Search results for "Assurance"
showing 10 items of 165 documents
Ten years' experience with an external quality control program for semen analysis
2012
To gauge the performance of laboratories and impact of the German semen analysis external quality control program (QuaDeGA) over its first 10 years.Retrospective analysis of QuaDeGA's twice yearly distribution of fixed semen samples and electronic material documenting sperm motility. Ranking of each participant's responses was determined according to their relation to a "target window."Multicenter. PAITENT(S): Healthy donors.None.Laboratory performance, World Health Organization (WHO) adherence.Over 19 runs, there was a steady increase of participants (280 laboratories), the largest group being private urologic practices. Although use of WHO-recommended Neubauer chamber (from 33% to 55%) an…
Communication and information exchange between primary healthcare employees and volunteers - Challenges, needs and possibilities for technology suppo…
2019
In light of the challenges posed by an ageing population and tighter public budgets, governments worldwide are seeking innovative ways of improving health service delivery. Volunteers can contribute to such improvement, but this requires effective coordination and communication between volunteers and healthcare employees. In this case study, conducted in two Norwegian municipalities during September-October 2017, the aim was to understand how collaboration and coordination is carried out between several stakeholders: volunteers, volunteer family members of healthcare service users and healthcare employees. Our results show that daily cooperation was largely unsystematic, and stakeholders em…
Factors related to quality of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in a pediatric population.
1999
To assess the factors related to the quality of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in a pediatric population, we performed 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitorings on 333 unselected children aged 3 to 18 years using a Spacelabs 90207 monitor. For each individual, the percentages of valid measurements (ratio between valid and total number of measurements, 76.4% +/-15.6%) and of successful measurements (percentage of valid preset measurements, 89.8% +/- 11.5%) were calculated. Two hundred eighty-one (84.1%) monitorings had a successful measurement rate of >80%. Two hundred thirteen (64%) were of excellent quality, as defined by the percentage of successful measurements being higher than o…
Pathological Evaluation of Mesocolic Resection Quality and Ex Vivo Methylene Blue Injection
2012
BACKGROUND: Although the National Quality Forum has endorsed the harvest of ≥12 lymph nodes as a standard quality indicator for colon cancer surgery, this minimum quantity is not reached in many centers. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the implementation of a mesocolon evaluation pathological protocol and ex vivo arterial methylene blue injection on the number of nodes harvested after colon cancer resection. DESIGN: A prospective series was compared with a historical group. SETTINGS: This study was conducted by a specialized colorectal multidisciplinary team at a tertiary teaching hospital. PATIENTS: From June 2009 to December 2009, all the specimens after colon…
Orthotopic Liver Transplantation: T-Tube or Not T-Tube? Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Results
2009
Background The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes after duct-to-duct anastomoses with or without biliary T-tube in orthotopic liver transplantation. Methods We pooled the outcomes of 1027 patients undergoing choledocho-choledochostomy with or without T-tube in 9 of 46 screened trials by means of fixed or random effects models. Results The "without T-tube" and "with T-tube" groups had equivalent outcomes for: anastomotic bile leaks or fistulas, choledocho-jejunostomy revisions, dilatation and stenting, hepatic artery thromboses, retransplantation, and mortality due to biliary complications. The "without T-tube" group had better outcomes when considering "fewer episodes of cholangi…
Beyond robust design: an example of synergy between statistics and advanced engineering design
2002
Higher efficiency and effectiveness of Research & Development phases can be attained using advanced statistical methodologies. In this work statistical methodologies are combined with a deterministic approach to engineering design. In order to show the potentiality of such integration, a simple but effective example is presented. It concerns the problem of optimising the performance of a paper helicopter. The desgin of this simple device is not new in quality engineering literature and has been mainly used for educational purposes. Taking full advantage of fundamental engineering knowledge, an aerodynamic model is originally formulated in order to describe the fligh of the helicopter. S…
Special Issue on Higher education and its clients : institutional responses to changes in demand and in environment
2002
02048
Fogging effect correction of Gafchromic HD-V2 film response for its use in high-dose radiotherapy
2020
GAFChromic® HD-V2 film is a reliable dose measurement device, thin, flexible, inexpensive, simple to use and easy to analyze. The response in terms of net absorbance with respect to absorbed dose was found to be linear in a large dose range, which supports the feasibility of using the film dosimeters in many applications, such as radiotherapy. For its use, a "fogging" effect must be take into account since film response changes with time. To determine a calibration curve valid for any time, fogging effect was investigated for more than 400 days. A correction procedure allows the use of HD-V2 film dosimeters in high-dose radiotheraphy, as brachytherapy, and quality assurance (QA) procedures.
N‑Oxide Polyethers as Kinetic Hydrate Inhibitors: Side Chain Ring Size Makes the Difference
2021
The formation of gas hydrates in flow lines is one of the most severe problems for flow assurance in the gas and oil industry. Developing effective kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHIs) to avoid the problem of gas hydrate formation has attracted widespread attention. In this study, a series of poly(glycidyl amine N-oxide)s (PGAOs) with 5–7-membered rings as side chains, poly(pyrrolidine glycidyl amine N-oxide)s (PPyrGAOs), poly(piperidine glycidyl amine N-oxide)s (PPiGAOs), and poly(azepane glycidyl amine N-oxide)s (PAzGAOs), with varying molecular weights, have been synthesized. The KHI performance of these glycidyl amine N-oxide polyethers has been evaluated in high-pressure rocking cells wit…
Improving bleeding detector features for electron intraoperative radiotherapy
2019
Abstract Purpose The aim of this work is to improve the potential bleeding detection during intraoperative radiotherapy with linac polymethyl methacrylate applicators (PMMA), based on one previously developed. The improvements carried out have been focused on: i) minimizing the impact of the detector on the visual through the plastic applicators and ii) avoiding the asymmetry in the detection capability when the applicator is tilted. Methods Simulations have been made to select the geometry that provides a reduced visual impact on the applicator as well as allowing an independent response with the tilting angle of the applicator. A low-noise circuit for signal conditioning has been develope…