Search results for "efficient"
showing 10 items of 1603 documents
Adaptation and validation of the Spanish self-report version of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM III).
2014
Study design: This is a cross-sectional validation study. Objective: The objective of this study was to adapt and validate a self-report version of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM III) for the Spanish population. Methods: A cross-cultural adaptation of the self-report version of the SCIM III for the Spanish population was performed on the basis of international guidelines. A total of 100 patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) were recruited. A team of healthcare professionals administered the SCIM III by observation. In addition, the patients completed the Spanish self-report version (eSCIM-SR). Data from both questionnaires were analysed jointly. Results: A high correlation was …
Solid bone tumors of the spine: Diagnostic performance of apparent diffusion coefficient measured using diffusion-weighted MRI using histology as a r…
2017
Purpose To assess the diagnostic performance of mean apparent diffusion coefficient (mADC) in differentiating benign from malignant bone spine tumors, using histology as a reference standard. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences have good reliability in evaluating spinal bone tumors, although some features of benign and malignant cancers may overlap, making the differential diagnosis challenging. Materials and Methods In all, 116 patients (62 males, 54 females; mean age 59.5 ± 14.1) with biopsy-proven spinal bone tumors were studied. Field strength/sequences: 1.5T MR system; T1-weighted turbo spin-echo (repetition time / echo time [TR/TE], 500/13 msec; number of excitatio…
Benefits of nonlinear analysis indices of walking stride interval in the evaluation of neurodegenerative diseases.
2021
Indices characterising the long-range temporal structure of walking stride interval (SI) variability such as Hurst exponent (H) and fractal dimension (D) may be used in addition to indices measuring the amount of variability like the coefficient of variation (CV). We assess the added value of the former indices in a clinical neurological context. Our aim is to demonstrate that they provide a clinical significance in aging and in frequent neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Indices assessing the temporal structure of variability are mainly dependent on SI time series length and algorithms used, making quantitative comparisons…
Reliability of the Dynamic Gait Index (Finnish version) in individuals with neurological disorders
2012
To produce a Finnish version of the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) and establish its reliability in people with neurological disorders affecting balance.A consecutive sample of 33 participants in inter-rater and 30 participants in intra-rater sample were tested. The DGI was administered in two testing sessions 1-2 h apart. Reliability was assessed with the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), Bland-Altman 95% limits of agreement, coefficient of reproducibility (CR), and standard error of the mean (SEM).The instructions from the original DGI were preserved during the translation process with no need for cultural adaptations. The relative reliability of the total scores proved to be high in i…
Five times sit-to-stand test in subjects with total knee replacement: Reliability and relationship with functional mobility tests
2017
The objective was to determine the inter-observer and test/retest reliability of the "Five-repetition sit-to-stand" (5STS) test in patients with total knee replacement (TKR). To explore correlation between 5STS and two mobility tests. A reliability study was conducted among 24 (mean age 72.13, S.D. 10.67; 50% were women) outpatients with TKR. They were recruited from a traumatology unit of a public hospital via convenience sampling. A physiotherapist and trauma physician assessed each patient at the same time. The same physiotherapist realized a 5STS second measurement 45-60min after the first one. Reliability was assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Bland-Altman plo…
Performance of a new device for the clinical determination of light discomfort
2020
PURPOSE To assess the performance of a new device for the clinical determination of light discomfort on a large sample of healthy human subjects. METHODS A total of 489 subjects ranging from 20 to 70 years old (241 men, 248 women) were evaluated with the LUMIZ™ 100 to determine light discomfort. Repeatability was assessed by means of within-subject standard deviation, coefficient of variation (CoV), and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Repeated measures ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and correlation analysis were applied to test for differences between repeated measures, and effect of age on reliability. RESULTS Discomfort thresholds obtained are well distributed across the light intensity…
Effect of probe contact pressure on the photoplethysmographic assessment of conduit artery stiffness
2013
Currently, photoplethysmography (PPG) is a frequently studied optical blood pulsation detection tech- nique among biophotonic and biomedical researchers due to the fact that it shows high potential for estimating the arterial stiffness (AS). The extraction of diagnostically useful information requires standardized measurement pro- cedure with good repeatability. However, the effects of a crucially important factor—the optimal contact pressure (CP) of the probe—are often ignored. Also, CP values are not reported to evaluate those effects. It is hypothesized that AS estimated from PPG pulse wave 2nd derivative parameter b∕a is strongly inconsistent when recorded at nonoptimal probe CP. Our pi…
Results of the performance verification of the CoaguChek XS system.
2008
Abstract Background This is the first paper reporting a performance verification study of a point-of-care (POC) monitor for prothrombin time (PT) testing according to the requirements given in chapter 8 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17593:2007 standard “Clinical laboratory testing and in vitro medical devices — Requirements for in vitro monitoring systems for self-testing of oral anticoagulant therapy”. The monitor under investigation was the new CoaguChek XS system which is designed for use in patient self testing. Its detection principle is based on the amperometric measurement of the thrombin activity generated by starting the coagulation cascade using a rec…
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of the Antidepressant Mirtazapine and Its N-Demethylated Metabolite in Human Serum
2004
Mirtazapine is a novel antidepressant that acts by enhancing serotonergic and noradrenergic neurotransmission. Because very little is known about serum concentrations in relation to clinical effects, the use of therapeutic drug monitoring is so far unclear. A rapid automated HPLC method with fluorescence detection was developed for routine quantification of mirtazapine and its demethylated metabolite N-desmethylmirtazapine in human serum. The precision of the method was suitable because the day-to-day (n = 7) coefficient of variation (CV) of mirtazapine was 9.8, 4.2, and 5.1% for concentrations of 10, 40, and 80 ng/mL, respectively, and the CV for N-desmethylmirtazapine were 11.6, 10.3, and…
Clinical aspects of the apparent diffusion coefficient in 3He MRI: results in healthy volunteers and patients after lung transplantation.
2007
Purpose To measure the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) after inhalation of hyperpolarized 3He in healthy volunteers and lung transplant recipients, and demonstrate the gravity dependence of ADC values. Materials and Methods Six healthy volunteers, 10 patients after single-lung transplantation, and six patients after double-lung transplantation were examined at 1.5T during inspiration and expiration. The inhalation of 300 mL of hyperpolarized 3He was performed with a computer-controlled delivery device. A two-dimensional fast low-angle shot (FLASH) sequence measured the 3He diffusive gas movement. From these data the ADC was calculated. Results The mean ADC was 0.143 cm2/second in healt…