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1
Baras, Panagiotis. "A study of field cycling on a low field magnetic resonance imager." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.262917.
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Field Cycled Magnetic Resonance Imaging offers potential for significant Signal to Noise Ratio and T1 contrast improvements of Magnetic Resonance images. In this work the hardware and software components of a home made, low field NMR imager were modified, in order to investigate Field Cycling. Theoretical models were developed to simulate NMR signal response to different magnetic field pulse shapes and it was seen that trapezoidal magnetic field pulse waveforms, with rise/fall times considerably smaller than the T1 relaxation times of the examined samples, give comparable results to those of an ideal, rectangular pulse. The steady state signal expressions of Field Cycled Gradient Echo and Spin Echo sequences were derived and tested experimentally. Differences between theoretical and experimental results can be attributed to the increased levels of noise and the effect of time dependent magnetic fields due to limited efficiency of the induced current cancelling scheme. The ability of the imager to measure T1 relaxation times at different magnetic field strengths, employing Field Cycled imaging sequences, was also assessed. Results were again burdened by the above mentioned problems, as well as, by the considerable temperature changes the samples suffered during the long imaging times required for complete study.
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Blackwelder, Reid B. "Creating Spiritual Support in the Medical Field." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2001. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/7002.
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Grey, Michael L. "Medical imaging field of magnetic resonance imaging : identification of specialties within the field /." Available to subscribers only, 2009. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1968777471&sid=3&Fmt=2&clientId=1509&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Grey, Michael L. "Medical Imaging Field of Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Identification of Specialities Within the Field." OpenSIUC, 2009. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/70.
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This study was conducted to determine if specialty areas are emerging in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) profession due to advancements made in the medical sciences, imaging technology, and clinical applications used in MRI that would require new developments in education/training programs and national registry examinations. In this exploratory study, statistical analysis incorporated the use of factor analysis and chi square. Factor analysis was used to group tasks performed by MRI technologists into factors to better identify emerging specialty areas within the MRI profession. Chi square was used to analyze the association between the tasks performed in (a) the employment setting, and (b) hospital size. Factor analysis identified four meaningful factors. The four named factors were: (a) Routine Imaging non-Central Nervous System Imaging; (b) Advanced Imaging; (c) Routine Imaging with Central Nervous System Imaging; and (d) Musculoskeletal and Spine Imaging. From the four named factors, three emerging specialty areas were identified: (a) central nervous system imaging; (b) vascular/cardiovascular imaging; and (c) musculoskeletal imaging. Chi square analysis identified 47 of the 78 tasks as being significant when finding an association between the employment setting and the frequency of tasks performed. Cramer's V was used to measure the strength of their association. The more complicated the procedure the more likely this procedure is performed in either a university or private hospital. Further, chi square analysis identified 42 of the 78 tasks as being significant when finding the association between the hospital size and the frequency of tasks performed. Gamma was used to measure the strength of their association. This means the larger the hospital, the more frequent the tasks were performed.
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Marangopoulos, Ioannis P. "Ultrasonic cleaning baths : field measurements and cleaning efficiency." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.342194.
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Ultrasonic cleaning baths are routinely used for cleaning dental and surgical instruments. The importance of efficient cleaning prior to sterilisation is great. Micro-organisms can survive the sterilisation process as debris can act as an insulator. The information available on ultrasonic field distributions in cleaning baths is limited. A thermal technique, employing a thermistor probe coated with an absorbing material measures the temperature rise when the field is switched on compared to no sound temperature. Contour plots of the field of the cleaning bath resulted from point-to-temperature. Contour plots of the field of the cleaning bath resulted from point-to-point measurements. Optical methods were also employed for qualitative measurements of the field. The main optical method used in this study is the Sarvazyan, dye/paper method where dye patterns represent the distribution of the field's cavitation activity at that area. Titanium coated mica was also used for seeding the bath. When the field was switched on, these particles migrated towards the antinodes, the distribution of particles in the field gives qualitative measure for the field. Aluminium surfaces were sonicated and erosion with pitting was evident after 30-60 minutes sonication time. Some plates were examined under an SEM. Cleaning efficiency was directly examined by coating perspex and stainless steel plates with blood. The plates were left to dry for 24 hours then sonicated. Water and Decon-90® detergent gave very similar removal times, with the detergent to achieve cleaning marginally faster compared to water. A disinfectant-detergent was also used, Virkon®. The results with Virkon were disappointing, red cells were caused to lyse up by Virkon and as a result a colloidal mixture was formed. This mixture was not able to be removed ultrasonically, even after an hour or more sonication time. Manual brushing was required in that case. In general all baths tested showed a non-uniform field pattern that can result in insufficient cleaning.
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Andersson, Helena. "Individualized mathematical modeling of neural activation in electric field." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Avdelningen för systemteknik, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-313150.
