bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tracing the Formalization Steps of Textual Guidelines
Authors: Votruba Peter  , Miksch Silvia  , Seyfang Andreas  , Kosara Robert
Published: February 2025

This paper presents a new guideline authoring tool, called Guideline Markup Tool (GMT). It proposes two useful features, which are missing in existing tools. First, it facilitates the translation of a free-text guideline into a formal representation, providing special XML macros. Second, it can be used to create links between the original guideline and its formal representation. Therefore, the GMT eases the implementation of clinical guidelines in a formal representation, which can be used in monitoring and therapy planning systems.
Role of Telemedicine in Neurosciences
Authors: Ganapathy K.
Published: February 2025

That distribution of specialists in neurological sciences worldwide is lopsided is an accepted fact. That, increasing the number of specialists, providing them with the requisite infrastructure and maintaining high standards to provide neurological and neurosurgical surgical care worldwide is just not possible, is also accepted. Patients from suburban areas are sent to the limited number of tertiary neurosciences referral centers, incurring expense and time and resulting in overwork at these centers. It is easier to set up an excellent telecommunication infrastructure, to increase the reach of the limited number of urban specialists, than to put them in suburban areas.
Telemedicine and Mobile Surgery in Extreme Conditions: The Ecuadorian Experience
Authors: Rodas Edgar  , Vicuna Anita  , Rodas Edgar B.
Published: February 2025

Whenever we perform surgical procedures in modern operating rooms with state of the art technology, or attend patients in the comfort of our office, we should reflect on the fact that millions of people have no access to the most elemental surgical care. At the same time that mankind progresses, the gap between those who can benefit from the advances of science and the underprivileged societies, widens every day. We believe that surgeons have the obligation to strive for excellence in their practice; however, the benefits of their art and science should also extend those unfortunate populations in distant and remote areas. Therefore, efforts to develop means of reaching out to such countries and communities should also be the responsibility of conscientious physicians.
Telemedicine in the Indian Context: An Overview
Authors: Ganapathy K.
Published: February 2025

One sixth of humanity accounting for 1100 million people live in India. India is generally considered to be a developing country and certainly there is considerable scope for improving the per capita income and the average standard of life. India however is a paradox. We now produce and launch our own satellites. Information is being gathered regarding the feasibility of launching a HEALTHSAT – a satellite exclusively for purposes of health care. There has been an unprecedented growth and development in Information Technology. Satellite transmission, fiber optic cables, increasing band width, fall in computer prices, licensing of private internet service providers, internet thro' cable etc have become the buzz words even in suburban and rural India. Theoretically, it is easier to set up an excellent telecommunication infrastructure in suburban and rural India, to increase the reach of the limited number of urban specialists, than to place hundreds of specialists in places devoid of specialists. Telemedicine therefore is the answer. It is universally acknowledged that Indians have made enormous contributions in the field of information technology. We no longer have to follow or piggy back. We now leap frog !!
Challenges and Barriers to Development of Telemedicine Programs
Authors: Doarn Charles R.
Published: February 2025

The collection of data is a vital step in assuring that a system works, a method is correct and the process is adequate. As data is collected databases are created. These databases could be nothing more than a box or it could be in a computer-based, indexed database. Over the past 200 years, technology has played an increasingly larger role in health care delivery. With the advent of telecommunications capabilities and information systems, medicine has embraced these two disciplines, resulting in a new tool – telemedicine. This new tool is undergoing rigorous peer review and scientific challenge. This has lead to a plethora of data, which indicates telemedicine is an excellent tool for medicine.
Mr. Young's Doctor: How Must Physicians Be Prepared for Practice?
Authors: Headrick Linda A.
Published: February 2025

What will the practice of medicine be like when people use publicly-available performance data to choose their physicians, own their own medical records and therefore exercise more control over medical decision making than has ever been seen in the past? What do these changes mean for the preparation of physicians? The Institute of Medicine has set forth six aims for health care in the United States, that it be safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient and equitable. Achieving this requires new rules for our work in health care and new goals for medical education. The University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine has identified eight key characteristics of its graduating students and residents. We believe these are the qualities required for future physicians to deliver the care that their patients need and deserve.
Adding Insight: A Qualitative Cross-Site Study of Physician Order Entry
Authors: Ash Joan S.  , Sittig Dean F.  , Seshadri Veena  , Dykstra Richard H.  , Carpenter James D.  , Stavri P. Zoe
Published: February 2025

