifelong learning effectively, national physician validation systems must be carefully designed and integrated into daily practice. Involving physicians in their design may render systems more authentic and improve alignment between individual ambitions and the systems' goals, thereby promoting acceptance.

[Meta-analyses on measurement precision of non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring technologies in adults].

PubMed

Pestel, G; Fukui, K; Higashi, M; Schmidtmann, I; Werner, C

2018-06-01

An ideal non-invasive monitoring system should provide accurate and reproducible measurements of clinically relevant variables that enables clinicians to guide therapy accordingly. The monitor should be rapid, easy to use, readily available at the bedside, operator-independent, cost-effective and should have a minimal risk and side effect profile for patients. An example is the introduction of pulse oximetry, which has become established for non-invasive monitoring of oxygenation worldwide. A corresponding non-invasive monitoring of hemodynamics and perfusion could optimize the anesthesiological treatment to the needs in individual cases. In recent years several non-invasive technologies to monitor hemodynamics in the perioperative setting have been introduced: suprasternal Doppler ultrasound, modified windkessel function, pulse wave transit time, radial artery tonometry, thoracic bioimpedance, endotracheal bioimpedance, bioreactance, and partial CO 2 rebreathing have been tested for monitoring cardiac output or stroke volume. The photoelectric finger blood volume clamp technique and respiratory variation of the plethysmography curve have been assessed for monitoring fluid responsiveness. In this manuscript meta-analyses of non-invasive monitoring technologies were performed when non-invasive monitoring technology and reference technology were comparable. The primary evaluation criterion for all studies screened was a Bland-Altman analysis. Experimental and pediatric studies were excluded, as were all studies without a non-invasive monitoring technique or studies without evaluation of cardiac output/stroke volume or fluid responsiveness. Most studies found an acceptable bias with wide limits of agreement. Thus, most non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring technologies cannot be considered to be equivalent to the respective reference method. Studies testing the impact of non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring technologies as a trend evaluation on outcome, as well as studies evaluating alternatives to the finger for capturing the raw signals for hemodynamic assessment, and, finally, studies evaluating technologies based on a flow time measurement are current topics of clinical research.

Functionality and acceptability of a wireless fetal heart rate monitoring device in term pregnant women in rural Southwestern Uganda.

PubMed

Mugyenyi, Godfrey R; Atukunda, Esther C; Ngonzi, Joseph; Boatin, Adeline; Wylie, Blair J; Haberer, Jessica E

2017-06-08

Over 3 million stillbirths occur annually in sub Saharan Africa; most occur intrapartum and are largely preventable. The standard of care for fetal heart rate (FHR) assessment in most sub-Saharan African settings is a Pinard Stethoscope, limiting observation to one person, at one point in time. We aimed to test the functionality and acceptability of a wireless FHR monitor that could allow for expanded monitoring capacity in rural Southwestern Uganda. In a mixed method prospective study, we enrolled 1) non-laboring healthy term pregnant women to wear the device for 30 min and 2) non-study clinicians to observe its use. The battery-powered prototype uses Doppler technology to measure fetal cardiotocographs (CTG), which are displayed via an android device and wirelessly transmit to cloud storage where they are accessible via a password protected website. Prototype functionality was assessed by the ability to obtain and transmit a 30-min CTG. Three obstetricians independently rated CTGs for readability and agreement between raters was calculated. All participants completed interviews on acceptability. Fifty pregnant women and 7 clinicians were enrolled. 46 (92.0%) CTGs were successfully recorded and stored. Mean scores for readability were 4.71, 4.71 and 4.83 (out of 5) with high agreement (intra class correlation 0.84; 95% CI 0.74 to 0.91). All pregnant women reported liking or really liking the device, as well as high levels of comfort, flexibility and usefulness of the prototype; all would recommend it to others. Clinicians described the prototype as portable, flexible, easy-to-use and a time saver. Adequate education for clinicians and women also seemed to improve correct usage and minimise concerns on safety of the device. This prototype wireless FHR monitor functioned well in a low-resource setting and was found to be acceptable and useful to both pregnant women and clinicians. The device also seemed to have potential to improve the experience of the users compared with standard of care and expand monitoring capacity in settings where bulky, wired or traditional equipment are unreliable. Further research needs to investigate the potential impact and cost of such innovations to improve perinatal outcomes.