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Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a treatment of movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. Today it has been used in more than 80.000 patients. Electrical stimulation is administered by an implanted pulse generator through an electrode surgically placed in a target brain area specific to the treated disease. Opposed to alternative purely surgical treatment procedures, DBS is reversible and can be turned off. In this project, the aim is to individualise an already existing computational model of DBS, but also to look at optimisation of the treatment by developing a neuron model. It has been executed the following way. To localise the target area for the electrode, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is used. An MRI image consists of volume elements called voxels. By analysing these voxels, it is possible to set up a coordinate system for the position of different parts of the brain. To build up an individualised model of the DBS, an MRI image is segmented into tissues of different conductivity thus resulting in a more accurate description of the electrical field around the electrode. To visualize the stimuli coverage for the medical staff, the MRI image of the target area, the electrode, and the electrical field produced by the stimuli are depicted in the same figure. From the results, we can draw the conclusion that this method works well for individualising the computational model of DBS, but it has only been used on one MRI scan so far so it needs further testing to obtain more data to compare with. The neuron model is a temporospatial mathematical model of a single neuron for the prediction of activation by a given electrically applied field generated by a DBS lead. The activation model is intended to be part of a patient-specific model of an already existing computational model of DBS. The model originate from a neuron model developed by Hodgkin and Huxley (HH). The original HH model only takes into account one compartment and, to make the neuron model more accurate, it is combined with a cable model. The simulation results obtained with the model have been validated against an established and widely accepted neuron model. The results correlated highly to each other with only minor differences. To see how position and orientation impact on activation, the developed HH model was tested for different pulse widths, distances from the lead, and rotations of the neuron relative to the lead. A larger pulse width makes activation more likely and so does a larger amplitude. Thicker neurons are more likely to get activated, neurons closer to the lead and also neurons perpendicular to the lead. From the results we can draw the conclusion that this method is a good way to stimulate neural activation of a single neuron. In future research, it might be possible to compare results from the neuron model with patient's response to treatment.
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Jambi, Layal. "Development of small field of view gamma cameras for medical imaging." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/43063.
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Over recent years, in the field of nuclear medicine, advances in the development of small field of view (SFOV) gamma cameras have been increased. High resolution compact gamma cameras are designed to be used in intraoperative medical imaging procedures such as in head and neck sentinel node biopsies or for small organ imaging such as thyroid investigations. SFOV imaging can offer advantages over large field of view (LFOV) cameras in spatial resolution and sensitivity although, there is a trade-off between spatial resolution and sensitivity. Also SFOV cameras are highly favourable in terms of reduced size and weight in comparison to the standard gamma camera. Over the last two decades, advances in semiconductor detector technology have now reached the point where they are sufficiently sensitive to be the basis of SFOV cameras for nuclear medicine imaging systems. A new concept for a medical imaging system is presented, the Hybrid Gamma Camera (HGC). The performance characteristics of the HGC are evaluated following modified quality assurance protocols. The Cadmium-Telluride (CdTe) XRI-UNO and the HEXITEC semiconductor (CdTe) detector are also investigated. Their performance is compared to that of the scintillator-based Hybrid Gamma Camera (HGC). A novel dual gamma near infrared (NIR) fluorescence camera has been developed and is described. Preliminary in vivo and in vitro studies were undertaken to demonstrate the suitability of the system for fluorescent imaging. This dual modality gamma-NIR system has been proposed as one possibility for improving surgical utility.
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Vaidya, Manushka. "Steering Electromagnetic Fields in MRI| Investigating Radiofrequency Field Interactions with Endogenous and External Dielectric Materials for Improved Coil Performance at High Field." Thesis, New York University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10261392.
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Although 1.5 and 3 Tesla (T) magnetic resonance (MR) systems remain the clinical standard, the number of 7 T MR systems has increased over the past decade because of the promise of higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which can translate to images with higher resolution, improved image quality and faster acquisition times. However, there are a number of technical challenges that have prevented exploiting the full potential of ultra-high field (≥ 7 T) MR imaging (MRI), such as the inhomogeneous distribution of the radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic field and specific energy absorption rate (SAR), which can compromise image quality and patient safety.
To better understand the origin of these issues, we first investigated the dependence of the spatial distribution of the magnetic field associated with a surface RF coil on the operating frequency and electrical properties of the sample. Our results demonstrated that the asymmetries between the transmit (B1+) and receive (B 1–) circularly polarized components of the magnetic field, which are in part responsible for RF inhomogeneity, depend on the electric conductivity of the sample. On the other hand, when sample conductivity is low, a high relative permittivity can result in an inhomogeneous RF field distribution, due to significant constructive and destructive interference patterns between forward and reflected propagating magnetic field within the sample.
We then investigated the use of high permittivity materials (HPMs) as a method to alter the field distribution and improve transmit and receive coil performance in MRI. We showed that HPM placed at a distance from an RF loop coil can passively shape the field within the sample. Our results showed improvement in transmit and receive sensitivity overlap, extension of coil field-of-view, and enhancement in transmit/receive efficiency. We demonstrated the utility of this concept by employing HPM to improve performance of an existing commercial head coil for the inferior regions of the brain, where the specific coil’s imaging efficiency was inherently poor. Results showed a gain in SNR, while the maximum local and head SAR values remained below the prescribed limits. We showed that increasing coil performance with HPM could improve detection of functional MR activation during a motor-based task for whole brain fMRI.