The research questions, strategies, and results of a six-year qualitative study of computerized physician order entry implementation (CPOE) at successful sites are reviewed over time. The iterative nature of qualitative inquiry stimulates a consecutive stream of research foci which, with each iteration, add further insight into the overarching research question. A multidisciplinary team of researchers studied CPOE implementation in four organizations using a multi-method approach to address the question “what are the success factors for implementing CPOE?” Four major themes emerged after studying three sites; ten themes resulted from blending the first results with those from a fourth site; and twelve principles were generated when results of a qualitative analysis of consensus conference transcripts were combined with the field data. The study has produced detailed descriptions of factors related to CPOE success and insight into the implementation process.
A usability study of CPOE's medication administration functions: impact on physiciannurse cooperation
Authors: Beuscart-Zéphir Marie Catherine  , Pelayo Sylvia  , Degoulet Patrice  , Anceaux Françoise  , Guerlinger Sandra  , Meaux Jean-Jacques
Published: February 2025

Implementation of CPOE systems in Healthcare Institutions has proven efficient in reducing medication errors but it also induces hidden side-effects on Doctor-Nurse cooperation. Wepropose a usability engineering approach to this problem. An extensive activity analysis of the medication ordering and administration process was performed in several departments of 3 different hospitals. Two of these hospitals are still usingpaper-based orders, while the 3rdone is in the roll-outphase of medicationfunctions of its CPOE system. Weperformed a usability assessment of this CPOE system. The usability assessment uncovered usability problemsfor the entry of medication administration time scheduling by the physician and revealed that the information can be ambiguousfor the nurse. The comparison of cooperation models in both situation shows that users tend to adopt a distributed decision making paradigm in the paper-based situation, while the CPOE system supports a centralized decision making process. This analysis can support recommendation for the re-engineering of the Human-Computer Interface.
A novel diagnostic aid (ISABEL): development and preliminary evaluation of clinical performance
Authors: Ramnarayan Padmanabhan  , Tomlinson Amanda  , Kulkarni Gautam  , Rao Anupama  , Britto Joseph
Published: February 2025

Clinical diagnostic aids are relatively scarce, and are seldom used in routine clinical practice, even though the burden of diagnostic error may have serious adverse consequences. This may be due to difficulties in creating, maintaining and even using such expert systems. The current article describes a novel approach to the problem, where established medical content is used as the knowledge base for a pediatric diagnostic reminder tool called ISABEL. The inference engine utilizes advanced textual pattern-recognition algorithms to extract key concepts from textual description of diagnoses, and generates a list of diagnostic suggestions in response to clinical features entered in free text. Development was an iterative process, relying on sequential evaluation of clinical performance to provide the basis for improvement. The usage of the system over the past 2 years, as well as results of preliminary clinical performance evaluation are presented. These results are encouraging. The ISABEL model may be extended to cover other domains, including adult medicine.
Adapting the Human-Computer Interface for Reading Literacy and Computer Skill to Facilitate Collection of Information Directly from Patients
Authors: Lobach David F.  , Arbanas Jennifer M.  , Mlshra Dharani D.  , Campbell Marci  , Wildemuth Barbara M.
Published: February 2025

Clinical information collected directly from patients is critical to the practice of medicine. Past efforts to collect this information using computers have had limited utility because these efforts required users to be facile with the computerized information collecting system. In this paper we describe the design, development, and function of a computer system that uses recent technology to overcome the limitations of previous computerbased data collection tools by adapting the human-computer interface to the native language, reading literacy, and computer skills of the user. Specifically, our system uses a numerical representation of question content, multimedia, and touch screen technology to adapt the computer interface to the native language, reading literacy, and computer literacy of the user. In addition, the system supports health literacy needs throughout the data collection session and provides contextually relevant disease-specific education to users based on their responses to the questions. The system has been successfully used in an academically affiliated family medicine clinic and in an indigent adult medicine clinic.
A Collaborative Clinical Trial Protocol Writing System
Authors: Weng Chunhua  , Gennari John H.  , McDonald David W.
Published: February 2025

Increasing complexity in medicine has caused clinical trial experts with disparate backgrounds from multiple organizations to collaborate when developing clinical trial protocols. Although many protocol-authoring tools provide computer-based decision support to assist protocol writing, few of them provide sufficient collaboration support for a group of protocol writers. The iterative group writing activities among interdisciplinary clinical trial experts call for advanced tool support. Here we present a web-based protocol writing system with integrated support for collaborative reviewing and collaborative editing. The system uses a shared database to store threaded review comments and version information for electronic protocols. It also captures rich group event information to provide cross-activity awareness and to facilitate self-coordination within the collaborative writing team. We believe that our system can help streamline collaborative clinical trial protocol writing processes.
A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of LISA, a decision support system for chemotherapy dosing in childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.
Authors: Bury Jonathan  , Hurt Chris.  , Roy Anindita  , Bradburn Mike  , Cross Simon  , Fox John  , Saha Vaskar
Published: February 2025

