Studies in health technology and informatics
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialInteractive and passive virtual reality distraction: effects on presence and pain intensity.
The current study explores the effects of interactive versus passive Virtual Reality (VR) distraction on the sense of presence and pain intensity. Sixty-eight healthy students (mean age 21.8, SD = 4.3) underwent two consecutive cold-pressor trials (subject's hand immersed into 6 °C water as long as possible, with a time limit of five minutes), one without VR and another providing a VR distraction "Surreal World." Participants were randomly assigned to an interactive VR distraction condition, where a number of interactions with the environment were possible, or to a passive VR distraction condition, where they were also exposed to the surreal world, but instead of interacting with the virtual environment, they watched the navigation generated by another participant assigned to the interactive condition. ⋯ However, in the passive VR condition, only 5.9% of participants showed a decreased level of pain intensity relative to the no-VR trial. Also, the amount of presence reported was significantly higher during the interactive VR distraction and correlated negatively with pain intensity scores.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2011
Reality graded exposure therapy with physiological monitoring for the treatment of combat related post traumatic stress disorder: a pilot study.
A high percentage of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) combat veterans have been diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during and following their respective combat tours. Virtual Reality (VR) treatment has been documented as an exceptional treatment for anxiety disorders and specifically for PTSD. ⋯ A significant reduction in PTSD symptoms severity was noted. Implications for treatment with VR-GET and future research areas of investigation, including the use of VR-GET with smart phones and the internet, are suggested.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2011
Comparative StudyA comparison of videolaryngoscopic technologies.
Difficulty in managing the airway is a major contributor to the morbidity and mortality of the trauma patient. The video laryngoscope, with its camera at the distal tip of the intubation blade, allows the practitioner an improved view of the glottic opening during intubation. ⋯ The purpose of the present study was to assess and compare the video quality of commercially available video laryngoscopy systems. It was found that between the STORZ C-MAC and the Verathon GlideScope® there was little difference between the video quality; the difference came down to user preference.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2011
A pilot study on understanding the journey of advanced prostate cancer patients.
To understand the journey of advanced prostate cancer patients for supporting development of an innovative patient journey browser. ⋯ The results have provided a foundation to the architecture of the proposed technology solution. The outcomes of this study are incorporated in design of the proposed patient journey browser system. A basic version of the system is currently being used at the advanced prostate cancer MDT meetings.
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This paper describes the deployment of a platform to enable processing of currently uncharted high frequency, high fidelity, synchronous data from medical devices. Such a platform would support the next generation of informatics solutions for neonatal intensive care. We present Artemis, a platform for real-time enactment of clinical knowledge as it relates to multidimensional data analysis and clinical research. Through specific deployment examples at two different neonatal intensive care units, we demonstrate that Artemis supports: 1) instantiation of clinical rules; 2) multidimensional analysis; 3) distribution of services for critical care via cloud computing; and 4) accomplishing 1 through 3 using current technology without a negative impact on patient care.