Finally, to gain an intuitive understanding of how HPM improves coil performance, we investigated how HPM separately affects signal and noise sensitivity to improve SNR. For this purpose, we employed a theoretical model based on dyadic Green’s functions to compare the characteristics of current patterns, i.e. the optimal spatial distribution of coil conductors, that would either maximize SNR (ideal current patterns), maximize signal reception (signal-only optimal current patterns), or minimize sample noise (dark mode current patterns). Our results demonstrated that the presence of a lossless HPM changed the relative balance of signal-only optimal and dark mode current patterns. For a given relative permittivity, increasing the thickness of the HPM altered the magnitude of the currents required to optimize signal sensitivity at the voxel of interest as well as decreased the net electric field in the sample, which is associated, via reciprocity, to the noise received from the sample. Our results also suggested that signal-only current patterns could be used to identify HPM configurations that lead to high SNR gain for RF coil arrays. We anticipate that physical insights from this work could be utilized to build the next generation of high performing RF coils integrated with HPM.
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Jones, Gail A. (Gail Ann). "Factors Involved in the Selection of Medical Technology as a Major Field." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1992. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc278076/.
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The problem of this study concerned the factors involved in the selection of medical technology as a major. The purposes of the study were to determine (a) the most influential factors in the selection of medical technology as a career, (b) which sources of career information were the most frequently utilized and most influential in the choice of medical technology as a major, (c) the most common misperceptions of the field at the time of selection of the major, and (d) the relationship between accurate perceptions of the field at the time of major selection and satisfaction with the choice of major after employment.
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Van, der Merwe P. J. (Pieter Jacobus). "An investigation into generic medicines and generic substitution in the medical field." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/51606.
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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2000.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study is essentially an investigation into perceptions that exist in the medical field with regards to generic medicines and generic substitution. The study was conducted via the sampling of a variety of physicians, specialists and pharmacists in the Cape Peninsula. The primary test for these perceptions was the application of a five page questionnaire that the targeted sample group had to complete. South Africa entered a new era on political, social and economic levels with the election of a new democratic government. The reality is that South Africa is becoming more and more a third world country with deteriorating systems of health care and education, as a direct result of a shortage of funds and inadequate management or total lack thereof. It has also become more and more evident recently that this country is experiencing a "brain-drain", in that experienced and highly qualified people are leaving the country for mostly other first world countries, because they can no longer operate efficiently and effectively under the constraints imposed upon them by a shrinking health care budget. Government and private health departments constantly have to face the battle of containing costs so that they can operate in the way that they are supposed to. Unfortunately, with the constant escalation in the prices of medicine every year combined with a limited availability of funds, the problem just becomes worse every day with patients and medical aids suffering the most. One possible way in which an attempt could be made to reduce costs is to decrease the expenses of medicine, making more money available in other areas, or that the need for more medicines could be satisfied via having more money available as a result of these savings. Generic medicines are known to be less expensive than their ethical counterparts and can therefore contribute greatly to savings in this area, seeing that generic medicines mostly sell at 40%-50% of the price of the original. There are obviously more issues involved than just costs: the ethical issue of moral support to the ethical manufacturers that have done all the research and development of the original drug that now becomes "copied"; the issue of.quality and reliability of these "copycat" medicines; and the issue of the role that people in the medical field, government and other bodies should play in containing costs. These issues were addressed in the form of statements in the questionnaire and opinions were tested to see what perceptions exist, so that the marketers of medicines would know how to formulate their marketing plans and strategies in order to attain a bigger market share, or how to protect their current share of the market. The information should also prove handy to government and private health care organisations that should endeavour to contain costs wherever they can, seeing that they operate within the constraint of an allocated budget.