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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Assisted death'
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White, Amanda M. "Death and Dying in Assisted Living." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2009. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/gerontology_theses/17.
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This study examined death and dying in assisted living (AL) and the various factors that influence these processes. The study is set in a 60-bed assisted living facility outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Data collection methods included participant observation and in-depth interviews with 28 residents and 6 staff. Data were analyzed using the grounded theory approach and focused on the 18 residents who were dying and/or died during the study period. Findings show that AL residents experience a variety of dying trajectories that vary in duration and shape; for the majority of residents, hospice is an important element in their death and dying experiences. In general, death is not communicated or acknowledged formally within the facility. Responses to deaths depend largely on the nature of the relationship the deceased resident had with others. Findings have implications for how to handle death and dying in AL and to improve residents‟ experiences.
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Tapley, Robin L. "Moral responsibility in physician-assisted death." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape11/PQDD_0007/NQ42768.pdf.
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Tapley, Robin L. "Moral responsibility in physician-assisted death /." *McMaster only, 1997.
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Selvalingam, Melanie Ann Radhika. "Physician-assisted death in England and Wales." Thesis, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10443/2588.
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The thesis examines if the recent legal developments on assisted death in England and Wales have addressed the needs of society and the concerns of those seeking an assisted death. Despite assisted suicide being a crime in England and Wales, many British citizens successfully obtain an assisted suicide by travelling abroad. With the help of loved ones, they patronise right-to-die organisations in jurisdictions with more permissive laws on suicide. Meanwhile, the prosecution of those who assist a suicide is subject to an uncertain discretion of the DPP, whose prosecuting policy effectively decriminalises ‘compassionate assisted suicides’. Inconsistencies in the law on assisted death between the legal prohibition of assisted suicide, and legally permitted end-of-life medical decisions will also be examined. Whilst assisted death is a crime, physicians are legally permitted to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment from patients. The extent to which a patient’s ‘quality of life’ has been a factor in these inconsistent decisions will be analysed. The thesis will show that the present prohibition against assisted suicide in England and Wales is legally and morally indefensible. Whilst investigating whether assisted suicide should be legalised in England and Wales, the thesis undertakes a comparative analysis of six jurisdictions from around the world. It also evaluates the ‘slippery slope’ argument, i.e. whether a law permitting assisted death for a restricted group of people would inevitably lead to assisted death being practised beyond that group. The thesis will conclude that there is a strong case for providing the legal option of physician-assisted suicide to patients experiencing a poor and unacceptable quality of life due to unbearable pain and suffering brought about by terminal illness.
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Herington, Thomas. "Making Dying Better: Envisioning a Meaningful Death by Contemplating the Assisted Death." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/34977.
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The contemporary juridico-political and bioethical debate over physician assisted dying has emerged as one of the most divisive of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Commonly strained through Western conceptions of individual rights and near ubiquitous calls for the respect an abstractly defined human dignity, popular discourse on assisted dying tends to promote universal understandings of both human beings as well as ethical, legal, moral action. This thesis, however, holds these debates in abeyance preferring rather to explore the ways in which the possibility of an assisted death creates a more meaningful dying space for many Canadian advocates. And though I cannot answer for everyone, for many of the 24 individuals I spent months interviewing, “hanging out” with and generally following around to various meetings/training sessions, the assisted death is not some nihilistic response to the suffering of our materially bounded/feeling bodies, but a contemporary recurrence of a deeply spiritual, relational and artful dying.
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DiFilippo, Stephanie Marie. "Assisted Suicide; The Moral Permissiblity of Hastening Death." The Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu157415968616075.
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Przybylak-Brouillard, Antoine. "The Meaning of Suffering: Shaping Conceptualizations of Assisted-Death." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/35588.
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In recent years the right to die has emerged from the fringes as a global movement -
locally tailored - advocating for patient access to medically assisted-death. Although proposed and actualized models of assisted-death vary in method and level of accessibility, a majority of right to die advocates are motivated by a belief that suffering can at times be “unnecessary”. Based on an overview of the anthropology of suffering and fieldwork in Quebec, Ontario, and Belgium, my research focuses on right to die advocates’ conceptualization of suffering in relation to assisted-death and on how their understanding suffering shapes their views on when assisteddeath
should be permitted. I argue that those supporting assisted-death are brought in a form of solidarity through the belief that at times suffering is meaningless and devoid of deeper significance.
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Biggs, Hazel. "Death with dignity : legal and ethical aspects of euthanasia." Thesis, University of Kent, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.245597.
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Brennan, Shanda Marie, and Meliza Quinonez Kinney. "PERCEIVED PREPAREDNESS OF CALIFORNIA SOCIAL WORKERS TO DISCUSS PHYSICIAN ASSISTED DEATH." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/449.
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Effective June 9, 2016, many terminally ill patients residing in the State of California will now have the legal option of terminating their life because of protections offered under The California End of Life Options Act. Social workers whose population of care includes terminally ill patients will likely be engaging in conversations about end of life options, including physician assisted death, with their patients. Little research exists addressing what factors may influence social workers perceived preparedness to discuss physician assisted death with patients, yet the expectation that social workers be prepared to discuss all available end of life options with patients is present. The purpose of this quantitative study is to explore the influence of demographic characteristics and experience with terminal illness on California social workers perceived preparedness to discuss physician assisted death as an end of life option with terminally ill patients. Convenience sampling was utilized which included sixty-two Master of Social Work level or higher social workers who are employed in medical social work positions and are providing direct care for chronically and terminally ill patients. Participants completed a voluntary paper survey that gathered demographic information, experience with terminal illness and perceived preparedness to discuss physician assisted death with patients through Likert Scale measures. The findings showed a positive relationship between California social workers who perceived themselves as prepared to discuss physician assisted death and the identification of their social work education as a source of their preparedness.
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Mauck, Erin E. "Oregon's Death with Dignity Act: Socially Constructing a Good Death." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2016. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3043.
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As aid-in-dying legislation expands across the United States, this study examines the dynamics influencing participation in Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. In addition to data from secondary sources, this thesis analyzes field research data collected in Oregon, including 14 in-depth interviews with volunteers and employees of two advocacy organizations at the center of legalized physician-assisted death. Themes emerged including the conditions that motivate participation, the importance of both personal and professional autonomy, the significance of a good death, and the growth of open dialogues about end of life choices. This thesis concludes with a discussion of the impact Death with Dignity laws could have across the United States, with a specific focus on the state of Tennessee.
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Bando, Catherine. "Assisted Death: Historical, Moral and Theological Perspectives of End of Life Options." Digital Commons at Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School, 2018. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/513.
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The paper explores historical positions on suicide and philosophical, theological, and moral positions on physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. In 1900, most people died from infectious diseases, which have relatively short periods of morbid decline. With advances in the biomedical sciences, people are living longer, and most people die from chronic diseases, which are usually accompanied by prolonged periods of morbid decline. In addition to living longer, people today are generally more individualist and seek methods to control many aspects of life. While assisted death is rarely used, it represents a means to control end-of-life suffering. The paper demonstrates that there is substantial opposition to assisted death among philosophers, theologians and bioethicists. The paper also argues that improved education about end-of-life palliative alternatives would alleviate fears about end-of-life suffering. The thesis is that the use of palliative alternatives is morally and ethically superior to physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia.
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Huxtable, Richard. "Irrationality, English law and assisted death : the search for a pragmatic compromise." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/9f7cee08-b998-4bea-bc3e-7dc07fb9abbf.
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Holody, Kyle J. "Framing Death: The Use of Frames in Newspaper Coverage of and Press Releases about Death with Dignity." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/33154.
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Since passing its Death with Dignity Act into law in 1997, Oregon remains the only state in America to make physician-assisted suicide an explicit legal right. Currently, the legality of physician-assisted suicide falls under the jurisdiction of each individual state. Had the United States Supreme Court ruled differently in a recent case, however, the issue would have transferred to federal jurisdiction.
The Death with Dignity National Center (DDNC) takes responsibility for developing the original Death with Dignity Act and has since moved on to proposing similar legislation in other states. It also champions statesâ rights, fearing that placing physician-assisted suicide under federal jurisdiction would severely hinder its goals. The DDNC has led the legal movement for making physician-assisted suicide an end of life choice available in each state, as well as for keeping that decision at the state level.
Utilizing a content analysis, this study coded for frames used by the DDNC in its press releases and frames used in newspaper coverage of death with dignity across the same period of time. It was found that press releases about and newspaper coverage of the death with dignity social movement shared significant correlations in terms of the frames each used, as well as the level of substance given to these frames. Few significant correlations were found, however, for frame valence. It seems as though discussion of this social movement utilizes the same substantive or ambiguous frames, but cannot decide whether these frames are positive, neutral, or negative.Master of Arts
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Young, Aleena. "Physician-Assisted Death (PAD) in the United States: Arguments for Legalization through a Literature Review." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2015. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1130.
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The goal of this thesis is to investigate the literature on physician-assisted death (PAD) in the United States and argue for the legalization of PAD. This thesis discusses the historical and contemporary legal literature of PAD as well as the concerns voiced by opponents of PAD. This thesis addresses the concerns of PAD opponents and invalidating some concerns and and attenuating others. Proper implementation of PAD is proposed via Mandatory Psychiatric Review (MPR) and other psychological services. Further improvements needed in PAD policy are discussed as well as the current benefits of PAD.
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Van, der Merwe Abrie. "An analysis of assisted dying and the practical implementation thereof in South African criminal law." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/65628.
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This dissertation will examine the legality of assisted dying procedures performed in the Republic of South Africa. This is due to the rising awareness about terminal patients’ dignity and autonomy at the end of their life. The physician’s liability, who assists such a patient to end their life, will be examined and whether there is any legal recourse available will be explored. Comparisons will also be made between other legal systems, including Canada, the Netherlands, Oregon of the United States of America and England and Wales. These jurisdictions have been chosen to provide a wide variety of perspectives and possible alternatives that South Africa should take into consideration should parliament or the courts decide to argue the matter. Other sources are also considered, such as the influence of the history and development of the common law crime of murder, as well as the role the Health Professions Council of South Africa will play. Possibly most importantly, the material criminal law of South Africa is thoroughly studied with all forms of assisted dying in mind. This is to establish what kind of liability, criminal or otherwise, a physician might incur should they decide to assist a patient in these circumstances. Lastly, recommendations are made based on the research done throughout this dissertation, which would ideally assist in any future arguments made on the topic.Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
Public Law
LLM
Unrestricted
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Sandeen, Peggy Jo Ann. "Public Opinion and the Oregon Death with Dignity Act." PDXScholar, 2013. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1015.