Objectives: To assess the acceptability to clinicians of a webbased decision support system designed to assist with dosage adjustments during maintenance therapy for childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), and to evaluate the potential impact of the system on decision-making and dosage calculations. Design: Balanced-block crossover experiment with simulated cases; questionnaire study and semi-structured interviews. Participants: 36 clinicians with differing experience in the management of ALL. Interventions: Subjects were asked to decide on appropriate levels of chemotherapy dosing for 8 simulated cases, 4 using the LISA decision support system, 4 using conventional paper-based records and guidance. Main outcome measures: Number of protocol-consistent dosage decisions made; time taken to manage each case; accuracy of dosage calculations; subjects' opinions as to whether or not they would use the system in practice. Additional outcome measures: Functions subjects would like to see in an idealised system; subjects’satisfaction with the implementation of the functions provided by LISA; qualitative data on issues subjects felt would impact upon the successful deployment of the system.
TOSCA-Imaging – Developing Internet Based Image Processing Software for Screening and Diagnosis of Diabetic Retinopathy
Authors: Hejlesen Ole  , Ege Bernhard  , Englmeier Karl-Hans  , Aldington Steve  , McCanna Leo  , Bek Toke
Published: February 2025

The primary aim of TOSCA-Imaging, which was a part of the TOSCA Project financed by EU’s Fifth Framework IST Programme, was to develop Internet based software and image data bases for screening and diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy and implementing it into a real life situation.
Context-Sensitive Medical Information Retrieval
Authors: Averbuch Mordechai  , Karson Tom H.  , Ben-Ami Benjamin  , Maimon Oded  , Rokach Lior
Published: February 2025

Substantial medical data such as pathology reports, operative reports, discharge summaries, and radiology reports are stored in textual form. Databases containing free-text medical narratives often need to be searched to find relevant information for clinical and research purposes. Terms that appear in these documents tend to appear in different contexts. The context of negation, a negative finding, is of special importance, since many of the most frequently described findings are those denied by the patient or subsequently “ruled out.” Hence, when searching free-text narratives for patients with a certain medical condition, if negation is not taken into account, many of the retrieved documents will be irrelevant.
WRAPIN: New Generation Health Search Engine Using UMLS Knowledge Sources for MeSH Term Extraction from Health Documentation
Authors: Gaudinat Arnaud  , Joubert Michel  , Aymard Sylvain  , Falco Laurent  , Boyer Célia  , Fieschi Marius
Published: February 2025

To realize the potential of the Internet as a source of valuable healthcare information, for the general public, patients or practitioners, it is imperative to establish a validation system based on standards of quality. The WRAPIN project (Worldwide online Reliable Advice to Patients and Individuals) from the European Community has this ambitious goal. WRAPIN is a federating system for medical information with an editorial policy of intelligently sharing quality and professional information. The WRAPIN project has two main axes: the efficient and intelligent search of information and the assertion of the trustworthiness of content.
Model once, use multiple times: reusing HL7 domain models from one domain to the other
Authors: Goossen William
Published: February 2025

The Dutch national ICT institute in healthcare (www.nictiz.nl) developed a domain information model for perinatology, to map to the Health Level 7 Reference Information Model (HL7 RIM). This model was constructed with the intention to make it reusable for other domains in order to achieve a national infrastructure based on the HL7 RIM. In two projects, the perinatology model was reused, which lead to some changes to better express the domain. It proves valuable to have a kind of generic domain model, which can be adapted easily to other domains. In these projects, information for hart infarction (cardiology) and stroke (neurology) was modelled. Few domain specific changes where necessary, which could be made following the same methodology. Both the models and the methodology prove to be-re-usable.
Linguistic Analysis: Terms and Phrases Used by Patients in E-mail Messages to Nurses
Authors: Hsieh Yichuan  , Hardardottir Gudrun Audur  , Brennan Patricia Flatley
Published: February 2025

While some researchers are focusing on mapping free-text within health care fields into controlled vocabularies and classifications, many researchers are focusing on consumers' vocabularies. Using natural language processing (NLP) tools, such as MetaMap, to extract and map into terms in a controlled vocabulary is one way of understanding the pattern of terms used by lay people. Before an NLP tool can be effectively and efficiently used to extract concepts and create machine-understandable interpretations of the data, the appropriateness of the tool needs to be determined. This study aims were to determine the appropriateness of linguistic meaning captured for terms and phrases used by patients in electronic mail messages to nurses, using nursing-specific MetaMap output. Twenty messages were randomly selected from the 241 messages data set. Results indicated that four out of six nursing classification systems captured more than 50 % of the parsed word's linguistic meaning. This study demonstrates that it is possible to automatically extract and capture the linguistic meaning of the terms patient use in their electronic mail messages.
Automated Clinical Annotation of Tissue Bank Specimens
Authors: Gilbertson John R  , Gupta Rajnish  , Nie Yimin  , Patel Ashokkumar A.  , Becich Michael J
Published: February 2025

