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At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Darting behavior: a quantitative movement pattern designed for discrimination and replicability in mouse locomotor behavior.

In the open-field behavior of rodents, Software for Exploring Exploration (SEE) can be used for an explicit design of behavioral endpoints with high genotype discrimination and replicability across laboratories. This ability is demonstrated here in the development of a measure for darting behavior. The behavior of two common mouse inbred strains, C57BL/6J (B6) and DBA/2J (D2), was analyzed across three different laboratories, and under the effect of cocaine or amphetamine. "Darting" was defined as having higher acceleration during progression segments while moving less during stops. D2 mice darted significantly more than B6 mice in each laboratory, despite being significantly less active. These differences were maintained following cocaine administration (up to 20mg/kg) and only slightly altered by amphetamine (up to 5mg/kg) despite a several fold increase in activity. The replicability of darting behavior was confirmed in additional experiments distinct from those used for its design. The strategy leading to the darting measure may be used to develop additional discriminative and replicable endpoints of open-field behavior.

Amphetamine↗
PubMed1997

Cognitive evaluation: how to assess the usability of information technology in healthcare.

As the adoption of information technology has increased, so too has the demands that these systems become more adapted to the physicians and nurses environments, to make access and management of information easier. The developers of information systems in Healthcare must use quality management techniques to ensure that their product will satisfy given requirements. This underlines the importance of the preliminary phase where Users Requirements are elicited. Some methodologies, such as KAVAS (E.M.S. Van Gennip, F. Grémy, Med. Inform. 18, 1993, 179) chose to use a continuous assessment protocol as a key strategy for quality management. At each stage of the conception and development of a prototype, the assessment checks that it conforms to the expectation of the users' requirements. The methodology of evaluation is then seen as a dynamic process which is able to improve the design and development of a dedicated system. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the necessity to include a cognitive evaluation phase in the process of evaluation by: (1) evaluating the integration (usability) of the I.T. in the activity of the users; and (2) understanding the motives underlying their management of information. This will help the necessary integration of information management in the workload of the healthcare professionals and the compatibility of the prototypes with the daily activity of the users.

Cognition↗
PubMed1997

C.A.S.M. and C.A.S.T. A new information based approach to clinical audit.

This paper outlines a research project currently being conducted at the University of Central Lancashire. The project's aims are to develop a detailed structured method for clinical audit and to construct a supporting computer based toolset to automate the process. A discussion of the background to the research and an outline of the method and toolset is portrayed.

Database Management Systems↗
PubMed1997

A strategy for empowerment: the role of midwives in computer systems implementation.

The procurement and implementation of patient administration systems has been done on numerous occasions in the past. The Rotunda project however encompassed major bespoke clinical developments which were going to impact upon large clusters of midwives, and medical staff to a lesser extent. A broad based four level structured methodology was used to implement the project which is significantly ahead of schedule. This methodology together with its strengths and weaknesses is comprehensively discussed. The empowerment of midwives, their roles in systems analysis and design, software testing and organisational re-engineering is described. The importance of undertaking comprehensive computer training is highlighted and a compact 10 h information technology course coupled with ongoing educational and related activities which could be adopted by any organisation is documented. The seven deadly sins of project management are mapped out. An update on benefits realisation is provided. Gender issues are also discussed.

Computer Systems↗
PubMed1997

Experiences with the german teleradiology system MEDICUS.

This paper introduces the teleradiology system, MEDICUS, which has been developed at the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center) in Heidelberg, Germany. The system is designed to work on ISDN lines as well as in a local area network. The global software architecture is explained in the article. Special attention has been given to the design of the user interface and data security, integrity and authentication. The software has been evaluated in a German field test at 13 radiology departments in university clinics, small hospitals, private practices and research institutes. More than 30 thousand images have been transmitted using this system during a 9 month period. Realized application scenarios are: in-house communication, image and report delivery to referring hospitals, remote reporting, radiotherapy treatment planning and research cooperation. Experience has shown that the system is easy to use and saves time. It obviates the need for patient transport and reduces film costs. Experiences of individuals while using the system during the field test helped define the functionality of the second generation teleradiology system which is even more flexible and is also available as a commercial product.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed1998

Computer-based assistance in family medicine.

In this paper, the fully integrated General Practitioner (GP) Information and Research System HIOS and Decision Support System HIOS+ are described. Both systems were developed with the Phased Development Methodology (PDM), which is also presented. HIOS consists of an administrative module, medical modules, and a research module to support GPs in daily practice activities and research. It was implemented at a general practice and a health centre, and was evaluated positively. HIOS+ was developed by extending HIOS with modules which offer several types of decision support to assist GPs in (diagnostic) decision making. The modules offer passive and active decision support. HIOS+ can present textbook information, generate advice and warnings, support the creation of models, generate reports, and can be used in education. Some HIOS+ modules were evaluated by GPs in evaluation studies, all with positive results.

