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PubMedDate not supplied

Behavioral monitoring of trained insects for chemical detection.

A portable, handheld volatile odor detector ("Wasp Hound") that utilizes a computer vision system and Microplitis croceipes (Cresson) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid wasp, as the chemical sensor was created. Five wasps were placed in a test cartridge and placed inside the device. Wasps were either untrained or trained by associative learning to detect 3-octanone, a common fungal volatile chemical. The Wasp Hound sampled air from the headspace of corn samples prepared within the lab and, coupled with Visual Cortex, a software program developed using the LabView graphical programming language, monitored and analyzed wasp behavior. The Wasp Hound, with conditioned wasps, was able to detect 0.5 mg of 3-octanone within a 240 mL glass container filled with feed corn ( approximately 2.6 x 10(-5) mol/L). The Wasp Hound response to the control (corn alone) and a different chemical placed in the corn (0.5 mg of myrcene) was significantly different than the response to the 3-octanone. Wasp Hound results from untrained wasps were significantly different from trained wasps when comparing the responses to 3-octanone. The Wasp Hound may provide a unique method for monitoring grains, peanuts, and tree nuts for fungal growth associated with toxin production, as well as detecting chemicals associated with forensic investigations and plant/animal disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

A predictive instrument for acute ischemic heart disease to improve coronary care unit admission practices: a potential on-line tool in a computerized electrocardiograph.

Each year, 1.5 million patients are admitted to coronary care units (CCUs) for suspected acute ischemic heart disease, but for half of these, the diagnosis is ultimately ruled out. In this study, conducted in the emergency rooms (ERs) of six New England hospitals, the authors sought to develop a diagnostic aid to help ER physicians reduce the numbers of CCU admissions for patients without true acute cardiac ischemia. In phase 1, from data on 2,801 patients, they developed a predictive instrument for use in a handheld programmable calculator, which, based on a mathematical logistic regression formula, computes a patient's probability of having acute cardiac ischemia. In phase 2, a 1-year prospective trial including 2,320 ER patients at the six hospitals, physicians' diagnostic specificity for acute ischemia increased when the probability value determined by the instrument was made available to them (p = 0.002), without a drop in sensitivity. Among patients without acute ischemia, the number of CCU admissions decreased 30% (p = 0.003), without an increase in missed diagnoses of ischemia. The proportion of patients in the CCU without acute ischemia dropped from 44% to 33%. If similar findings were widespread, the use of this predictive instrument could reduce the number of CCU admissions in the United States by more than 250,000 per year. As originally envisioned, the physician could use a pocket-sized programmable calculator to allow quick access to the instrument's probability value, or an ER triage nurse might compute the probability value and write it on the clinical record for the physician's use.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Coronary Care Units↗
PubMed1982

[Bedside evaluation of hemodynamic and respiratory data with a programmable pocket calculator].

Information obtained from repeated measurements of basic haemodynamic and pulmonary artery catheterization data has become useful for treatment of critically ill patients. In addition, the determination of cardiac output, the systemic, central venous, pulmonary arterial and pulmonary capillary wedge pressures, and blood gas data of arterial and mixed venous sampling allow to calculate derived cardiorespiratory variables. Since manual computation is a time-consuming measure in the daily routine of an intensive care unit and online computer monitoring an expensive one, we developed a program for bedside use in a handheld programmable calculator. This program incorporates the following characteristics: calculation of standard hemodynamic, oxygen transport and perfusion-related variables, temperature correction of blood gas data, and derivation of oxygen saturation and intrapulmonary shunt.