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie projek is essensieel 'n ondersoek na persepsies wat bestaan in die mediese veld met betrekking tot generiese medisynes en generiese plaasvervanging. Vir die doel van die studie is "mediese veld" gedefinieer as die verskillende kategorieë van mediese dokters en aptekers wat elke dag met die vraagstuk te make het. Die steekproef was dus mediese dokters, spesialiste en aptekers in die Kaapse Skiereiland. Die primere toetsinstrument was 'n vyf-bladsy vraelys wat 35 stellings bevat het waarin 8 faktore verskans was waarvoor die navorser getoets het. Suid-Afrika het 'n nuwe era betree met die daarstelling en verkiesing van 'n nuwe demokratiese regering van nasionale eenheid waarin alle Suid-Afrikaners deelname het. Die realiteite van Suid-Afrika vandag is dat dit meer en meer sy derde wêreld komponente openbaar waarvan die bestaan vantevore deur die eerste wêreld komponent geïgnoreer is. Die resultaat is dat gesondheidsorg en opvoedkundige sisteme aan die verkrummel is vanweë 'n tekort aan fondse asook oneffektiewe bestuur. Dit is dan ook onvermydelik dat 'n groot aantalleiers en kenners op hierdie gebiede besluit om die land te verlaat en na hoofsaaklik eerste wêreld lande emigreer, waar hulle in 'n veel mindere mate te kampe het met die probleme van swak bestuur en veral onder befondsing in die onderskeie areas van hulle spesialiteit. Dit laat 'n gaping wat gevul moet word deur swakker bestuur wat die probleem vererger. Regering- en privaat mediese departemente gaan gebuk onder die las van krimpende begrotings en 'n stygende vraag na mediese sorg, medisynes en ander geriewe. Dit is ook 'n voldonge feit dat mediese tariewe bly styg, dat medisynes konstant al hoe duurder word en dat daagliks waargeneem word dat daar 'n ondervoorsiening van personeel en medikasie in hospitale en ander gesondheidsorganisasies is. Die partye wat aan die kortste end trek is die pasient en die mediese fondse. Een moontlike wyse waarop hierdie probleem van stygende kostes aangespreek kan word is om die uitgawes op medisynes te beperk sonder om minder medisynes te koop, sodat meer geld beskikbaar sal wees vir ander behoeftes. Dit is bekend dat generiese medisynes heelwat goedkoper is as hulle etiese "broers" en dat die gebruikmaking hiervan kan lei tot besparings so groot as selfs 60% en meer. Daar is duidelik meer vraagstukke betrokke rondom die hele aangeleentheid van generiese medisynes en generiese plaasvervanging soos: die etiese vraagstuk aangaande morele ondersteuning aan die etiese firmas wat al die navorsing en ontwikkeling van die oorspronklike produkte doen en wat nou net gedupliseer word deur die generiese vervaardigers; die vraagstuk aangaande die betroubaarheid en kwaliteit van hierdie "duplikate"; asook die vraagstuk rondom die rol wat persone in die mediese veld en regerings- en- privaatinstansies moet vervul in die bekamping van stygende kostes. Hierdie vraagstukke is geadresseer in die vraelyste as stellings en opinies is getoets om vas te stel wat die huidige persepsies rondom die aangeleentheid van generiese produkte en generiese plaasvervanging is. Die belang van die kennis van hierdie opinies en persepsies is dat dit onontbeerlike inligting verskaf aan die bemarkers van farmaseutiese produkte en medisynes aangesien 'n bemarkingsplan en bemarkingstrategie hier rondom gevorm kan word, sodat maniere uitgewerk kan word om markaandeel te vergroot of om markaandeel te behou.
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Alqahtani, Mohammed Saeed Mohammed. "Assessment of a novel small field of view medical hybrid gamma camera." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/43070.
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Small field of view (SFOV) gamma detection and imaging technologies for monitoring in vivo tracer uptake are rapidly expanding and being introduced for bed-side imaging and image guided surgical procedures. The Hybrid Gamma Camera (HGC) has been developed, at the University of Leicester, to enhance the localisation of targeted radiopharmaceuticals during surgical procedures, for example in sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsies, and for bed-side imaging in small organ gamma imaging procedures such as lacrimal scintigraphy and thyroid scintigraphy. In this thesis, prototype medical phantoms including anthropomorphic three-dimensional printed phantoms have been designed, constructed, and evaluated using representative modelled medical scenarios to study the capability of the HGC to detect SLNs and image small organs. Furthermore, the results of the first clinical feasibility study of the HGC has been discussed. The HGC was used to perform non-invasive hybrid gamma-optical imaging procedures on patients attending their routine scint32igraphic imaging appointments in a nuclear medicine clinic. Various quantitative and qualitative assessments have been conducted on different phantom configurations including simulating targeted tissues at several depths and using different radioactivity concentrations. Two generations of the HGC have been utilised, having two different thicknesses of columnar CsI(Tl) scintillator, and two pinhole collimator diameters (0.5 mm and 1.0 mm). Additionally, the behaviour of the HGC at a range of imaging distances and acquisition times has been examined. All of these factors were considered to judge the detection limitations of the HGC. The results demonstrate that the HGC was ideally suited for small organ imaging. The HGC capability to detect low activity uptake in small SLNs indicates its usefulness as an intraoperative imaging system during surgical SLN procedures. The ability of the HGC to utilise both pinhole collimators enhances its practicality and improves its ability to meet the needs of SFOV gamma imaging.
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Afandi, Ahmad. "Efficient reconfigurable architectures for 3D medical image compression." Thesis, Brunel University, 2010. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7677.