Factors Affecting Mobile Diabetes Monitoring Adoption Among Physicians: Questionnaire Study and Path Model

PubMed Central

Castañeda, José Alberto; Sanz, Silvia; Henseler, Jörg

2012-01-01

Background Patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes often find it difficult to control their blood glucose level on a daily basis because of distance or physical incapacity. With the increase in Internet-enabled smartphone use, this problem can be resolved by adopting a mobile diabetes monitoring system. Most existing studies have focused on patients’ usability perceptions, whereas little attention has been paid to physicians’ intentions to adopt this technology. Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the perceptions and user acceptance of mobile diabetes monitoring among Japanese physicians. Methods A questionnaire survey of physicians was conducted in Japan. The structured questionnaire was prepared in a context of a mobile diabetes monitoring system that controls blood glucose, weight, physical activity, diet, insulin and medication, and blood pressure. Following a thorough description of mobile diabetes monitoring with a graphical image, questions were asked relating to system quality, information quality, service quality, health improvement, ubiquitous control, privacy and security concerns, perceived value, subjective norms, and intention to use mobile diabetes monitoring. The data were analyzed by partial least squares (PLS) path modeling. Results In total, 471 physicians participated from 47 prefectures across Japan, of whom 134 were specialized in internal and gastrointestinal medicine. Nine hypotheses were tested with both the total sample and the specialist subsample; results were similar for both samples in terms of statistical significance and the strength of path coefficients. We found that system quality, information quality, and service quality significantly affect overall quality. Overall quality determines the extent to which physicians perceive the value of mobile health monitoring. However, in contrast to our initial predictions, overall quality does not have a significant direct effect on the intention to use mobile diabetes monitoring. With regard to net benefits, both ubiquitous control and health improvement are significant predictors. Net benefits in turn significantly motivate physicians to use mobile health monitoring, and has a strong influence on perceived value. Perceived value and subjective norms are predictors of intention to use. In our sample, concerns over privacy and security risk have no significant effects on intention to use mobile diabetes monitoring. Among the 3 control variables, only age significantly affected intention to use mobile diabetes monitoring, whereas experience and gender were not significant predictors of intention. Conclusions Physicians consider perceived value and net benefits as the most important motivators to use mobile diabetes monitoring. Overall quality assessment does affect their intention to use this technology, but only indirectly through perceived value. Net benefits seem to be a strong driver in both a direct and indirect manner, implying that physicians may perceive health improvement with ubiquitous control as a true utility by enhancing cost-effective monitoring, and simultaneously recognize it as a way to create value for their clinical practices. PMID:23257115

Fabrication of Wearable Sensors for Human Health Monitoring through Magnetically Directed Assembly Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alizadeh, Azar; Ashe, Jeffrey; Misner, Matthew; Yang, Yanzhe; Zhong, Sheng; Yin, Ming; Brewer, Joleyn; Karp, Jason

2013-03-01

Many previous efforts to modify patient monitors for remote or wearable use have suffered from high cost, poor performance, and low medical acceptance. A new technology approach is needed to enable these clinical benefits and to satisfy challenging economic, clinical, and user-acceptance criteria. Here, we present results on our initial efforts aimed at designing and building a prototype multi-wavelength arrayed photoplethysmograph (PPG) by using magnetically directed self-assembly (MDSA). We will discuss novel approaches in magnetic nanomaterial design, synthesis and deposition to enable MDSA based manufacturing. We will also demonstrate that multiple devices can be deposited through heterogeneous MDSA. The novel MDSA technology could make such PPG sensors a reality. This effort is sponsored by the Department of the Army under award W81XWH1110833

Multiple reaction monitoring assay based on conventional liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization for simultaneous monitoring of multiple cerebrospinal fluid biomarker candidates for Alzheimer's disease

PubMed Central

Choi1, Yong Seok; Lee, Kelvin H.

2016-01-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia, but early and accurate diagnosis remains challenging. Previously, a panel of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker candidates distinguishing AD and non-AD CSF accurately (> 90%) was reported. Furthermore, a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) assay based on nano liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (nLC-MS/MS) was developed to help validate putative AD CSF biomarker candidates including proteins from the panel. Despite the good performance of the MRM assay, wide acceptance may be challenging because of limited availability of nLC-MS/MS systems laboratories. Thus, here, a new MRM assay based on conventional LC-MS/MS is presented. This method monitors 16 peptides representing 16 (of 23) biomarker candidates that belonged to the previous AD CSF panel. A 30-times more concentrated sample than the sample used for the previous study was loaded onto a high capacity trap column, and all 16 MRM transitions showed good linearity (average R2 = 0.966), intra-day reproducibility (average coefficient of variance (CV) = 4.78%), and inter-day reproducibility (average CV = 9.85%). The present method has several advantages such as a shorter analysis time, no possibility of target variability, and no need for an internal standard. PMID:26404792

Informatics in radiology: Efficiency metrics for imaging device productivity.