Modern, molecular bio-medicine is driving a growing demand for extensively annotated tissue bank specimens. With careful clinical, pathologic and outcomes annotation, samples can be better matched to the research question at hand and experimental results better understood and verified. However, the difficulty and expense of detailed specimen annotation is well beyond the capability of most banks and has made access to well documented tissue a major limitation in medical research. In this context, we have implemented automated annotation of banked tissue by integrating data from three clinical systems – the cancer registry, the pathology LIS and the tissue bank inventory system - through a classical data warehouse environment. The project required modification of clinical systems, development of methods to identify patients between and map data elements across systems and the creation of de-identified data in data marts for use by researchers. The result has been much more extensive and accurate initial tissue annotation with less effort in the tissue bank, as well as dynamic ongoing annotation as the cancer registry follows patients over time.
A Novel Algorithm for Scalable and Accurate Bayesian Network Learning
Authors: Brown Laura E.  , Tsamardinos Ioannis  , Aliferis Constantin F.
Published: February 2025

Bayesian Networks (BN) is a knowledge representation formalism that has been proven to be valuable in biomedicine for constructing decision support systems and for generating causal hypotheses from data. Given the emergence of datasets in medicine with thousands of variables and that current algorithms do not scale more than a few hundred variables in practical domains, new efficient and accurate algorithms are needed to learn high quality BNs from data. We present a new algorithm called Max Min Hill-Climbing (MMHC) that builds upon and improves the Sparse Candidate (SC) algorithm; a state-of-the-art algorithm that scales up to datasets involving hundreds of variables provided the generating networks are sparse. Compared to the SC, on a number of datasets from medicine and biology, (a) MMHC discovers BNs that are structurally closer to the data-generating BN, (b) the discovered networks are more probable given the data, (c) MMHC is computationally more efficient and scalable than SC, and (d) the generating networks are not required to be uniformly sparse nor is the user of MMHC required to guess correctly the network connectivity.
An Information Extraction and Representation System for Rapid Review of the Biomedical Literature
Authors: Revere Debra  , Fuller Sherrilynne  , Bugni Paul F.  , Martin George M.
Published: February 2025

With the rapid expansion of scientific research, the ability to effectively find or integrate new domain knowledge in the sciences is proving increasingly difficult. The development of methods and tools for assisting researchers to effectively extract problem-oriented knowledge from heterogeneous and massive information sources, and for using this knowledge in problem-solving is one of the mostfundamental research directions for the information and computer sciences today. There is a need for new tools to support more precise identification of relevant research articles and provide visual clues regarding relationships among the document sets. We present the Telemakus system in which aggregated citation information and extracted research findings are displayed in a schema-based document surrogate and an interactive mapping tool provides graphical displays of research inter-relationships from documents across a domain. This system is an innovative approach to creating useful and precise document surrogates and may re-conceptualize the way we currently represent, retrieve, and assimilate research findings from the published literature.
Morpho-Functional Visualization of Dynamic MR-Mammography
Authors: Englmeier K-H  , Hellwig G  , Griebel J  , Delorme S  , Siebert M  , Brix G
Published: February 2025

In view of an increasing use of breast MRIsupplementing X-ray mammography, the purpose of this study was the development of a methodforfast and efficient analysis of dynamic MR image series of the female breast. The image data sets were acquired with a saturation-recovery-turbo-FLASH sequence facilitating the detection of the kinetics of the contrast agent concentration in the whole breast with a high temporal and spatial resolution. In addition, a morphological 3D-FLASH data set was acquired. The dynamic image data sets were analyzed by tracer kinetic modeling in order to describe the physiological processes underlying the contrast enhancement in mathematical terms and thus enable the estimation of functional tissue specific parameters, reflecting the status of microcirculation. To display morphological and functional tissue information simultaneously, a multidimensional real-time visualization system (using 3D-texture mapping) was developed, which enables a practical and intuitive human-computer interface in virtual reality. The spatially differentiated representation of the computed functional tissue parameters superimposed on the anatomical information offers several possibilities: improved discernibility of contrast enhancement, inspection of the data volume in 3D-space and localization of lesions in space and thus fast and more natural recognition of topological coherencies. In a feasibility study, it could be demonstrated that multidimensional visualization of contrast enhancement in virtual reality is practical. Especially, detection and localization of multiple breast lesions may be an important application.
Telemedicine in Russia
Authors: Eltchiyan Radik  , Emelin Ivan  , Fedorov Victor  , Mironov Sergey  , Stoliar Valery
Published: February 2025

There are quite a number of the Russian medical institutions using different telemedicine technologies. There are also several telehealth networks created around the scientific medical centers and large hospitals. They use store-and-forward technology and real-time video conferencing over ISDN and IP-channels. Quality issues, management and legal issues, integration and financing issues, future development of the Russian telehealth networks are discussed.
EEG Alpha Asymmetry in Virtual Environments for the Assessment of Stress-Related Disorders
Authors: Cipresso Pietro  , Gaggioli Andrea  , Serino Silvia  , Pallavicini Federica  , Raspelli Simona  , Grassi Alessandra  , Sellitti Luigi  , Riva Giuseppe
Published: February 2025