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Recently, the more widespread use of three-dimensional (3-D) imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and ultrasound (US) have generated a massive amount of volumetric data. These have provided an impetus to the development of other applications, in particular telemedicine and teleradiology. In these fields, medical image compression is important since both efficient storage and transmission of data through high-bandwidth digital communication lines are of crucial importance. Despite their advantages, most 3-D medical imaging algorithms are computationally intensive with matrix transformation as the most fundamental operation involved in the transform-based methods. Therefore, there is a real need for high-performance systems, whilst keeping architectures exible to allow for quick upgradeability with real-time applications. Moreover, in order to obtain efficient solutions for large medical volumes data, an efficient implementation of these operations is of significant importance. Reconfigurable hardware, in the form of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) has been proposed as viable system building block in the construction of high-performance systems at an economical price. Consequently, FPGAs seem an ideal candidate to harness and exploit their inherent advantages such as massive parallelism capabilities, multimillion gate counts, and special low-power packages. The key achievements of the work presented in this thesis are summarised as follows. Two architectures for 3-D Haar wavelet transform (HWT) have been proposed based on transpose-based computation and partial reconfiguration suitable for 3-D medical imaging applications. These applications require continuous hardware servicing, and as a result dynamic partial reconfiguration (DPR) has been introduced. Comparative study for both non-partial and partial reconfiguration implementation has shown that DPR offers many advantages and leads to a compelling solution for implementing computationally intensive applications such as 3-D medical image compression. Using DPR, several large systems are mapped to small hardware resources, and the area, power consumption as well as maximum frequency are optimised and improved. Moreover, an FPGA-based architecture of the finite Radon transform (FRAT)with three design strategies has been proposed: direct implementation of pseudo-code with a sequential or pipelined description, and block random access memory (BRAM)- based method. An analysis with various medical imaging modalities has been carried out. Results obtained for image de-noising implementation using FRAT exhibits promising results in reducing Gaussian white noise in medical images. In terms of hardware implementation, promising trade-offs on maximum frequency, throughput and area are also achieved. Furthermore, a novel hardware implementation of 3-D medical image compression system with context-based adaptive variable length coding (CAVLC) has been proposed. An evaluation of the 3-D integer transform (IT) and the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) with lifting scheme (LS) for transform blocks reveal that 3-D IT demonstrates better computational complexity than the 3-D DWT, whilst the 3-D DWT with LS exhibits a lossless compression that is significantly useful for medical image compression. Additionally, an architecture of CAVLC that is capable of compressing high-definition (HD) images in real-time without any buffer between the quantiser and the entropy coder is proposed. Through a judicious parallelisation, promising results have been obtained with limited resources. In summary, this research is tackling the issues of massive 3-D medical volumes data that requires compression as well as hardware implementation to accelerate the slowest operations in the system. Results obtained also reveal a significant achievement in terms of the architecture efficiency and applications performance.
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Soubra, Mazen Ahmed. "Linac head scatter factor for asymmetric radiation field." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/NQ26868.pdf.
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Howard, Morgan, Gina Botsko, and Taylor Harris. "Utilizing Medical Simulation as Exposure to Ignite Interest in the Medical Field for High School Students from Rural Appalachia." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2020. https://dc.etsu.edu/asrf/2020/presentations/2.
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Around 20% of America’s population lives in rural communities; however, only 9% of all physicians practice within these rural areas. Consequently, there is a consistent shortage of healthcare resources for these populations.1 To help this shortage, medical institutions should reach out to their local youth because a majority of the physicians who practice medicine in rural areas experienced their childhood in similar communities.2,3 The simulated Medicine in Action camp at Quillen College of Medicine provided an opportunity for local, rural high school students to learn more about the healthcare field in the hopes of eventually playing a role in alleviating the rural healthcare deficiencies.
Twenty-one high school students from rural Appalachia with an interest in the healthcare field were recruited by the Simulated Medicine in Action camp to participate in a five-day medical simulation experience developed by the Quillen College of Medicine Center for Experiential Learning. The program employed interactive simulation platforms to provide education to students about various aspects of patient centered care, including communication skills, physical exam skills, technical skills, and integrative clinical reasoning skills. Through a lecture followed by simulation format, students exercised real world medical skills to assess, diagnose, and treat their “patients” in clinical scenarios. This format challenged the students to work as a team and provided students with the opportunity to experience the role of medical professionals. The curriculum also provided students with the opportunity to listen to a panel of physicians as well as a panel of other healthcare professionals to provide exposure to the breadth of the healthcare.
Participants completed two surveys using the Likert scale: an entrance survey on the first day of camp and an exit survey on the final day. The likert scoring scale is as follows: 5=strongly agree, 4=agree, 3=neutral, 2=disagree, and 1=strongly disagree. Students responded to the following prompts in both of the entrance survey and the exit survey: (1) I have had enough exposure to the medical field to know that I am interested or not interested in the field; (2) If I decide that I want to be a physician, I believe that I am capable of achieving that goal; (3) If I decide I want to be a physician, I think I know enough about the educational process to pursue that career. Entrance survey had an average of 3.8, 4.5, and 3.7 respectfully. Exit survey had an average of 4.2, 4.7, 4.2 respectfully.
Students also responded to the following prompts exclusively in the exit survey with the respected results: The Simulated Medicine in Action Camp improved my desire to pursue a career in healthcare (4.8); The Simulated Medicine in Action Camp improved my desire to become a physician (4.5); The Simulated Medicine in Action Camp improved my desire to pursue further education (4.7).
Due to the upward trend and the high Likert scores in the exit survey, we conclude that using medical simulation experience with hands on opportunities and exposure to healthcare providers both clarifies and increases interest among high school students in regards to entering the healthcare field. We hope that this interest propels them into their careers where they may potentially serve their local rural community.
References:
1Rosenblatt, R. A., & Hart, L. G. (2000). Physicians and rural America. The Western journal of medicine, 173(5), 348–351. doi:10.1136/ewjm.173.5.348
2Easterbrook, M., Godwin, M., Wilson, R., Hodgetts, G., Brown, G., Pong, R. and Najgebauer, E. (2019). Rural background and clinical rural rotations during medical training: effect on practice location. [online] CMAJ. Available at: http://www.cmaj.ca/content/160/8/1159.short [Accessed 18 Sep. 2019].
3Feldman, Kymm, et al. "The difference between medical students interested in rural family medicine versus urban family or specialty medicine." Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine, vol. 13, no. 2, 2008, p. 73+. Gale Academic Onefile, Accessed 18 Sept. 2019.