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Oregon voters legalized physician-assisted death in 1997 by passing the Oregon Death with Dignity Act. This law allowed terminally ill, mentally competent adult residents of the state to legally obtain a physician's prescription to hasten death under narrow sets of circumstances. The purpose of this study was twofold: to examine contemporary patterns of support for the law in Oregon and to explore how opinions have changed over time on the issue. This study examined patterns of public support among a random sample of registered Oregon voters for the state's death with dignity law, using a mixed mode (mail, online, and phone) cross-sectional survey (n = 442). The findings indicate a pattern of growing support with potential Oregon voters split 80%-20% on the issue, a substantial increase from the 60%-40% approval margin at the ballot box in 1997. Various demographic variables, as well as attitudinal factors, were explored in building a binary logistic regression model predicting probability of support. Frequency of church attendance, views about physician participation in the process, and opinions about Death with Dignity as an individual right were significant predictors of support. Frequent churchgoers, regardless of denomination or religious tradition, were nearly five times more likely to oppose Death with Dignity than support it, holding all other variables constant. While the findings indicate a pattern of growth in support over the past 15 years, they indicate also a stability of opinion, with few individuals indicating they had changed their opinions about the issue since the first time they encountered it.
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Starks, Helene Elizabeth. "Dying on one's own terms : access to care, timing of death, and effects on family members /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/5413.
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Morris, Christie A. "Designing the Threshold: A Holistic Center for the Terminally Ill." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/35663.
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If Architecture can express the joy of birth and all the infinite aspects of human life, then Architecture can celebrate death as a final rite of passage. Can Architecture celebrate man's transition into the afterlife? How does this celebration translate literally into something tangible? How does this celebration translate figuratively into something tactile?Master of Architecture
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Benestad, Janet. "Physician Assisted Suicide in Massachusetts: Vote "No" on 2012 Ballot Question 2." Thesis, Boston College, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:109067.
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Thesis advisor: Marc LandyThe “Death with Dignity Act,” if passed in November 2012 in Massachusetts by means of a ballot initiative, would have allowed doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to patients with fewer than six months to live. Introduced by two pro-assisted suicide organizations from the Pacific Northwest, the initiative was expected to take advantage of a political “perfect storm” brewing in the Bay State. A blue state in a presidential election year, with President Obama at the top of the Democratic ticket, Massachusetts was expected to produce an electoral outcome favorable to assisted suicide. Oregon and Washington State had legalized physician-assisted suicide in 1998 and 2008, respectively. Polling in 2011 showed a 2-1 majority among Massachusetts voters in favor of assisted suicide. Nonetheless, the Archbishop of Boston and the Bishops of Worcester, Fall River and Springfield, organized as the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, took up the challenge to oppose the initiative. Relying on the expertise of paid political consultants, they mounted a two-tiered campaign. An internal component, directed at Catholics, included the dissemination of over 2 million pieces of in-print and electronic materials urging a “no” vote on the measure. An external component, directed at the wider public, relied on a coalition of organizations representing the three major religions, health and hospice organizations, disabilities rights activists, and pharmacists. Using “flaws” in the bill identified through strategic polling, they appealed to voters even sympathetic to assisted suicide to reject the bill. When the votes were counted 2.7 million Massachusetts citizens voted on the physician-assisted suicide initiative and it was defeated by 67,891 votes, 51.1% to 48.9%. One key to the defeat was the split in the vote in the city of Boston, where Question 2 was defeated 50.9% to 49.1% . Twelve of Boston’s 22 wards voted against the measure. Leading the way among the twelve were Dorchester, Roxbury, and Hyde Park, traditionally black, liberal Democratic strongholds. This study shows that even the most effective, well-funded, Church-initiated campaign in Massachusetts in 2012 might well have foundered on the 2-1 majority in favor of assisted suicide at the polls, not for the strategic identification of “flaws in the bill,” the broad-based coalition campaign based on them, and the “split in the vote in the black community in Boston.”
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Political Science
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Andrews, Jinsy A., Lisa Meng, Sarah F. Kulke, Stacy A. Rudnicki, Andrew A. Wolff, Michael E. Bozik, Fady I. Malik, and Jeremy M. Shefner. "Association Between Decline in Slow Vital Capacity and Respiratory Insufficiency, Use of Assisted Ventilation, Tracheostomy, or Death in Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis." AMER MEDICAL ASSOC, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/626557.
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IMPORTANCE The prognostic value of slow vital capacity (SVC) in relation to respiratory function decline and disease progression in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is not well understood. OBJECTIVE To investigate the rate of decline in percentage predicted SVC and its association with respiratory-related clinical events and mortality in patients with ALS. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective study included 893 placebo-treated patients from 2 large clinical trials (EMPOWER and BENEFIT-ALS, conducted from March 28, 2011, to November 1, 2012, and from October 23, 2012, to March 21, 2014, respectively) and an ALS trial database (PRO-ACT, containing studies completed between 1990 and 2010) to investigate the rate of decline in SVC. Data from the EMPOWER trial (which enrolled adults with possible, probable, or definite ALS; symptom onset within 24 months before screening; and upright SVC at least 65% of predicted value for age, height, and sex) were used to assess the relationship of SVC to respiratory-related clinical events; 456 patients randomized to placebo were used in this analysis. The 2 clinical trials included patients from North America, Australia, and Europe. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Clinical events included the earlier of time to death or time to decline in the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) respiratory subdomain, time to onset of respiratory insufficiency, time to tracheostomy, and all-cause mortality. RESULTS Among 893 placebo-treated patients with ALS, the mean (SD) patient age was 56.7 (11.2) years, and the mean (SD) SVC was 90.5%(17.1%) at baseline; 65.5%(585 of 893) were male, and 20.5%(183 of 893) had bulbar-onset ALS. In EMPOWER, average decline of SVC from baseline through 1.5-year follow-up was - 2.7 percentage points per month. Steeper declines were found in patients older than 65 years (-3.6 percentage points per month [P=.005 vs < 50 years and P=.007 vs 50-65 years) and in patients with an ALSFRS-R total score of 39 or less at baseline (-3.1 percentage points per month [P<.001 vs >39]). When the rate of decline of SVC was slower by 1.5 percentage points per month in the first 6 months, risk reductions for events after 6 months were 19% for decline in the ALSFRS-R respiratory subdomain or death after 6 months, 22% for first onset of respiratory insufficiency or death after 6 months, 23% for first occurrence of tracheostomy or death after 6 months, and 23% for death at any time after 6 months (P<.001 for all). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The rate of decline in SVC is associated with meaningful clinical events in ALS, including respiratory failure, tracheostomy, or death, suggesting that it is an important indicator of clinical progression.
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Pappas, Demetra M. "The politics of euthanasia and assisted suicide : a comparative case study of emerging criminal law and the criminal trials of Jack 'Dr. Death' Kevorkian." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2010. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2759/.
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During the 1990's, medical euthanasia and "physician assisted suicide" became controversial. The latter was variously criminalized, decriminalized and legalized. This dissertation analyses some of the factors leading to changes in de jure and de facto criminal law. With special reference to the 1990s criminal trials of Dr. Jack Kevorkian (a retired pathologist who became a self-styled "Dr. Death"), it considers the creation and implementation of criminal law regarding medically hastened death in Michigan. I examine the social roles of chief prosecutors, judges, juries, family members of the decedents, and the media. This method of analysis presents a unique opportunity to study key players and how they may have influenced (or been influenced by) the court processes during the emergence of an important issue in a specific jurisdiction. The longitudinal study focuses upon one defendant in one locale, but also examines different statutes and cases. Thus, it becomes possible to scrutinize alternative legal theories of the prosecutions of the cases, along with the development of law in the books and law in action. Anchoring this study is Kevorkian's 1999 trial culminating in a conviction for euthanasia murder and related drug delivery charges. A landmark was a tape-recording of the consensual euthanasia, which Kevorkian made for broadcast on national television, and whose use by the media, the prosecution, and by Kevorkian, proved highly revealing. In short, the thesis supplies a detailed empirical and analytic examination of critical legal, social and political issues in the public response to physician assisted suicide and medical euthanasia. One principal conclusion is that in those Kevorkian cases in which the politics of death and the emerging assisted suicide debate were factors, the result was acquittal by juries. In sharp contrast, when the trial was limited to the elements of the crime, and eliminated questions of patient suffering and the families, the prosecution obtained a conviction.
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Adrian, Ebba, and Matilda Karlsson. "Sjuksköterkors erfarenheter och attityder till aktiv dödshjälp. En litteraturstudie." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle (HS), 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-24722.