PubMed

Hu, Mengqi; Pavlicek, William; Liu, Patrick T; Zhang, Muhong; Langer, Steve G; Wang, Shanshan; Place, Vicki; Miranda, Rafael; Wu, Teresa Tong

2011-01-01

Acute awareness of the costs associated with medical imaging equipment is an ever-present aspect of the current healthcare debate. However, the monitoring of productivity associated with expensive imaging devices is likely to be labor intensive, relies on summary statistics, and lacks accepted and standardized benchmarks of efficiency. In the context of the general Six Sigma DMAIC (design, measure, analyze, improve, and control) process, a World Wide Web-based productivity tool called the Imaging Exam Time Monitor was developed to accurately and remotely monitor imaging efficiency with use of Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) combined with a picture archiving and communication system. Five device efficiency metrics-examination duration, table utilization, interpatient time, appointment interval time, and interseries time-were derived from DICOM values. These metrics allow the standardized measurement of productivity, to facilitate the comparative evaluation of imaging equipment use and ongoing efforts to improve efficiency. A relational database was constructed to store patient imaging data, along with device- and examination-related data. The database provides full access to ad hoc queries and can automatically generate detailed reports for administrative and business use, thereby allowing staff to monitor data for trends and to better identify possible changes that could lead to improved productivity and reduced costs in association with imaging services. © RSNA, 2011.

Piezo impedance sensors to monitor degradation of biological structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Annamdas, Kiran Kishore Kumar; Annamdas, Venu Gopal Madhav

2010-04-01

In some countries it is common to have wooden structures in their homes, especially Japan. However, metals and its alloys are the most widely used engineering materials in construction of any military or civil structure. Re-visiting natural disasters like the recent Haiti earthquake (12 Jan 2010) or Katrina (cyclones) reminds the necessity to have better housing infrastructure with robust monitoring systems. Traditionally wood (green material) was accepted as excellent rehabilitation material, after any disaster. In recent times, the recycling materials extracted from inorganic, biodegradable wastes are converted into blocks or sheets, and are also used to assist public in rehabilitation camps. The key issue which decreases the life of these rehabilitated structure including green materials (like wood) is unnecessary degradation or deterioration over time due to insect or acid attack or rain/ice fall. The recycling material also needs monitoring to protect them against acid or rain/ice attacks. Thus, a few health monitoring techniques have emerged in the recent past. Electromechanical Impedance technique is one such technique, which is simple but robust to detect variations in the integrity of structures. In this paper, impedance based piezoceramic sensor was bonded on wooden sample, which was subjected to degradation in presence of acids. Variations in mass of plank are studied.

Multiple reaction monitoring assay based on conventional liquid chromatography and electrospray ionization for simultaneous monitoring of multiple cerebrospinal fluid biomarker candidates for Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Choi, Yong Seok; Lee, Kelvin H

2016-03-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia, but early and accurate diagnosis remains challenging. Previously, a panel of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker candidates distinguishing AD and non-AD CSF accurately (>90 %) was reported. Furthermore, a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) assay based on nano liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (nLC-MS/MS) was developed to help validate putative AD CSF biomarker candidates including proteins from the panel. Despite the good performance of the MRM assay, wide acceptance may be challenging because of limited availability of nLC-MS/MS systems in laboratories. Thus, here, a new MRM assay based on conventional LC-MS/MS is presented. This method monitors 16 peptides representing 16 (of 23) biomarker candidates that belonged to the previous AD CSF panel. A 30-times more concentrated sample than the sample used for the previous study was loaded onto a high capacity trap column, and all 16 MRM transitions showed good linearity (average R(2) = 0.966), intra-day reproducibility (average coefficient of variance (CV) = 4.78 %), and inter-day reproducibility (average CV = 9.85 %). The present method has several advantages such as a shorter analysis time, no possibility of target variability, and no need for an internal standard.

Impact of Remote Monitoring on Clinical Outcomes.