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Yang, Mu. "RadPaint a Web-based interactive 3D virtual radiation field application /." [Gainesville, Fla.] : University of Florida, 2002. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/UFE1001198.
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Botcherby, Edward J. "Aberration free extended depth of field microscopy." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2007. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:7ad8bc83-6740-459f-8c48-76b048c89978.
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In recent years, the confocal and two photon microscopes have become ubiquitous tools in life science laboratories. The reason for this is that both these systems can acquire three dimensional image data from biological specimens. Specifically, this is done by acquiring a series of two-dimensional images from a set of equally spaced planes within the specimen. The resulting image stack can be manipulated and displayed on a computer to reveal a wealth of information. These systems can also be used in time lapse studies to monitor the dynamical behaviour of specimens by recording a number of image stacks at a sequence of time points. The time resolution in this situation is, however, limited by the maximum speed at which each constituent image stack can be acquired. Various techniques have emerged to speed up image acquisition and in most practical implementations a single, in-focus, image can be acquired very quickly. However, the real bottleneck in three dimensional imaging is the process of refocusing the system to image different planes. This is commonly done by physically changing the distance between the specimen and imaging lens, which is a relatively slow process. It is clear with the ever-increasing need to image biologically relevant specimens quickly that the speed limitation imposed by the refocusing process must be overcome. This thesis concerns the acquisition of data from a range of specimen depths without requiring the specimen to be moved. A new technique is demonstrated for two photon microscopy that enables data from a whole range of specimen depths to be acquired simultaneously so that a single two dimensional scan records extended depth of field image data directly. This circumvents the need to acquire a full three dimensional image stack and hence leads to a significant improvement in the temporal resolution for acquiring such data by more than an order of magnitude. In the remainder of this thesis, a new microscope architecture is presented that enables scanning to be carried out in three dimensions at high speed without moving the objective lens or specimen. Aberrations introduced by the objective lens are compensated by the introduction of an equal and opposite aberration with a second lens within the system enabling diffraction limited performance over a large range of specimen depths. Focusing is achieved by moving a very small mirror, allowing axial scan rates of several kHz; an improvement of some two orders of magnitude. This approach is extremely general and can be applied to any form of optical microscope with the very great advantage that the specimen is not disturbed. This technique is developed theoretically and experimental results are shown that demonstrate its potential application to a broad range of sectioning methods in microscopy.
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Hrabar, Silvio. "Analysis of electromagnetic interference between mobile telephone and implanted medical device." Thesis, Brunel University, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.341092.
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Krummel, Jordan Andrea. "Holt Cemetery| An anthropological analysis of an urban potter's field." Thesis, Tulane University, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1522757.
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Holt Cemetery is a historic potter's field in New Orleans that has been in active use for several centuries. One of the few below-ground cemeteries in New Orleans, it is one of the most culturally fascinating burial places in the city. In spite of being frequently visited by families (evidenced by the unique votive material left on grave plots) and the final resting place of several historic figures, Holt is threatened by a lack of conservation so extreme that the ground surface is littered with human remains and the cemetery is left unprotected against grave robbing. Many locals have expressed concern that occult rituals take place within Holt, promoting the theft of human bones, while others have expressed concern that the skeletal material is stolen to be sold. Attempts to map and document the cemetery were originally undertaken by archaeologists working in the area who intended to create a searchable database with an interactive GIS map. Additionally, the nonprofit group Save Our Cemeteries, which works to restore New Orleans' cemeteries and educate the public about their importance, has taken part in conservation work. As of today all the projects and preservation efforts involving the cemetery have ceased. This thesis documents and analyzes the skeletal material within the cemetery alongside the votive material and attempts to explain why Holt is allowed to exist in its current state of disrepair while still remaining a place of vivid expressive culture.
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Underwood, Ryan John. "Small field dose measurements with Gafchromic film." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/47675.
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Purpose: To examine the dosimetric characteristics of Gafchromic EBT3 film when measuring small fields of radiation, and compare it against other common radiation detectors.
Methods and Materials: EBT3 film was placed in a solid water phantom and irradiated with 6MV photons, field sizes from 10x10cm2 down to 6x6mm2. The films were scanned with a Vidar DosimetryPRO Advantage Red scanner, and analyzed with RIT113 software. The films were also scanned at different orientations and times to quantify the discrepancies associated with scanning orientation and post-exposure darkening. The same fields were measured with a PTW TN30013 farmer chamber, an Exradin T1 cylindrical ion chamber, a PTW parallel plate ion chamber, and a Sun Nuclear Edge Detector (diode). Output factors were calculated for each detector and compared for accuracy. The output factors were measured from a Varian Clinac iX, Clinac 21EX, Trilogy, and TrueBeam; as well as a Novalis Tx. The outputs from different machines at different clinics were compared.
Results: The EBT3 film and Edge Detector were the only detectors that succeeded in accurately measuring the output from all field sizes; the ion chambers were too large and failed for field sizes below 4x4cm2 due to volume averaging. The dose measured with the film increased by an average of 8.8% after one week post-irradiation. The dose measured was also reduced by an average of 4.4% by scanning the film in landscape orientation, as opposed to portrait orientation. It was shown that the output factors for the smallest field of 6x6mm2--successfully measured with film and diode--varied between 0.54-0.74 for five different machines at three different clinics.