Blood Gas Analysis↗
PubMed1998

Three-dimensional ultrasonography of choroidal melanoma: localization of radioactive eye plaques.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the use of 3-dimensional (3D) ultrasonography for the localization of episcleral eye plaques during the treatment of choroidal melanomas. METHODS: A series of 13 patients with choroidal melanoma were treated with radioactive palladium 103 seeds affixed into gold eye plaques. During surgery, 3D ultrasonography was performed with a commercially available system to evaluate the relative position of radioactive plaques secured beneath their intraocular tumors. This system consists of an automated, rotating, handheld, B-scan ultrasonographic probe operating at 10 MHz, a personal computer, and 3D imaging software. RESULTS: We measured the margins of the plaque extending beyond the tumor and the distance between the radioactive seeds and the tumor apex. We also evaluated the relationship between the plaque edge, the episclera, and the tumor's edges. While the plaques were well centered over the tumor in all cases, the plaque margins around the tumor were found to be variably sized. When comparing measurements taken at the time of plaque insertion with those taken at the time of plaque removal, we noted changes in the apical tumor height and in plaque centration. In the 1 patient with a juxtapapillary tumor, the posterior margin of the plaque was found to be displaced away from the sclera, or "tilted." CONCLUSIONS: Three-dimensional ultrasonography offers a new method for ophthalmic plaque localization. Unique perspectives can be visualized through the use of computer-aided 3D reconstructions that permit the assessment of the relative position of the plaque to the optic nerve and the measurement of the distance between the in vivo radioactive seed and the tumor apex. Our experience suggests that when compared with 2-dimensional ultrasonography, 3D ultrasonography offers new capabilities that can be used to improve plaque placement and radiation dose calculations.

Brachytherapy↗
PubMed2003

Nursing informatics: the key to unlocking contemporary nursing practice.

Nursing informatics is a relatively new nursing specialty. Recognized by the American Nurses' Association in 1992, this field within nursing has grown exponentially. Once the purview of highly specialized individuals, nursing informatics has now crept into all dimensions of nursing, from domain of advanced nurse practitioners to prominence in critical care nursing. Nowhere is the management and processing of health-related information more important than in the care of the critically ill patient. Fast-paced environments, split-second decision making, wireless communications, monitoring systems run with computerized backbones, and computerized ordering and documentation, all things unimaginable just a decade ago, are now fundamental to nursing practice. Each requires a baseline understanding of informatics for true mastery. The domain of nursing informatics continues to grow as nursing incorporates expanded roles and new technology into practice. Education for nurse informaticians includes preparation from the baccalaureate level through the doctorate level and national board certification. Areas of practice are expansive, including hospitals, industry, education, policy-making, research, administration, and international settings. Although informaticians work with computers, computing technology is not the heart of the domain. Computers are simply tools that are used. Examples of informatics tools include handheld devices, point-of-care documentation, computerized provider order entry, and bar code medication administration. Nursing informatics plays an essential role in the future directions of healthcare by defining the relationship between nurses and information technology as well as the knowledge that can be gained when these domains work together.

Biomedical Technology↗
PubMed1996

Pressure perception in the normal lower extremity and in the tarsal tunnel syndrome.