PubMed

Varma, Niraj; Ricci, Renato Pietro

2015-12-01

Follow-up of patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices is challenging due to both their increasing volume and technical complexity coupled to increasing clinical complexity of recipient patients. Remote monitoring (RM) offers an opportunity to resolve some of these difficulties by improving clinic efficiencies and providing a mechanism for device monitoring and patient management. Several recent randomized clinical trials and registries have demonstrated that RM may reduce in-hospital visit numbers, time required for patient follow-up, physician and nurse time, and hospital and social costs. Furthermore, patient retention and adherence to follow-up schedule are significantly improved by RM. Continuous wireless monitoring of data stored in the device memory with automatic alerts allows early detection of device malfunctions and of events, such as atrial fibrillation, ventricular arrhythmias, and heart failure suitable for clinical intervention. Early reaction may improve patient outcome. RM is easy to use and patients showed a high level of acceptance and satisfaction. Implementing RM in daily practice may require changes in clinic workflow. New organizational models promote significant efficiencies regarding physician and nursing time. Data management techniques are under development. Despite these demonstrable advantages of RM, adoption still remains modest, even in health care systems incentivized to use this follow-up method. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Use of home blood-pressure monitoring in the detection, treatment and surveillance of hypertension.

PubMed

Manning, Gillian; Donnelly, Richard

2005-11-01

Use of home blood-pressure monitoring is increasing but the technique and the equipment have limitations. We provide an overview of recent evidence in this rapidly evolving field. Home blood-pressure monitoring is an acceptable method for screening patients for hypertension. There is increasing evidence supporting the predictive power of home blood pressure for stroke risk even in the general population. The identification of white-coat and masked hypertension remains an important role for home blood-pressure monitoring. Unvalidated equipment and poor patient technique are major concerns. The purchase of devices needs to be linked to a simple patient-education programme, which is perhaps an opportunity for collaboration between healthcare providers and commercial companies. Devices that store the blood-pressure measurements in the memory are preferred to ensure accuracy of reporting. Data-transmission systems providing automatic storage, transmission and reporting of blood pressure, direct involvement of the patient and potentially a reduced number of hospital/general practitioner visits, offer significant advantages. To reduce patient anxiety, overuse of home blood-pressure monitoring should be avoided but there is the potential for self-modification of treatment, subject to certain safeguards. Self-monitoring of blood pressure is developing rapidly, linked to increasing awareness of the impact of reducing high blood pressure on public health and the marketing/advertising strategies used to sell automatic devices. Home blood-pressure monitoring has a role in the detection and management of blood pressure, but not at the expense of careful blood-pressure measurement in the office and adherence to national guidelines.

A continuous glucose monitoring and problem-solving intervention to change physical activity behavior in women with type 2 diabetes: a pilot study.

PubMed

Allen, Nancy; Whittemore, Robin; Melkus, Gail

2011-11-01

Diabetes technology has the potential to provide useful data for theory-based behavioral counseling. The aims of this study are to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a continuous glucose monitoring and problem-solving counseling intervention to change physical activity (PA) behavior in women with type 2 diabetes. Women (n=29) with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions: continuous glucose counseling and problem-solving skills or continuous glucose monitoring counseling and general diabetes education. Feasibility data were obtained on intervention dose, implementation, and satisfaction. Preliminary efficacy data were collected at baseline and 12 weeks on the following measures: PA amount and intensity, diet, problem-solving skills, self-efficacy for PA, depression, hemogoloin A1c, weight, and blood pressure. Demographic and implementation variables were described using frequency distributions and summary statistics. Satisfaction data were analyzed using Wilcoxon rank. Differences between groups were analyzed using linear mixed-modeling. Women were mostly white/non-Latina with a mean age of 53 years, a 6.5-year history of diabetes, and suboptimal glycemic control. Continuous glucose monitoring plus problem-solving group participants had significantly greater problem-solving skills and had greater, although not statistically significant, dietary adherence, moderate activity minutes, weight loss, and higher intervention satisfaction pre- to post-intervention than did participants in the continuous glucose monitoring plus education group. A continuous glucose monitoring plus problem-solving intervention was feasible and acceptable, and participants had greater problem-solving skills than continuous glucose monitoring plus education group participants.

Environmental monitoring handbook for coal conversion facilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Salk, M.S.; DeCicco, S.G.