Conclusions: The feasibility of using Gafchromic EBT3 film to measure very small fields of radiation is confirmed. Of the other 4 detectors used, only the diode was shown to be capable of accurately measuring small fields of radiation. The need to optimize the film dosimetry process--including the time films are scanned post-irradiation, the consistency of the scanning orientation of the calibration and subsequent films, and the measurement procedure on the computer software--is highlighted.
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Mahumana, Narciso António. "Rethinking indigenous medicine : illness (mis)representation and political economy of health in Mozambique's public health field." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2015. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/58511/.
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This dissertation was motivated by the misrepresentation of, and apparent lack of knowledge about, indigenous medicine in Mozambique. This consequently raised the need to reveal the epistemologies of health, illness and healing; rewrite the historiography; and develop the knowledge of and about this medicine. The dissertation analyses illness representation and the political economy of health. The thesis defended is that indigenous medicine is a form of medical knowledge and practice that represents its illness, therapy and efficacy according to specific epistemological foundations, rooted in the local society and culture yet it has been misrepresented by local discourses, agencies and practices that battle to control health resources, knowledge and power in Mozambique. Within this, biomedical health paradigms, bodies, and representations have been imposed onto an imagined Official National Health Service (ONHS) whilst people, on the other hand, represent, legitimise, and seek therapy simultaneously in different epistemologies and practices of medicine within the therapeutic landscape creating a Contextual National Health Service (CNHS). This political economy of health is contingent on historical, socio-economical, political and geopolitical productions and constructions of health and efficacy within Mozambique's public health field. Research and health development needs to rewrite the historiography of indigenous medicine based on ethnographically sensitive material and linguistic competence. The construction and justification of this argument is made in seven chapters. The study was carried out in Maputo City and Manhiça district and relied on participant observation. It also uses a mixture of other qualitative methods which encompassed formal and informal interviews, documenting of life histories, desk review, and participatory learning for action (PLA).
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Roepke, William B., Charles A. Edwards, and Nicholas I. McIntire. "Combating the physician shortage in rural America by increasing early exposure to the medical field through the use of summer medical camps." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2019. https://dc.etsu.edu/asrf/2019/schedule/190.
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INTRODUCTION: The United States is currently experiencing a shortage of physicians that is projected to worsen substantially over the next decade. Rural regions are most affected by this shortage, with some statistics estimating that the physician-to-patient ratios reach 1 to 2500 in certain areas. While some measures have been taken to help combat this shortage, such as increases in medical school enrollment and the development of more residency training programs, additional interventions are needed that target rural regions specifically. One of the most powerful methods to improve this rural maldistribution of physicians is to make changes in medical education so that it trains and deploys more individuals who wish to practice in rural areas. The Quillen College of Medicine (QCOM) places tremendous focus on training rural physicians, with around 25% of students selecting an alternate educational curriculum that provides them with specific training in rural communities. To further QCOM’s commitment to improving rural healthcare, we hosted a no-cost, week-long camp for high school students. We specifically recruited students from the surrounding rural regions, as studies have demonstrated that students with rural origins are more likely to train in primary care and return to practice in rural areas. We hypothesize that earlier exposure to the medical field through summer camps is an effective method to increase the number of students from rural communities who wish to pursue careers in medicine. METHODS: The 2018 camp was held the week of June 4-8 and hosted 20 students from surrounding high schools. Throughout the week, the students engaged in a variety of fun and engaging activities that taught them about many important aspects of medicine such as proper patient care, communication skills, physical exam techniques, and critical thinking skills. We utilized both the Medical Simulation Lab and Standardized Patient Center at the Quillen College of Medicine, which allowed the students to interview, diagnose, and treat patients with various conditions in a simulated environment. Our objective was not to have the students accurately diagnose and treat the conditions, but rather to utilize teamwork, employ critical thinking skills, and enjoy doing it. Our data was collected pre- and post-surveys which contained closed-ended questions, Likert scales, and free-response questions. The surveys assessed demographic information, previous exposure to the medical field, interest in the medical field, and perceived potential obstacles in pursuing a career in medicine. RESULTS: Student feedback was positive overall. 65% of students stated they were more knowledgeable about the steps they needed to take to become a physician. 55% of participants reported an increased desire to pursue a career in healthcare. 45% of students reported an increased desire to become a physician. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that earlier medical exposure through summer camps is an effective method for increasing the number of students from rural East Tennessee who are interested in pursuing a career in medicine. We believe that similar opportunities should be offered to a greater degree in other areas to help combat the physician shortage affecting rural regions nationwide.
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Yoshida, Shigeru. "Utility Of Software Developed With FileMaker Pro In Japanese Medical Field -Current State and Prospect-." IEEE, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2237/9493.
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Infantino, Angelo <1985>. "Advanced aspects of radiation protection in the use of particle accelerators in the medical field." Doctoral thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2015. http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/6807/.