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Bakgrund: Aktiv dödshjälp är olagligt i Sverige men tillämpas idag i ett flertal länder i världen med olika bestämmelser. Patienter som avslutar sina liv med aktiv dödshjälp är oftast terminalt sjuka. Komplexiteten med dödshjälp innefattar etisk problematik, personliga värderingar, sjukvårdens värdegrund, patientens autonomi och hur dödshjälp ska tillämpas i praktiken. Sjuksköterskan bär omvårdnadsansvaret och har därmed ofta en nära relation till patient och anhöriga. Då många patienter lider i livets slutskede kan sjuksköterskor behöva handskas med svåra frågor om döden och önskningar kring hur livet ska avslutas.Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att belysa sjuksköterskors erfarenheter och attityder till aktiv dödshjälp.Metod: En litteraturstudie med elva vetenskapliga artiklar med kvalitativ ansats. Två databaser användes, PubMed och CINAHL. Studierna granskades och analyserades med innehållsanalys som metod. Resultat: Två teman och åtta underteman hittades. Under det första temat Kommunikation hittades följande underteman; Förstå och hjälpa patienten, Samarbete och stöd i teamet, Sjuksköterskans delaktighet vid dödshjälp, Stöd till patient när dödshjälp beviljas och Sjuksköterskans stöd till anhöriga. Under det andra temat Attityder hittades dessa underteman: Attityder för aktiv dödshjälp, Attityder mot aktiv dödshjälp och Osäkerhet i frågan om aktiv dödshjälp.Konklusion: Dödshjälp är ett komplext ämne som väcker många känslor. Genom god kommunikation och tvärprofessionellt samarbete kan sjuksköterskor hantera de svårigheter som kan uppkomma. Trots att sjuksköterskor har olika åsikter i frågan gällande aktiv dödshjälp kommer de alltid möta patienter i livets slutskede.Background: Different countries have different euthanasia laws, in Sweden it is still an illegal practice. Patients who decide to end their lives with euthanasia/assisted death are usually terminally ill. The complexity with euthanasia includes ethical issues, personal values, health care principles, patient’s autonomy and how it should be applied in practice. The nurse is responsible for nursing and thereby has a close bond to the patient and his/her’s family. A lot of people suffer at the end of life and nurses are faced with difficult questions about death and wishes how they want their lives to end. Aim: To illustrate nurses’ experiences and attitudes to euthanasia/assisted suicide. Method: A literature review based on eleven scientific articles with qualitative design. Two databases were used, PubMed and CINAHL. The studies have been reviewed and analyzed; the used method was content analysis.Findings: Two main themes and eight sub themes were found. Under the first theme Communication the sub themes were; Understanding and helping the patient, Collaboration and support in the team, Nurses’ participation in the euthanasia process, Supporting the patient when euthanasia is granted and Nurses’ support to relatives. Under the second theme Attitudes the three sub themes were; Attitudes for euthanasia/assisted death, Attitudes against euthanasia/assisted death and Uncertainty in the issue of euthanasia/assisted death.Conclusion: Euthanasia/assisted death is complex and stirs a lot of emotions. The facing difficulties are dealt with through communication and interdisciplinary teamwork. Though nurses’ opinions about euthanasia/assisted death are divided they will always be faced with end of life nursing.
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Cardelli, Christofer, and Alexander Sjöstrand. "Nederländska sjuksköterskors personliga åsikter om dödshjälp." Thesis, University of Skövde, School of Life Sciences, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-87.
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Aim. The aim of the study is to highlight Dutch nurses’ opinions about assisted death. Background. Since 2002 it has been legally justified for physicians to assist a patients’ death in the Netherlands. Public and ethical debate, scientific research, guidelines for prudent practice and legislatures focus predominantly on the role of physicians, seemingly assuming that the tasks of other health care professionals are less important. Though, the nurse cares for the patient on a daily basis, and has a close relationship with the terminally ill and their next of kin. Method. A qualitative method was used. Twelve nurses were used in the study, and they received a questionnaire with open questions where they were supposed to motivate their personal opinions related to assisted death. Results. Three main categories (and seven sub categories) highlights the nurses’ opinions; the meeting (discussion, next of kin), inner conflicts (religion, participation) and influences (pain relief, living will, laws and criteria). Conclusions. The Swedish taboo concerning assisted death need to be removed. The quality of the palliative care is decisive of when the patients’ request of assisted death is putted. Continuous discussion elicits underlying factors of why a request of assisted death is putted.
Syfte. Syftet med studien är att belysa nederländska sjuksköterskors personliga åsikter om dödshjälp. Bakgrund. I Nederländerna har det varit lagligt för läkare att assistera en patients död sedan 2002. I den allmänna och etiska diskussionen kring beslut som rör läkarassisterad död, i forskningen, i riktlinjer och i lagstiftning fokuseras på läkarens roll, övriga vårdgivares arbetsuppgifter antas vara mindre viktiga. Detta antagande kan ifrågasättas då sjuksköterskan vårdar patienten dagligen, ofta i en nära relation till den sjuke och hans eller hennes närstående i livets slutskede. Metod. För att uppnå studiens syfte användes en kvalitativ metod. I studien ingick tolv nederländska sjuksköterskor som fick ett frågeformulär med öppna frågor där de skulle motivera sina personliga åsikter till dödshjälp. Resultat. Resultatet visar tre huvudkategorier (och sju underkategorier) som belyser sjuksköterskans åsikt; mötet (diskussion, anhöriga), inre konflikter (religion, deltagande) samt influenser (smärtlindring, testamente, lagar och kriterier). Konklusion. Den svenska tabun kring läkarassisterad död bör tas bort för att utveckla debatten. Kvaliteten på den palliativa vården avgör ofta om och när patientens förfrågan om dödshjälp kommer. Kontinuerlig diskussion tydliggör underliggande faktorer till varför en förfrågan om dödshjälp ställs.
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Stenberg, Anna, and Elisabeth Sundström. "Vad patienten vill och vad patienten får : En litteraturöversikt om dödshjälp." Thesis, Ersta Sköndal Bräcke högskola, Institutionen för vårdvetenskap, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:esh:diva-6523.
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Background: In 1997 it became legal for patients with a terminal illness to receive assistance to end their lives in Oregon, USA. The same legislative change came into force in the Netherlands in 2002. These changes have not occurred in Sweden, however a debate is ongoing in terms of the option to legalise active and physician assisted suicide and the ethical and moral aspects of this issue. Aim: The aim is to identify factors leading to patients with a diagnosis of cancer or ALS requesting assistance to end their lives. Method: A literature review and analysis was carried out, in combination with an overview of 11 ethically audited scientific articles. Results: The conclusion was divided into four main themes; depression and burden without a sub theme, pain with sub themes suffering and fatigue, existential values with sub theme hope and hopelessness and finally quality of life with the sub theme strength. Discussion: There is an evident interest in the discussion about legalising assisted suicide in Sweden, amongst patients as well as medical professionals. The patient's desire may be overridden as the subject is tabooed, thereby reducing patient autonomy and the patient´s right to self-determination. Patients' attitude towards death assistance has been discussed on the basis of theories of Helga Kuhse, Katie Eriksson and ICN's ethical code.Bakgrund: År 1997 blev det lagligt för en patient med obotlig sjukdom att få hjälp att avsluta sitt liv i delstaten Oregon i USA. I Nederländerna blev detta ett lagligt alternativ 2002. I Sverige är detta inte lagligt men det pågår en debatt om legaliseringen av aktiv och läkarassisterad dödshjälp ur ett etiskt och moraliskt perspektiv. Syfte: Syftet är att identifiera faktorer till varför patienter med cancer eller ALS ber om dödshjälp. Metod: En litteraturöversikt gjordes med en analys och en sammanställning av 11 etiskt granskade vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultat: Resultatet delades in i fyra huvudteman där tre teman hade underteman. Det första huvudtemat depression och börda hade inget undertema. Det andra huvudtemat smärta har följande underteman: lidande och fatigue. Det tredje huvudtemat existentiella värderingar har undertemat: hopp och hopplöshet och slutligen det fjärde huvudtemat livskvalitet har styrka som undertema. Diskussion: Ett intresse angående en legalisering av dödshjälp finns i Sverige hos både patienter och vårdpersonal. Patientens önskan kan bli åsidosatt då ämnet är tabubelagt och genom detta kan patientens autonomi och rätten till hens självbestämmande sänkas. Patienternas inställning till dödshjälp har diskuterats utifrån teorier av Helga Kuhse, Katie Eriksson och ICN´s etiska kod.
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Jin, Z. "Depth-map-assisted texture and depth map super-resolution." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2015. http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3000968/.
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With the development of video technology, high definition video and 3D video applications are becoming increasingly accessible to customers. The interactive and vivid 3D video experience of realistic scenes relies greatly on the amount and quality of the texture and depth map data. However, due to the limitations of video capturing hardware and transmission bandwidth, transmitted video has to be compressed which degrades, in general, the received video quality. This means that it is hard to meet the users’ requirements of high definition and visual experience; it also limits development of future applications. Therefore, image/video super-resolution techniques have been proposed to address this issue. Image super-resolution aims to reconstruct a high resolution image from single or multiple low resolution images captured of the same scene under different conditions. Based on the image type that needs to be super-resolved, image super-resolution includes texture and depth image super-resolutions. If classified based on the implementation methods, there are three main categories: interpolation-based, reconstruction-based and learning-based super-resolution algorithms. This thesis focuses on exploiting depth data in interpolation-based super-resolution algorithms for texture video and depth maps. Two novel texture and one depth super-resolution algorithms are proposed as the main contributions of this thesis. The first texture super-resolution algorithm is carried out in the Mixed Resolution (MR) multiview video system where at least one of the views is captured at Low Resolution (LR), while the others are captured at Full Resolution (FR). In order to reduce visual uncomfortableness and adapt MR video format for free-viewpoint television, the low resolution views are super-resolved to the target full resolution by the proposed virtual view assisted super resolution algorithm. The inter-view similarity is used to determine whether to fill the missing pixels in the super-resolved frame by virtual view pixels or by spatial interpolated pixels. The decision mechanism is steered by the texture characteristics of the neighbors of each missing pixel. Thus, the proposed method can recover the details in regions with edges while maintaining good quality at smooth areas by properly exploiting the high quality virtual view pixels and the directional correlation of pixels. The second texture super-resolution algorithm is based on the Multiview Video plus Depth (MVD) system, which consists of textures and the associated per-pixel depth data. In order to further reduce the transmitted data and the quality degradation of received video, a systematical framework to downsample the original MVD data and later on to super-resolved the LR views is proposed. At the encoder side, the rows of the two adjacent views are downsampled following an interlacing and complementary fashion, whereas, at the decoder side, the discarded pixels are recovered by fusing the virtual view pixels with the directional interpolated pixels from the complementary downsampled views. Consequently, with the assistance of virtual views, the proposed approach can effectively achieve these two goals. From previous two works, we can observe that depth data has big potential to be used in 3D video enhancement. However, due to the low spatial resolution of Time-of-Flight (ToF) depth camera generated depth images, their applications have been limited. Hence, in the last contribution of this thesis, a planar-surface-based depth map super-resolution approach is presented, which interpolates depth images by exploiting the equation of each detected planar surface. Both quantitative and qualitative experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed approach over benchmark methods.
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Andrade, Walkyria Sampaio. "Gastrosquise fetal:análise da frequência cardíaca fetal pela cardiotocografia computadorizada no anteparto." Universidade de São Paulo, 2016. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/5/5139/tde-04082016-151816/.