1978-05-01

The primary objectives of the Department of Energy's (DOE) coal conversion program are to demonstrate the environmental acceptability, technical feasibility, and economic viability of various technologies for gaseous, liquid, and solid fuels from coal. The Environmental Monitoring Handbook for Coal Conversion Facilities will help accomplish the objective of environmental acceptability by guiding the planning and execution of socioeconomic and environmental monitoring programs for demonstration facilities. These programs will provide information adequate to (1) predict, insofar as is possible, the potential impacts of construction and operation of a coal conversion plant, (2) verify the occurrence of these or any other impactsmore » during construction and operation, (3) determine the adequacy of mitigating measures to protect the environment, (4) develop effluent source terms for process discharges, and (5) determine the effectiveness of pollution control equipment. Although useful in a variety of areas, the handbook is intended primarily for contractors who, as industrial partners with DOE, are building coal conversion plants. For the contractor it is a practical guide on (1) the methodology for developing site- and process-specific environmental monitoring programs, (2) state-of-the-art sampling and analytical techniques, and (3) impact analyses.To correspond to the phases of project activity, the subject matter is divided into four stages of monitoring: (1) a reconnaissance or synoptic survey, (2) preconstruction or baseline, (3) construction, and (4) operation, including process monitoring (prepared by Radian Corp., McLean, Va.). For each stage of monitoring, guidelines are given on socioeconomics, aquatic and terrestrial ecology, air quality and meteorology, surface and groundwater quality, geohydrology and soil survey, and surface water hydrology.« less

ENRAF Series 854 Advanced Technology Gauge (ATG) Acceptance Test Procedure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

HUBER, J.H.

1999-08-17

This procedure provides acceptance testing for Enraf Series 854 level gauges used to monitor levels in Hanford Waste Storage Tanks. The test will verify that the gauge functions according to the manufacturer's instructions and specifications and is properly setup prior to being delivered to the tank farm area. This ATP does not set up the gauge for any specific tank, but is generalized to permit testing the gauge prior to installation package preparation.

Manpower planning for oral health.

PubMed

Ross, C B

1988-03-01

The challenges to the dental profession include the unemployed dentists, the radical changes to the numbers of dental schools and their intake of new students; and the imbalance which exists on a global scale between oral health personnel and service need and demand. Workforce planning needs clearly defined goals which relate to the nature of disease, the shift from treatment to prevention and consumer expectations. A wide variety of information is required to facilitate communication and co-operation with elements of the political system, the educational system, professional bodies, health service agencies and consumers. It is essential that national planning and monitoring groups be established with membership from dental associations, educational institutions and government. In workforce planning there must be the ability to accept change, to be creative, to be positive, and to be decisive.

Integration of Grid and Local Batch Resources at DESY

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beyer, Christoph; Finnern, Thomas; Gellrich, Andreas; Hartmann, Thomas; Kemp, Yves; Lewendel, Birgit

2017-10-01

As one of the largest resource centres DESY has to support differing work flows of users from various scientific backgrounds. Users can be for one HEP experiments in WLCG or Belle II as well as local HEP users but also physicists from other fields as photon science or accelerator development. By abandoning specific worker node setups in favour of generic flat nodes with middleware resources provided via CVMFS, we gain flexibility to subsume different use cases in a homogeneous environment. Grid jobs and the local batch system are managed in a HTCondor based setup, accepting pilot, user and containerized jobs. The unified setup allows dynamic re-assignment of resources between the different use cases. Monitoring is implemented on global batch system metrics as well as on a per job level utilizing corresponding cgroup information.

Genetic Fingerprinting Using Microsatellite Markers in a Multiplex PCR Reaction: A Compilation of Methodological Approaches from Primer Design to Detection Systems.

PubMed

Krüger, Jacqueline; Schleinitz, Dorit

2017-01-01

Microsatellites are polymorphic DNA loci comprising repeated sequence motifs of two to five base pairs which are dispersed throughout the genome. Genotyping of microsatellites is a widely accepted tool for diagnostic and research purposes such as forensic investigations and parentage testing, but also in clinics (e.g. monitoring of bone marrow transplantation), as well as for the agriculture and food industries. The co-amplification of several short tandem repeat (STR) systems in a multiplex reaction with simultaneous detection helps to obtain more information from a DNA sample where its availability may be limited. Here, we introduce and describe this commonly used genotyping technique, providing an overview on available resources on STRs, multiplex design, and analysis.

The precision segmented reflectors: Moderate mission figure control subsystem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sevaston, G.; Redding, D.; Lau, K.; Breckenridge, W.; Levine, B.; Nerheim, N.; Sirlin, S.; Kadogawa, H.

