Search results for "Health informatics"

On the Implementation of HealthAgents: Agent-Based Brain Tumour Diagnosis

2007

This paper introduces HealthAgents, an EC-funded research project to improve the classification of brain tumours through multi-agent decision support over a secure and distributed network of local databases or Data Marts. HealthAgents will not only develop new pattern recognition methods for distributed classification and analysis of in vivo MRS and ex vivo/in vitro HRMAS and DNA data, but also define a method to assess the quality and usability of a new candidate local database containing a set of new cases, based on a compatibility score. Using its Multi-Agent architecture, HealthAgents intends to apply cutting-edge agent technology to the Biomedical field and develop the HealthAgents net…

Reference Design for Smart Collaborative Telehealth and Telecare Services Based on IoT Technologies

2015

The demographic development shows aging societies through-out the globe, leading to higher demands on the health and care systems due to age-related disabilities, chronic diseases, etc. Telehealth and telecare services for more efficient support of health and care providers are needed, which can be significantly improved by the continuous technological developments in areas such as sensor devices, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud services, and data analysis. This paper addresses the potential of selected emerging technologies to make eHealth systems smarter, more collaborative and more efficient. As a result of the analysis of the most promising technological trends, characteristics of futur…

A Decision-support Algorithm for Self-management of Anticoagulation Therapy Used in a Smartphone Application

2019

Warfarin for anticoagulation therapy is used by patients with specific cardiovascular diseases to control the ability of blood clotting. Traditional ways for self-management of the therapy are based on paper forms and procedures. This paper presents an algorithm developed for the smartphone application “Warfarin Guide”, which is a computer-assisted decision-support system used to help patients with self-management of their anticoagulation therapy related to International Normalized Ratio (INR) values. The algorithm was based on clinical guidelines for Warfarin therapy and it was adapted for the software application to address challenges with regular INR checks and adjustments for temporary …

An Evaluation of the Usability of a Computerized Decision Support System for Nursing Homes

2011

SummaryBackground: Computerized decision support systems (CDSSs) have the potential to significantly improve the quality of nursing care of older people by enhancing the decision making of nursing personnel. Despite this potential, health care organizations have been slow to incorporate CDSSs into nursing home practices.Objective: This study describes facilitators and barriers that impact the ability of nursing personnel to effectively use a clinical CDSS for planning and treating pressure ulcers (PUs) and malnutrition and for following the suggested risk assessment guidelines for the care of nursing home residents.Methods: We employed a qualitative descriptive design using varied methods, …

Computer-assisted clinical diagnosis in the official European union languages

2016

eHealth services integrate Web Information Retrieval and Intelligent Medical Decision Support for health care professionals based on the range of possible symptoms which a patient reports. However, many symptoms like high temperature, fever, or headache, are ambiguous in terms of suggesting wide variety of possible patient's conditions to the GP, while other symptoms are mutually dependant, which again can be misleading to make an accurate diagnosis. On the other hand, doctor's up-to-date knowledge on the medicaments, drugs, active medical substances included, anticipated range of diseases relating to the symptoms reported, and the most reliable pharmaceutical manufacturers, are of the grea…

An automated image analysis methodology for classifying megakaryocytes in chronic myeloproliferative disorders

2008

This work describes an automatic method for discrimination in microphotographs between normal and pathological human megakaryocytes and between two kinds of disorders of these cells. A segmentation procedure has been developed, mainly based on mathematical morphology and wavelet transform, to isolate the cells. The features of each megakaryocyte (e.g. area, perimeter and tortuosity of the cell and its nucleus, and shape complexity via elliptic Fourier transform) are used by a regression tree procedure applied twice: the first time to find the set of normal megakaryocytes and the second to distinguish between the pathologies. The output of our classifier has been compared to the interpretati…

Atrial fibrillation signatures on intracardiac electrograms identified by deep learning

2022

BACKGROUND: Automatic detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) by cardiac devices is increasingly common yet sub-optimally groups AF, flutter or tachycardia (AT) together as ‘high rate events’. This may delay or misdirect therapy. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that deep learning (DL) can accurately classify AF from AT by revealing electrogram (EGM) signatures. METHODS: We studied 86 patients in whom the diagnosis of AF or AT was established at electrophysiological study (25 female, 65 ± 11 years). Custom DL architectures were trained to identify AF using N = 29,340 unipolar and N = 23,760 bipolar EGM segments. We compared DL to traditional classifiers based on rate or regularity. We explained DL …

Correlations between Diabetes Mellitus Self-Care Activities and Glycaemic Control in the Adult Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

2022

Although it is well known that lifestyle changes can affect plasma glucose levels, there is little formal evidence for the sustained effectiveness of exercise and diet in diabetes mellitus (DM) management. Self-care in DM refers to the real-life application of the knowledge that the patient gained during the education programmes. The goals are to bring about changes in the patient’s behaviour, thus improving glycaemic control. We evaluated the influence of DM self-care activities (SCA) on glycaemic control in a total of 159 patients with DM. Plasma glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were used to monitor glycaemic control, while SCA were assessed using the standardised Diabetes Self-M…

2020

Background Evidence suggests that mobile health app use is beneficial for the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and its associated complications; however, population-based research on specific determinants of health app use in people with and without T2D is scarce. Objective This cross-sectional study aimed to provide population-based evidence on rates and determinants of health app use among adults with and without T2D, thereby covering a prevention perspective and a diabetes management perspective, respectively. Methods The study population included 2327 adults without a known diabetes diagnosis and 1149 adults with known T2D from a nationwide telephone survey in Germany…

Factors Affecting Mobile Diabetes Monitoring Adoption Among Physicians: Questionnaire Study and Path Model

2012

BackgroundPatients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes often find it difficult to control their blood glucose level on a daily basis because of distance or physical incapacity. With the increase in Internet-enabled smartphone use, this problem can be resolved by adopting a mobile diabetes monitoring system. Most existing studies have focused on patients’ usability perceptions, whereas little attention has been paid to physicians’ intentions to adopt this technology. ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to evaluate the perceptions and user acceptance of mobile diabetes monitoring among Japanese physicians. MethodsA questionnaire survey of physicians was conducted in Japan. The structured questionna…