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INTRODUÇÃO: Gastrosquise é um defeito no fechamento da parede abdominal do feto que está relacionado a elevadas taxas de óbito intrauterino por mecanismos ainda desconhecidos. Em fetos normais, basicamente, todos os parâmetros da frequência cardíaca fetal (FCF) analisados na cardiotocografia computadorizada (CTGc) apresentam uma mudança significativa no decorrer da gestação. OBJETIVO: Descrever as características da FCF e o comportamento dos parâmetros avaliados pela CTGc anteparto, no período de 28 a 36 semanas de gestação. MÉTODOS: Estudo retrospectivo realizado na Clínica Obstétrica do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, no período de janeiro de 2012 a junho de 2015, envolvendo pacientes com gestação única, feto vivo e portador de gastrosquise isolada que foram submetidas à avaliação antenatal pela CTGc (Sistema FetalCare). Os parâmetros avaliados foram: número de movimentos fetais por hora, frequência cardíaca fetal basal (FCF), desacelerações, acelerações, episódios de alta e baixa variação e variação de curto prazo. A análise não paramétrica para medidas repetidas (ANOVA não paramétrica) foi utilizada para análise comparativa dos parâmetros da CTGc em cada idade gestacional avaliada. RESULTADOS: O estudo envolveu 87 gestantes com média de 3,5 (1-9) avaliações cardiotocográficas por paciente. O número de avaliações cardiotocográficas em cada idade gestacional foi >= 20, exceto para a idade de 29 semanas (n = 16). Os principais parâmetros da FCF avaliados pela CTGc como a FCF basal e o STV não apresentaram mudança significativa. Apenas dois parâmetros da CTGc apresentaram mudança significativa no período avaliado: o número de exames com presença de episódios de baixa variação da FCF aumentou no decorrer da gestação (p = 0,019); e o número de acelerações acima de 15 batimentos por minuto aumentou no evoluir das idades gestacionais estudadas (p = 0,001). Nenhum dos outros parâmetros avaliados pela CTGc apresentou mudança significativa no decorrer do período avaliado: o número de movimentos fetais por hora (p = 0,244), a FCF basal (p = 0,606) e o STV (p = 0,145). CONCLUSÃO: O comportamento da FCF dos fetos com gastrosquise difere do padrão apresentado por fetos normais, já que a maioria dos parâmetros da FCF avaliados pela CTGc de fetos com gastrosquise não apresentou mudança significativa no período gestacional avaliadoINTRODUCTION: Fetal gastroschisis is an abdominal wall defect associated with high rates of intrauterine death of unknown mechanisms. In normal fetuses, basically all computerized cardiotocography (cCTG) parameters present a significant change across gestation. OBJECTIVE: To describe the antepartum cCTG parameters between 28 to 36 weeks gestation. METHODS: Retrospective study, accomplished in the Obstetrics Department of Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo - Brazil between January 2012 and June 2015, involving singleton pregnancies, with alive fetus and isolated gastroschisis that underwent to cCTG (System 8002-Sonicaid) during the antenatal care. The cCTG parameters evaluated were: number of fetal movements per hour, baseline fetal heart rate (FHR) decelerations, accelerations, episodes of high and low variation and short-term variation. A non-parametric analysis for repeated measures (nonparametric ANOVA) was used for comparative analysis of the mean distribution of each cCTG parameters throughout the study period. RESULTS: The study involved 84 pregnant women with a mean of 3.5 (1 - 9) cCTG records per patient. The number of records in each gestational age was >= 20 except for the weeks 29 (n = 16). The cCTG parameters that presented significant change during the study period were: increase in the number of records with episodes of low variation (p = 0.019); and increase in the number of accelerations higher than 15 beats per minute (p = 0.001). None of the others analyzed parameters showed significant changes during the study period, the number of movements/hr (p = 0,244), basal FHR (p = 0,606) and the STV (p = 0,145). CONCLUSION: Only two of the cCTG parameters changed significantly during the study period. Therefore, it seems that the behavior patterns of cCTG parameters, in gastroschisis fetuses, are not similar to the normal fetuses
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Zhang, Chenxi. "Depth-Assisted Semantic Segmentation, Image Enhancement and Parametric Modeling." UKnowledge, 2014. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cs_etds/27.
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This dissertation addresses the problem of employing 3D depth information on solving a number of traditional challenging computer vision/graphics problems. Humans have the abilities of perceiving the depth information in 3D world, which enable humans to reconstruct layouts, recognize objects and understand the geometric space and semantic meanings of the visual world. Therefore it is significant to explore how the 3D depth information can be utilized by computer vision systems to mimic such abilities of humans. This dissertation aims at employing 3D depth information to solve vision/graphics problems in the following aspects: scene understanding, image enhancements and 3D reconstruction and modeling.
In addressing scene understanding problem, we present a framework for semantic segmentation and object recognition on urban video sequence only using dense depth maps recovered from the video. Five view-independent 3D features that vary with object class are extracted from dense depth maps and used for segmenting and recognizing different object classes in street scene images. We demonstrate a scene parsing algorithm that uses only dense 3D depth information to outperform using sparse 3D or 2D appearance features.
In addressing image enhancement problem, we present a framework to overcome the imperfections of personal photographs of tourist sites using the rich information provided by large-scale internet photo collections (IPCs). By augmenting personal 2D images with 3D information reconstructed from IPCs, we address a number of traditionally challenging image enhancement techniques and achieve high-quality results using simple and robust algorithms.
In addressing 3D reconstruction and modeling problem, we focus on parametric modeling of flower petals, the most distinctive part of a plant. The complex structure, severe occlusions and wide variations make the reconstruction of their 3D models a challenging task. We overcome these challenges by combining data driven modeling techniques with domain knowledge from botany. Taking a 3D point cloud of an input flower scanned from a single view, each segmented petal is fitted with a scale-invariant morphable petal shape model, which is constructed from individually scanned 3D exemplar petals. Novel constraints based on botany studies are incorporated into the fitting process for realistically reconstructing occluded regions and maintaining correct 3D spatial relations.
The main contribution of the dissertation is in the intelligent usage of 3D depth information on solving traditional challenging vision/graphics problems. By developing some advanced algorithms either automatically or with minimum user interaction, the goal of this dissertation is to demonstrate that computed 3D depth behind the multiple images contains rich information of the visual world and therefore can be intelligently utilized to recognize/ understand semantic meanings of scenes, efficiently enhance and augment single 2D images, and reconstruct high-quality 3D models.
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Yung, Nancy. "The right to be killed : reassessing the case for the moral right to voluntary active euthanasia." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:2aa54686-b621-4323-b836-ce6099b5d2fd.
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This thesis defends an individual's moral right to be aided in dying by a physician (that is, voluntary active euthanasia, or VAE), but departs significantly from the view in its favor generally accepted in the bioethics literature. The prevailing view appeals to both respect for an individual's autonomy and promotion of an individual's well-being as necessary conditions for a right to VAE, so as to justify the right only for those suffering grave illnesses and/or disabilities. The author argues that such a view is logically untenable; one or another aspect must be given up. Since invoking the premise that certain individuals would be better off dead necessarily relies on controversial assumptions about both the value of life and the nature and value of death, about which reasonable people disagree, it is the justification from an individual's best interest which must be excluded in a liberal society. The author endorses a self-determination justification for the right to VAE, but rejects understanding this in terms of respecting personal autonomy, instead making the case for a right to VAE grounded in self-ownership. The author's main conclusion is that the right to VAE is a general right applying to all competent adults, not only those suffering grave illnesses or disabilities, or those whose choice for VAE is an exercise of autonomy. Moreover, by analyzing the basis of physician authority over prescription medicine and how this can be justified to a society of self-owners, she maintains that individuals have not only the right to choose VAE without state interference, but also the right to be provided VAE by doctors. Nevertheless, both rights are compatible with reasonable limitations to protect both the interests of VAE seekers and the rights of others.
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Nilsson, Nicholas. "Svårt sjuka cancerpatienters intresse för aktiv dödshjälp." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle (HS), 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-24787.
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Syftet med studien var att undersöka intresset för aktiv dödshjälp hos patienter som lider av en långt framskriden cancer samt vilka faktorer som påverkar dem i detta ställningstagande. I en litteraturstudie har relevant litteratur insamlats, analyserats och tolkats. Utifrån bevisen från sammanlagt fem kvalitativa studier har nya slutsatser dragits. Resultaten pekar på att det finns ett intresse för aktiv dödshjälp bland svårt sjuka cancerpatienter men att detta i hög grad är framtidsorienterat. Faktorer som påverkar intresset är uppfattningen om att vara en börda för andra, rädsla för framtiden, lidande, den demoraliserande inverkan som cancern har på individen samt religion och etik.The aim of this study was to examine the personal interest in receiving a physician hastened death among terminally ill cancer patients and the factors that are associated with such a consideration. A review of literature has been conducted on relevant articles. The evidence from a total of five qualitative studies formed the basis upon which new conclusions have been reached. The results suggest that an interest is prevalent among terminally ill cancer patients for receiving a physician hastened death. However, this is in most cases future orientated. Factors that influence patients in this consideration are the perception of being a burden to others, fear of the future, suffering, the demoralising effect that cancer has on the individual as well as religion and ethics.
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Chang, Jeani. "Relationship Between Assisted Reproductive Technology and Risk of Stillbirth." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4508.
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Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is an infertility treatment used to assist women to become pregnant. Although the procedure is safe, there are gaps in understanding the association between treatment and adverse pregnancy outcomes (e.g., stillbirth) in the United States. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between stillbirth delivery and ART. The 2 research questions addressed the association between methods of conception (ART versus non-ART) and the delivery of a stillbirth, and the association between multiple gestation pregnancy and risk of stillbirths. Retrospective cohort data from the States Monitoring ART collaborative were analyzed using Pearson's chi squared tests and log binominal regression models. Findings indicated that from 2006 to 2011, the average stillbirth rates were lower among ART-conceived pregnancies than non-ART conceived pregnancies. After controlling for confounding factors, ART-conceived pregnancies did not show increased risks of stillbirths compared to non-ART conceived pregnancies regardless of plurality. This lower risk of stillbirth was particularly significant during early pregnancies, before 28 weeks of gestation. Findings may be used to improve understanding of the use of ART treatment and its associated pregnancy outcomes. Findings may also be used to prevent stillbirths and to improve prenatal care, early stillbirth detection, and effective clinical management of fetal and maternal conditions during pregnancy.
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Oliveira, Flavio Roberto Garbelini de. "Análise morfométrica de neurônios de gânglios simpáticos torácicos de pacientes com e sem hiperidrose primária palmar." Universidade de São Paulo, 2013. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/5/5156/tde-26022014-091524/.