1991-01-01

A system concept for a space based segmented reflector telescope figure control subsystem is described. The concept employs a two phase architecture in which figure initialization and figure maintenance are independent functions. Figure initialization is accomplished by image sharpening using natural reference targets. Figure maintenance is performed by monitoring the relative positions and alignments of the telescope components using an optical truss. Actuation is achieved using precision positioners. Computer simulation results of figure initialization by pairwise segment coalignment/cophasing and simulated annealing are presented along with figure maintenance results using a wavefront error regulation algorithm. Both functions are shown to perform at acceptable levels for the class of submillimeter telescopes that are serving as the focus of this technology development effort. Component breadboard work as well as plans for a system testbed are discussed.

A new scanning system for alpha decay events as calibration sources for range-energy relation in nuclear emulsion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, J.; Kinbara, S.; Mishina, A.; Nakazawa, K.; Soe, M. K.; Theint, A. M. M.; Tint, K. T.

2017-03-01

A new scanning system named "Vertex picker" has been developed to rapid collect alpha decay events, which are calibration sources for the range-energy relation in nuclear emulsion. A computer-controlled optical microscope scans emulsion layers exhaustively, and a high-speed and high-resolution camera takes their micrographs. A dedicated image processing picks out vertex-like shapes. Practical operations of alpha decay search were demonstrated by emulsion sheets of the KEK-PS E373 experiment. Alpha decays of nearly 28 events were detected in eye-check work on a PC monitor per hour. This yield is nearly 20 times more effective than that by the conventional eye-scan method. The speed and quality is acceptable for the coming new experiment, J-PARC E07.

The ASSERT Virtual Machine Kernel: Support for Preservation of Temporal Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zamorano, J.; de la Puente, J. A.; Pulido, J. A.; Urueña

2008-08-01

A new approach to building embedded real-time software has been developed in the ASSERT project. One of its key elements is the concept of a virtual machine preserving the non-functional properties of the system, and especially real-time properties, all the way down from high- level design models down to executable code. The paper describes one instance of the virtual machine concept that provides support for the preservation of temporal properties both at the source code level —by accept- ing only "legal" entities, i.e. software components with statically analysable real-tim behaviour— and at run-time —by monitoring the temporal behaviour of the system. The virtual machine has been validated on several pilot projects carried out by aerospace companies in the framework of the ASSERT project.

A Transparent Translation from Legacy System Model into Common Information Model: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ding, Fei; Simpson, Jeffrey; Zhang, Yingchen

Advance in smart grid is forcing utilities towards better monitoring, control and analysis of distribution systems, and requires extensive cyber-based intelligent systems and applications to realize various functionalities. The ability of systems, or components within systems, to interact and exchange services or information with each other is the key to the success of smart grid technologies, and it requires efficient information exchanging and data sharing infrastructure. The Common Information Model (CIM) is a standard that allows different applications to exchange information about an electrical system, and it has become a widely accepted solution for information exchange among different platforms andmore » applications. However, most existing legacy systems are not developed using CIM, but using their own languages. Integrating such legacy systems is a challenge for utilities, and the appropriate utilization of the integrated legacy systems is even more intricate. Thus, this paper has developed an approach and open-source tool in order to translate legacy system models into CIM format. The developed tool is tested for a commercial distribution management system and simulation results have proved its effectiveness.« less

BRD in 2014: where have we been, where are we now, and where do we want to go?

PubMed

Hilton, W Mark

2014-12-01

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is a worldwide health concern and is the number one disease of stocker, backgrounder, and feedlot cattle in North America. In feedlots in the USA, BRD accounts for 70-80% of all feedlot morbidity and 40-50% of all mortality. In 2011, the US Department of Agriculture's National Animal Health Monitoring System conducted a feedlot study that showed 16.2% of all feedlot cattle were treated for BRD. It is universally accepted that this number is distressingly high and that our industry has the tools available to reduce the incidence of BRD.

An ammonia monitor for the water industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brokenshire, J. L.; Cumming, C. A.

1995-01-01

Following the emergence of the European Community as a unified trading and economic entity, the various member states are required to follow certain directives governing their social affairs. Many of these directives concern the quality of the air we breathe, and the water that we use for consumption or in industrial processes. In order to comply with these directives a major overhaul of the water industry in the UK was required. For example, in many coastal towns and resorts there has never been any formal sewage treatment since, traditionally, all waste was dumped at sea through outfall pipes. Because this is no longer acceptable, whole new treatment systems are required.