For quantitative sensory testing to be useful for the management of peripheral nerve problems, a normative database must be developed. The Pressure-Specified Sensory Device (PSSD), a handheld instrument whose hemispherical metal probe tips are connected via a force transducer to a computer, has been found reliable and valid for the upper extremity. In the present study, the PSSD was used to measure the cutaneous pressure threshold at four lower extremity sites in 34 normal adults and in 22 patients with tarsal tunnel syndrome (6 bilateral). Each of the 28 limbs that was symptomatic for tarsal tunnel syndrome had a cutaneous pressure threshold greater than the 99% confidence limit of the age-matched controls (< or = 45 years, > 45 years of age). Screening for tarsal tunnel syndrome can be done utilizing the measurement of the two-point static-touch thresholds for pressure and distance.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Handheld gamma probe used to detect accessory spleens during initial laparoscopic splenectomies.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative determination of the accessory spleen still is a major factor in the failure of both laparoscopic and conventional techniques. This study aimed to evaluate the practicability and efficacy of a handheld gamma probe in identifying accessory spleens at the initial intervention. METHODS: This study evaluated 17 patients undergoing laparoscopic splenectomy attributable to benign hematologic disorders. All the patients had preoperative ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT) scan, and nuclear scintigraphic examination of the abdominal cavity to assess the size of the spleen, and to determine the existence of the accessory spleen or spleens. For all the patients, a handheld gamma probe count was used intraoperatively as an adjuvant method to define the presence and location of the accessory splenic tissue. Control nuclear scintigraphic examinations of all the patients were performed 1 month after the surgical procedure. RESULTS: In two cases, intraoperatively accessory splenic tissue was detected by gamma probe, confirming the preoperative CT findings for the patients. One of these patients had three accessory spleens, although preoperative CT scan showed only two of them. However, by the help of the gamma probe, a third spleen located retroperitoneally was defined. For two patients, laparoscopic exploration and handheld gamma probe count did not identify any accessory splenic tissue, although preoperative CT scan indicated accessory spleens. For detecting accessory splenic tissue, the sensitivities of the studied techniques were 0% for ultrasonography, 75% for CT scan, 0% for preoperative nuclear scintigraphy, 75% for laparoscopic exploration, and 100% for perioperative gamma probe examination. CONCLUSION: Preoperative imaging methods for accessory spleen determination still have limited benefits because of their limited sensitivity. Thus, the handheld gamma probe technique may be an adjuvant method for laparoscopic exploration ensuring that no accessory splenic tissue is missed during the initial surgical treatment of benign hematologic disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Illumination-tolerant face verification of low-bit-rate JPEG2000 wavelet images with advanced correlation filters for handheld devices.

Face recognition on mobile devices, such as personal digital assistants and cell phones, is a big challenge owing to the limited computational resources available to run verifications on the devices themselves. One approach is to transmit the captured face images by use of the cell-phone connection and to run the verification on a remote station. However, owing to limitations in communication bandwidth, it may be necessary to transmit a compressed version of the image. We propose using the image compression standard JPEG2000, which is a wavelet-based compression engine used to compress the face images to low bit rates suitable for transmission over low-bandwidth communication channels. At the receiver end, the face images are reconstructed with a JPEG2000 decoder and are fed into the verification engine. We explore how advanced correlation filters, such as the minimum average correlation energy filter [Appl. Opt. 26, 3633 (1987)] and its variants, perform by using face images captured under different illumination conditions and encoded with different bit rates under the JPEG2000 wavelet-encoding standard. We evaluate the performance of these filters by using illumination variations from the Carnegie Mellon University's Pose, Illumination, and Expression (PIE) face database. We also demonstrate the tolerance of these filters to noisy versions of images with illumination variations.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2005

Detection of metallic ocular foreign bodies with handheld sonography in a porcine model.

OBJECTIVE: Eye conditions are common in emergency departments. Intraocular foreign bodies (IOFBs) are a frequent concern. Orbital computed tomography (CT) is traditionally used for evaluation. We sought to evaluate bedside ocular sonography for detecting metallic IOFBs. METHODS: A pig model was chosen. A micrometer was used to create 3 precise metallic fragments: 0.012 x 0.012 x 0.012, 0.025 x 0.025 x 0.012, and 0.05 x 0.05 x 0.012 in. Individual eyes were randomized to the presence or absence of a foreign body. Randomization was also used to determine the specific size of any given IOFB. A standard 18-gauge spinal needle was used to puncture the sclera and introduce the IOFB into the vitreous. Each eye was then evaluated by 2 sonologists for the presence or absence of an IOFB. RESULTS: A total of 28 eyes were used; 12 (43%) were randomized to no IOFB and 16 (57%) to the presence of an IOFB. Of the 16 eyes that received IOFBs, 8 (50%) were 0.012 x 0.012 x 0.012 in; 5 (31%) were 0.025 x 0.025 x 0.012 in; and 3 (19%) were 0.05 x 0.05 x 0.012 in. Sensitivity was 87.5% and specificity 95.8%. Positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were 96.5% and 85.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Bedside sonography may identify the presence of metallic IOFBs. The PPV allows a high degree of certainty that an IOFB is actually present if seen and may negate the need for uninfused orbital CT. The NPV was 85.2%. Given the potential grave consequences of a missed IOFB, sonography cannot be used as the definitive test to rule out the presence of a metallic IOFB. In the presence of negative findings, further imaging is warranted.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Effects of biomechanical and task constraints on the organization of movement in precision aiming.