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Introdução: A hiperidrose primária consiste em uma sudorese excessiva em regiões limitadas do corpo. A simpatectomia torácica videotoracoscópica é um dos tratamentos propostos para a hiperidrose primária palmar, aliando alto sucesso terapêutico com baixo risco. A fisiopatologia da hiperidrose primária ainda não está totalmente esclarecida. Objetivos: Analisar as características morfométricas dos gânglios simpáticos torácicos (G3), removidos cirurgicamente de pacientes portadores de hiperidrose palmar. Como controle foram utilizados os gânglios simpáticos, removidos no mesmo nível (G3), de pacientes doadores de órgãos por morte encefálica, sabidamente sem hiperidrose. Foram estudadas a estereologia e a apoptose celular e as fibras do sistema colágeno /elastina da matriz extracelular. Métodos: Estudo transversal, no qual foram incluídos 40 gânglios simpáticos torácicos (G3) removidos do hemitórax esquerdo, provenientes de pacientes com hiperidrose palmar (Grupo I), submetidos à simpatectomia videotoracoscópica, e 14 gânglios simpáticos de pacientes controle sabidamente sem hiperidrose (Grupo II), removidos por esternotomia mediana. Resultados: Em relação ao sexo, a proporção de mulheres e homens foi de 30:10, no Grupo I, e 7:7 no Grupo II, com p = 0,103. A idade no Grupo I, variou de 10 a 42 anos, com uma média de 23,73 (+ 7,51) e no Grupo II variou de 17 a 68 anos, com uma média de 37,57 (+ 16,65) , apresentando um p = 0,009. A média das células ganglionares nos pacientes do Grupo I foi de 14,25 (+ 3,81) e no Grupo II foi de 10,65 (+ 4,93) com p = 0,007. A média das células ganglionares coradas pela caspase (apoptose) no Grupo I foi de 2,37 (+ 0,79) e no Grupo II foi de 0,77 (+ 0,28) com p < 0,001. A mediana da área de colágeno corada pelo Picrosírius no Grupo I foi de 0,80 IQ (0,08-1,87) e no Grupo II foi de 2,36 IQ (0,49-5,98) com p = 0,061. Conclusões: Os pacientes portadores de hiperidrose primária palmar apresentam um maior número de células ganglionares no gânglio simpático, em relação aos do grupo controle. Há um número maior de células ganglionares simpáticas em apoptose na hiperidrose. Os pacientes portadores de hiperidrose apresentam menos colágeno no gânglio simpáticoIntroduction: Primary hyperhidrosis consists of excessive sweating in small areas of the body. The video-assisted thoracic sympathectomy is one of the suggested treatments for primary palmar hyperhidrosis, which combines high therapeutic success with low risk. The pathophysiology of primary hyperhidrosis is not fully understood yet. Objectives: Analyzing the morphometric characteristics of the thoracic sympathetic ganglion (G3) surgically removed from patients with palmar hyperhidrosis. The sympathetic ganglion removed at the same level (G3) from patients who are organ donors after brain death and who did not have hyperhidrosis were used as control. Stereology and cellular apoptosis, as well as the fibers of the collagen/elastin system of the extracellular matrix were subjected to scrutiny. Methods: Cross-sectional study, which included 40 thoracic sympathetic ganglion (G3) removed from the left hemithorax of patients who have palmar hyperhidrosis (Group I) and underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic sympathectomy, and also 14 sympathetic ganglion from control patients who did not have hyperhidrosis (Group II), which were removed with median sternotomy. Results: In regards to gender , the proportion of women to men was 30:10 in Group I and 7:7 in Group II, with p = 0.103. The age Group I ranged from 10 to 42 years, with an average of 23.73 (+ 7.51) years and in Group II, from to 17 to 68 years, with an average of 37.57 (+ 16.65) years, with p = 0.009. The average of ganglion cells in Group I was 14.25 (+ 3.81) and in Group II, 10.65 (+ 4.93) with p = 0.007. The average ganglion cells stained by Caspase (apoptosis) in Group I was 2.37 (+0.79) and in Group II, 0.77 (+ 0.28) with p = 0.001. The median collagen area by Picrosirius in Group I was 0.80 IQ (0.08-1.87) and in Group II, 2.36 IQ (0.49-5.98) with p = 0.061. Conclusions: Patients with primary palmar hyperhidrosis have an increased number of ganglion cells in the sympathetic ganglion in comparison to the control group. There are a higher number of sympathetic ganglion cells in apoptosis in hyperhidrosis. Patients with hyperhidrosis have less collagen in sympathetic ganglion
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Wagner, Adam, and Adam Wagner. "Augmented Reality for Spatial Perception in the Computer Assisted Surgical Trainer." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/624125.
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Traditional laparoscopic surgery continues to require significant training on the part of the surgeon before entering the operating room. Augmented Reality (AR) has been investigated for use in visual guidance in training and during surgery, but little work is available investigating the effectiveness of AR techniques in providing the user better awareness of depth and space. In this work we propose several 2D AR overlays for visual guidance in training for laparoscopic surgery, with the goal of aiding the user's perception of depth and space in that limiting environment. A pilot study of 30 subjects (22 male and 8 female) was performed with results showing the effect of the various overlays on subject performance of a path following task in the Computer Assisted Surgical Trainer (CAST-III) system developed in the Model Based Design Lab. Deviation, economy of movement, and completion time are considered as metrics. Providing a reference indicator for the nearest point on the optimal path is found to result in significant reduction (p < 0.05) in subject deviation from the path. The data also indicates a reduction in subject deviation along the depth axis and total path length with overlays designed to provide depth information. Avenues for further investigation are presented.
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Othero, Jairo Constante Bitencourt. "A terminalidade humana assistida em ambientes de alta tecnologia médica: a natureza da morte na experiência humana, o diagnóstico médico e a boa morte." Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, 2016. http://www.repositorio.jesuita.org.br/handle/UNISINOS/5957.
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UNISINOS - Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos
A tese apresenta a terminalidade humana assistida em ambientes de alta tecnologia médica como um novo fenômeno social, médico e tecnológico. Discute a experiência do assistir ao morrer, o papel do médico, impacto da tecnologia usada, os atuais modelos para o diagnóstico clínico da morte. Sugere práticas assistenciais para a Boa Morte e examina suas bases morais e cognitivas. Aborda as perspectivas filosóficas, científicas e sociais do tema com ênfase na análise reflexiva dos fenômenos vividos na prática médica. A metodologia foi a revisão e análise histórico-crítica dessas práticas, e as raízes norteadoras filosóficas e científicas. O conteúdo tem três capítulos, antecedidos pela introdução e se completam nas conclusões. Na introdução uma entrevista médica inicia o tema com as dificuldades do morrer assistido. O primeiro capítulo mostra a evolução sociocultural da terminalidade humana, o papel do médico e da tecnologia. No segundo capítulo descreve-se, seguida de análise e interpretação, as vivências do processo da morte pelos que assistem o moribundo e o impacto das mesmas no processo. A análise crítica dos modelos de diagnóstico da morte está no terceiro capítulo, contrapondo fundamentos com a prática clínica. A conclusão discute as práticas médicas para a Boa Morte em seus prós e contras. No primeiro capítulo se conclui que a heteronomia acaba por fragmentar a percepção da morte. No segundo que a morte é um processo tríptico de difícil percepção na terminalidade em UTI. O terceiro capítulo nega os modelos biológico e neocortical para diagnóstico da morte humana.
This dissertation presents assisted human terminal condition in high-tech medical environments as a new social, medical and technological phenomenon. It discusses the experience of assisting death, the doctor's role, the impact of technology used and the current models for clinical diagnosis of death. The text also suggests care practices for Good Death and examines their moral and cognitive bases, addressing philosophical, scientific and social perspectives on the topic, emphasizing reflective analysis of the phenomena in medical practice. The methodology was a review and a historical-critical analysis of these practices and their philosophical and scientific roots. The dissertation is divided in three chapters, preceded by the introduction and followed by the conclusion. There is also an article attached. In the introduction, a medical interview starts tackling the theme concerning the difficulties of assisted dying. The first chapter shows the sociocultural evolution of the human terminal condition and the role of medical staff and technology in the process. The second chapter describes the experiences of the dying process by those who assist the dying and their impact on the process. The third chapter presents critical analysis of death diagnosis models, contrasting fundamentals with clinical practice. The conclusion discusses medical practices for Good Death, with its pros and cons. The conclusion brings some ideas of each chapter: based on the first chapter, it is concluded that heteronomy ultimately fragment the perception of death. In the second chapter, the conclusion is that death is a triptych process, difficult to understand in an ICU. Finally, the third chapter denies the biological and neocortical models for diagnosis of human death.
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Mallah, Khalil. "In depth systemic biology analysis of central nervous system injuries." Thesis, Lille 1, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018LIL1S108/document.