Cargo Movement Operations System (CMOS) System Segment Design Document. Revision. Increment 2

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-06-14

ERCI ACCEPTS COMMENT: YES [ ] NO [ ] COMMENT DISPOSITION: ACCEPT [ ] REJECT [ ] COMMENT STATUS: OPEN [ J CLOSED [ ] Cmnt Page Paragraph No. No. Number...provided (SSDDII-0004). CMOS PMO ACCEPTS COMMENT: YES [ ] NO [ 3 ERCI ACCEPTS COMMENT: YES [ ] NO [ ] COMMENT DISPOSITION: COMMENT STATUS: OPEN [ ] CLOSED...but not in paragraph 10.1. CMOS PMO ACCEPTS COMMENT: YES [ ) NO [ ] ERCI ACCEPTS COMMENT: YES [ ] NO [ ] * COMMENT DISPOSITION: COMMENT STATUS: OPEN

V/STOLAND avionics system flight-test data on a UH-1H helicopter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, F. A.; Jaynes, D. N.; Corliss, L. D.; Liden, S.; Merrick, R. B.; Dugan, D. C.

1980-01-01

The flight-acceptance test results obtained during the acceptance tests of the V/STOLAND (versatile simplex digital avionics system) digital avionics system on a Bell UH-1H helicopter in 1977 at Ames Research Center are presented. The system provides navigation, guidance, control, and display functions for NASA terminal area VTOL research programs and for the Army handling qualities research programs at Ames Research Center. The acceptance test verified system performance and contractual acceptability. The V/STOLAND hardware navigation, guidance, and control laws resident in the digital computers are described. Typical flight-test data are shown and discussed as documentation of the system performance at acceptance from the contractor.

Depleted Uranium: Technical Brief

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This technical brief provides accepted data and references to additional sources for radiological and chemical characteristics, health risks and references for both the monitoring and measurement, and applicable treatment techniques for depleted uranium.

Evaluation of 12 blood glucose monitoring systems for self-testing: system accuracy and measurement reproducibility.

PubMed

Freckmann, Guido; Baumstark, Annette; Schmid, Christina; Pleus, Stefan; Link, Manuela; Haug, Cornelia

2014-02-01

Systems for self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) have to provide accurate and reproducible blood glucose (BG) values in order to ensure adequate therapeutic decisions by people with diabetes. Twelve SMBG systems were compared in a standardized manner under controlled laboratory conditions: nine systems were available on the German market and were purchased from a local pharmacy, and three systems were obtained from the manufacturer (two systems were available on the U.S. market, and one system was not yet introduced to the German market). System accuracy was evaluated following DIN EN ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 15197:2003. In addition, measurement reproducibility was assessed following a modified TNO (Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research) procedure. Comparison measurements were performed with either the glucose oxidase method (YSI 2300 STAT Plus™ glucose analyzer; YSI Life Sciences, Yellow Springs, OH) or the hexokinase method (cobas(®) c111; Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany) according to the manufacturer's measurement procedure. The 12 evaluated systems showed between 71.5% and 100% of the measurement results within the required system accuracy limits. Ten systems fulfilled with the evaluated test strip lot minimum accuracy requirements specified by DIN EN ISO 15197:2003. In addition, accuracy limits of the recently published revision ISO 15197:2013 were applied and showed between 54.5% and 100% of the systems' measurement results within the required accuracy limits. Regarding measurement reproducibility, each of the 12 tested systems met the applied performance criteria. In summary, 83% of the systems fulfilled with the evaluated test strip lot minimum system accuracy requirements of DIN EN ISO 15197:2003. Each of the tested systems showed acceptable measurement reproducibility. In order to ensure sufficient measurement quality of each distributed test strip lot, regular evaluations are required.

What Adherence Measures Should Be Used in Trials of Home-Based Rehabilitation Interventions? A Systematic Review of the Validity, Reliability, and Acceptability of Measures.

