Studies in health technology and informatics
-
What started in Berlin in May of 2000 as an idea to create the telemedicine program of Kosova in order to help the country rebuild the broken medical system and change the miserable face of medicine, has now spread to other countries in the Balkans. Today, June 29, 2007, as I am rewriting this chapter, ten doctors and engineers from Kosova, Montenegro and Macedonia graduated from a three weeks intensive course on telemedicine, e-health and medical electronic library. This international telemedicine fellowship is organized by the very entity that was created in Berlin 7 years ago: The International Virtual e-Hospital (IVEH). ⋯ Soon we will be traveling to Atalaya, Peru and other communities of Amazon River, then Africa. We will not stop. One country at a time!
-
Surgical skill training is a long and tedious process of acquiring fine motor skills. To overcome the drawbacks of the existing toolbox trainer systems, we develop, for the first time, a virtual basic laparoscopic skill trainer (VBLaST) whereby tasks, such as the ones available in the FLS toolbox system, may be performed on the computer.
-
Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2008
From guidelines to careflows: modelling and supporting complex clinical processes.
Research on computer interpretable clinical guidelines has largely focused on individual points of care rather than processes of care. Whether we consider simple aids like clinical alerts and reminders or more sophisticated data interpretation and decision-making, guideline developers tend to focus on specific tasks rather than processes like care plans and pathways which are extended in time. ⋯ We also briefly discuss the distinct theoretical frameworks which have grown up around them, notably Petri nets for workflow modelling and mathematical logics for guidelines. We conclude that these offer complementary views of clinical processes and that a key research challenge is find a way of unifying them.
-
Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2008
Treatment of early adolescent idiopathic scoliosis using the SpineCor System.
The purpose of this prospective observational study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Dynamic SpineCor System for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in accordance with the standardized outcome criteria proposed by the Scoliosis Research Society Committee on Bracing and Nonoperative Management. The SpineCor System is the first and only truly dynamic brace, which provides a progressive correction of Idiopathic Scoliosis from 15 degrees Cobb angle and above. The new therapeutic approach is based on a new concept upon the etiology and pathogenesis of idiopathic scoliosis; a pathology of the neuro-musculoskeletal system in growth and maturation. ⋯ Eight mature patients out of 298 (2.7%) required surgery within 2 years of follow-up beyond skeletal maturity. The conclusion drawn from these findings is that the SpineCor brace is effective for the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Moreover, positive outcomes are maintained after 2 years because 151 (93.2%) of 162 patients stabilized or corrected their end of bracing Cobb angle up to 2 years after bracing.
-
Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2008
Comparative StudyBiomechanical characterisation of osteosyntheses for proximal femur fractures: helical blade versus screw.
Proximal femur fractures are of main concern for elderly and especially osteoporotic patients. Despite advanced implant modifications and surgical techniques, serious mechanical complication rates between 4-18% are found in conventional osteosyntheses of proximal femur fractures. Clinical complications such as the rotation of the femoral head and the cut-out phenomenon of the fracture fixation bolt are often diagnosed during post-operative treatments. ⋯ The helical blade showed a significant higher torque for the rotation of the femoral head compared to the screw system. The pull-out forces of the blade were substantially lower than of the comparative screw. Taken together the helical blade showed a higher potential of rotational stability, but after a rotation the lower pull-out forces demonstrate a higher degree of damage to the femoral head.