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Dans un contexte d’étude des altérations biologiques survenant après un impact sur le système nerveux central (SNC), ma thèse porte sur l’étude des modifications protéomiques et lipidiques survenant après une lésion du SNC. Une étude spatio-temporelle a été menée sur un modèle TBI de rat afin d'identifier des marqueurs spécifiques de la lésion. En utilisant le MALDI-MSI, nous avons effectués une reconstruction 3D du cerveau lésé 3 jours post-lésion et nous avons représentés les molécules lipidiques spécifiques à la lésion. Après, cette analyse est réalisé avec d’autres délais après l’impact: 1, 3, 7 et 10 jours. En parallèle, une analyse microprotéomique est réalisée sur des coupes de tissus dans une approche visant à corréler les modifications lipidiques et protéiques. Nos résultats ont permis d'identifier une famille de lipides, les acylcarnitines, exprimés dans le cortex lésé avec une intensité maximale à 3 jours post-impact. Les données de protéomiques ont montrés une régulation positive de l’expression de protéines liées à la maladie de Parkinson. Dans l’ensemble, nos résultats décrivent un lien entre le TBI léger et la maladie de Parkinson dès 3 jours après l’impact, avec un rôle possible de l’acylcarnitine. Cette même famille de molécules est aussi présente dans les lésions médullaires. Dans une approche thérapeutique, les résultats précédents ont montrés que la protéine RhoA est un candidat majeur dans SCI. Après avoir utilisé un inhibiteur de RhoA, une étude protéomique a été réalisée pour évaluer l’impact sur ces lésions. Les résultats montrent que les traitements in-vivo et in-vitro avec l’inhibiteur stimule la croissance neuritique et la régénération axonaleIn the context of studying biological alterations occurring post impact to the central nervous system, my thesis was focused on studying the proteomic and lipid changes occurring post injury to the brain and spinal cord. A fundamental spatio-temporal study was conducted on an open-head rat TBI model to identify potential injury-specific markers. Using MALDI MSI, we performed 3D reconstruction of the injured brain at 3 days after injury and depicted lesion-specific m/z lipid molecules. After, MALDI MSI was applied on the acute/sub-acute time frame post impact: 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, and 10 days. In parallel, a microproteomic analysis was carried out on tissue segments directly consecutive to the imaged ones in an approach to correlate both lipid and protein changes. Our results yielded the identification of a family of lipids, acylcarnitines, which are expressed within the injured cortex with maximum intensity 3 days post impact. These lipid molecules also were found to be expressed in the substantia nigra and microproteomics data showed an upregulation in expression of Parkinson’s related proteins. Taken altogether, our results depict a role of link between mild-TBI and Parkinson’s disease as early as 3 days post impact, with a possible role of acylcarnitine. This same family of molecules was also present in SCI. In a therapeutic approach previous results showed RhoA protein as a major candidate post impact in SCI. After using RhoA inhibitor treatment, a proteomic study was carried out to investigate its impact on SCI. The results showed that both in-vivo and in-vitro treatment with RhoA inhibitor stimulated neurite outgrowth and helped in axonal regeneration
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SIMOES, Francisco Paulo Magalhaes. "Object detection and pose estimation from natural features for augmented reality in complex scenes." Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, 2016. https://repositorio.ufpe.br/handle/123456789/22417.
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CNPQ
Alignment of virtual elements to the real world scenes (known as detection and tracking) relying on features that are naturally present on the scene is one of the most important challenges in Augmented Reality. When it goes to complex scenes like industrial scenarios, the problem gets bigger with the lack of features and models, high specularity and others. Based on these problems, this PhD thesis addresses the question “How to improve object detection and pose estimation from natural features for AR when dealing with complex scenes problems?”. In order to answer this question, we need to ask ourselves “What are the challenges that we face when developing a new tracker for real world scenarios?”. We begin to answer these questions by developing a complete tracking system that tackles some characteristics typically found in industrial scenarios. This system was validated in a tracking competition organized by the most important AR conference in the world, called ISMAR. During the contest, two complementary problems to tracking were also discussed: calibration, procedure which puts the virtual information in the same coordinate system of the real world, and 3D reconstruction, which is responsible for creating 3D models of the scene to be used for tracking. Because many trackers need a pre-acquired model of the target objects, the quality of the generated geometric model of the objects influences the tracker, as observed on the tracking contest. Sometimes these models are available but in other cases their acquisition represents a great effort (manually) or cost (laser scanning). Because of this we decided to analyze how difficult it is today to automatically recover 3D geometry from complex 3D scenes by using only video. In our case, we considered an electrical substation as a complex 3D scene. Based on the acquired knowledge from previous experiments, we decided to first tackle the problem of improving the tracking for scenes where we can use recent RGB-D sensors during model generation and tracking. We developed a technique called DARP, Depth Assisted Rectification of Patches, which can improve matching by using rectified features based on patches normals. We analyzed this new technique under different synthetic and real scenes and improved the results over traditional texture based trackers like ORB, DAFT or SIFT. Since model generation is a difficult problem in complex scenes, our second proposed tracking approach does not depend on these geometric models and aims to track texture or textureless objects. We applied a supervised learning technique, called Gradient Boosting Trees (GBTs) to solve the tracking as a linear regression problem. We developed this technique by using image gradients and analyzing their relationship with tracking parameters. We also proposed an improvement over GBTs by using traditional tracking approaches together with them, like intensity or edge based features which turned their piecewise constant function to a more robust piecewise linear function. With the new approach, it was possible to track textureless objects like a black and white map for example.
O alinhamento de elementos virtuais com a cena real (definido como detecção e rastreamento) através de características naturalmente presentes em cena é um dos grandes desafios da Realidade Aumentada. Quando se trata de cenas complexas, como cenários industriais, o problema se torna maior com objetos pouco texturizados, alta especularidade e outros. Com base nesses problemas, esta tese de doutorado aborda a questão "Como melhorar a detecção de objetos e a estimativa da sua pose através de características naturais da cena para RA ao lidar com problemas de cenários complexos?". Para responder a essa pergunta, precisamos também nos perguntar: Quais são os desafios que enfrentamos ao desenvolver um novo rastreador para cenários reais?". Nesta tese, começamos a responder estas questões através da criação de um sistema de rastreamento completo que lida com algumas características tipicamente encontradas em cenários industriais. Este sistema foi validado em uma competição de rastreamento realizada na principal conferência de RA no mundo, chamada ISMAR. Durante a competição também foram discutidos dois problemas complementares ao rastreamento: a calibração, procedimento que coloca a informação virtual no mesmo sistema de coordenadas do mundo real, e a reconstrução 3D, responsável por criar modelos 3D da cena. Muitos rastreadores necessitam de modelos pré-adquiridos dos objetos presentes na cena e sua qualidade influencia o rastreador, como observado na competição de rastreamento. Às vezes, esses modelos estão disponíveis, mas em outros casos a sua aquisição representa um grande esforço (manual) ou custo (por varredura a laser). Devido a isto, decidimos analisar a dificuldade de reconstruir automaticamente a geometria de cenas 3D complexas usando apenas vídeo. No nosso caso, considerou-se uma subestação elétrica como exemplo de uma cena 3D complexa. Com base no conhecimento adquirido a partir das experiências anteriores, decidimos primeiro resolver o problema de melhorar o rastreamento para as cenas em que podemos utilizar sensores RGB-D durante a reconstrução e o rastreamento. Foi desenvolvida a técnica chamada DARP, sigla do inglês para Retificação de Patches Assistida por Informação de Profundidade, para melhorar o casamento de características usando patches retificados a partir das normais. A técnica foi analisada em cenários sintéticos e reais e melhorou resultados de rastreadores baseados em textura como ORB, DAFT ou SIFT. Já que a reconstrução do modelo 3D é um problema difícil em cenas complexas, a segunda abordagem de rastreamento não depende desses modelos geométricos e pretende rastrear objetos texturizados ou não. Nós aplicamos uma técnica de aprendizagem supervisionada, chamada Gradient Boosting Trees (GBTs) para tratar o rastreamento como um problema de regressão linear. A técnica foi desenvolvida utilizando gradientes da imagem e a análise de sua relação com os parâmetros de rastreamento. Foi também proposta uma melhoria em relação às GBTs através do uso de abordagens tradicionais de rastreamento em conjunto com a regressão linear, como rastreamento baseado em intensidade ou em arestas, propondo uma nova função de predição por partes lineares mais robusta que a função de predição por partes constantes. A nova abordagem permitiu o rastreamento de objetos não-texturizados como por exemplo um mapa em preto e branco.
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Svensson, Niclas. "Structure from Motion with Unstructured RGBD Data." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för elektroteknik och datavetenskap (EECS), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-302553.
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This thesis covers the topic of depth- assisted Structure from Motion (SfM). When performing classic SfM, the goal is to reconstruct a 3D scene using only a set of unstructured RGB images. What is attempted to be achieved in this thesis is adding the depth dimension to the problem formulation, and consequently create a system that can receive a set of RGBD images. The problem has been addressed by modifying an already existing SfM pipeline and in particular, its Bundle Adjustment (BA) process. Comparisons between the modified framework and the baseline framework resulted in conclusions regarding the impact of the modifications. The results show mainly two things. First of all, the accuracy of the framework is increased in most situations. The difference is the most significant when the captured scene only is covered from a small sector. However, noisy data can cause the modified pipeline to decrease in performance. Secondly, the run time of the framework is significantly reduced. A discussion of how to modify other parts of the pipeline is covered in the conclusion of the report.Följande examensarbete behandlar ämnet djupassisterad Struktur genom Rörelse (eng. SfM). Vid klassisk SfM är målet att återskapa en 3D scen, endast med hjälp av en sekvens av oordnade RGB bilder. I djupassiterad SfM adderas djupinformationen till problemformulering och följaktligen har ett system som kan motta RGBD bilder skapats. Problemet har lösts genom att modifiera en befintlig SfM- mjukvara och mer specifikt dess Buntjustering (eng. BA). Resultatet från den modifierade mjukvaran jämförs med resultatet av originalutgåvan för att dra slutsatser rådande modifikationens påverkan på prestandan. Resultaten visar huvudsakligen två saker. Först och främst, den modifierade mjukvaran producerar resultat med högre noggrannhet i de allra flesta fall. Skillnaden är som allra störst när bilderna är tagna från endast en liten sektor som omringar scenen. Data med brus kan dock försämra systemets prestanda aningen jämfört med orginalsystemet. För det andra, så minskar exekutionstiden betydligt. Slutligen diskuteras hur mjukvaran kan vidareutvecklas för att ytterligare förbättra resultaten.
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Júnior, Adonias Ribeiro Franco. "Obtenção de revestimentos dúplex por nitretação a plasma e PVD-TiN em aços ferramenta AISI D2 e AISI H13." Universidade de São Paulo, 2003. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/3/3133/tde-02102003-114623/.
