MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'Journal of Medical Systems' source. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:29:51 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371779&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fw4756hq828k428l7%2F Abstract  In this paper, both synchronous and asynchronous web based learning of 3D medical equipment models used in hospital intensive care unit have been described over the moodle course management system. 3D medical equipment models were designed with 3ds Max 2008, then converted to ASE format and added interactivity displayed with Viewpoint-Enliven. 3D models embedded in a web page in html format with dynamic interactivity—rotating, panning and zooming by dragging a mouse over images—and descriptive information is embedded to 3D model by using xml format. A pilot test course having 15 h was applied to technicians who is responsible for intensive care unit at Medical Devices Repairing and Maintenance Center (TABOM) of Turkish High Specialized Hospital. Cont... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371779 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:57:26 +0100 3371779 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3371780&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fv386155h21m4677p%2F Abstract  In the present study, both linear and nonlinear EEG synchronization methods so called Coherence Function (CF) and Mutual Information (MI) are performed to obtain high quality signal features in discriminating the Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) from controls. For this purpose, sleep EEG series recorded from patients and healthy volunteers are classified by using several Feed Forward Neural Network (FFNN) architectures with respect to synchronic activities between C3 and C4 recordings. Among the sleep stages, stage2 is considered in tests. The NN approaches are trained with several numbers of neurons and hidden layers. The results show that the degree of central EEG synchronization during night sleep is closely related to sleep disorders... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3371780 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:57:24 +0100 3371780 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3360923&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Frvl702055u398g24%2F Abstract  The use of wireless sensor networks (WSN) in healthcare applications is growing in a fast pace. Numerous applications such as heart rate monitor, blood pressure monitor and endoscopic capsule are already in use. To address the growing use of sensor technology in this area, a new field known as wireless body area networks (WBAN or simply BAN) has emerged. As most devices and their applications are wireless in nature, security and privacy concerns are among major areas of concern. Due to direct involvement of humans also increases the sensitivity. Whether the data gathered from patients or individuals are obtained with the consent of the person or without it due to the need by the system, misuse or privacy concerns may restrict people from taking advantage of the fu... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3360923 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:18:02 +0100 3360923 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3360924&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fg84421313q4x7271%2F Abstract  Chilean primary healthcare practice is analyzed using a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) multiple stage approach. We estimate the efficiency level of 259 municipalities nationwide. Since the efficiency score by itself is of limited value for decision making, we use a multivariate tool to help explain the effect of relevant factors. First, we use a cluster analysis to homogenize the units under study. Second, we use DEA to estimate the efficiency levels, which varies from 61% to 71% for urban municipalities, and from 51% to 56% in rural ones. Third, we use bootstrap to estimate confidence intervals for the efficiency scores, and a Biplot method to identify adequate variables to include in the Tobit Model, which is our last stage. We identify six factors associated w... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3360924 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:44:41 +0100 3360924 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3360925&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fy121988733w402h6%2F Abstract  An improved Computer Aided Clinical Decision Support System has been developed to classify the tumor and identify the stages of the cancer using neural network and presented in this paper. The texture and shape features have been extracted and the optimal feature set has been obtained using multiobjective genetic algorithm (MOGA). The multilayer back propagation neural network with Ant Colony Optimization and Particle Swarm Optimization has been used. The accuracy of the proposed system has been verified and found that the accuracy of 99.5% can be achieved. The proposed system can provide valuable information to the physicians in clinical pathology. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-010-9448-5Authors Muthusamy Suganthi, Mu... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3360925 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:44:40 +0100 3360925 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3360926&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fpl746554316071v1%2F Abstract  Breast cancer, among women, is the second-most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death. It has become a major health issue in the world over the past decades and its incidence has increased in recent years mostly due to increased awareness of the importance of screening and population ageing. Early detection is crucial in the effective treatment of breast cancer. Current mammogram screening may turn up many tiny abnormalities that are either not cancerous or are slow-growing cancers that would never progress to the point of killing a woman and might never even become known to her. Ideally a better screening method should find a way of distinguishing the dangerous, aggressive tumors that need to be excised from the more languorous ones that do not. This... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3360926 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:44:39 +0100 3360926 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3356217&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fyq5245q08n22121q%2F Abstract  Reliable detection of arrhythmias based on digital processing of Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals is vital in providing suitable and timely treatment to a cardiac patient. Due to corruption of ECG signals with multiple frequency noise and presence of multiple arrhythmic events in a cardiac rhythm, computerized interpretation of abnormal ECG rhythms is a challenging task. This paper focuses a Fuzzy C- Mean (FCM) clustered Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) and Multi Layered Feed Forward Network (MLFFN) for the discrimination of eight types of ECG beats. Parameters such as fourth order Auto Regressive (AR) coefficients along with Spectral Entropy (SE) are extracted from each ECG beat and feature reduction has been carried out using FCM clustering. The cluster centers... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3356217 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:14:06 +0100 3356217 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3356218&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fp13763j20m156j87%2F Abstract  A natural disaster is a consequence of a natural hazard, such as a tsunami, earthquake or volcanic eruption, affecting humans. In order to support emergency medical communication services in natural disaster areas where the telecommunications facility has been seriously damaged, an ad hoc communication network backbone should be build to support emergency medical services. Combinations of requirements need to be considered before deciding on the best option. In the present study we have proposed a Low Altitude Platform consisting of tethered balloons combined with Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) 802.11 technology. To confirm that the suggested network would satisfy the emergency medical service requirements, a communications experiment, including performance service meas... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3356218 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:14:05 +0100 3356218 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3336750&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F62985859uv968832%2F Abstract  The rapid development of healthcare information management for 3D digital medical libraries, 3D PACS, and 3D medical diagnosis has addressed the security issues pertaining to medical IT technology. This paper presents multiple watermarking schemes for a healthcare information management system for 3D medical image data for the protection, authentication, indexing, and hiding of diagnosis information. The proposed scheme, which is based on POCS watermarking, embeds a robust watermark for a doctor’s digital signature and an information retrieval indexing key to the distribution of vertex curvedness; the scheme also embeds a fragile watermark for diagnosis information and an authentication reference message to the vertex distance difference. The multiple embedding ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3336750 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:09:17 +0100 3336750 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3336749&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fe740170l33462178%2F Abstract  MELD score is a formula based on laboratory variables used as a predictor of short-term mortality index in cirrhotic patients. It is applied to allocate patients in liver transplantation waiting list in many countries. However, MELD score cutoff point accuracy to predict long term mortality has not been statistically evaluated. The aim of this study was to analyze the MELD score and other variables related to long-term mortality using a new model: the Survival Tree analysis. The variables considered in this study were obtained at the time of liver transplantation list enrollment. The graphical representation of the survival trees showed that MELD 16 was the most statistically significant mortality cutoff point. The results were compatible with the MELD cutoff poin... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3336749 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:09:17 +0100 3336749 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3315588&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fg7n522385732mq84%2F In this study, a biomedical-based decision support system was developed for the classification of heart sound signals, obtained from 120 subjects with normal, pulmonary and mitral stenosis heart valve diseases via stethoscope. Developed system was mainly comprised of three stages, namely as being feature extraction, dimension reduction, and classification. At feature extraction stage, applying Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and Burg autoregressive (AR) spectrum analysis method, features, representing heart sounds in frequency domain, were obtained. Obtained features were reduced in lower dimensions via Principal Component Analysis (PCA), being used as a dimension reduction technique. Heart sounds were classified by having the features applied as input to Artificial Neural Network ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3315588 Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:56:56 +0100 3315588 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3308792&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F42u6115241732378%2F Abstract  In this paper we present a system using Semantic Web by which applications can be effectively constructed for clinical research purposes. We are aware of the immense difficulties and variations involved in clinical research applications. With a purpose of mitigating some of these difficulties in the process of developing clinical research applications we are presenting an approach for building information systems based on Semantic Web. We have developed a working prototype using C-Map tools leveraging the underlying principles of Abstract Software Design Framework to convert domain knowledge into machine-actable information. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-010-9445-8Authors Varadraj P. Gurupur, University of Alabama at Bi... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3308792 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:58:30 +0100 3308792 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3308793&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Ftw62462181101nn5%2F Abstract  This paper describes the efficiency of Dutch hospitals using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method with bootstrapping. In particular, the analysis focuses on accounting for cost inefficiency measures on the part of hospital corporate governance. We use bootstrap techniques, as introduced by Simar and Wilson (J. Econom. 136(1):31–64, 2007), in order to obtain more efficient estimates of the effects of governance on the efficiency. The results show that part of the cost efficiency can be explained with governance. In particular we find that a higher remuneration of the board as well as a higher remuneration of the supervisory board does not implicate better performance. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-010-9437-8Authors... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3308793 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:58:29 +0100 3308793 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3304298&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fg14614k386x3ln01%2F In this study, it has been intended to perform an automatic classification of Electroencephalography (EEG) signals via Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and to investigate these signals using Wavelet Transform (WT) for diagnosing epilepsy syndrome. EEG signals have been decomposed into frequency sub-bands using WT and a set of feature vectors which were extracted from the sub-bands. Dimensions of these feature vectors have been reduced via Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method and then classified as epileptic or healthy using Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and ELMAN ANN. Performance evaluation of the used ANN models have been carried out by performing Receiver Operation Characteristic (ROC) analysis. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-010-9440-0... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3304298 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:48:55 +0100 3304298 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3304299&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fy1v58524l711k7pp%2F Abstract  This paper describes a large resource of multi-center and multi-topic heart sound databases, which were based on the measured data from more than 9,000 heart sound samples (saved in WAV file format). According to different research topics, these samples were respectively stored in different folders (corresponding to different research topics and distributed over various cooperative research centers), most of which as subfolds were stored in a pooled folder in the principal center. According to different research topics, the measured data from these samples were used to create different databases. Relevant data for a specific topic can be pooled in a large database for further analysis. This resource is shared by members of related centers for their own specific to... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3304299 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:48:54 +0100 3304299 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3304300&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Ffr76235441425447%2F Abstract  The division of breast cancer cells results in regions of electrical depolarisation within the breast. These regions extend to the skin surface from where diagnostic information can be obtained through measurements of the skin surface electropotentials using sensors. This technique is used by the Biofield Diagnostic System (BDS) to detect the presence of malignancy. This paper evaluates the efficiency of BDS in breast cancer detection and also evaluates the use of classifiers for improving the accuracy of BDS. 182 women scheduled for either mammography or ultrasound or both tests participated in the BDS clinical study conducted at Tan Tock Seng hospital, Singapore. Using the BDS index obtained from the BDS examination and the level of suspicion score obtained from... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3304300 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:48:51 +0100 3304300 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3296214&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F8pnh75n137t99892%2F Abstract  The prediction of burn patient survivability is a difficult problem to investigate till present times. In present study a prediction Model for patients with burns was built, and its capability to accurately predict the survivability was assessed. We have compared different data mining techniques to asses the performance of various algorithms based on the different measures used in the analysis of information pertaining to medical domain. Obtained results were evaluated for correctness with the help of registered medical practitioners. The dataset was collected from SRT (Swami Ramanand Tirth) Hospital in India, which is one of the Asia’s largest rural hospitals. Dataset contains records of 180 patients mainly suffering from burn injuries collected during period f... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3296214 Sat, 20 Feb 2010 06:53:17 +0100 3296214 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3281384&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fm65223367006jm66%2F This study proposes integrating streaming media technology into the EMR system to facilitate referrals, contracted laboratories, and disease notification among hospitals. The current study encoded static and dynamic medical images of patients into a streaming video format and stored them in a Flash Media Server (FMS). Based on the Taiwan Electronic Medical Record Template (TMT) standard, EMR records can be converted into XML documents and used to integrate description fields with embedded streaming videos. This investigation implemented a web-based portable EMR interchanging system using streaming media techniques to expedite exchanging medical image information among hospitals. The proposed architecture of the portable EMR retrieval system not only provides local hospital users the ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3281384 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:07:53 +0100 3281384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3270493&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fy3n2j4l46670tt5p%2F In this study, we incorporated DentSim, a clinical dentistry simulator, into an e-Learning platform. In addition to overcoming the time and space constraints on learning, DentSim can simulate clinical conditions. It also allows students to practice reading case histories and inspecting and diagnosing patients. To construct the research model for this study, we incorporated the four major factors for measuring e-Learner satisfaction—‘learner interface’, ‘learning community’, ‘content’ and ‘personalization’ with the variable of ‘intention to use’. The subjects were 350 dental students studying at the College of Oral Medicine. The structural equation modeling (SEM) results showed that Factors that influenced ‘intention to use’ include ‘learner interface’, �... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3270493 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 07:10:34 +0100 3270493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3264485&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fl2605q4356g03842%2F Abstract  Epilepsy is characterized by the spontaneous and seemingly unforeseeable occurrence of seizures, during which the perception or behavior of patients is disturbed. An automatic system that detects seizure onsets would allow patients or the people near them to take appropriate precautions, and could provide more insight into this phenomenon. Various methods have been proposed to predict the onset of seizures based on EEG recordings. The use of nonlinear features motivated by the higher order spectra (HOS) has been reported to be a promising approach to differentiate between normal, background (pre-ictal) and epileptic EEG signals. In this work, we made a comparative study of the performance of Gaussian mixture model (GMM) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3264485 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:31:52 +0100 3264485 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3247967&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fm76016547lp60963%2F In this study, a mathematical formulation for the geometrical factors that are very critical for the understanding of coronary artery disease is presented. Based on the Bloch NMR flow equations, we derive analytical expressions to describe in detail the NMR transverse magnetizations and signals as a function of some NMR flow and geometrical parameters which are invaluable for the analysis of blood flow in restricted blood vessels. The procedure would apply to the situations in which the geometry of the fatty deposits, (plague) on the interior walls of the coronary arteries is spherical. The boundary conditions are introduced based on Bessel, Boubaker and Legendre polynomials. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9428-9Authors O. B. Awojoyogbe,... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3247967 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:13:06 +0100 3247967 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3241440&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Ftu8p090502213q51%2F Abstract  With the facilitating roles of IT, this study is to investigate the safety issues of the acupuncture process in the current practices under EMR support. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in 80 Chinese medicine practice hospitals and clinics in Taiwan. Concerns over patient safety during the acupuncture process were raised, such as an inconsistency between the practice and prescription and a lack of monitoring patient’s condition during the treatment. Confirming the physicians’ prescription and documenting patients’ reaction for patient record management are needed to add to the EMR system for patient safety while performing acupuncture. The results of this study can be used by the government or medical institutes to assess the work flow ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3241440 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:57:22 +0100 3241440 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3233302&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F5135038pqm8u4038%2F Abstract  This paper aims to investigate the efficacy and feasibility of Template-based Electronic Medical Record System (TEMRS) and factors for its successful implementation. A TEMRS was designed and implemented in one core clinic of a Hong Kong professional multi-disciplinary medical services provider with four core clinics located in different parts of Hong Kong. Eight doctors participated in the study. Surveys and interviews were conducted to acquire the users’ feedback and satisfaction level. The design, development, and the factors related to the success of the implementation of TEMRS were analyzed. In the study period, 3,032 cases were collected. The most encountered diagnosis were upper respiratory tract infection (50.59%), gastroenteritis (10.19%), dermatitis (5.... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3233302 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:05:33 +0100 3233302 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3233301&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F5q574hl40p71234n%2F Abstract  Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Today, one in 150 individuals is diagnosed with autism. Lack of social interaction and problems with communication are the main characteristics displayed by children with ASD. The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a communication system where children exchange visual symbols as a form of communication. The visual symbols are laminated pictures stored in a binder. We have designed, developed and are currently testing a software application, called PixTalk which works on any Windows Mobile Smart-phone. Teachers and caregivers can access a web site and select from an online library the images to be downloaded on to the Smart-phone.... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3233301 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:05:33 +0100 3233301 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3233300&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fm5488357j7734t57%2F Abstract  Bone age assessment is a tedious procedure carried out for assessing growth disorders of children using the left hand radiograph. The purpose of this work was to implement and evaluate a web-based software based on the Tanner and Whitehouse method in a pediatric endocrine department of a social security hospital processing 600–1,000 radiographs per year. The system was evaluated by using a statistical technique for comparing mesurement methods in order to test the performance of the procedure and a time study to assess its feasibility under local conditions. It was found that the intra-observer variation for the web-based Tanner and Whitehouse method was smaller (95% confidence limits, −0.77 to 0.97 vs. −0.45 to 0.37) then the conventional Greulich and Pyle ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3233300 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:05:33 +0100 3233300 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3233303&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fc072376812064072%2F Abstract  This paper focuses on the evaluation of quality of hospital websites in China. Leading general hospitals’ websites in China are increasingly used by the public, but research on the quality of these websites in China is few and far between. In this article, we conducted a cross-sectional descriptive infodemiology study to assess the quality and to describe the characteristics of these websites. Using a pre-defined objective criterion based on content, function, design, and management & usage, two well-trained reviewers independently reviewed and analyzed websites of 23 nationally prominent leading general hospitals of China from April to June 2009. Hospital election is on the basis of the best Chinese hospitals published by official and non-official sources combi... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3233303 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:05:32 +0100 3233303 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3233304&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F48300535g038100n%2F In conclusion, this work shows that data mining approach can be a useful tool for medical applications particularly at the treatment decision step. Data mining helps to the doctor to decide in a short time. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9427-xAuthors Abdülkadir Çakır, Süleyman Demirel University Department of Electronics-Computer Education, Faculty of Technical Education Isparta TurkeyBurçin Demirel, Süleyman Demirel University Department of Electronics-Computer Education, Faculty of Technical Education Isparta Turkey Journal Journal of Medical SystemsOnline ISSN 1573-689XPrint ISSN 0148-5598 (Source: Journal of Medical Systems) Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3233304 Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:05:31 +0100 3233304 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3224093&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fl388558627827151%2F This study describes a spatial approach to assess environmental causes of outdoor falls using a small urban community in Hong Kong as an example. The method involves collecting data on fall occurrences and mapping their geographic positions to examine circumstances and environmental evidence that contribute to falls. High risk locations or hot spots of falls are identified on the bases of spatial proximity and concentration of falls within a threshold distance by means of kernel smoothing and standard deviational ellipses. This method of geographic aggregation of individual fall incidents for a small-area study yields hot spots of manageable sizes. The spatial clustering approach is effective in two ways. Firstly, it allows visualisation and isolation of fall hot spots to draw focus.... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3224093 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:01:47 +0100 3224093 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3224095&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F463161w6488m233w%2F Abstract  The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how a computer model can be used as a decision making tool regarding vaccination programs. These programs include vaccination against traditional influenza, avian influenza, H1N1 (swine flu), or other diseases. Specifically, the proposed simulation model is used to investigate the impact of herd immunity, to estimate the vaccination rate for which a given disease is placed into an endemic state, and to calculate the overall cost of a vaccination program from a societal perspective. In addition, the tool can help to define an optimal vaccination rate which will result in the minimum overall cost for a vaccination program. The paper demonstrates several advantages of simulation over other decision making methods. Simu... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3224095 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:01:46 +0100 3224095 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3224094&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fc4m089r262152240%2F This study describes the application of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) which is the solution for the problems associated with specimen labeling and management. A new specimen management system and architecture with RFID technology for clinical laboratory was designed. The suggested system was tested in various conditions such as durability to temperature and aspect of effective utilization of new work flow under a virtual hospital clinical laboratory environment. This system demonstrates its potential application in clinical laboratories for improving work flow and specimen management. The suggested specimen management system with RFID technology has advantages in comparison to the traditional specimen management system with barcode in the aspect of mass specimen processing, r... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3224094 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:01:46 +0100 3224094 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3224096&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fb3535777k13724r6%2F Abstract  Due to increasing number of diabetic retinopathy cases, ophthalmologists are experiencing serious problem to automatically extract the features from the retinal images. Optic disc (OD), exudates, and cotton wool spots are the main features of fundus images which are used for diagnosing eye diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. In this paper, a new algorithm for the extraction of these bright objects from fundus images based on marker-controlled watershed segmentation is presented. The proposed algorithm makes use of average filtering and contrast adjustment as preprocessing steps. The concept of the markers is used to modify the gradient before the watershed transformation is applied. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated using the ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3224096 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:01:44 +0100 3224096 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3224097&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fe763331072531248%2F Abstract  Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) can be deployed to monitor the health of patients suffering from critical diseases. Also a wireless network consisting of biomedical sensors can be implanted into the patient’s body and can monitor the patients’ conditions. These sensor devices, apart from having an enormous capability of collecting data from their physical surroundings, are also resource constraint in nature with a limited processing and communication ability. Therefore we have to integrate them with the Grid technology in order to process and store the collected data by the sensor nodes. In this paper, we proposed the SEnsor Grid Enhancement Data Management system, called SEGEDMA ensuring the integration of different network technologies and the continuous data ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3224097 Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:33:33 +0100 3224097 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3206396&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fj8g76325806378g3%2F Abstract  New technologies may be required to integrate the National Institutes of Health’s Patient Reported Outcome Management Information System (PROMIS) into multi-center clinical trials. To better understand this need, we identified likely PROMIS reporting formats, developed a multi-center clinical trial process model, and identified gaps between current capabilities and those necessary for PROMIS. These results were evaluated by key trial constituencies. Issues reported by principal investigators fell into two categories: acceptance by key regulators and the scientific community, and usability for researchers and clinicians. Issues reported by the coordinating center, participating sites, and study subjects were those faced when integrating new technologies into exis... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3206396 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:11:36 +0100 3206396 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3195471&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F73q218n084421761%2F We present a new method for detection and classification of QRS complexes in ECG signals using continuous wavelets and neural networks. Our wavelet method consists of four wavelet basis functions that are suitable in detection of QRS complexes within different QRS morphologies in the signal and thresholding technique for denoising and feature extraction. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is not only efficient for normal ECG signal analysis but also for various types of arrhythmic cardiac signals embedded in noise. For the classification stage, a feedforward neural network was trained with standard backpropagation algorithm. The classifier input features consisted of compact wavelet coefficients of QRS complexes that resulted in higher classification rates. We demonstra... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3195471 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:44:19 +0100 3195471 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3169221&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fa04667n60k21l045%2F Abstract  Wireless Capsule Endoscopy (WCE), which allows clinicians to inspect the whole gastrointestinal tract (GI) noninvasively, has bloomed into one of the most efficient technologies to diagnose the bleeding in GI tract. However WCE generates large amount of images in one examination of a patient. It is hard for clinicians to leave continuous time to examine the full WCE images, and this is the main factor limiting the wider application of WCE in clinic. A novel intelligent bleeding detection based on Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) is proposed in this paper. The features of bleeding region in WCE images distinguishing from non-bleeding region are extracted. A PNN classifier is built to recognize bleeding regions in WCE images. Finally the intelligent bleeding detec... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3169221 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:20:27 +0100 3169221 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3169222&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F8p2785jm631t0314%2F Abstract  Response times are a critically important parameter when implementing any telematics application. Hence, it is important to evaluate those times to check the performance of the system. Different database will get different response times. This paper presents a response time comparative analysis of the Web system of Electronic Health Record (EHRs), TeleOftalWeb, with the four databases used: Oracle 10 g, dbXML 2.0, Xindice 1.2, and eXist 1.1.1. Final goal of the comparison is choosing the database providing lower response times in TeleOftalWeb. Results obtained using the four databases proposed give the native XML database eXist an edge which, added to other features such as being a free software and easy to set up, makes us opting for it. TeleOftalWeb is bein... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3169222 Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:22:07 +0100 3169222 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3154739&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fup8w10k2345r7558%2F The objective of the present work was to examine identification of deep sleep and awake with computational analysis of sleep EEG traces from central brain regions. All-night EEG traces from a total of 56 male subjects, 22 healthy control subjects and 34 age-matched apnea patients, were examined. A spectral mean frequency measure, a Hilbert transform based EEG amplitude and a correlation coefficient method were compared. The EEG amplitude provided a good identification of deep sleep, reaching 86.25% but was relatively poor in the identification of wakefulness, reaching 39.06%. Mean frequency provided a relatively good identification of deep sleep and awake, reaching 84.66% and 77.67%, respectively, while the correlation coefficient produced the lowest results of 37.89% and 44.43%. Opt... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3154739 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:01:10 +0100 3154739 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3154738&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fc7068520137w0v42%2F In this study, a classification to be used in physiotherapy was realized by means of Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The aim of the classification was to determine the treatment length and appropriate ultrasound value for the age of physiotherapy patients, the area on which ultrasound will be applied, the fat rate in tissue and related factors. For this purpose, the patient information obtained from Selçuk University, Meram School of Medicine Hospital, Physiotherapy Department was used. In order to identify the appropriate ultrasound value and treatment length for the patient, the ultrasound therapy device realized with ANN was placed together in an embedded system. The results obtained by means of the designed and realized embedded system were compared with data gathered from an e... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3154738 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:01:10 +0100 3154738 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3154741&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F317276394j2418p1%2F Abstract  Adoption of compression technology is often required for wireless cardiovascular monitoring, due to the enormous size of Electrocardiography (ECG) signal and limited bandwidth of Internet. However, compressed ECG must be decompressed before performing human identification using present research on ECG based biometric techniques. This additional step of decompression creates a significant processing delay for identification task. This becomes an obvious burden on a system, if this needs to be done for a trillion of compressed ECG per hour by the hospital. Even though the hospital might be able to come up with an expensive infrastructure to tame the exuberant processing, for small intermediate nodes in a multihop network identification preceded by decompression is co... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3154741 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:01:09 +0100 3154741 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3154740&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fbw2511764lr4740r%2F Abstract  Currently, there is a disparity in the availability of doctors between urban and rural areas of developing countries. Most experienced doctors and specialists, as well as advanced diagnostic technologies, are available in urban areas. People living in rural areas have less or sometimes even no access to affordable healthcare facilities. Increasing the number of doctors and charitable medical hospitals or deploying advanced medical technologies in these areas might not be economically feasible, especially in developing countries. We need to mobilize science and technology to master this complex, large scale problem in an objective, logical, and professional way. This can only be achieved with a collaborative effort where a team of experts works on both technical an... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3154740 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:01:09 +0100 3154740 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3154742&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fjl3185788405v826%2F Abstract  Artificial teeth are very complicated in shape, and not easy to be grasped and manipulated accurately by a single robot. The method of tooth-arrangement by multi-manipulator for complete denture manufacturing proposed in this paper. A novel complete denture manufacturing mechanism is designed based on multi-manipulator and dental arch generator. Kinematics model of the multi-manipulator tooth-arrangement robot is built by analytical method based on tooth-arrangement principle for full denture. Preliminary experiments on tooth-arrangement are performed using the multi-manipulator tooth-arrangement robot prototype system. The multi-manipulator tooth-arrangement robot prototype system can automatically design and manufacture a set of complete denture that is suitable... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3154742 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:01:06 +0100 3154742 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3116948&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fqm5t384ng8g37221%2F Abstract  Electronic medical records can be defined as a digital format of the traditionally paper-based anamneses, which contains the history of a patient such as his somewhat illness, current health problems, and his chronic treatments. An electronic anamnesis is meant to make the patient’s health information more conveniently accessible and transferable between different medical institutions and also easier to be kept quite a long time. Because of such transferability and accessibility of electronic anamneses, we can use less resource than before on storing the patients’ medical information. This also means that medical care providers could save more funds on record-keeping and access a patient’s medical background directly since shown on the computer screen more q... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3116948 Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:02:02 +0100 3116948 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3106043&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F764p632867757343%2F Abstract  Voluntary medical incident reporting systems are a valuable source for studying adverse events and near misses. Unfortunately, such systems usually contain a large amount of incomplete and inaccurate reports which negatively affect their utility for medical error research. To investigate the reporting quality and propose solutions towards quality voluntary reports, we employed a content analysis method to examine one-year voluntary medical incident reports of a University Hospital. Results indicate that there is a large amount of inconsistent records within the reports. About 25% of the reports were labeled as “miscellaneous” and “other”. Through an in-depth analysis, those “miscellaneous” and “other” were substituted by their real incident types o... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3106043 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:12:06 +0100 3106043 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3098266&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fe122p0t274164106%2F This study reports the results of a nationwide survey of Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). The purpose was to identify factors that contribute to efficiency and effectiveness in RHCs. Factors related to cost efficiency were analyzed using multiple regression; factors related to the likelihood of providing preventive diabetic care, an effectiveness indicator, were analyzed using logistic regression. The study found: (1) technical efficiency to be positively related to cost efficiency; (2) non-profit control to be inversely related to cost efficiency in independent RHCs; and (3) provider-based RHCs and technology use to be related to the likelihood of providing preventive diabetic care. Implications for RHCs are: (1) improvement in technical efficiency could enhance cost efficiency; (2) vis... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3098266 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:08:51 +0100 3098266 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3098268&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fdp23374g22534166%2F Abstract  Health examinations can obtain relatively complete health information and thus are important for the personal and public health management. For clinicians, one of the most important works in the health examinations is to interpret the health examination results. Continuously interpreting numerous health examination results of healthcare receivers is tedious and error-prone. This paper proposes a clinical decision support system to assist solving above problems. In order to customize the clinical decision support system intuitively and flexibly, this paper also proposes the rule syntax to implement computer-interpretable logic for health examinations. It is our purpose in this paper to describe the methodology of the proposed clinical decision support system. The e... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3098268 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:08:50 +0100 3098268 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3098267&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F64337288r6t46140%2F Abstract  There is a conflict between Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) theory’s requirement that inputs (outputs) be substitutable, and the ubiquitous use of nonsubstitutable inputs and outputs in DEA applications to hospitals. This paper develops efficiency indicators valid for nonsubstitutable variables. Then, using a sample of 87 community hospitals, it compares the new measures’ efficiency estimates with those of conventional DEA measures. DEA substantially overestimated the hospitals’ efficiency on the average, and reported many inefficient hospitals to be efficient. Further, it greatly overestimated the efficiency of some hospitals but only slightly overestimated the efficiency of others, thus making any comparisons among hospitals questionable. These results sugg... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3098267 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:08:50 +0100 3098267 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3086755&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fe153065474v2050v%2F Abstract  This paper describes a new method for automatic detection of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) based on artificial neural networks (ANN) using regular electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings. ECG signals were pre-processed and segmented to extract the P-waves; then three P-wave features were extracted: the P-wave duration (T p ), the P-wave dispersion (P d ), and the time interval from the peak of the P-wave to the R-wave (T pr ). Combinations of the three features were used as features for classification using ANN. For each feature combination studied, 70% of the input data was used for training the ANN, 15% for validating, and 15% for testing the results. Perfect agreement between expert’s scores and the ANN scores was achieved when the ANN was applied on T ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3086755 Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:18:40 +0100 3086755 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3086756&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fq25508451087j356%2F Abstract  This work presents a new methodology for automated sleep stage identification in neonates based on the time frequency distribution of single electroencephalogram (EEG) recording and artificial neural networks (ANN). Wigner–Ville distribution (WVD), Hilbert–Hough spectrum (HHS) and continuous wavelet transform (CWT) time frequency distributions were used to represent the EEG signal from which features were extracted using time frequency entropy. The classification of features was done using feed forward back-propagation ANN. The system was trained and tested using data taken from neonates of post-conceptual age of 40 weeks for both preterm (14 recordings) and fullterm (15 recordings). The identification of sleep stages was successfully implemented and the c... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3086756 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:11:57 +0100 3086756 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3080791&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F87666384087216l2%2F We report the current status of the biobank and system deployments. We finally identify limitations and discuss how to improve them. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9402-6Authors Hangchan Kim, Kyungpook National University School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Daegu KoreaByoung-Kee Yi, Kyungpook National University IHIS Research Center, School of Medicine Dongin 2 ga, Jung-gu Daegu KoreaIl Kon Kim, Kyungpook National University School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Daegu KoreaYun Sik Kwak, Kyungpook National University IHIS Research Center, School of Medicine Dongin 2 ga, Jung-gu Daegu Korea Journal Journal of Medical SystemsOnline ISSN 1573-689XPrint ISSN 0148-5598 (Source: Journal of Medical Systems) Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3080791 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:48:31 +0100 3080791 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3080790&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fqx116151l2004131%2F Abstract  The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) provides extravehicular activity (EVA) training to astronauts in a weightless environment test building (WETS) located in Tsukuba City. For EVA training, Tsukuba Medial Center Hospital (TMCH) has established an emergency medical support system, serving as operations coordinator. Taking the perspective of emergency physicians, this paper provides an overview of the medical support system and examines its activities over the past decade as well as future issues. Fortunately, no major accident has occurred during the past 10 years of NBS. Minor complaints (external otitis, acute otitis media, transient dizziness, conjunctival inflammation, upper respiratory inflammation, dermatitis, abraded wounds, etc.) among the su... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3080790 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:48:31 +0100 3080790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3080792&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fx82042876822g465%2F Abstract  As the need for knowledge exchange grows, so does the need to find new ways for researchers, decision makers, and educators to communicate and collaborate with each other on how to improve drug prescribing and use. In this paper, we introduce a conceptual framework for evaluating knowledge exchange activities within drug policy groups. The framework is grounded in the information and communication technologies (ICT) and knowledge exchange literature and is composed of various inputs, processes, and outputs. Inputs into the framework are research task, communication medium (face-to-face, teleconferencing, and web-conferencing), group characteristics (size, experience, goals, and roles), and context (description of linkage and exchange within the policy domain and gro... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3080792 Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:18:45 +0100 3080792 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3064845&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fu526676v720793h3%2F Abstract  Healthcare services are complex and life-critical. One mistake in any procedure may lead to irremediable consequences; numerous researchers, thus, introduce information and communication technology to improve quality of services and enhance patient safety by reducing the medical errors. Radio frequency identification (RFID) is considered as one of the emerging tool assist in meeting the challenges of the present situation. In recent years, RFID has been applied in medical organizations for the purpose of managing and tracking medical equipment, monitoring and identifying patients, ensuring that the right medication is given to the right patient, and preventing the use of counterfeit medicine. However, most of the existing literature focuses on demonstrating how RF... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3064845 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:36:31 +0100 3064845 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3064846&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Ft74036558hl41412%2F Abstract  As healthcare groups continue to communicate and collaborate at a distance on knowledge exchange activities, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has come to play an increasingly important role in supporting such interactions. However, to date, the literature on knowledge exchange appears disconnected from that of ICT. Research on the effects of ICT on knowledge exchange activities is needed. The literature review explores the potential impacts ICTs can have on knowledge exchange groups, and especially, the social interaction process. A discussion of how ICTs could impact the social interaction process of knowledge exchange activities is made. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9401-7Authors Mowafa Said Househ, ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3064846 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:36:30 +0100 3064846 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3064847&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fj2851446722r064j%2F Abstract  Small rural hospitals face considerable financial and personnel resource shortages which hinder their efforts to implement complex health information technology (HIT) systems. A survey on the use of HIT was completed by 85% of Iowa’s 82 Critical Access Hospitals (CAH). Analyses indicate that low IT staffing in CAHs is a barrier to implementing HIT solutions. CAHs with fewer staff tend to employ alternative business strategies. There is a clear relationship between having IT staff at a CAH and the types of technologies used. Many CAHs report having difficulty expanding upon HIT functionalities due to the challenges of finding IT staff with healthcare expertise. Most CAHs are in the transition point of planning for or beginning implementation of complex clinical i... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3064847 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:36:29 +0100 3064847 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3041605&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F4775156j2v726257%2F Abstract  A simple and fair benchmarking system or financial indicators for use on the clinical department level have been lacking to evaluate the management efficiency and activity of each clinical department or division of a hospital. New financial indicators have therefore been developed based on personnel costs. Indicator 1: The ratio of marginal profit after personnel cost per personnel cost (RMP). Indicator 2: The ratio of investment (=indirect cost) per personnel cost (RIP). The difference between RMP and RIP demonstrates the operation profit in US Dollars for personnel cost (OPP). A turning point in profitability similar to the break-even point (BEP) and break-even ratio (BER) could be also defined by the combination of the RMP and RIP. The merits of these two indic... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3041605 Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:05:10 +0100 3041605 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3041604&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fv4763ktm86705005%2F Abstract  Simulation and three-dimensional visualization of object motion is a prerequisite for any surgical planning system. Orbital hypertelorism is a disease, which is most commonly associated with craniofacial malformations. We have developed a surgical planning system for planning and evaluation of orbital hypertelorism surgery. In our system CT-based virtual surface models fitted by oriented bounding boxes (OBB) are manipulated. Three-dimensional motion as well as a correction surgery can be simulated. Both are controlled by collision detection. The computer-based interactive surgery simulation systems (CISSS) presented here can take virtual surgical operation and forecast facial features after the correction of orbital hypertelorism, our surgical planning is cheaper ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3041604 Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:05:10 +0100 3041604 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3032156&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fnm611n6775868736%2F Abstract  We selected HTML, PHP and JavaScript as the programming languages to build “WebBio”, a web-based system for patient data of biological products and used MySQL as database. WebBio is based on the PHP-MySQL suite and is run by Apache server on Linux machine. WebBio provides the functions of data management, searching function and data analysis for 20 kinds of biological products (plasma expanders, human immunoglobulin and hematological products). There are two particular features in WebBio: (1) pharmacists can rapidly find out whose patients used contaminated products for medication safety, and (2) the statistics charts for a specific product can be automatically generated to reduce pharmacist’s work loading. WebBio has successfully turned traditional paper wo... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3032156 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:11:46 +0100 3032156 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3032157&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F6q86336473921v51%2F Abstract  In this paper, we describe a polarization sensitive (PS) subcutaneous and muscular imaging system based on common path optical coherence tomography (CP-OCT) using a near infrared source. The axial and lateral resolutions of the PS-OCT system are 9 and 6 μm, respectively. The main goal of this work is to build a high-resolution and minimally invasive optical imager for examining various kinds of cutaneous substructures with intrinsic or form birefringence. The internal structural information is extracted by the real-time signal analysis (Fourier Transform) of the modulated spectral intensity depending on the beam and tissue birefringence. The preliminary results using fresh beef longissimus muscle and in vivo Rattus norvegicus (rat) show that it is possible to... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3032157 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:11:45 +0100 3032157 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3016316&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F54368wkq5540424r%2F This article describes handling medical data in a healthcare system based on electronic healthcare records. At a medical unit level, data storage requires both accurate collecting and high security. The proposed information model complies with EN 13606, which is a European health data communication standard approved by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and partly approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9395-1Authors Izabella Diana Păun, Technical University of Cluj Napoca Faculty of Automation and Computer Science, Department of Automation Cluj-Napoca RomaniaDragoş G. Sauciuc, Technical University of Cluj Napoca Faculty of Automation and Computer Science, Departm... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3016316 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:06:02 +0100 3016316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3016317&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fl4063v88l8767872%2F Abstract  Content-based image retrieval techniques have been extensively studied for the past few years. With the growth of digital medical image databases, the demand for content-based analysis and retrieval tools has been increasing remarkably. Blood cell image is a key diagnostic tool for hematologists. An automated system that can retrieved relevant blood cell images correctly and efficiently would save the effort and time of hematologists. The purpose of this work is to develop such a content-based image retrieval system. Global color histogram and wavelet-based methods are used in the prototype. The system allows users to search by providing a query image and select one of four implemented methods. The obtained results demonstrate the proposed extended query refinemen... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3016317 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:06:00 +0100 3016317 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3016318&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fj7j82776kt0121n5%2F Abstract  Disasters are fortunately rare occurrences. However, accurate and timely information and communication are vital to adequately prepare individual health organizations for such events. The current article investigates the health related communication and information systems for emergency management in Iran. A mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology was used in this study. A sample of 230 health service managers was surveyed using a questionnaire and 65 semi-structured interviews were also conducted with public health and therapeutic affairs managers who were responsible for emergency management. A range of problems were identified including fragmentation of information, lack of local databases, lack of clear information strategy and lack of a formal system f... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3016318 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:20:49 +0100 3016318 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2997427&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fu73wrp01574v1573%2F Abstract  This work presents a portable Linux-based electrocardiogram (ECG) signals measurement and monitoring system. The proposed system consists of an ECG front end and an embedded Linux platform (ELP). The ECG front end digitizes 12-lead ECG signals acquired from electrodes and then delivers them to the ELP via a universal serial bus (USB) interface for storage, signal processing, and graphic display. The proposed system can be installed anywhere (e.g., offices, homes, healthcare centers and ambulances) to allow people to self-monitor their health conditions at any time. The proposed system also enables remote diagnosis via Internet. Additionally, the system has a 7-in. interactive TFT-LCD touch screen that enables users to execute various functions, such as scaling a s... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2997427 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:28:01 +0100 2997427 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2986830&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F72760286411x43kr%2F We examined some important (bio)medical systems for their compatibility with the definitions proposed in the first part of this paper. To conclude, an overview of these systems and their classification into the three domains is given. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9389-zAuthors Klaar Vanopstal, University College Ghent Faculty of Translation Studies Ghent BelgiumRobert Vander Stichele, Ghent University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Heymans Institute of Pharmacology Ghent BelgiumGodelieve Laureys, Ghent University Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, Department of Nordic Studies Ghent BelgiumJoost Buysschaert, University College Ghent Faculty of Translation Studies Ghent Belgium Journal Journal of Medical SystemsOnline ISSN 1573... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2986830 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:28:22 +0100 2986830 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2965111&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fb20696x208234160%2F Abstract  Arterial blood gas (ABG) has an important role in the clinical assessment of patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). Because of ABG complications, an alternative method is beneficial. We have trained and tested five artificial neural networks (ANNs) with venous blood gas (VBG) values (pH, PCO2, HCO3, PO2, and O2 saturation) as inputs, to predict ABG values in patients with AECOPD. Venous and arterial blood samples were collected from 132 patients. Using the data of 106 patients, the ANNs were trained and validated by back-propagation algorithm. Subsequently, data from the remainder 26 patients was used for testing the networks. The ability of ANNs to predict ABG values and to detect significant hypercarbia was assessed a... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2965111 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:33:15 +0100 2965111 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2936552&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F5mj6u16781850818%2F Abstract  In Taiwan, national health insurance coverage began in 1994, and the Bureau of National Health Insurance has issued health smart cards since 2004. In addition to tracking medical reimbursements, these smart cards store healthcare information, including electronic prescriptions, medical procedure and vaccination records, drug allergy histories, and information about a patient’s willingness to be an organ donor. We conducted this study 4 years after the smart cards had been introduced in order to review how drug allergy history is recorded using this system. Our results reveal that the drug allergy histories are incomplete in many cases, and the format used to record a patient’s drug allergy history is not consistent. We offer suggestions to promote the sta... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2936552 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:04:09 +0100 2936552 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2921809&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Ft1t1g6437531339x%2F Abstract  The idea for softcopy viewing of medical image outside the radiology reading room spread among the scientists in various fields for several years. An image could be read on workstation of all types, from desktop across movable to handheld. Benefits are numerous and continue to grow as physicians use them discovering new usage cases. Proposed solutions vary with PACS architecture invasion level, communication and storage image formats, and utilization. We employ JPEG2000 standard because of its high (lossy/lossless) compression ratio with minimal spatial distortion, retrieval-oriented storage, and streaming. It is embedded in PACS as the DICOM Private Data Element containing JPIP parameter string, so-called DICOM2000. The DICOM2000 message is transparent for standard... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2921809 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:46:54 +0100 2921809 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2918026&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Ft4523h73178635q5%2F In conclusion, the CF provides insights into functional connectivity of brain regions during sleep. Since the CF has a characteristic shape for sleep states, it can be proposed to identify the degree of EEG complexity depending on sleep disorders. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9387-1Authors Serap Aydın, Ondokuz Mayıs University Engineering Faculty, Electrical and Electronics Eng. Department Samsun Turkey Journal Journal of Medical SystemsOnline ISSN 1573-689XPrint ISSN 0148-5598 (Source: Journal of Medical Systems) Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2918026 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:15:55 +0100 2918026 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2918027&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fj362366625471648%2F This study shows that the artificial neural network increases the classification performance using genetic algorithm. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9385-3Authors Sabri Koçer, Gazi University, Teknikokullar Department of Electronics and Computer Education, Faculty of Technical Education Ankara TurkeyM. Rahmi Canal, Gazi University, Teknikokullar Department of Electronics and Computer Education, Faculty of Technical Education Ankara Turkey Journal Journal of Medical SystemsOnline ISSN 1573-689XPrint ISSN 0148-5598 (Source: Journal of Medical Systems) Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2918027 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:15:54 +0100 2918027 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2918028&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fap57585w0400j1x1%2F Abstract  The aim of this paper is to extend the existing literature about efficiency measurement in primary health care with the application of a recently developed method to deal with exogenous variables. In this context, these variables are represented by the main characteristics of the covered population. The use of this technique allows calculating more accurate efficiency scores that can reflect the performance of units more properly. Our results show that the inclusion of these variables in the evaluation has a great impact on both the values of efficiency scores and the rank of units. This analysis has been carried out using a great amount of data available about primary health care centers in the Spainsh region of Extremadura. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2918028 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:15:53 +0100 2918028 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2906527&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F8p4525rq81619756%2F In this study, a hepatitis disease diagnosis study was realized using neural network structure. For this purpose, a multilayer neural network structure was used. Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm was used as training algorithm for the weights update of the neural network. The results of the study were compared with the results of the previous studies reported focusing on hepatitis disease diagnosis and using same UCI machine learning database. We obtained a classification accuracy of 91.87% via tenfold cross validation. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9378-2Authors M. Serdar Bascil, Bozok University Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering 66200 Yozgat TurkeyFeyzullah Temurtas, Bozok University Department of Electrical and Electr... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2906527 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:13:33 +0100 2906527 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2906528&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fe114423577106515%2F Abstract  In brain cancer, a biopsy as an invasive procedure is needed in order to differentiate between malignant and benign brain tumor. However, in some cases, it is difficult or harmful to perform such a procedure, to the brain. The aim of this study is to investigate a new method in maximizing the probability of brain cancer type detection without actual biopsy procedure. The proposed method combines both image and statistical analysis for tumor type detection. It employed image filtration and segmentation of the target region of interest with MRI to assure an accurate statistical interpretation of the results. Statistical analysis was based on utilizing the mean, range, box plot, and testing of hypothesis techniques to reach acceptable and accurate results in differen... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2906528 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:13:29 +0100 2906528 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2896532&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fr45235w62812425l%2F Abstract  Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a serious disorder caused by intermittent airway obstruction which may have dangerous impact on daily living activities. Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis could be used for diagnosing OSA, since this disease affects HRV during sleep. In order to validate different algorithms developed for detecting OSA employing HRV analysis, several public or proprietary data collections have been employed for different research groups. However, for validation purposes, it is obvious and evident the lack of a common standard database, worldwide recognized and accepted by the scientific community. In this paper, different algorithms employing HRV analysis were applied over diverse public and proprietary databases for detecting OSA, and the outc... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2896532 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:35:50 +0100 2896532 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2884382&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F358320028r1862wp%2F This study is motivated by the observations on the data collected by radio frequency identification (RFID) readers in a pilot study, which was used to investigate the feasibility of implementing an RFID-based monitoring system in an outpatient eye clinic. The raw RFID data collected from RFID readers contain noise and missing reads, which prevent us from determining the tag location. In this paper, fuzzy logic-based algorithms are proposed to interpret the raw RFID data to extract accurate information. The proposed algorithms determine the location of an RFID tag by evaluating its possibility of presence and absence. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms, numerical experiments are conducted using the data observed in the outpatient eye clinic. Experiments results sho... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2884382 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:29:20 +0100 2884382 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2870274&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F3683u2516227g657%2F In this study as a method of flash stimuli at frequencies of 2, 4 and 6 Hz were applied to different migraine and epileptic patients under pain-free phase with the EEG recorded from 18 scalp electrodes, referred to the linked earlobes. We used AR parametric method to analyze and characterize EEG signals in migraine and epileptic patients. The variations in the EEG power spectra shapes were examined in order to obtain medical information. These power spectra were then used to compare the applied method in terms of their frequency resolution and the effects in determination of migraine and epilepsy. Global performance of the proposed methods was evaluated by means of the visual inspection of power spectral densities (PSDs). For the migraine patients, an increase in amplitude has o... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2870274 Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:42:52 +0100 2870274 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2864069&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Ft2lr424h6t512t17%2F Abstract  The measurement of human body vibrations as a result of heart beating, simultaneously with cardiac potentials have been demonstrated in past studies to bring additional value to diagnostic cardiology through the detection of irregularities in the mechanical movement of the heart. The equipment currently available to the medical community is either large and bulky or difficult to synchronize. To address this problem, a novel integrated sensor system has been developed to record cardiac vibration and cardiac potential simultaneously and synchronously from a single compact site on the chest. The developed sensor system is lightweight, small in size, and suitable for mounting on active moving patients. The sensor is evaluated for its adequacy in measuring cardiac vibr... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2864069 Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:35:42 +0100 2864069 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2864070&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fh7272511xl657j61%2F Abstract  Cancer is increasing the total number of unexpected deaths around the world. Until now, cancer research could not significantly contribute to a proper solution for the cancer patient, and as a result, the high death rate is uncontrolled. The present research aim is to extract the significant prevention factors for particular types of cancer. To find out the prevention factors, we first constructed a prevention factor data set with an extensive literature review on bladder, breast, cervical, lung, prostate and skin cancer. We subsequently employed three association rule mining algorithms, Apriori, Predictive apriori and Tertius algorithms in order to discover most of the significant prevention factors against these specific types of cancer. Experimental results ill... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2864070 Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:35:40 +0100 2864070 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2856702&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fvr332276u8m621vh%2F Abstract  The concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) has come to be applied in healthcare over the last few years. The process management category in the Baldrige Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence model is designed to evaluate the quality of medical services. However, a systematic approach for implementation support is necessary to achieve excellence in the healthcare business process. The Architecture of Integrated Information Systems (ARIS) is a business process architecture developed by IDS Scheer AG and has been applied in a variety of industrial application. It starts with a business strategy to identify the core and support processes, and encompasses the whole life-cycle range, from business process design to information system deployment, which is co... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2856702 Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:28:01 +0100 2856702 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2848621&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fcu662260rv1r3048%2F In conclusion, the SSA can detect the oscillatory variations on sleep EEG. Therefore, different sleep stages meet different singular spectra. In addition, different healthy conditions generate different singular spectra for each sleep stage. In summary, the SSA can be proposed for EEG discrimination to support the clinical findings for psycho-psychological disorders. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9381-7Authors Serap Aydın, Ondokuz Mayıs University Engineering Faculty, Electrical and Electronics Eng. Department Samsun TurkeyHamdi Melih Saraoǧlu, Dumlupınar University Engineering Faculty, Electrical and Electronics Eng. Department Kütahya TurkeySadık Kara, Fatih University Biomedical Engineering Institute Istanbul Turkey Journa... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2848621 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:56:45 +0100 2848621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2840391&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fx2n7x062637g6k74%2F Abstract  Owing to the low cost and convenience of identifying an object without physical contact, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems provide innovative, promising and efficient applications in many domains. An RFID grouping protocol is a protocol that allows an off-line verifier to collect and verify the evidence of two or more tags simultaneously present. Recently, Huang and Ku (J. Med. Syst, 2009) proposed an efficient grouping protocol to enhance medication safety for inpatients based on low-cost tags. However, the Huang–Ku scheme is not secure; an attacker can easily make up fake grouping records to cheat the verifier. This weakness would seriously endanger the safety of inpatient medication safety. This paper will show the weaknesses, and then propose two ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2840391 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:45:55 +0100 2840391 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2835156&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fc5j134q508637417%2F Abstract  Many existing healthcare information systems are composed of a number of heterogeneous systems and face the important issue of system scalability. This paper first describes the comprehensive healthcare information systems used in National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) and then presents a service-oriented architecture (SOA)-based healthcare information system (HIS) based on the service standard HL7. The proposed architecture focuses on system scalability, in terms of both hardware and software. Moreover, we describe how scalability is implemented in rightsizing, service groups, databases, and hardware scalability. Although SOA-based systems sometimes display poor performance, through a performance evaluation of our HIS based on SOA, the average response time f... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2835156 Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:50:57 +0100 2835156 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2810990&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fpjx241r171n5563m%2F Abstract  The wrist pulse signals can be used to analyze a person’s health status in that they reflect the pathologic changes of the person’s body condition. This paper aims to present a novel time series analysis approach to analyze wrist pulse signals. First, a data normalization procedure is proposed. This procedure selects a reference signal that is ‘closest’ to a newly obtained signal from an ensemble of signals recorded from the healthy persons. Second, an auto-regressive (AR) model is constructed from the selected reference signal. Then, the residual error, which is the difference between the actual measurement for the new signal and the prediction obtained from the AR model established by reference signal, is defined as the disease-sensitive feature. This ap... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2810990 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:34:10 +0100 2810990 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2810992&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fw901158665262tg7%2F Abstract  Tokai University School of Medicine provided a short-term e-Health training program for persons from Pacific Island Nations from 2006 until 2008 supported by funds from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. There were lectures on software, hardware and topics relating to e-Health. We could assess the current medical situation in the Pacific Islands through this training course, and also obtain relevant material to analyze appropriate measures deemed necessary to improve the situation. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9371-9Authors Yuichi Ishibashi, Tokai University School of Medicine Tokyo JapanHiroshi Juzoji, Tokai University School of Medicine Tokyo JapanToshihiko Kitano, Tokai University School of Medicine Tokyo JapanIsao Nak... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2810992 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:50:15 +0100 2810992 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2810991&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F6g64261023883k82%2F Abstract  This paper deals with strategic enterprise resource planning (ERP) in a health-care system using a multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) model. The model is developed and analyzed on the basis of the data obtained from a leading patient-oriented provider of health-care services in Korea. Goal criteria and priorities are identified and established via the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Goal programming (GP) is utilized to derive satisfying solutions for designing, evaluating, and implementing an ERP. The model results are evaluated and sensitivity analyses are conducted in an effort to enhance the model applicability. The case study provides management with valuable insights for planning and controlling health-care activities and services. Content Type Journal ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2810991 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:50:15 +0100 2810991 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2810994&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fv70201220637p4g7%2F Abstract  We aim at evaluating how data-mining statistical techniques can be applied on medical records and administrative data of diabetes and how they differ in terms of capabilities of predicting outcomes (e.g. death). Data on 3,892 outpatient patients with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes from the San Giovanni Battista Hospital in Torino. Six statistical classifiers were applied: Logistic regression (LR), Generalized Additive Model (GAM), Projection pursuit Regression (PPR), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA), Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). All models selected the same subset of covariates. ANN is the model performing worse, whereas simpler models, like LR, GAM and LDA seem to perform better. GAM is associated with a very small mi... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2810994 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:50:13 +0100 2810994 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2810993&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F54611870up46jl72%2F Abstract  This paper presents a computer vision system for monitoring medication intake in the context of home care services. We use a method based on color and shape to detect the body parts and the medication bottles. Color is used for skin detection, and the shape is used to distinguish the face from the hands and to differentiate bottles of medicine. To track these objects, we use a method based on color histograms, Hu moments, and edges. For the recognition of medication intake, we use a Petri network and event recognition. Our method has an accuracy of more than 75% and allows the detection of the medication intake in various scenarios where the user is cooperative. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9374-6Authors Guillaume-A... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2810993 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:50:13 +0100 2810993 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2810995&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F47q2167m8105v3xp%2F Abstract  Understanding how clinical systems actually behave in an era of limited medical resources is critical. The purpose of this study was to determine if a radiofrequency-identification-based indoor positioning system (IPS) could objectively and unobtrusively capture outpatient clinic behavior. Primary outcomes were flowtime, wait time and patient/clinician face time. Two contrasting clinics were evaluated: a primary care clinic (PC) with templated scheduling and an urgent care clinic (UC) with unconstrained visit time and first-in, first-out scheduling. All staff wore transponders throughout the study period. Patients carried transponders from check in to check out. All patients and staff were allowed to opt out. The study was approved by hospital IRB. Standard descri... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2810995 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:50:11 +0100 2810995 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2810996&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fb02mgt5gp0611786%2F Abstract  A growing capacity of information technologies in collection, storage and transmission of information has added a great deal of concerns since electronic records can be accessed by numerous consumers at various locations. Thus, the basic question is “what kind of Model is suitable for guaranteeing the confidentiality of EHR information in Iran?” The present study is a descriptive investigation made in Iran in 2007. Based on the collected data the preliminary model was designed and it was assessed through questionnaires and Delphi Technique and finally the noted model was designed and proposed. The findings showed the experts emphasize patient’s consent for collecting, using and releasing information in electronic health records. A comprehensive model is prese... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2810996 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:50:10 +0100 2810996 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2767438&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fu4561h5834wjl715%2F Abstract  Radiology tests, such as MRI, CT-scan, X-ray and ultrasound, are cost intensive and insurance pre-approvals are necessary to get reimbursement. In some cases, tests may be denied for payments by insurance companies due to lack of pre-approvals, inaccurate or missing necessary information. This can lead to substantial revenue losses for the hospital. In this paper, we present a simulation study of a centralized scheduling process for outpatient radiology tests at a large community hospital (Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky). Based on analysis of the central scheduling process, a simulation model of information flow in the process has been developed. Using such a model, the root causes of financial losses associated with errors and omissions in this p... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2767438 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:15:54 +0100 2767438 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2767437&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fkmn342304810613g%2F Abstract  Transmission of in-ambulance data without inconveniencing or undue effort by the rescue crew—in other words, automation of in-ambulance activities (measurement/analysis, activity recording, message transmission)—is essential in implementing uniform medical control standards across the nation. However, the 3G mobile phone has propagation problems at urban area and severe congestions after major disaster to support mobile telemedicine. So we are expecting the Quasi-zenith satellite with nationwide coverage. In near future, we are expecting the data transmission of image of pharygoscopy, motion picture of light reflex, 12-leads ECG, automated ultrasonic echo and vital signs from ambulances to triage center. For example, Thrombolytic agents are reportedly effectiv... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2767437 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:15:54 +0100 2767437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2745014&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fw1p02774377k536q%2F This article presents a study on tuberculosis diagnosis, carried out with the help of multilayer neural networks (MLNNs). For this purpose, an MLNN with two hidden layers and a genetic algorithm for training algorithm has been used. The tuberculosis dataset was taken from a state hospital’s database, based on patient’s epicrisis reports. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9369-3Authors Erhan Elveren, Sakarya University Department of Computer Engineering 54187 Adapazari TurkeyNejat Yumuşak, Sakarya University Department of Computer Engineering 54187 Adapazari Turkey Journal Journal of Medical SystemsOnline ISSN 1573-689XPrint ISSN 0148-5598 (Source: Journal of Medical Systems) Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2745014 Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:00:53 +0100 2745014 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2742762&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fl5445lgg62110530%2F Abstract  The paper presents the ASIC design of a digital fuzzy logic circuit for medical diagnostic applications. The system on chip under consideration uses fuzzifier, memory and defuzzifier for fuzzifying the patient data, storing the membership function values and defuzzifying the membership function values to get the output decision. The proposed circuit uses triangular trapezoidal membership functions for fuzzification patients’ data. For minimizing the transistor count, the proposed circuit uses 3T XOR gates and 8T adders for its design. The entire work has been carried out using TSMC 0.35 µm CMOS process. Post layout TSPICE simulation of the whole circuit indicates a delay of 31.27 ns and the average power dissipation of the system on chip is 123.49&nbsp... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2742762 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:44:55 +0100 2742762 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2742763&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fc8nm3g1271613338%2F Abstract  One of the major problems in health care system integration is the formidable cost of mediating between myriad vendors and policy makers for updating existing heterogeneous systems to support a great variety of standards or interfaces. To provide cost-effective healthcare system integration solution, this paper presents a Graphical User Interface state model (GUISM) for automatically exchanging information with existing healthcare software through their GUIs with no modifications needed to them. This can save the huge cost of upgrading, testing and redeploying the existing systems. By using the GUISM model, distributed agents are deployed to the client computers interacting with the local electronic medical system (EMR) for communicating with other EMR systems. Th... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2742763 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:44:54 +0100 2742763 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2742764&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fk1141r4312263602%2F Abstract  A hospital director must estimate the revenues and expenses not only in a hospital but also in each clinical division to determine the proper management strategy. A new prospective payment system based on the Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC/PPS) introduced in 2003 has made the attribution of revenues and expenses for each clinical department very complicated because of the intricate involvement between the overall or blanket component and a fee-for service (FFS). Few reports have so far presented a programmatic method for the calculation of medical costs and financial balance. A simple method has been devised, based on personnel cost, for calculating medical costs and financial balance. Using this method, one individual was able to complete the calculations f... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2742764 Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:44:53 +0100 2742764 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2732030&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fq845736353x55219%2F This study is conducted with the use of the machine learning—Artificial Immune Recognition System (AIRS)—to assist doctors in predicting pregnant women who have premonition of type 2 diabetes. AIRS is proposed by Andrew Watkins in 2001 and it makes use of the metaphor of the vertebrate immune system to recognize antigens, select clone, and memorize cells. Additionally, AIRS includes a mechanism, limited resource, to restrain the number of memory cells from increasing uncontrollably. It has also showed positive results on problems in which it was applied. The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility in using AIRS to predict gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) subsequent DM. The dataset of diabetes has imbalanced data, but the overall classification recall could st... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2732030 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:36:12 +0100 2732030 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2732031&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F0384n585t24573wt%2F Abstract  There is a huge growth in the volume of published biomedical research in recent years. Many medical search engines are designed and developed to address the over growing information needs of biomedical experts and curators. Significant progress has been made in utilizing the knowledge embedded in medical ontologies and controlled vocabularies to assist these engines. However, the lack of common architecture for utilized ontologies and overall retrieval process, hampers evaluating different search engines and interoperability between them under unified conditions. In this paper, a unified architecture for medical search engines is introduced. Proposed model contains standard schemas declared in semantic web languages for ontologies and documents used by search engi... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2732031 Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:36:11 +0100 2732031 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2717909&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F0648q3m533r81444%2F In this study, representation dimensions, data scales, and search task types are the main factors in determining search efficiency and effectiveness. Specifically, the more external representations provided on the interface the better search task performance of users. The results also suggest the ideal search performance occurs when the question type and its corresponding data scale representation match. The implications of the study lie in contributing to the effective design of search interface for relational data, especially laboratory results, which could be more effectively designed in electronic medical records. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9354-xAuthors Yang Gong, University of Missouri Department of Health Management and Informa... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2717909 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:07:32 +0100 2717909 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2717910&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fp520833788543q0h%2F Abstract  A novel design of low noise amplifier for medical ultrasound transducers is described in this paper. Unlike conventional low noise preamplifiers, this design proposes a new circuit configuration which has electronically adjustable matching resistance that allows the preamplifier to be compatible with a variety of medical ultrasound transducers. The design employs current feedback operational amplifier to enhance the gain-bandwidth independence and improve the design slew rate. Simulation results show that the proposed design has very low output noise voltage spectral density and the level of this noise does not increase when its tunable matching resistance is increased or decreased. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9342-1... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2717910 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:07:31 +0100 2717910 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2701032&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F14672278j55v10k8%2F This study was aimed to investigate the cost and effectiveness of the clinical pathway on CAB surgery in a medical center. With a retrospective dataset in 2003–2007, 212 CAB surgery patients were included. Data of the costs and postoperative complication occurrence and length of stays were the focus and patient demographics, surgical risk indicator EuroSCORE, surgical conditions were collected. It revealed that there was differentiation across specified cost items in beating heart CAB surgery patients, but not for heart arrest CAB surgery patients with and without clinical pathways enrolled. In addition, there was no difference in postoperative complication occurrence in CAB surgery patients enrolled into clinical pathways. However, robotic beating heart CAB surgery patients enroll... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2701032 Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:32:51 +0100 2701032 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2697615&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fr42614h72m2k0643%2F Abstract  This paper proposes an automated target recognition algorithm using Support Vector Machine (SVM) to extract landmark points for craniofacial features in cephalometry radiograph. The features are extracted by subjecting the radiograph to the Projected Principle Edge Distribution (PPED) algorithm. Edge flags are accumulated in every four columns and spatial distribution of edge flags are represented by a histogram. The resultants are the front end of support vector machine. Vectors, which posses land marks, are separated from all other vectors. The centroid points, automatically determined from PPED vectors, are the location of landmarks. The landmark points which are serving as a guide for construction and measurement of planes, are used to evaluate the dento-facia... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2697615 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:40:02 +0100 2697615 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2697616&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F92116h168w23k1r0%2F Abstract  We measured the electrical activity signals of the heart through vital signs monitoring garments that have textile electrodes in conductive yarns while the subject is in stable and dynamic motion conditions. To measure the electrical activity signals of the heart during daily activities, four types of monitoring garment were proposed. Two experiments were carried out as follows: the first experiment sought to discover which garment led to the least displacement of the textile electrode from its originally intended location on the wearer’s body. In the second, we measured and compared the electrical activity signals of the heart between the wearer’s stable and dynamic motion states. The results indicated that the most appropriate type of garment sensing-wise wa... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2697616 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:39:58 +0100 2697616 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2697617&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F1q6l172464437300%2F Abstract  The role of electrocardiogram (ECG) as a noninvasive technique for detecting and diagnosing cardiac problems cannot be overemphasized. This paper introduces a fuzzy C-mean (FCM) clustered probabilistic neural network (PNN) for the discrimination of eight types of ECG beats. The performance has been compared with FCM clustered multi layered feed forward network (MLFFN) trained with back propagation algorithm. Important parameters are extracted from each ECG beat and feature reduction has been carried out using FCM clustering. The cluster centers form the input of neural network classifiers. The extensive analysis using the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database has shown an average classification accuracy of 97.54% with FCM clustered MLFFN and 99.58% with FCM clustered PNN. F... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2697617 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:39:55 +0100 2697617 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2686273&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F4530h15p26w37l2v%2F Abstract  The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of the Biofield Diagnostic System (BDS) as an adjunct to established diagnostic techniques such as mammography and ultrasound in differentiating benign and malignant breast lesions. The clinical trial was conducted at the Tan Tock Seng hospital, Singapore. 103 women scheduled for mammography and/or ultrasound tests participated in the study. The BDS test recorded a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 97.6%, and an accuracy of 98.1%. The area under the ROC curve was 0.988 which was slightly lower than that of ultrasound (0.994) and slightly higher than that of mammography (0.951). The BDS test has demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity values in the studied population. The accuracy is also comparable to... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2686273 Sun, 09 Aug 2009 07:16:45 +0100 2686273 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2686274&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fj127117155pu037v%2F Abstract  Return on investment (ROI) concerns related to Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are a major barrier to the technology’s adoption. Physicians generally rely upon early adopters to vet new technologies prior to putting them into widespread use. Therefore, early adopters’ experiences with EHRs play a major role in determining future adoption patterns. The paper’s purposes are: (1) to map the EHR value streams that define the ROI calculation; and (2) to compare Current Users’ and Intended Adopters’ perceived value streams to identify similarities, differences and governing constructs. Primary data was collected by the Texas Medical Association, which surveyed 1,772 physicians on their use and perceptions of practice gains from EHR adoption. Using Bayesian Be... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2686274 Sun, 09 Aug 2009 07:16:43 +0100 2686274 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2680101&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fw01875224t63701r%2F Abstract  This paper describes a 3D endoscopic video system designed to improve visualization and enhance the ability of the surgeon to perform delicate endoscopic surgery. In a comparison of the polarized and conventional electric shutter-type stereo imaging systems, the former was found to be superior in terms of both accuracy and speed for suturing and for the loop pass test. Among the groups performing loop passing and suturing, there was no significant difference in the task performance between the 2D and 3D modes, however, suturing was performed 15% (p < 0.05) faster in 3D mode by both groups. The results of our experiments show that the proposed 3D endoscopic system has a sufficiently wide viewing angle and zone for multi-viewing. Content Type Journal Articl... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2680101 Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:53:43 +0100 2680101 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2680102&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fd274620n3g4kxr4w%2F Abstract  In this work, an attempt has been made to enhance the diagnostic relevance of spirometric pulmonary function test using neural networks and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). For this study, flow–volume curves (N = 175) using spirometers were generated under standard recording protocol. A method based on neural network is used to predict the most significant parameter, FEV1. Further, PCA is used to analyze the interdependency of the parameters in the measured and predicted datasets. Results show that the back propagation neural network is able to predict FEV1 both in normal and abnormal cases. The variation in the magnitude and direction of parameters in the contribution of the principal components shows that FEV1 is a significant discriminator of normal and ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2680102 Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:53:41 +0100 2680102 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2680103&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F5n556mqu2pq07q1r%2F Abstract  The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of the Cardiac Care Units (CCU) of hospitals in Isfahan, Iran. The multi-criteria comparison between the wards of different hospitals is not only useful for the patients but also important for the hospitals management to improve their performance and for the medical policy makers to plan strategic decisions. In this paper, it is intended to consider the aspects of efficiency beyond the traditional evaluation of check list. There are some measures which are used in the existing health audit system and several quantified ratios. Among them the most important ones, based on the patient satisfaction and resource efficiency, have been selected using the weights obtained from their paired comparisons. The factors ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2680103 Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:53:40 +0100 2680103 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2665403&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fb66l637102m1h441%2F Abstract  In the current work, we have proposed a parallel algorithm for the recognition of Epileptic Spikes (ES) in EEG. The automated systems are used in biomedical field to help the doctors and pathologist by producing the result of an inspection in real time. Generally, the biomedical signal data to be processed are very large in size. A uniprocessor computer is having its own limitation regarding its speed. So the fastest available computer with latest configuration also may not produce results in real time for the immense computation. Parallel computing can be proved as a useful tool for processing the huge data with higher speed. In the proposed algorithm ‘Data Parallelism’ has been applied where multiple processors perform the same operation on different part of... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2665403 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:56:46 +0100 2665403 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2661645&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Ftl117m5v7k1nx565%2F Abstract  The real-time myocardial contrast echocardiography (RT MCE) is a new echocardiography technology, which allows clinicians to noninvasively evaluate the perfusion of myocardial capillary of patients, using the quantitative analysis of RT MCE. But the accurate analysis requires tracking the position of region of interest (ROI) within the myocardial area, so as to compensate for the translation or rotation offsets, which are due to such uncontrollable factors as heart motion. We used diamond search method and Brox’s coarse-to-fine warping optical flow technique for this ROI tracking problem. We validated our methods by comparing the quantitative analysis results of RT MCE using our methods with those using Lucas & Kanade’s optical flow technique, which had been r... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2661645 Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:22:09 +0100 2661645 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2643037&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F5qj666u4114544m0%2F Abstract  A novel technique to quantify the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of magnetic resonance images is developed. The image SNR is quantified by estimating the amplitude of the signal spectrum using the autocorrelation function of just one single magnetic resonance image. To test the performance of the quantification, SNR measurement data are fitted to theoretically expected curves. It is shown that the technique can be implemented in a highly efficient way for the magnetic resonance imaging system. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9339-9Authors K. S. Sim, Multimedia University Faculty of Engineering and Technology 75450 Malacca MalaysiaM. A. Lai, Multimedia University Faculty of Engineering and Technology 75450 Malacca MalaysiaC.... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2643037 Sat, 25 Jul 2009 04:28:24 +0100 2643037 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2643036&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fd7hh45kj61234582%2F Abstract  To effectively control the growth of medical expenditure, Bureau of National Health Insurance (NHI) of Taiwan has taken many measures, including the Reasonable Number of Outpatient Services, Ceiling Price, Global Budgets, Strategic Analysis and the Excellence Plan; however, these measures can only scratch the surface. Due to the change of life style and the deteriorating condition of over-nutrition and obesity, people now have a higher risk of diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular disease, gallbladder disease, cancer, gout, arthritis, and so on, which leads to higher medical expenditure. Therefore, good civil preventive health care is regarded as the solution of surging medical expenditure. According to NHI’s statistics, the annual medical expen... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2643036 Sat, 25 Jul 2009 04:28:24 +0100 2643036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2638952&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fl5w2g1h6q3x33221%2F Abstract  We designed an artificial neural network (ANN) to diagnose cirrhosis in patients with chronic HBV infection. Routine laboratory data (PT, INR, platelet count, direct bilirubin, AST/ALT, AST/PLT) and age were collected from 144 patients. Cirrhosis in these patients was diagnosed by liver biopsy. The ANN’s ability was assessed using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and the results were compared with a logistic regression model. Our results indicate that the neural network analysis is likely to provide a non-invasive, accurate test for diagnosing cirrhosis in chronic HBV-infected patients, only based on routine laboratory data. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9348-8Authors Mohammad Reza Raoufy, Tarbiat M... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2638952 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:27:49 +0100 2638952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2623551&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F93221001852844hq%2F Abstract  Medication dosing errors are frequent in neonatal wards. In an Iranian neonatal ward, a 7.5 months study was designed in three periods to compare the effect of Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) without and with decision support functionalities in reducing non-intercepted medication dosing errors in antibiotics and anticonvulsants. Before intervention (Period 1), error rate was 53%, which did not significantly change after the implementation of CPOE without decision support (Period 2). However, errors were significantly reduced to 34% after that the decision support was added to the CPOE (Period 3; P < 0.001). Dose errors were more often intercepted than frequency errors. Over-dose was the most frequent type of medication errors and curtailed-inte... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2623551 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:28:13 +0100 2623551 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2603975&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fr051423320421526%2F Abstract  Three problems impede the assessment of hospital pharmacy efficiency. First, although multiple efficiency indicators are utilized to measure a large variety of activities, it has not been possible to validly measure overall efficiency. Second, there have been no widely-used clinical activity indicators, so key outputs often have not been accounted for. Third, there has been no effective methodology for identifying when declines in efficiency are normal random variations and when they represent true decreases in performance. This paper presents a procedure that simultaneously addresses these three problems. It analyzes data from a group of U.S. hospital pharmacies that collect an inclusive set of clinical and distributional indicators. It employs Data Envelopment A... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2603975 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:14:51 +0100 2603975 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2603974&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F2732n76527k00576%2F We present an automated method for segmentation of epithelial cells in images taken from ThinPrep scenes by a digital camera in a cytology lab. The method covers both steps of localization of cell objects in low resolution and detection of cytoplasm and nucleus boundary in high resolution. The underlying method makes use of geometric active contours as a powerful tool of segmentation. We also provide the analysis of the connected cells. For this purpose an automatic circular decomposition method is incorporated and adapted to the application by changing its segmentation condition. The results are evaluated numerically and compared with those of previous work in literature. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9323-4Authors Negar M. Harandi, Is... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2603974 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:14:51 +0100 2603974 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2603976&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fh044434171642023%2F Abstract  This paper presents the results obtained for medical image compression using autoencoder neural networks. Since mammograms (medical images) are usually of big sizes, training of autoencoders becomes extremely tedious and difficult if the whole image is used for training. We show in this paper that the autoencoders can be trained successfully by using image patches instead of the whole image. The compression performances of different types of autoencoders are compared based on two parameters, namely mean square error and structural similarity index. It is found from the experimental results that the autoencoder which does not use Restricted Boltzmann Machine pre-training yields better results than those which use this pre-training method. Content Type Journal Art... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2603976 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:14:50 +0100 2603976 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2596158&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fc615v553n5551t40%2F Abstract  This paper presents the use of probabilistic neural networks (PNNs) for detection of resistivity for antibiotics (resistant and sensitive). The PNN is trained on the resistivity or sensitivity to the antibiotics of each record in the Salmonella database. Estimation of the whole parameter space for the PNN was performed by the maximum-likelihood (ML) estimation method. The expectation-maximization (EM) approach can help to achieve the ML estimation via iterative computation. Resistivity and sensitivity of the three antibiotics (ampicillin, chloramphenicol disks and trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole) were classified with high accuracies by the PNN. The obtained results demonstrated the success of the PNN to help in detection of resistivity for antibiotics. Content T... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2596158 Sat, 11 Jul 2009 06:35:59 +0100 2596158 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2589938&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Frwpx5422l3565747%2F Abstract  Computer simulation has been employed to evaluate proposed changes in the delivery of health care. However, little is known about the utility of simulation approaches for analysis of changes in the delivery of surgical care. We searched eight bibliographic databases for this comprehensive review of the literature published over the past five decades, and found 34 publications that reported on simulation models for the flow of surgical patients. The majority of these publications presented a description of the simulation approach: 91% outlined the underlying assumptions for modeling, 88% presented the system requirements, and 91% described the input and output data. However, only half of the publications reported that models were constructed to address the needs of... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2589938 Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:41:48 +0100 2589938 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2589939&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fr6550wt21ug5556p%2F We present an automatic screening system for detecting the early stage of DR, which is known as non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR). The proposed system involves processing of fundus images for extraction of abnormal signs, such as hard exudates, cotton wool spots, and large plaque of hard exudates. A rule based classifier is used for classifying the DR into two classes, namely, normal and abnormal. The abnormal NPDR is further classified into three levels, namely, mild, moderate, and severe. To evaluate the performance of the proposed decision support framework, the algorithms have been tested on the images of STARE database. The results obtained from this study show that the proposed system can detect the bright lesions with an average accuracy of about 97%. The study fur... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2589939 Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:30:58 +0100 2589939 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2589940&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F923000489621482v%2F This study is to propose and evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of decision tree classifiers using the full set of standard GDx VCC measurements for classifying glaucoma in a Taiwan Chinese population. The classifiers were trained and tested using standard GDx VCC parameters from examinations of 74 subjects with glaucoma and 72 normal subjects. Six promising decision rules were generated from decision tree methods and the overall accuracy from tenfold cross validation was 0.801. Classification tree based on GDx VCC data promises to be a diagnostic tool in glaucoma disease. However, its exact clinical application in glaucoma practice should be retested. Further longitudinal study should address this issue. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9333-... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2589940 Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:30:57 +0100 2589940 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2578367&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fk44870jt5q103682%2F Abstract  There is an increased emphasis on the use of digital techniques in all aspects of human life today. Broadcast radio and television, cellular phone services, consumer and entertainment electronics etc are increasingly using digital signal processing techniques to improve the quality of service. Transmission and storage of documentation and images pertaining to patient records cannot remain an exception to this global trend. Hence, patient records (text and image information) are increasingly stored and processed in digital form. Currently, text and image information, which constitute two separate pieces of data are handled as different files. Thus, there is a possibility of the text and message information, pertaining to different patients, being interchanged and t... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2578367 Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:08:42 +0100 2578367 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2558036&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F58x8n7267673667v%2F Abstract  Due to the socioeconomic reason in Japan, some cancer patient is sometimes operated at a rural hospital where only several surgeons perform and no pathologist checks its malignancy. Therefore, the system of the remote diagnosis for frozen section has been standing up in this country for 7 years. In Japan, the USF has started from February 2007 to support only telecommunications operator’s hardware (NTT’s equipments such as digital switch board) in high cost areas, not for the reimbursement of the tariff of the public users, such as telepathology. To solve such social cormorant equality, when the USF and PAs were supported in the present quick frozen intraoperative telepathology diagnosis, the quality of the cancer treatment in rural area will be improved.... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2558036 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:13:00 +0100 2558036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2549673&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F1043038500730161%2F Abstract  Our hospital acts as a regional core hospital through inter-hospital collaboration. Geographical information is necessary to guide patients to the other hospitals. Although paper maps, which contain directions, nearest public transportation, etc., are usually provided to guide patients to the hospitals, the geographical information tends to change daily. However, updating the geographical information on the maps is costly. We constructed an electronic geographical information system using the Google Map API (http://code.google.com/apis/maps/) with open source software to improve our ability to collaborate with other clinics. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9335-0Authors Shinji Kobayashi, Chihaya Hospital Fukuoka JapanTe... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2549673 Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:39:39 +0100 2549673 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2549674&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F83rt21433w565187%2F Abstract  Respiratory sounds are of significance as they provide valuable information on the health of the respiratory system. Sounds emanating from the respiratory system are uneven, and vary significantly from one individual to another and for the same individual over time. In and of themselves they are not a direct proof of an ailment, but rather an inference that one exists. Auscultation diagnosis is an art/skill that is acquired and honed by practice; hence it is common to seek confirmation using invasive and potentially harmful imaging diagnosis techniques like X-rays. This research focuses on developing an automated auscultation diagnostic system that overcomes the limitations inherent in traditional auscultation techniques. The system uses a front end sound signal f... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2549674 Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:39:26 +0100 2549674 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2549675&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fy3780u36x6802821%2F Abstract  A survey of recent worldwide trends in Universal Service Funds (USFs) and the assistance provided for their application indicates that industrialized countries and developing nations alike have offered or plan to offer tax-relief measures or reimbursement for communications costs incurred by telemedicine programs, thus finding a way to actively apply USFs in rural areas. There are three main systems used to calculate the amount of reimbursement from a USF. While many countries adopt a service-area net-loss estimation method, Japan uses a benchmark method and provides financial assistance only to unprofitable areas. The USA has proactively introduced telemedicine to rural areas and isolated islands in order to minimize rapidly rising healthcare costs and to improve... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2549675 Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:39:20 +0100 2549675 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2549676&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fj8j17452764v444g%2F Abstract  Literature related to chief information officer (CIO) in the developed countries during the past 20 years has been reviewed to identify the future trends of the position. The literature shows that CIO is a growing position in the healthcare industry that has achieved much popularity because today’s healthcare has a great focus on information management and technology and that CIO can be future powerful strategist for healthcare organizations. Therefore, a model for an ideal healthcare CIO based on lesson learned from literature was suggested. It seems that in the developed countries, CIOs will achieve many opportunities to come in the highest executive teams of healthcare organizations and may undertake CEO roles. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Orig... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2549676 Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:40:54 +0100 2549676 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2491294&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fj45r237w87620024%2F In this study an efficient method for classification sleep apnea through sub-band energy of abdominal effort using a particularly designed hybrid classifier as Wavelets + Neural Network is proposed. The Abdominal respiration signals were separated into spectral sub-band energy components with multi-resolution Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT). The energy content of these spectral components was applied to the input of the artificial neural network (ANN). The ANN was configured to give three outputs dedicated to SAS cases; obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), central sleep apnea (CSA) and mixed sleep apnea (MSA). Through the network, satisfactory results that rewarding 85.62% mean accuracy in classifying SAS were obtained. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2491294 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:09:05 +0100 2491294 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2491295&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fh0675675m2471541%2F The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the utility of artificial neural networks, in combination with wavelet transforms for the detection of mammogram masses as malign or benign. A total of 45 patients who had breast masses in their mammography were enrolled in the study. The neural network was trained on the wavelet based feature vectors extracted from the mammogram masses for both benign and malign data. Therefore, in this study, Multilayer ANN was trained with the Backpropagation, Conjugate Gradient and Levenberg–Marquardt algorithms and ten-fold cross validation procedure was used. A satisfying sensitivity percentage of 89.2% was achieved with Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm. Since, this algorithm combines the best features of the Gauss–Newton technique and the other s... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2491295 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:09:04 +0100 2491295 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2491296&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fa841235261r27u77%2F In this study, the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by GSM900 based mobile phones (MPs) on the heart rate variability (HRV) were examined by using nonlinear analysis methods. The largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE) calculation was used to evaluate the effect of MP under various real exposure conditions. Sixteen healthy young volunteers were exposed to EMFs emitted by GSM900 based MP at two levels from a very low EMF (MP at stand-by) to a higher EMF (MP at pre-ring handshaking and ringing). A blind experimental protocol was designed and utilized with consideration to the physiological and psychological factors that may affect HRV. The results showed that the LLE values increased slightly with higher EMF produced by MP (P < 0.05). This change indicates that the degree... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2491296 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:47:16 +0100 2491296 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2491297&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F23g6479545407227%2F Abstract  The visual analysis of EEG has shown useful in helping the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) when the diagnosis remains uncertain, being used in some clinical protocols. However, such analysis is subject to the inherent equipment imprecision, patient movement, electrical records, and physician interpretation of the visual analysis variation. The Artificial Neural Network (ANN) could be a helpful tool, appropriate to address problems such as prediction and pattern recognition. In this work, it has use a new class of ANN, the Paraconsistent Artificial Neural Network (PANN), which is capable of handling uncertain, inconsistent, and paracomplete information, for recognizing predetermined patterns of EEG and to assess its value as a possible auxiliary method for AD d... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2491297 Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:47:12 +0100 2491297 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2491298&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fp566823250676842%2F Abstract  HL7 (Health Level 7) is a standard developed for exchanging incompatible healthcare information generated from programs or devices among heterogenous medical information systems. At present, HL7 is growing as a global standard. However, the HL7 standard does not support effective methods for treating data from various medical sensors, especially from mobile sensors. As ubiquitous systems are growing, HL7 must communicate with various medical transducers. In the area of sensor fields, IEEE 1451 is a group of standards for controlling transducers and for communicating data from/to various transducers. In this paper, we present the possibility of interoperability between the two standards, i.e., HL7 and IEEE 1451. After we present a method to integrate them and show ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2491298 Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:45:52 +0100 2491298 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2491299&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fu63621l52t4551k1%2F Abstract  A portable and wireless activity monitoring system was developed for the estimation of temporal gait parameters. The new system was built using three-axis accelerometers to automatically detect walking steps with various walking speeds. The accuracy of walking step-peak detection algorithm was assessed by using a running machine with variable speeds. To assess the consistency of gait parameter analysis system, estimated parameters, such as heel-contact and toe-off time based on accelerometers and footswitches were compared for consecutive 20 steps from 19 individual healthy subjects. Accelerometers and footswitches had high consistency in the temporal gait parameters. The stance, swing, single-limb support, and double-limb support time of gait cycle revealed ICCs ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2491299 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:52:43 +0100 2491299 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2480014&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fb1356311m3672118%2F Abstract  Weaning from mechanical ventilation represents one of the most challenging issues in management of critically ill patients. Currently used weaning predictors ignore many important dimensions of weaning outcome and have not been uniformly successful. A fuzzy logic inference system that uses nine variables, and five rule blocks within two layers, has been designed and implemented over mathematical simulations and random clinical scenarios, to compare its behavior and performance in predicting expert opinion with those for rapid shallow breathing index (RSBI), pressure time index and Jabour’ weaning index. RSBI has failed to predict expert opinion in 52% of scenarios. Fuzzy logic inference system has shown the best discriminative power (ROC: 0.9288), and RSBI the w... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2480014 Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:19:29 +0100 2480014 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2480015&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F244n0272l211517g%2F In this study, we survey the “state-of-the-art” in analysis of EEG and TCD brain parameters changing with temperature and present further research opportunities. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9324-3Authors Ayşe Demirhan, Gazi University Department of Electronics and Computer Technology, Faculty of Technology Teknikokullar Ankara TurkeyMemduh Kaymaz, Gazi University Department of Neurosurgery, Medical School Besevler Ankara TurkeyRaşit Ahıska, Gazi University Department of Electronics and Computer Technology, Faculty of Technology Teknikokullar Ankara Turkeyİnan Güler, Gazi University Department of Electronics and Computer Technology, Faculty of Technology Teknikokullar Ankara Turkey Journal Journal of Medical SystemsOnline I... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2480015 Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:10:54 +0100 2480015 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2465713&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fx1300g121552326p%2F Abstract  Breast cancer continues to be a significant public health problem in the world. The diagnosing mammography method is the most effective technology for early detection of the breast cancer. However, in some cases, it is difficult for radiologists to detect the typical diagnostic signs, such as masses and microcalcifications on the mammograms. This paper describes a new method for mammographic image enhancement and denoising based on wavelet transform and homomorphic filtering. The mammograms are acquired from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Akdeniz and the University of Istanbul in Turkey. Firstly wavelet transform of the mammograms is obtained and the approximation coefficients are filtered by homomorphic filter. Then the detail coefficients of the wa... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2465713 Sat, 06 Jun 2009 10:12:16 +0100 2465713 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2460389&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F4727307m51027076%2F Abstract  Securing electronic health records, in scenarios in which the provision of care services is share among multiple actors, could become a complex and costly activity. Correct identification of patients and physician, protection of privacy and confidentiality, assignment of access permissions for healthcare providers and resolutions of conflicts rise as main points of concern in the development of interconnected health information networks. Biometric technologies have been proposed as a possible technological solution for these issues due to its ability to provide a mechanism for unique verification of an individual identity. This paper presents an analysis of the benefit as well as disadvantages offered by biometric technology. A comparison between this technology a... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2460389 Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:11:18 +0100 2460389 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2450015&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fm0qwh28072744955%2F Content Type Journal ArticleCategory EditorialDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9319-0Authors Ralph Grams, University of Florida College of Medicine Gainesville FL 32610 USA Journal Journal of Medical SystemsOnline ISSN 1573-689XPrint ISSN 0148-5598 (Source: Journal of Medical Systems) Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2450015 Fri, 29 May 2009 06:49:05 +0100 2450015 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2450016&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fv019l302p27531p3%2F Abstract  Although schizophrenia can be treated, most patients still experience inevitable psychotic episodes from time to time. Precautious actions can be taken if the next onset can be predicted. However, sufficient information is always lacking in the clinical scenario. A possible solution is to use the virtual data generated from limited of original data. Data construction method (DCM) has been shown to generate the virtual felt earthquake data effectively and used in the prediction of further events. Here we investigated the performance of DCM in deriving the membership functions and discrete-event simulations (DES) in predicting the period embracing the initiation and termination time-points of the next psychotic episode of 35 individual schizophrenic patients. The re... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2450016 Fri, 29 May 2009 06:49:04 +0100 2450016 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2437856&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fd28121178211t485%2F Abstract  Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) is one of the useful and powerful neural network approaches for the solution of function approximation and pattern recognition problems in the last decades. In this paper, the diagnosis of renal failure disease is investigated using ANFIS approach. Totally the raw data of 112 patients is obtained from Istanbul and Cerrahpasa Medical Faculties of Istanbul University, Turkey. Sixty-four of them are related to renal failures and the rest data belong to healthy persons. In ANFIS model, three rules and Gaussian membership functions are chosen, where rules are determined by the subtractive clustering method. Seven parameters of the patients are considered for the input of the system. These are: Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN), Cre... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2437856 Tue, 26 May 2009 06:04:21 +0100 2437856 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2437855&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F5403026vh3u814h5%2F Content Type Journal ArticleCategory EditorialDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9315-4Authors Ralph Grams, University of Florida Pathology and Medical Informatics, College of Medicine Gainesville FL 32610 USA Journal Journal of Medical SystemsOnline ISSN 1573-689XPrint ISSN 0148-5598 (Source: Journal of Medical Systems) Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2437855 Tue, 26 May 2009 06:04:21 +0100 2437855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2437857&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F44pr2143x187j707%2F Abstract  The measurement of the rectal pressure is considered to be the ‘gold standard’ for the assessment of the abdominal pressure. However, conventional rectal catheters can cause erroneous results and are not comfortable for the patients. To reduce these problems, we devised a non-invasive technique for the measurement of the abdominal pressure using the parametric curve fitting method, based on linear, polynomial, exponential or sine equation modeling, between the rectal pressure and electromyographic (sEMG) signals recorded simultaneously from the abdomen. The sEMG signals and rectal pressure were obtained simultaneously from 12 patients with neurogenic bladders due to spinal cord injury (age = 53.2 ± 11.9 years, BMI = 24.4 ± 2.7, ASIA class... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2437857 Tue, 26 May 2009 06:04:19 +0100 2437857 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2432821&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fe537234j8h7q0430%2F Abstract  Patients’ safety is the most essential, critical issue, however, errors can hardly prevent, especially for human faults. In order to reduce the errors caused by human, we construct Electronic Health Records (EHR) in the Health Information System (HIS) to facilitate patients’ safety and to improve the quality of medical care. During the medical care processing, all the tasks are based upon physicians’ orders. In National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH), the Electronic Health Record committee proposed a standard of order flows. There are objectives of the standard: first, to enhance medical procedures and enforce hospital policies; secondly, to improve the quality of medical care; third, to collect sufficient, adequate data for EHR in the near future. Among ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2432821 Fri, 22 May 2009 05:47:48 +0100 2432821 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2432823&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F65786w3748522m11%2F Abstract  In this paper, we propose a novel method using best basis wavelet functions and double thresholding that are well suited for detecting and localization of important epileptic events from noisy recorded seizure EEG signals. Our technique is based on dyadic wavelet decomposition and is mainly concerned detection of single epileptic transients within the observation sequence, such as ictal and interictal epochs of EEG. In our experiment we use temporal lobe epileptic data recorded during 84 h from four patients diagnosed with epilepsy. We have achieved promising results that demonstrate efficiency and simplicity that can be used in clinical studies as an automatic decision support tool. Thus reduce the physician’s workload and provide accurate diagnosis of epi... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2432823 Fri, 22 May 2009 05:47:47 +0100 2432823 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2429805&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fy9x61x845711452q%2F Abstract  The purpose of this study is to develop an abnormal gait detection algorithm and a vibratory stimulation system on a lower limb to improve gait stability and prevent falls. The system consists of a gait measurement module, an abnormal gait detection module, and a vibratory stimulation module. The gait measurement module measures the vertical acceleration of the ankle during walking using an accelerometer. The measured acceleration values are sent to a portable microcontroller, which controls vibratory stimulations to the ankles based on an algorithm that detects the peak acceleration values. If the acceleration peaks are found to occur irregularly, the abnormal gait detection algorithm activates the vibratory stimulation module. To determine the effect of vibrator... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2429805 Wed, 20 May 2009 06:19:41 +0100 2429805 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2429804&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F8107201v582t1512%2F Abstract  In order to prevent bone fractures due to disease and ageing of the population, and to detect problems while still in their early stages, 3D bone micro architecture needs to be investigated and characterized. Here, we have developed various image processing and simulation techniques to investigate bone micro architecture and its mechanical stiffness. We have evaluated morphological, topological and mechanical bone features using artificial intelligence methods. A clinical study is carried out on two populations of arthritic and osteoporotic bone samples. The performances of Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) in classifying the different samples have been compared. Results show that the best separ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2429804 Wed, 20 May 2009 06:19:41 +0100 2429804 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2429806&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Ff31557v78168530k%2F Abstract  Myocardial infarction (MI), is commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply to the portion of the heart is blocked causing some heart cells to die. This information is depicted in the elevated ST wave, increased Q wave amplitude and inverted T wave of the electrocardiogram (ECG) signal. ECG signals are prone to noise during acquisition due to electrode movement, muscle tremor, power line interference and baseline wander. Hence, it becomes difficult to decipher the information about the cardiac state from the morphological changes in the ECG signal. These signals can be analyzed using different signal processing techniques. In this work, we have used multiresolution properties of wavelet transformation because it is suitable tool for interpretatio... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2429806 Wed, 20 May 2009 06:19:40 +0100 2429806 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2419498&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Ft816872827193u33%2F Abstract  General electronic medical records systems remain insufficient for ophthalmology outpatient clinics from the viewpoint of dealing with many ophthalmic examinations and images in a large number of patients. Filing systems for documents and images by Yahgee Document View (Yahgee, Inc.) were introduced on the platform of general electronic medical records system (Fujitsu, Inc.). Outpatients flow management system and electronic medical records system for ophthalmology were constructed. All images from ophthalmic appliances were transported to Yahgee Image by the MaxFile gateway system (P4 Medic, Inc.). The flow of outpatients going through examinations such as visual acuity testing were monitored by the list “Ophthalmology Outpatients List” by Yahgee Workflow in ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2419498 Fri, 15 May 2009 05:58:56 +0100 2419498 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2419497&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Ft622k63854r68m15%2F In this study, 155 nursing personnel serving at the case hospital, enrolled in N1/N2 ladder courses, were invited to participate as the subjects. The results showed that those who attended face-to-face learning classes reported higher satisfaction but achieved less in class than those in the e-learning class. The factors which influence the subjects’ satisfaction with e-learning were investigated and summarized. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s10916-009-9306-5Authors Li-Jung Leu, Yuan’s General Hospital Kaohsiung 802 TaiwanHsueh-Chih Liao, St. Martin De Porres Hospital Chia-Yi 600 TaiwanI-Chiu Chang, National Chung Cheng University Department of Information Management Chia-Yi 621 TaiwanZhi-Yuan Su, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy & Science Depart... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2419497 Fri, 15 May 2009 05:58:56 +0100 2419497 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2419500&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F7u7t1xt7446jx07u%2F In this study, a discrete-event simulation approach was used to model Emergency Department’s (ED) patient flow to investigate the effect of inpatient boarding on the ED efficiency in terms of the National Emergency Department Crowding Scale (NEDOCS) score and the rate of patients who leave without being seen (LWBS). The decision variable in this model was the boarder-released-ratio defined as the ratio of admitted patients whose boarding time is zero to all admitted patients. Our analysis shows that the Overcrowded+ (a NEDOCS score over 100) ratio decreased from 88.4% to 50.4%, and the rate of LWBS patients decreased from 10.8% to 8.4% when the boarder-released-ratio changed from 0% to 100%. These results show that inpatient boarding significantly impacts both the NEDOCS score and ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2419500 Thu, 14 May 2009 06:56:43 +0100 2419500 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2419499&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Ff2608548452rq3q7%2F Abstract  Information systems plays an important role in medicine because it helps process more data more efficiently while providing access to more people in different parts of the world. In this research we analyzed the data of legionella pneumophila and other legionella species collected by the public hygiene center (PHC). PHC collected 7,211 water samples from different sources of different locations in different cities in Turkey from year 1995 to 2008. The main goal of this research is to develop a conceptual framework for preventing disease and to design a medical decision support system to help administration assessing the risk of Legionnaires’ disease and preventing the outbreaks of the disease. The DSS involves SOM software which was programmed with C# to search ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2419499 Thu, 14 May 2009 06:56:43 +0100 2419499 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2419501&cid=s_33356_21_f&fid=33356&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fcontent%2F68hx422330548752%2F In this study, the correlation dimension analysis has been applied to the aortic valve Doppler signals to investigate the complexity of the Doppler signals which belong to aortic stenosis (AS) and aortic insufficiency (AI) diseases and healthy case. The Doppler signals of 20 healthy subjects, ten AS and ten AI patients were acquired via the Doppler echocardiography system that is a noninvasive and reliable technique for assessment of AS and AI diseases. The correlation dimension estimations have been performed for different time delay values to investigate the influence of time delay on the correlation dimension calculation. The correlation dimension of healthy group has been found lower those found in AI and AS disorder groups and the correlation dimension of AS group has also been ... Journal of Medical Systems journals http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2419501 Thu, 14 May 2009 06:56:41 +0100 2419501