Computer Systems↗
PubMed1999

Development of a 3-D measurement and evaluation system for facial forms with a liquid crystal range finder.

A 3-D measurement and evaluation system for facial forms was developed with a liquid crystal range finder (LCRF). Its mechanical resolution was approximately/= 0.4 mm, and it was capable of measuring >30000 points from the entire facial surface in one second. An original program was developed to identify facial landmarks using not only linear distances, but also 3D-curvatures and discriminant analysis of the RGB data. With this program, the 3-D identification of anthropometrical points became possible with high accuracy. Due to the rapidity of the measuring apparatus and morphological evaluation system, it became possible to analyze the facial forms of infants such as cleft lip patients three dimensionally, without any sedation. Therefore, 97 normal infants (mean: 4.3 months of age) were measured and analyzed with this system. A cleft lip infant was measured and compared with the normal infants before and after cleft lip surgery, and the improved points and remaining problems were clearly recognized.

Cephalometry↗
PubMed1999

A study of the application sharing capabilities in telemedicine.

The main aim of this study was to find out if the image format (TIFF or JPEG) influenced the time delay for transferring radiological images by the application sharing tool of a desktop videoconferencing system. The second task of the study was to define a procedure that optimized the time delay to load and remotely visualize the images. The results were achieved by applying a test procedure called 'benchmark protocol'. The videoconferencing system used for the test was Intel ProShare 200 v2.0. The image transfer was performed by a BRI ISDN connection. We showed that the image format had no significant influence on the time delay. We presented an optimal procedure for image transfer. Furthermore, store and forward procedures with simple file transfer were shown to be inferior to the use of application sharing. For radiological image transfer we recommend to use lossless file formats and application sharing with the image already loaded in because this method achieves the lowest time delays.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed1999

Simple and powerful visual stimulus generator.

We describe a cheap, simple, portable and efficient approach to visual stimulation for neurophysiology which does not need any special hardware equipment. The method based on an animation technique uses the FLI autodesk animator format. This form of the animation is replayed by a special program ('player') providing synchronisation pulses toward recording system via parallel port. The 'player is running on an IBM compatible personal computer under MS-DOS operation system and stimulus is displayed on a VGA computer monitor. Various stimuli created with this technique for visual evoked potentials (VEPs) are presented.

Color↗
PubMed1999

An object-oriented Monte Carlo simulator for 3D cylindrical positron tomographs.

Monte Carlo simulation is a very powerful tool in understanding performances of positron tomographs as well as in assessing image reconstruction algorithms and their implementations. We present an object-oriented Monte Carlo simulator developed for 3D positron tomography. Results from phantom simulation studies including absorption and scattering of the photons in the field-of-view are presented. Scatter fractions determined from these studies are in good agreement with measured scatter fractions published in the literature. Limitations and future prospects are discussed.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1999

Design of optimal two-sample bolus injection tests for measuring low plasma clearance rates.

The bolus injection technique is widely used for assessing plasma clearance rates of substances and is based on multiexponential data analysis of multiple concentration measurements. This approach can be simplified to a monoexponential description with only two measurements if intercompartmental mixing occurs at a much faster rate than elimination, i.e. with low plasma clearance rates. In this context initial transients must be ignored because the first measurement time instant affects the accuracy of clearance estimates if mixing is still incomplete. Moreover, measurement noise affects estimation precision which can be optimized by suitable choice of the sampling schedule and of the injected test dose. The aim of this study is to design two-sample bolus injection tests for measuring low plasma clearance rates with preassigned precision and with minimum amount of injected test substance. This paper provides equations for evaluating whether plasma clearance is sufficiently low to allow a monoexponential description of the plasma disappearance curve and for choosing the first sampling time instant. Closed form equations are proposed for determining the optimal test dose and the second sampling time. Result are derived for a particular heteroscedastic measurement noise description, and the problem of robustness with respect to interpatient variability of kinetic parameters is addressed.

Artifacts↗
PubMed1999

A graphic orientated data analysis system for hemodynamic research.

A software program to process and to extract physiological functional hemodynamics data has been developed and reported. The purpose of this software system is to process and capture cardiovascular hemodynamics and physiological functional data after data acquisition. The system utilized an interactive graphic display and script control to extract the data. With a minimum interface, it is capable of analyzing multiple channels of data and simultaneously obtaining the results. The extracted data includes global cardiovascular functional parameters and with script process the software will calculate stroke work from the pressure length relationship. The results are stored in files for further statistical analysis. The procedures are reliable and readily applicable to examine and analyze the acquired data with minimal observer bias.

Computer Graphics↗
PubMed2001

Extraction of full absorption peaks in airborne gamma-spectrometry by filtering techniques coupled with a study of the derivatives. Comparison with the window method.