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No presente trabalho foi avaliado o efeito da microestrutura e da capacidade de suportar carregamento de camadas nitretadas produzidas em aços ferramenta AISI H13 e AISI D2 sobre a aderência e a resistência ao desgaste microabrasivo de revestimentos de TiN-PVD. Em cada um desses aços, foram produzidas camadas nitretadas de diferentes estruturas e espessuras, e foram determinadas experimentalmente as curvas potencial início de formação de camada branca, para a nitretação a 520oC. Para o aço ferramenta AISI H13, o emprego de tempos de pré-tratamento de nitretação mais prolongados ( aproximadamente 11 h) foi necessário para aprofundar a camada nitretada e, conseqüentemente, aumentar a capacidade de suportar carregamento dos revestimentos, evitando a formação de bordas que provocam o lascamento e a escamação das camadas de TiN. Observou-se que esse tipo de falha persiste se a zona de endurecimento for pouco profunda, uma vez que a transição de propriedades mecânicas da camada de TiN para o núcleo não nitretado continua abrupta e a capacidade de suportar carregamento da camada nitretada ainda é baixa. Por outro lado, curtos tempos de nitretação (aproximadamente 42 min.) foram suficientes para aumentar a aderência das camadas de TiN ao aço ferramenta D2, pois o núcleo não nitretado desse aço possui uma capacidade de suportar carregamento razoável. Observou-se que a resistência ao desgaste microabrasivo e a aderência dos revestimentos são prejudicadas com a presença de uma camada preta na interface camada de TiN/camada nitretada. Quando a superfície dos revestimentos é carregada, falhas do tipo casca de ovo facilmente ocorrem.In this work, the influence of both the microstructure and the load-bearing capacity of nitrided layers, formed on top of AISI D2 and AISI H13 tool steels, on adhesion and wear resistance of PVD-TiN coatings was studied. The threshold nitriding potential curves for the above mentioned steels and the optimum conditions of the pre-treatments which increased the adhesion as well as the wear resistance of the PVD-TiN were determined experimentally. By using longer nitriding times (about 11 h) and lower nitrogen contents in the gas mixture (about N2-5%vol.), it was possible to minimize the pile-up degree of the TiN/H13 nitrided substrates and, consequently, the occurrence of coatings chipping. This flaw persists when the nitrided layer is thin, due to an abrupt transition of mechanical properties at the TiN coating / steel core interface. Shorter nitriding times (about 42 min.) and lower nitrogen contents (about N2-5%vol.), on the other hand, are sufficient to guarantee a better adhesion of TiN coatings on AISI D2 tool steel, as the core of such steel possesses relatively better load-bearing capacity than the AISI H13 tool steel. The presence of a black layer at the TiN/nitrided layer interface was observed in all coatings deposited over nitrided layers produced above the threshold nitriding potential curves. This layer affects adversely the wear resistance and the adhesion of the TiN coatings. When higher loads are applied on the coated surface, egg shell type flaws easily occur.
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Lee, Su-Chen, and 李素貞. "The Ethics of Physician-Assisted Suicide and Dignity of Death." Thesis, 2012. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/10334580532144328332.
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博士國立中央大學
哲學研究所
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Palliative care is the first choice of terminal care at the moment. However, there are patients who still want to die other than no natural death because of the poor life quality at terminal stage. Nor would they prefer terminal sedation, which put them to a drowsy sleep for a long time. These cases require ‘physician-assisted suicide (PAS)’, which is a legally and ethically debated issue. The aim of my dissertation is to investigate the ethical issue and the possibility of legalization of PAS especially in Taiwan and try to demonstrate that PAS is another type of medical practice, which provides a further choice of palliative care for terminal patients in order to achieve their expected quality of life and dignity. In contrast to euthanasia, PAS is morally more acceptable to be legalized. This dissertation is basically an ethical analysis of the issue with certain references to clinical studies. The meaning of PAS is quite different from ordinary suicide. The evidences showed that people who required PAS were mainly terminal cancer patients. They request PAS due mostly to unbearable physical pains, followed by loss of autonomy and dignity. Most medical practitioners, however, oppose to PAS. In this dissertation, I start from the ethical analysis of reasonable criteria of PAS proposed by Dr.T.E.Quill, and supplement them with some suggestions and modification, which would hopefully provide a standard model for the consideration of legalization of PAS. In terms of the medical care for terminal patients, I compare the differences between PAS and natural death, voluntarily stopping of nutrition and fluid, terminal sedation as well as euthanasia, and propose PAS as one possible choice for terminal care. The dissertation deliberates further on the right to death of the patient and the reasons for and against PAS in the literature. I support patients’ right and autonomy in particular their right to die at terminal stage. However, individual medical practitioner has no obligation to assist their patients to commit suicide. Laws should be established for protecting patient’s right to die. By legislation, not only the patients’ moral rights are protected, but medical practitioners could also have the choice to participate or not in PAS according to their personal values. Government has the duty to let patient’s wish for a death with dignity be honored. Furthermore, the dissertation elaborates the Confucian’s view on PAS ,my analysis is based on the basic of Confucian’s conception of the mind of ren or the unbearable mind of other’s suffering and the principle of ching-chuan to show why certain cases of PAS is permissible. Confucianism emphazise family relationship, therefore it is not only the patient’s voluntary decision should be respected, but also their family members’ participation are fully acknowledged. In terms of the pluralistic religious believes in Taiwan, death is not necessarily a bad thing. However, in case of PAS, doctor’s benevolent heart and medical skills may not be enough to carry out PAS for the patients, a long term well maintained doctor-patients relationship is essential. Therefore, in Taiwan, it would be most important to establish a good system of family doctors. The contributions of this dissertation include: (1) The proposal of possible clinical criteria of PAS. By comparing the criteria of Quill’s seven requirements with the Dignity Death Act, I propose a possible PAS for Taiwan. (2) The argumentation of PAS in Confucian terms shows that Confucianism tends to support PAS for terminal painful patients. For Confucianism, it is most important to let the medical practitioners, the patient and patient’s family feel peaceful. Death could be the regarded as the practice of ren if the terminal patient understands his/her own illness, and chooses PAS with family support. This should also be based on a long term well-established doctor-patient relationship, so that all parties feel peaceful for the decision. (3) According to my clinical study and observation on medical professionals in Taiwan, less than half of the physicians and nurses support the idea of legalizing PAS. (30% of physicians and 39.3% of nurses support PAS legalization). 10-14.3% of physicians and 9.2-12.8% of nurses had the experiences of being requested for PAS by patients or their family members. Obviously, although PAS is still not widely accepted by the medical practitioners, some terminal patients demand for this treatment. To carried out patient’ PAS, we need the support of the wider society as well as medical practitioners’ recognition of PAS as part of palliative care.
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Leduc, Lucie. "A Call For Autonomy And Compassion." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1807/35633.
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The current blanket prohibition of assisted death in Canada continues to be the subject of much debate. This thesis examines the shortcomings and strengths of the Belgium Law on Euthanasia of 2002 and discusses whether similar legislation could be implemented in Canada. More particularly, the thesis looks at the spirit and intent of the law, the conditions under which assisted death is permitted, and the control mechanism present in the Belgian law. The analysis of Belgium’s ten years of experience with assisted death allows us to argue that the risks inherent in assisted death regime can be controlled in a system where an exception is made for competent people in a situation of unbearable suffering. Important safeguards to prevent abuse and protect people from vulnerable groups are identified in the Belgian statute. This thesis recommends in its conclusion to regulate assisted death as an expression of compassion for suffering patients, in line with Canada’s longstanding commitment to respect for patient autonomy.
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Coombes, Kendra. "Politics of End-of-Life Care: Active Euthanasia." 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10222/21726.
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With new medical advances in technology, there has been a push from the legal, medical and political communities to re-examine the policies of end-of-life-care. End-of-life-care (EOLC) is a term that refers to not only a patient’s final hours of life, but also the medical care of individuals with terminal illnesses or conditions that have become advanced and incurable. For the purpose of this paper, I will be referring to physician-assisted death and active euthanasia as forms of end-of-care. The Politics of End-of –Life-Care: Active Euthanasia and Physician-assisted Death examines the political disjuncture between the evidence presented in favour of active euthanasia (AE), physician-assisted death (PAD) and the current practice of refusing to grant AE and PAD legal status in Canada. It will examine the political dynamics underlying the disjuncture using political pressure groups, constructivism, rational choice, institutionalism and structuralism. There is empirical evidence that demonstrates support for the legalization of AE and PAD. Sixty-seven percent of Canadians support AE /PAD and 80 percent support allowing physicians to assist in AE and PAD (Angus Reid 2012) however, Parliament has not legalized AE/PAD and the CMA has not sanctioned AE /PAD. The two sides of the debate have clearly communicated their arguments. The arguments on each side are strong and have merit. Conversely, the arguments against AE and PAD appear to hold more weight with institutions than with the public. This thesis examines a number of different reasons for why AE/PAD remains illegal in Canada despite society’s widespread support for AE/PAD. The results of the research found no one method explains the disjuncture between the evidence presented in favour of active euthanasia and the current practice of refusing to grant it legal status. However, discursive institutionalism does help elites to generate and communicate the discourse of AE and PAD. It also explains how discourse can also occur from the bottom which results in a new discourse. For example, physicians, politicians, and the public who have deviated from the accepted discourse on AE and PAD can help to create a new discourse regarding AE and PAD policies.
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Seymour, Caroline Jane. "Law, religion, and physician-assistance to suicide : the roles of christianity in north american judicial dignified death debates." Thèse, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/21178.
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Gomes, Diana Filipa Dias. "A atual problemática da morte assistida em Portugal." Master's thesis, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10316/85826.
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Dissertação de Mestrado em Direito: Especialidade em Ciências Juridico-Forenses apresentada à Faculdade de DireitoA morte assistida é um assunto controverso de enorme delicadeza que tem sido alvo de debate nos últimos tempos, necessitando portanto de um amplo estudo.Com o objetivo de tornar esta discussão mais construtiva, começarei por esclarecer os conceitos que nos permitem perceber melhor a base em que assenta toda esta discussão.É de extrema importância cada um de nós refletir sobre o bem vida e, o valor máximo que tem para cada um, sendo de questionar se será ético deixar um doente terminal que se encontra em efetivo sofrimento à espera do momento que tem como certo, a morte.Assim falar da livre escolha ao níveis dos cuidados de saúde, será afirmar que nada poderá ser feito contra a vontade do doente terminal, devendo no entanto, ser respeitado o direito de objeção de consciência a que os especialistas de saúde têm direito.Não podemos deixar que neste processo, não se respeite a autodeterminação do paciente, optando ele por entregar-se aos cuidados paliativos ou, por outro lado optando por antecipar a sua morte.Apesar das várias posições e opiniões, é necessário que todos os padrões de atuação médica estejam bem definidos, de forma clara e precisa, tendo sempre em vista a defesa dos melhores interesses do doente.De fazer referência as propostas legislativas que neste momento se encontram “em cima da mesa”. Aprovando a morte assistida dar-se-á a possibilidade de cada um decidir como entender sobre a reta final da vida, ninguém fica obrigado a ela recorrer mas também ninguém estará impedido de o fazer.