PubMed

Frost, Rachael; Levati, Sara; McClurg, Doreen; Brady, Marian; Williams, Brian

2017-06-01

To systematically review methods for measuring adherence used in home-based rehabilitation trials and to evaluate their validity, reliability, and acceptability. In phase 1 we searched the CENTRAL database, NHS Economic Evaluation Database, and Health Technology Assessment Database (January 2000 to April 2013) to identify adherence measures used in randomized controlled trials of allied health professional home-based rehabilitation interventions. In phase 2 we searched the databases of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, PsycINFO, CENTRAL, ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health, and Web of Science (inception to April 2015) for measurement property assessments for each measure. Studies assessing the validity, reliability, or acceptability of adherence measures. Two reviewers independently extracted data on participant and measure characteristics, measurement properties evaluated, evaluation methods, and outcome statistics and assessed study quality using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments checklist. In phase 1 we included 8 adherence measures (56 trials). In phase 2, from the 222 measurement property assessments identified in 109 studies, 22 high-quality measurement property assessments were narratively synthesized. Low-quality studies were used as supporting data. StepWatch Activity Monitor validly and acceptably measured short-term step count adherence. The Problematic Experiences of Therapy Scale validly and reliably assessed adherence to vestibular rehabilitation exercises. Adherence diaries had moderately high validity and acceptability across limited populations. The Borg 6 to 20 scale, Bassett and Prapavessis scale, and Yamax CW series had insufficient validity. Low-quality evidence supported use of the Joint Protection Behaviour Assessment. Polar A1 series heart monitors were considered acceptable by 1 study. Current rehabilitation adherence measures are limited. Some possess promising validity and acceptability for certain parameters of adherence, situations, and populations and should be used in these situations. Rigorous evaluation of adherence measures in a broader range of populations is needed. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Process Evaluation of the Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus PULSE Program Randomized Controlled Trial: Recruitment, Engagement, and Overall Satisfaction.

PubMed

Aguiar, Elroy J; Morgan, Philip J; Collins, Clare E; Plotnikoff, Ronald C; Young, Myles D; Callister, Robin

2017-07-01

Men are underrepresented in weight loss and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) prevention studies. To determine the effectiveness of recruitment, and acceptability of the T2DM Prevention Using LifeStyle Education (PULSE) Program-a gender-targeted, self-administered intervention for men. Men (18-65 years, high risk for T2DM) were randomized to intervention ( n = 53) or wait-list control groups ( n = 48). The 6-month PULSE Program intervention focused on weight loss, diet, and exercise for T2DM prevention. A process evaluation questionnaire was administered at 6 months to examine recruitment and selection processes, and acceptability of the intervention's delivery and content. Associations between self-monitoring and selected outcomes were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation. A pragmatic recruitment and online screening process was effective in identifying men at high risk of T2DM (prediabetes prevalence 70%). Men reported the trial was appealing because it targeted weight loss, T2DM prevention, and getting fit, and because it was perceived as "doable" and tailored for men. The intervention was considered acceptable, with men reporting high overall satisfaction (83%) and engagement with the various components. Adherence to self-monitoring was poor, with only 13% meeting requisite criteria. However, significant associations were observed between weekly self-monitoring of weight and change in weight ( r s = -.47, p = .004) and waist circumference ( r s = -.38, p = .026). Men reported they would have preferred more intervention contact, for example, by phone or email. Gender-targeted, self-administered lifestyle interventions are feasible, appealing, and satisfying for men. Future studies should explore the effects of additional non-face-to-face contact on motivation, accountability, self-monitoring adherence, and program efficacy.

Evaluation of Local Media Surveillance for Improved Disease Recognition and Monitoring in Global Hotspot Regions

PubMed Central

Schwind, Jessica S.; Wolking, David J.; Brownstein, John S.; Mazet, Jonna A. K.; Smith, Woutrina A.

2014-01-01

Digital disease detection tools are technologically sophisticated, but dependent on digital information, which for many areas suffering from high disease burdens is simply not an option. In areas where news is often reported in local media with no digital counterpart, integration of local news information with digital surveillance systems, such as HealthMap (Boston Children’s Hospital), is critical. Little research has been published in regards to the specific contribution of local health-related articles to digital surveillance systems. In response, the USAID PREDICT project implemented a local media surveillance (LMS) pilot study in partner countries to monitor disease events reported in print media. This research assessed the potential of LMS to enhance digital surveillance reach in five low- and middle-income countries. Over 16 weeks, select surveillance system attributes of LMS, such as simplicity, flexibility, acceptability, timeliness, and stability were evaluated to identify strengths and weaknesses in the surveillance method. Findings revealed that LMS filled gaps in digital surveillance network coverage by contributing valuable localized information on disease events to the global HealthMap database. A total of 87 health events were reported through the LMS pilot in the 16-week monitoring period, including 71 unique reports not found by the HealthMap digital detection tool. Furthermore, HealthMap identified an additional 236 health events outside of LMS. It was also observed that belief in the importance of the project and proper source selection from the participants was crucial to the success of this method. The timely identification of disease outbreaks near points of emergence and the recognition of risk factors associated with disease occurrence continue to be important components of any comprehensive surveillance system for monitoring disease activity across populations. The LMS method, with its minimal resource commitment, could be one tool used to address the information gaps seen in global ‘hot spot’ regions. PMID:25333618