In this paper, an adaptation of a spectral profile analysis method, currently used in high-resolution spectrometry, to airborne gamma measurements is presented. A new algorithm has been developed for extraction of full absorption peaks by studying the variations in the spectral profile of data recorded with large-volume NaI detectors (16 l) with a short sampling time (2 s). The use of digital filters, taking into consideration the characteristics of the absorption peaks, significantly reduced the counting fluctuations, making detection possible based on study of the first and second derivatives. The absorption peaks are then obtained by modelling, followed by subtraction of the Compton continuum in the detection window. Compared to the conventional stripping ratio method, spectral profile analysis offers similar performance for the natural radioelements. The 137Cs 1SD detection limit is approximately 1200 Bq/m2 in a natural background of 200 Bq/kg 40K, 33 Bq/kg 238U and 33 Bq/kg 232Th. At low energy the very high continuum leads to detection limits similar to those obtained by the windows method, but the results obtained are more reliable. In the presence of peak overlaps, however, analysis of the spectral profile alone is not sufficient to separate the peaks, and further processing is necessary. Within the framework of environmental monitoring studies, spectral profile analysis is of great interest because it does not require any assumptions about the nature of the nuclides. The calculation of the concentrations from the results obtained is simple and reliable, since only the full absorption contributions are taken into consideration. A quantitative estimate of radioactive anomalies can thus be obtained rapidly.

Air Pollution, Radioactive↗
PubMed2002

Validation of Vitek version 7.01 software for testing staphylococci against vancomycin.

We tested 143 isolates of staphylococci with vancomycin by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards broth microdilution (BMD) reference method and compared the results to those generated using the Vitek automated system (GPS-105 and GPS-107 cards and version 7.01 software). For ten isolates, the vancomycin MICs by BMD were 8 microg/ml. By Vitek, the vancomycin MICs ranged from 2 to 16 microg/ml. Vancomycin MICs of > or =32 microg/ml were reported for two additional isolates by Vitek; however, the MICs decreased to < or =0.5 microg/ml on retesting. By BMD, the vancomycin MICs for both isolates were 1 microg/ml. While the modal vancomycin MIC results by BMD for S. aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) were both 1 microg/ml, Vitek results showed a mode of < or =0.5 microg/ml for S. aureus, and a mode of 2 microg/ml for CoNS. Vitek did not report vancomycin MICs of 1 or 4 microg/ml for any of the isolates tested. While the sensitivity of detecting staphylococci with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin appears to be improved with Vitek version 7.01 software, when compared to earlier software versions, laboratories may notice an overall shift in MIC data toward higher vancomycin MICs, although for the most part, this does not affect the categorical interpretations of the results.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1999

Computer-assisted instructions for patients with bronchial asthma.

We produced computer-assisted instruction (CAI) software for bronchial asthma patients (asthma educational system with computer-assisted instruction; ASTCAI) to assist in self-management and avoid asthmatic attacks and death. ASTCAI is a question-and-answer program operating in a multimedia environment, and was evaluated from questionnaires which 33 patients were asked. Thirty-two patients could perform ASTCAI without any assistance. The responses of 31 patients (94%) indicated that they had no difficulty with manipulation, and 29 patients (88%) stated that the program was beneficial to control of their asthma. Elderly patients (over 65) required more time than younger adults. Emergency visits or admissions of at least 1 year after the first CAI trial decreased in eight out of 26 patients, while only two patients deteriorated compared to the previous year. Our results show that CAI is feasible for most patients, and through active self-learning CAI can improve motivation for self-management as well as supplement the physician's instructions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

[Continuous administration of drugs by infusion pumps. Presentation of an infusion rate mathematical computing software].

Intensive therapy includes continuous delivery of drugs with infusion pump. This article describes an infusion rate computing programme using a Macintosh micro-computer and the HyperCard 2 software. The latter permits the classification of data onto cards collected in stacks. The card that is displayed when the programme is launched shows fifteen buttons assigned to various drugs. Click upon a button opens the corresponding card which displays the presentation of the drug and suggests a dilution. The next step associates input of patient's weight into the appropriate field and a click on the main button. A display then indicates for various standard dosages, the corresponding rate of infusion in mL.h-1 and the daily consumption of the drug. In order to avoid casual or voluntary changes of the setting, soft securities have been inserted in the programme.

Humans↗
PubMed2001

Bi-directional computing architecture for time series prediction.

A number of neural network models and training procedures for time series prediction have been proposed in the technical literature. These models studied for different time-variant data sets have typically used uni-directional computation flow or its modifications. In this study, on the contrary, the concept of bi-directional computational style is proposed and applied to prediction tasks. A bi-directional neural network model consists of two subnetworks performing two types of signal transformations bi-directionally. The networks also receive complementary signals from each other through mutual connections. The model not only deals with the conventional future prediction task, but also with the past prediction, an additional task from the viewpoint of the conventional approach. An improvement of the performance is achieved through making use of the future-past information integration. Since the coupling effects help the proposed model improve its performance, it is found that the prediction score is better than with the traditional uni-directional method. The bi-directional predicting architecture has been found to perform better than the conventional one when tested with standard benchmark sunspots data.

Data Interpretation, Statistical↗