In this study we consider neurophysiological aspects for the assessment of stress-related disorders. EEG Alpha Asymmetry could represent an effective method to be used in the virtual environment. Nonetheless, new protocols need to be defined. In this study herein, we present two methods and a case study.
Medical Students' Attitudes toward Obese Patient Avatars of Different Skin Color
Authors: Andrade Allen D.  , Ruiz Jorge G.  , Mintzer Michael J.  , Cifuentes Pedro  , Anam Ramanakumar  , Diem Josh  , Gómez-Marín Orlando  , Sun Huaping  , Roos Bernard A.
Published: February 2025

Physicians' biases for skin color and obesity may negatively affect health-care outcomes. Identification of these biases is the first step to address the problem. We randomized 128 U.S medical students into one of four animated videos of avatar physician–patient counseling sessions, varying the weight and skin color of an elderly patient avatar: white-thin, black-thin, white-obese and black-obese. Medical students viewed white obese avatars as unattractive, ugly, noncompliant, lazy, and sloppy. Medical students' comments suggested a paternalistic attitude toward avatar patients. Avatar-mediated experiences can elicit medical students' bias potentially enabling medical educators to implement bias reduction interventions.
Learning Island: The Development of a Virtual Reality System for the Experiential Training of Stress Management
Authors: Riva Giuseppe  , Vigna Cinzia  , Grassi Alessandra  , Raspelli Simona  , Cipresso Pietro  , Pallavicini Federica  , Serino Silvia  , Gaggioli Andrea
Published: February 2025

Psychological Stress occurs when an individual perceives that environmental demands tax or exceed his or her adaptive capacity. Following this view, that underlines the role of the situated experience of the patient in experiencing a stressor, the European Union funded Interstress project (http://www.interstress.eu) is exploring the possible use of the virtual simulation technology offered by SecondLife (http://www.secondlife.com) to administer a stress management experiential training. The structure of the environment and the contents of the course are described and discussed.
An Optical Tracking System for a Microsurgical Training Simulator
Authors: Schuppe Oliver
Published: February 2025

To achieve a high degree of immersion in medical training simulators, realistic and native user interfaces are needed. We implemented an optical tracking system in order to track original instruments for a microsurgical training simulator. In a marker-based setup, the forceps was equipped with markers. As a step towards a markerless tracking system, an approach with a partly coloured forceps is presented. Both methods were implemented and resulted in working real-time tracking modules.
THP-1 Leukemia Cancer Treatment Using a Portable Plasma Device
Authors: Thiyagarajan Magesh  , Waldbeser Lillian  , Whitmill Amanda
Published: February 2025

This research study examined the effect of non-thermal portable atmospheric air plasma system on leukemia cancer cells. Acute monocytic leukemia cells (THP-1) were exposed to atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma. To assess death caused by plasma exposure, cells were subjected to trypan blue exclusion assays and a kill-curve and assessment of death overtime were compiled using data from the assays. In addition to this, DNA was harvested from treated and untreated samples to determine if apoptotic ladders were present. Results have indicated that non-thermal plasma can cause cell death in THP-1 cells overtime, and the death that occurs corresponds directly to the amount of time that the cells were exposed to ionized plasma. Preliminary fluorescent imaging of the treated cells revealed that higher treatment doses are not only more likely to induce cellular death but are likely to induce necrotic death, while lower treatment doses that are capable of inducing death may induce apoptotic or programmed cellular death. Ideally the results obtained from these experiments will allow for further investigation of the effects of ionized non-thermal plasma on melanoma cell lines and will lead to an inexpensive method for treating early stage skin cancer and cancerous lesions.
Provenance for distributed biomedical workflow execution
Authors: Madougou Souley  , Santcroos Mark  , Benabdelkader Ammar  , van Schaik Barbera D.C.  , Shahand Shayan  , Korkhov Vladimir  , van Kampen Antoine H.C.  , Olabarriaga Sílvia D.
Published: February 2025

Scientific research has become very data and compute intensive because of the progress in data acquisition and measurement devices, which is particularly true in Life Sciences. To cope with this deluge of data, scientists use distributed computing and storage infrastructures. The use of such infrastructures introduces by itself new challenges to the scientists in terms of proper and efficient use. Scientific workflow management systems play an important role in facilitating the use of the infrastructure by hiding some of its complexity. Althought most scientific workflow management systems are provenance-aware, not all of them come with provenance functionality out of the box. In this paper we describe the improvement and integration of a provenance system into an e-infrastructure for biomedical research based on the MOTEUR workflow management system. The main contributions of the paper are: presenting an OPM implementation using relational database backend for the provenance store, providing an e-infrastructure with a comprehensive provenance system, defining a generic approach to provenance implementation, potentially suitable for other workflow systems and application domains and demonstrating the value of this system based on use cases presenting the provenance data through a user-friendly web interface.
Brace Wear Characteristics during the first 6 months for the Treatment of Scoliosis
Authors: Lou Edmond  , Hill Douglas  , Raso Jim  , Donauer Andreas  , Moreau Marc  , Mahood James  , Hedden Douglas
Published: February 2025

