Conference proceedings : ... Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual Conference
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Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc · Jan 2012
Evaluating the usability of a virtual reality-based Android application in managing the pain experience of wheelchair users.
Pain constitutes an important medical concern that can have severe implications to a wheelchair user's quality of life. Results from studies indicate that pain is a common problem in this group of individuals, having a reported frequency of always (12%) and everyday (33%). ⋯ As a result, in this paper we present an Android application (PainDroid) that has been enhanced with Virtual Reality (VR) technology for the purpose of improving the management of pain. Our evaluation with a group of wheelchair users revealed that PainDroid demonstrated high usability among this population, and is foreseen that it can make an important contribution in research on the assessment and management of pain.
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Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc · Jan 2012
Examining intrinsic thalamic resting state networks using graph theory analysis: implications for mTBI detection.
A major challenge associated with understanding mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is the absence of biomarkers in standard clinical imaging modalities. Furthermore, the inhomogeneity of mTBI location and intensity, combined with latent symptoms further complicates identification and treatment. A growing body of evidence suggests that the thalamus may be injured or susceptible to change as the result of mTBI. ⋯ Our results suggest the presence of distinct unilateral thalamic differences in mTBI subjects. We also observe correlations of the thalamic changes with clinical assessments. The findings from this study have implications for functional networks in the thalamus and its projections for application as a potential biomarker for mTBI detection.
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Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc · Jan 2012
Stroke volume obtained from the brachial artery using transbrachial electrical bioimpedance velocimetry.
Stroke volume (SV) is the quantity of blood ejected by the cardiac ventricles per each contraction. When SV is multiplied by heart rate, cardiac output is the result. Cardiac output (CO), in conjunction with hemoglobin concentration and arterial oxygen saturation are the cornerstones of oxygen transport. ⋯ The technique involves passage of a constant magnitude, high frequency, and low amperage ac from the upper arm to the antecubital fossa. In all other respects, the operational aspects of TBEV are consistent with ICG. There is good evidence suggesting that the TBEV waveform and its derivatives are generated by blood resistivity changes only.
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Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc · Jan 2012
Prediction of extubation failure for neonates with respiratory distress syndrome using the MIMIC-II clinical database.
Extubation failure (EF) is an ongoing problem in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Nearly 25% of neonates fail their first extubation attempt, requiring re-intubations that are associated with risk factors and financial costs. ⋯ From an initial list of 57 candidate features, our machine learning approach narrowed down to six features useful for building an EF prediction model: monocyte cell count, rapid shallow breathing index, fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO(2)), heart rate, PaO(2)/FiO(2) ratio where PaO(2) is the partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood, and work of breathing index. Algorithm performance had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.871 and sensitivity of 70.1% at 90% specificity.
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Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc · Jan 2012
Impact of obstructive sleep apnea on sleep-wake stage ratio.
Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) experience fragmented sleep and exhibit different sleep architectures. While polysomnographic metrics for quantifying sleep architecture are studied, there is little information about the impact of OSA on the ratio of different sleep-wake stages (wake, W; rapid eye movement, REM; non-REM stages 1 to 3, N1 to N3). This study, therefore, aims to investigate the relationship between apnea-hypopnea index (AHI, a measure of OSA severity) and all possible ratios of sleep-wake stages. ⋯ Results show a statistically significant positive, linear and monotonic correlation between AHI and REM/N3, as well as between AHI and N1/W (p-values < 0.05). These findings imply that patients with increased severity of OSA may spend more time in REM than deep sleep, and in light sleep than wake (or less time in deep sleep than REM, and in wake than light sleep). A power-law regression model may possibly explain the relationships of AHI-REM/N3 and AHI-N1/W, and predict the value of AHI using REM/N3 or N1/W.