Medically assisted death is a delicate subject that has been fuelling discussions and making headlines in recent times, showing the need for a deeper study.Aiming a more constructive exposition, I will star by clarifying the definitions that lay the foundation for all the discussion.It is of a great importance that each and every one of us reflect about the legal interest “life” and it´s maximum value for each person, questioning the ethical nature of letting a terminal patient waiting in suffer for a sure death.Therefore, talking about a freedom of choice in health care is stating that nothing can be done against the terminal patient´s will without ever disregard the health care providers’ right of being conscious objectors.We cannot allow the violation of the right of self-determination of the patient when in this situation, being his choice to submit to palliative care or to anticipate his death.Despite the several opinions and standings, a precise and clear definition of the medical intervention parameters is imperative. Only that way we can assure the best interest of patient.Acknowledging the legislative proposals on the table right now, the approval of medically assisted death will give the opportunity for each person to decide about the final stage of their lives. It will not be an obligation but it will also not be out of reach.
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Carvalho, Osvaldo da Graça Moreno Garcia de. "Dignidade humana e o doente em fim de vida : eutanásia e cuidados paliativos." Master's thesis, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/36575.
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Este estudo pretende ser uma reflexão sobre temas, como a dignidade humana e o doente em fim de vida, associando conceitos como eutanásia e cuidados paliativos. Apresenta a problemática da eutanásia, da morte medicamente assistida, e do seu desenvolvimento ao longo da história.
Numa breve observação do panorama jurídica mundial, particularmente da nossa realidade portuguesa, indicam-se propostas legislativas e pareceres sobre esta prática, aliás, nem sempre consensuais, porque se trata de questões sensíveis como o sofrimento proveniente de doenças incuráveis, a autonomia do doente, o poder de decisão na fase terminal da vida, sobretudo a preferência pela prática da morte medicamente assistida.
A Igreja Católica, através da sua doutrina, luta pela defesa da vida humana, sua dignidade em todas as situações, em especial no seu fim. Tomando como fundamento a Sagrada Escritura e o Magistério, apresenta um olhar cristão da vida humana, reconhecendo nela uma realidade sacral. Por isso, condena práticas como a eutanásia, e apoia o cuidado amoroso e próximo proporcionados pelos cuidados paliativos. São verdadeiros instrumentos proporcionadores de um processo de morrer com toda a dignidade.
É um estudo descritivo-reflexivo, que procura destacar, com base na revisão bibliográfica existente, sobretudo nos documentos da Igreja Católica, a importância do cuidar da pessoa que sofre, até ao fim, contrapondo práticas como a eutanásia e os cuidados paliativos.This study intends to be a reflection on themes such as human dignity and the end-of-life patient, associating concepts such as euthanasia and palliative care. It presents the problems of euthanasia, medically assisted death, and its development throughout history. In a brief observation of the world legal panorama, particularly of our Portuguese reality, legislative proposals and opinions about this practice are indicated, which are not always consensual, because it deals with sensitive issues such as the suffering caused by incurable diseases, the patient's autonomy, the power of decision in the terminal phase of life, especially the preference for the practice of medically assisted death. The Catholic Church, through its doctrine, fights for the defense of human life, its dignity in all situations, especially at its end. Based on Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium, it presents a Christian view of human life, recognizing in it a sacred reality. Therefore, it condemns practices such as euthanasia, and supports the loving and close care provided by palliative care. They are true instruments that provide a process of dying with all dignity. This is a descriptive-reflective study, which seeks to highlight, based on the existing literature review, especially in the documents of the Catholic Church, the importance of caring for the suffering person, until the end, contrasting practices such as euthanasia and palliative care.
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Matuchová, Helena. "Euthanasie (z hlediska některých evropských zemí - srovnání)." Master's thesis, 2011. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-298783.
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Résumé Euthanasia is and always will be a hot topic of very heated debate among both non specialists and experts. The purpose of my thesis is to provide the reader with information about euthanasia and a list of rules dealing with the issue of euthanasia in selected countries. The introduction outlines the problems of euthanasia. The second chapter is devoted to clarifying the content of the notion of euthanasia, which comes from the Greek word for the phrase, "eu" meaning good and "thanatos" meaning death, a "good death", sometimes we can also meet the looser translation of euthanasia as a beautiful death. The content of the notion of euthanasia in the course of history changed. Today we see euthanasia as an act which one person intentionally ends the life of another person's own request with the intent to end her suffering. In the chapter are identified and defined forms of euthanasia, especially active and passive. The third chapter deals with the European Union's attitude to euthanasia. No law of the European Union explicitly addressed the euthanasia. Health policy in principle falls within the competence of national governments. And every Member State has its own position on the issue of euthanasia. In this chapter, I mention the idea and recommendations of the Council of Europe, though it isn't the...
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Salač, Jan. "Lékařský étos a asistované suicidium: etická reflexe se zřetelem na roli lékaře." Master's thesis, 2020. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-448942.
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This diploma thesis deals with bioethical and medical issues of assisted suicide. Compatibility of assisted suicide and medical ethos is one of the most urgent ethical questions of modern medicine. The centre of the diploma thesis will consist of an ethical reflection of tension between assisted suicide by a doctor on one side and medical ethos, as contained, for example in the Hippocratic Oath, the code of the World Medical Association and other important medical documents, on the other side. In the introduction the diploma thesis describes the distinction between assisted suicide and other forms of active euthanasia, basic information about the legal regulations and essential elements of assisted suicide in individual countries where assisted suicide is legalized. Then, the subject will be systematically reflected based on critical analysis of the medical codes and legal regulations of the countries. Ethical reflection will also be based on the experience and reflection of doctors themselves, as recorded in professional ethical publications from countries where assisted suicide is practiced. The aim of this diploma thesis is to describe and reflect on the ethical perspective the tension that occurs in the medical assistance to assisted suicide and systematize ethically relevant issues that are...
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Huang, Pin-Cheng, and 黃品誠. "Depth-Assisted Error Concealment Algorithm." Thesis, 2014. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/46251350993506101881.
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碩士國立東華大學
電機工程學系
102
This thesis proposes an effective error concealment algorithm of whole frame loss on color information for three-dimensional video encoding and transmission. Based on the motion vector extrapolation of previous reference frame, the depth-assisted algorithm can provide better error concealment result. The first part of this thesis is to pre-process Intra block of previous reference frame. The motion vector is set to zero for the previous literature. We give the appropriate motion vector for the Intra block of previous reference frame by utilizing the surrounding motion vectors and the corresponding depth information. The second part of this thesis is to propose a new motion vector selection algorithm on error frame according to the depth and extrapolated motion vector information. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm provides better subjective and objective video qualities than the previous literature.
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Chen, Zhi-Liang, and 陳致良. "Depth Camera - Assisted Indoor Localization Enhancement." Thesis, 2013. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/88236027504172742228.
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碩士國立臺灣科技大學
資訊工程系
101
This paper develops an approach for image triangulation from point cloud. This approach can be divided into three parts: reconstructing environment, virtual images database establishment and triangulation. During constructing virtual images database, we can acquire extra localization information which traditional image localization lacks. When camera is far from scene or camera is sheltered by objects, traditional SIFT localization may decrease the accuracy. Our approach provides higher localization accuracy and coverage ratio by choosing better camera angles and positions automatically. In experiments, we take practical localization by traditional SIFT localization and virtual images triangulation to compare result.
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zhang, Bo-sheng, and 張博勝. "A depth image assisted method for color image background subtraction." Thesis, 2012. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/jgr495.
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碩士國立臺灣科技大學
資訊工程系
100
Background subtraction is an important process to extract foreground objects for real-time analysis, such as tracking and recognition. The major task in background subtraction is to generate a background model which is then subtracted from the frame to extract the foreground objects. In this thesis, we propose a novel background modeling algorithm that utilizes color and depth information to generate two background models for subtraction, with one background model based on the depth information only. The generated background models are, respectively, subtracted to obtain the color and depth foregrounds which are then combined to yield the final foreground objects. The proposed method can substantially remove the noise while preserving the details, especially in high-traffic area. Empirical results showed that the proposed method outperforms the existing background subtraction algorithms in both quantitative and qualitative measures.
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Li-ChiaChu and 朱立家. "Depth Reliability Assisted Stereo Matching Algorithm for Small Window Based Applications." Thesis, 2013. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/03547570272081507836.
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碩士國立成功大學
電機工程學系碩博士班
101
Stereo matching algorithms attempt to generate the depth information from stereo image pairs captured by dual or multiple cameras. Although many advances have been made for the optimization of the stereo matching quality, there are only few researches addressing the development of low complexity flow for very large scale integration (VLSI) realization. In this thesis, we proposed a low complexity stereo matching algorithm and its efficient hardware implementation. To obtain better quality, the window size should be large enough in many window-based stereo matching algorithms while large window inducing the hardware cost dramatically. Instead of adopting large window, small matching window combined with depth reliability is utilized in our algorithm which achieves good depth quality and low hardware complexity. Several hardware cost reduction methodologies are also proposed in this thesis, an area efficient memory-merging technique is applied for 32.7% storage area saving. Moreover, processing elements (PEs) consist common computations are shared in the parallel architecture which acquiring 73% PE cost reduction. Synthesis results report the gate-count and memory size is 183k and 6.72kB, respectively. The operation frequency is 166 MHz. and can support 71fps for image size of 480×540 (2×2 downsampling of Full HD side-by-side 3D format) with 56 disparity range levels.
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Karásková, Barbora. "Eutanázie a trestní právo." Master's thesis, 2018. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-372924.
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The thesis deals with legal aspects of euthanasia with special focus on criminal law context. It is divided into four broad chapters. First chapter defines terms that need to be understood perfectly for further work on the topic. Therefore, it deals with the term "euthanasia" and its division into active and passive euthanasia, direct and indirect, requested and unsolicited. There are also mentioned some related institutes such as dysthanasia, palliative and hospice care and assisted suicide. Last but not least, this chapter presents some arguments for and against euthanasia. Second chapter is devoted to legislation in foreign countries where euthanasia (or assisted suicide) has been legalized. Wider context of foreign legislation is important for realizing the consequences that possible legalization of euthanasia in the Czech Republic would bring. It can be clearly seen on the example of individual foreign states what legalization of euthanasia entails, how stringent the conditions that a request for termination of life has to meet are, and ultimately, we can decide whether we tend to endorse the legalization of euthanasia or go in the opposite course. Third chapter focuses on the merit of the matter, which is the legal regulation of euthanasia in the Czech Republic and the context of...