Bracing is the most commonly used non-surgical treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and requires an extensive commitment on the part of the patient and family. However, demonstrating efficacy of brace treatment for AIS has been hampered by the lack of compressive information about wear characteristics. The first 6 months is considered a critical time to evaluate whether AIS patients will commit to the treatment and may predict the treatment outcome. The characteristics of brace wear can assist clinicians to provide better support and aid long term compliance with treatment. This study describes the first 6 month brace wear characteristics in 15 AIS patients (12F;3M) who were prescribed full-time brace wear. There was a statistically significant increase in wear time (p = 0.02) after brace fitting and the brace wear tightness stabilized after month 4. The force at the major pressure pad area continuously decreased after month 2. A moderate correlation was found between the (quantity * quality) of the brace wear at month 6 and the change of Cobb angle (first out of brace – pre brace) (r2= 0.47). The more time that the brace was worn and the higher proportion of time worn at the prescribed tightness or above improves the likelihood of a better treatment result.
Bracing can reduce high degree curves and improve aesthetics immediately after the end of growth. Final results of a etrospective case series
Authors: Negrini Stefano  , Donzelli Sabrina  , Lusini Monia  , Zaina Fabio
Published: February 2025

Introduction. Recently it has been shown that idiopathic scoliosis (IS) curves can be reduced with bracing, and it has been proposed that this could be useful in non-surgically treated high degree curves even after Risser 3. Moreover, bracing has been shown to be able to improve aesthetics, and this could be another reason to treat some patients with cosmetic needs. Our aim is to preliminary check if results can be obtained in IS patients after Risser 3.
Quality of life and stress level in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis subjected to conservative treatment
Authors: Kinel Edyta  , Kotwicki Tomasz  , Podolska Anna  , Białek Marianna  , Stryła Wanda
Published: February 2025

Quality of life (QoL) and stress level of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis is under growing consideration by physicians, physiotherapists and other specialists (psychologist, nurses).
Psychological aspects of scoliosis surgery in children
Authors: Tomaszewski Ryszard  , Janowska Magdalena
Published: February 2025

Children in the scoliosis surgery ward rarely have the possibility of meeting a psychologist to get support in this difficult situation. As we know, not all children can manage their pain on their own and discharge anger born out of the situation in a constructive way. The purpose of the study is to estimate the strength of individual beliefs conditioning the management of pain (internally), the influence of staff on the management of pain (the influence of others) as well as accidental factors. Also, the objective is to estimate the level of internal and external expression of anger and to estimate the mood of a child before and after the surgery. 52 children between the age of 12.5-17 years old (35 girls and 17 boys) were examined with the Pain Control Beliefs questionnaire by Suzanne Skevington and the Expression of Anger Scale by Oginska. Children who believed their pain was an accidental occurrence reported their mood as being at its lowest, before and after the procedure. Their estimation of the pain experience was the highest. The group taking part in the examination (except for one person) showed a much higher internal expression of anger than that of external which could suggest that they cannot discharge their anger arising out of this difficult situation. It is recommended to expand this research on a bigger group of children and to include psychological support as a standard procedure before and after the surgery for spinal deformity in order to decrease the level of fear and to work with constructive anger discharge.
Secondary scoliosis after thoracotomy in patients with aortic coarctation and patent ductus arteriosus
Authors: Roclawski Marek  , Pankowski Rafal  , Smoczynski Andrzej  , Ceynowa Marcin  , Kloc Wojciech  , Wasilewski Wojciech  , Jende Piotr  , Liczbik Wieslaw  , Beldzinski Piotr  , Libionka Witold  , Pierzak Olaf  , Adamski Stanislaw  , Niedbala Miroslaw
Published: February 2025

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of lateral thoracotomy on the development of scoliosis in subjects undergoing repair of coarctation of the aorta (CoAo) and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).
A System for Inference of Spatial Context of Parkinson's Disease Patients
Authors: Takač Boris  , Català Andreu  , Cabestany Joan  , Chen Wei  , Rauterberg Matthias
Published: February 2025

This work proposes a concept for indoor ambulatory monitoring for Parkinson's disease patients. In the proposed concept, a wearable inertial sensor is kept as the main monitoring device through the day, and it is expanded by an ambient sensor system in the specific living areas with high estimated probability of occurrence of freezing of gait episode. The ambient sensor system supports decisions of the wearable sensor system by providing relevant spatial context information of the user, which is obtained through precise localization.
Towards Quality Assurance of AAL Services
Authors: Walderhaug Ståle  , Mikalsen Marius  , Salvi Dario  , Svagård Ingrid  , Ausen Dag  , Kofod-Petersen Anders
Published: February 2025