Nine participants performed a reciprocal precision aiming task under different experimental conditions. Due to the anisotropy of the work space, varying the direction of motion (from 0 degrees to 315 degrees in steps of 45 degrees ) allowed exploration of the effects of biomechanical constraints that were found to affect the duration of movement but not the shape of the kinematic pattern. Varying the size of the targets to be attained (W: 2.5, 1.25, and 0.625 cm, for a constant intertarget distance of 10 cm) and the nature (linear or non-linear) of the mapping between effector space (motion of a handheld stylus on a graphics tablet) and task space (motion of a pointer between targets on a computer screen) also led to changes in movement duration. However, the latter type of constraint gave rise to systematic changes in the pattern of movement, with progressively more difficult tasks being characterized by progressively less harmonic motion patterns. We conclude that in contrast to (biomechanical) constraints at the level of the effector, (informational) constraints at the level of the task affect the processes underlying movement organization. For the range of values studied, the effects of these two types of constraint can be considered to be independent.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Epidemiologic programs for computers and calculators. Simple algorithms for the representation of deterministic and stochastic versions of the Reed-Frost epidemic model using a programmable calculator.

Two programs are described for the emulation of the dynamics of Reed-Frost progressive epidemics in a handheld programmable calculator (HP-41C series). The programs provide a complete record of cases, susceptibles, and immunes at each epidemic period using either the deterministic formulation or the trough analogue of the mechanical model for the stochastic version. Both programs can compute epidemics that include a constant rate of influx or outflux of susceptibles and single or double infectivity time periods.

Computers↗
PubMed1997

Intraoperative gamma detection reveals abdominal endocrine tumors more efficiently than somatostatin receptor scintigraphy.

BACKGROUND: [(111)In]-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)-D-[Phe1]-octreotide (OctreoScan, Mallinckrodt Medical, Petten, The Netherlands), combined with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), has limited possibilities to detect small abdominal endocrine tumors. This study explores the efficacy of OctreoScan and a newly developed handheld gamma detector probe (H-probe2) for the localization of neuroendocrine abdominal tumors. METHODS: Twenty-one patients with endocrine pancreatic or midgut carcinoid tumors were given 100-200 megabecquerels (MBq) [(111)In]-DTPA-D-[Phe1]-octreotide and underwent preoperative SPECT examination, after which time surgery was undertaken within 24-48 hours. Intraoperatively the radioactivity of tumors and normal tissues was measured with the H-probe2 connected to a portable personal computer. Resected intestinal specimens of ten patients with carcinoid tumors were examined by gamma camera ex vivo. Biopsies of all tumors subsequently were investigated in a wellcounter and by routine histopathology. RESULTS: Disregarding liver metastases, a total of 34 of 60 abdominal tumors were detected by SPECT; however, SPECT failed to visualize any tumor < 9 mm. The shielding of the manual probe allowed intraoperative examination despite the substantial radiation energy of (111)In. The H-probe2 detected 91% of the tumors investigated, and these included all those > 5 mm. In the wellcounter the H-probe2-detected tumors exhibited 4.7-157.7 times higher radionuclide uptake than the surrounding normal tissues. The gamma camera analysis detected 68% of tumors in the resected specimens. CONCLUSIONS: The intraoperative H-probe2 examination provided substantial improvement in the detection of small endocrine lesions accumulating [(111)In]-DTPA-D-[Phe1]-octreotide and all lesions with a size > 5 mm in greatest dimension could be identified.

Adult↗