The Ambient Assisted Living domain is a fast growing area with many new technological artefacts and services developed. Most of the systems developed address end-users' needs. Yet, they have not achieved a large market penetration. The work presented here argues that this is primarily due to not sufficiently addressing the quality requirements posed by the health care organizations. Satisfying quality requirements requires a standardized and easily accessible framework for measuring quality. We present the initial steps towards such a framework by building on relevant ISO standards.
Using Australian Medicines Terminology (AMT) and SNOMED CT-AU to better support clinical research
Authors: McBride Simon J.  , Lawley Michael J.  , Leroux Hugo  , Gibson Simon
Published: February 2025

A large scale, long term clinical study faced significant quality issues with its medications use data which had been collected from participants using paper forms and manually entered into a data capture system. A method was developed that automatically mapped 72.2% of the unique medication names collected for the study to the AMT and SNOMED CT-AU using Ontoserver, a terminology server for clinical ontologies. These initial results are promising and, with further improvements to the algorithms and evaluation, are expected to greatly improve the analysis of medication data gathered from the study.
Multi-layered system design for classifying activities of daily living
Authors: Okour Saif  , Maeder Anthony  , Basilakis Jim
Published: February 2025

Our overall aim in this research is to develop a health smart home design that can monitor activities of its occupants. Our design includes three stages: system physical layers and software, fusion of multi-layered data, and classification of activities of daily living. We review prior work, discuss design and implementation issues, and describe our validation approach.
Understanding unintended consequences for EMR: A literature review
Authors: Rahadhan Perdana  , Poon Simon K.  , Land Lesley
Published: February 2025

While Electronic Medical Records (EMR) have been hailed as an important step for advancing healthcare, a number of studies have noted that its introduction also brings unintended consequences to healthcare organisations. This means that introducing EMR to key stakeholders such as clinicians, healthcare administrators, as well as to the overall healthcare organisations, may not be as straightforward as we have hoped for. There has been some empirical work and systematic reviews specifically addressing the unintended consequences for EMR. Given the complexity of these issues, continued effort to investigate them is critical. This paper first proposes an integration and systematisation of the existing literature on the unintended consequences of EMR (including its various definitions and classifications), and then provides insights for dealing with these issues, including mitigation strategies for addressing these issues.
Exploring the role of pathology test results in the prediction of remaining days of hospitalisation
Authors: Gallego Blanca  , Perez-Concha Oscar  , Lin Frank  , Coiera Enrico
Published: February 2025

Accurate prediction of discharge time and identification of patients at risk of extended length of stay (LOS) can facilitate discharge planning and positively impact both the patient and the hospital in a variety of ways. To date, however, most studies only focus on the prediction of the overall LOS, which is generally estimated at admission time to hospital, emergency department or intensive care unit. This paper explores whether individual laboratory results can improve predictions of time of discharge as the tests become available. This study suggests that there is a statistically significant relationship between individual test results and remaining days in hospital and that there is a trend towards better estimates as more consecutive tests are taken into consideration. Their effect on the estimate of discharge time is generally weak. Further work integrating groups of test results into a more sophisticated dynamical model is required.
Exergames for the elderly: Towards an embedded Kinect-based clinical test of falls risk
Authors: Garcia Jaime A.  , Felix Navarro Karla  , Schoene Daniel  , Smith Stuart T.  , Pisan Yusuf
Published: February 2025

Falls are the leading cause of disability, injuries or even death among older adults. Exercise programmes that include a balance component reduce the risk of falling by 40%. However, such interventions are often perceived as boring and drop-out rates are high. The characteristics of videogames may overcome this weakness and increase exercise adherence. The use of modern input devices, such as the Microsoft Kinect, enables quantification of player performance in terms of motor function while engaging with games. This capability has just started to be explored. The work presented in this paper focuses on the development of a Kinect-based system to deliver step training while simultaneously measuring parameters of stepping performance that have shown to predict falls in older people.
An Ultra-High Speed Whole Slide Image Viewing System
Authors: Yagi Yukako  , Yoshioka Shigeatsu  , Kyusojin Hiroshi  , Onozato Maristela  , Mizutani Yoichi  , Osato Kiyoshi  , Yada Hiroaki  , Mark Eugene J.  , Frosch Matthew P.  , Louis David N.
Published: February 2025

Background: One of the goals for a Whole Slide Imaging (WSI) system is implementation in the clinical practice of pathology. One of the unresolved problems in accomplishing this goal is the speed of the entire process, i.e., from viewing the slides through making the final diagnosis. Most users are not satisfied with the correct viewing speeds of available systems. We have evaluated a new WSI viewing station and tool that focuses on speed.
Cure4Kids for Kids: Preliminary Results on Evaluating Knowledge Acquisition and Knowledge Retention
Authors: Quintana Yuri  , Van Kirk Villalobos Aubrey  , Li Zhenghong  , Kumar Srivastava Deo  , Ribeiro Raul C.
Published: February 2025

Since 2006 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has been developing Cure4Kids for Kids, a school-based outreach program to educate children about cancer and healthy lifestyles with a focus on cancer prevention. An evaluation of student knowledge acquisition and retention for the program at the Grade-4 level was conducted during the 2010-2011 school year. Preliminary results of this evaluation are outlined with some of the challenges for long-term program evaluation of cancer prevention programs.
Effectiveness of a Hospital School Mathematics Literacy Program
Authors: Covic Amalia Neide  , Kanemoto Eduardo  , Bastos Andre Covic
Published: February 2025

To receive treatment for cancer, patients in Brazil often travel to larger hospitals that may be located far away from their families and communities. Pediatric patients miss time in the classroom and may achieve educational milestones later than other students. They may also struggle with some educational topics after receiving certain types of cancer treatment. The Hospital School at the GRAACC helps to close this education gap by providing educational support to school-age students receiving treatment for cancer. In addition to providing educational services during treatment, teachers at the hospital school, Mobile School – Specific Student (EMAE). The objective of this preliminary study is to build knowledge about the impact of school enrollment on mathematics literacy in hospitalized cancer patients undergoing treatment. We followed 15-year-old patients (n = 54) with at last 1 year inside the hospital school for a period of 8 years (2001-2008). Study participants were affected by a variety of diseases including bone tumors (n = 39), Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 08) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 07). The level of participants' mathematical literacy was regularly assessed by reviewing the results of formative assessments completed by students. Using that information, students were grouped into categories according to mathematics literacy levels established by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The formative assessment is based on the analysis of all the material produced by the student and the EMAE teacher across the years of the study, including the recordings of working meetings that were held with all the teachers every class day.
A Smartphone Application for Preventing Exercise-induced Glycemic Imbalances in Type 1 Diabetic Patients
Authors: Vuattolo Omar  , Francescato Maria Pia  , Della Mea Vincenzo  , Accardo Agostino
Published: February 2025

Regular moderate-intensity physical activity is strongly recommended as well in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. However, the more frequent complication of exercise in T1DM patients is an excessive fall of glycaemia, which remains thus the strongest barrier to physical activity and the number of difficulties patients have to meet often further discourage them. Recently, a new algorithm has been proposed, that estimates, on a patient- and situation-specific basis, the amount of supplemental carbohydrates required by diabetic patients in order to exercise under safe blood glucose levels. The present paper discusses an implementation of the ECRES algorithm aimed at smartphones, and its preliminary evaluation from the accuracy point of view versus the original implementation, as well as usability. The developed mobile application replicates the original algorithm in a portable device that, after its preliminary experimentation, may be useful to make physical activity easier for diabetic patients.
Consistency of Nurses' Daily Predictions of Survival in the Intensive Care
Authors: Minne Lilian  , Dongelmans Dave A.  , de Jonge E.  , Abu-Hanna Ameen
Published: February 2025

In the Intensive Care Unit, clinicians are continuously faced with the difficult task of prognosis, but their predictions of patient survival status may not always be consistent. Specifically very little is known about consistency of predictions over time. The aim of this paper is to assess the consistency of nurses' daily predictions of survival in terms of inter-observer variance and variance of observers over time. We found a low consistency of these predictions between observers and over time, even though changes in the patients' condition are considered. Our findings have implications to the process of end-of-life decision-making, which pertains to withholding or withdrawing intensive care treatment.
Ultradian Rhythms During Day and Night in Normal and COPD Subjects
Authors: Accardo Agostino  , Cusenza Monica  , De Felice Alberto  , Fornasa Elisa  , D'Addio Giovanni
Published: February 2025

The analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) is a powerful tool in the study of the autonomic control of the heart. While circadian HRV rhythms have widely been characterized by traditional spectral measures, ultradian oscillations are not commonly investigated. In this study the identification of HRV ultradian rhythms is assigned to a quantitative measure characterizing the fractal-like behavior of the time series: the fractal dimension (FD). In order to assess ultradian regulation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) 24-h Holter ECG recordings of 52 COPD and 10 normal (healthy) subjects were analyzed. The FD was calculated by Higuchi's algorithm both during daytime and nighttime to highlight possible wake-sleep states differences. All subjects showed a similar common rhythm (0.06mHz) that persists with generally higher amplitude during night-time. A further rhythm becomes predominant in normal subjects in the day-to-night transition (0.15mHz), probably under the influence of the REM/non-REM ultradian sleep cycle. A very large difference between night and day amplitudes of this rhythm and of the next one (at about 0.22mHz) characterize the HRV fractal dimension of the Normal in respect of COPD. In conclusion, the FD could be used as a marker of ultradian cardiac autonomic regulation providing new insights into autonomic physiology of normal and COPD patients.