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In this work, the well-known MC code FLUKA was used to simulate the GE PETrace cyclotron (16.5 MeV) installed at “S. Orsola-Malpighi” University Hospital (Bologna, IT) and routinely used in the production of positron emitting radionuclides. Simulations yielded estimates of various quantities of interest, including: the effective dose distribution around the equipment; the effective number of neutron produced per incident proton and their spectral distribution; the activation of the structure of the cyclotron and the vault walls; the activation of the ambient air, in particular the production of 41Ar, the assessment of the saturation yield of radionuclides used in nuclear medicine. The simulations were validated against experimental measurements in terms of physical and transport parameters to be used at the energy range of interest in the medical field.
The validated model was also extensively used in several practical applications uncluding the direct cyclotron production of non-standard radionuclides such as 99mTc, the production of medical radionuclides at TRIUMF (Vancouver, CA) TR13 cyclotron (13 MeV), the complete design of the new PET facility of “Sacro Cuore – Don Calabria” Hospital (Negrar, IT), including the ACSI TR19 (19 MeV) cyclotron, the dose field around the energy selection system (degrader) of a proton therapy cyclotron, the design of plug-doors for a new cyclotron facility, in which a 70 MeV cyclotron will be installed, and the partial decommissioning of a PET facility, including the replacement of a Scanditronix MC17 cyclotron with a new TR19 cyclotron.In questo lavoro, il codice Monte Carlo (MC) FLUKA è stato utilizzato per simulare il ciclotrone GE PETtrace (16.5 MeV) installato presso l’azienda ospedaliera “S. Orsola-Malpighi” (Bologna, IT), quotidianamente utilizzato per la produzione di radiofarmaci PET. Le simulazioni sono state effettuate per valutare diversi fenomeni e quantità d’interesse radiologico tra cui l’equivalente di dose ambientale nell’intorno dell’acceleratore, il numero di neutroni emessi per protone incidente e la loro distribuzione spettrale, l’attivazione dei componenti del ciclotrone e delle pareti del bunker, l’attivazione dell’aria interna al bunker ed in particolare la produzione di 41Ar, la resa a saturazione di radionuclidi d’interesse in medicina nucleare. Le simulazioni sono state validate, in termini di parametri fisici e di trasporto da utilizzare nel range energetico caratteristico delle applicazioni mediche, con una serie di misure sperimentali. Il modello MC validato è stato quindi applicato ad altri casi pratici quali lo studio di fattibilità della produzione diretta in ciclotrone di 99mTc, la produzione di radionuclidi ad uso medico con il ciclotrone TR13 (13 MeV) installato presso il centro di ricerca TRIUMF (Vancouver, CA), la progettazione completa del nuovo centro PET dell’ospedale “Sacro Cuore-Don Calabria” di Negrar (Verona, IT), incluso il ciclotrone ACSI TR19 (19 MeV), lo studio del campo di dose nell’intorno di un sistema di selezione dell’energia (degrader) di un ciclotrone per terapia, la progettazione di specifiche “porte a tappo” per un sito di produzione di radionuclidi ad uso medico, in cui verrà installato un ciclotrone da 70 MeV e sei diverse beam line, e per il parziale decommissioning di un centro PET e la sostituzione di un ciclotrone Scanditronix MC17 (17 MeV), attualmente installato, con una nuova unità TR19.
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Fritzon, Lotta. "Nurses' Daily work at Dordrecht Provincially Adided Hospital - a field study." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle (HS), 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-26614.
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Bakgrund: Sydafrika har ca 50 miljoner invånare, världens högsta antal HIV-positiva och har en BNP per capita på 6170 USD. Sjuksköterskorna blir legitimerade efter 4 års utbildning och där finns ungefär 2 sjuksköterskor per 1000 invånare, jämfört med Sveriges 10/1000. Dordrecht Provincially Aided Hospital är ett distriktssjukhus och erbjuder akutsjukvård, medicinsk- och kirurgisk vård, obstetrik, pediatrik, antiretroviral behandling och har ett upptagningsområde på ca 15 000 människor. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka och beskriva sjuksköterskornas dagliga arbete på Dordrecht Provincially Aided Hospital. Metod: Studien är genomförd med etnografisk ansats, med deltagande observationer, informella samtal och med ett frågeformulär. Den är gjord som en fältstudie på sjukhuset under åtta veckor. Åtta sjuksköterskor har deltagit i studien. Resultat: Analysen av det insamlade materialet resulterade i en allmän beskrivning av det dagliga arbetet, men även i fem kategorier som skildrar dagliga arbetet. Kategorierna var patient relationer, personal relationer, ansvar, omvårdnad och HIV. Slutsatser: Styrkan i studien har varit förmågan att tillhandahålla en helhetsbild av det dagliga arbetet som inte tidigare gjorts.Background: South Africa has about 50 million people, the world highest number of HIV-positive and has a BNP at 6170 USD. The nurses are registered as a nurse after four years studies and there are approximately 2 nurses per 1000 citizens, compared to Sweden’s 10/1000. Dordrecht Provincially Aided Hospital is a district hospital, offering services as emergency, medical, surgery, maternity, paediatrics, antiretroviral treatment and serves about 15 000 people. Aim: The aim of this study is to explore and describe nurses’ daily work at DPAH.Method: The study is accomplished as an ethnographic study, with participant observations, informal conversations and a questionnaire. It is performed as a field study at the hospital for eight weeks. Eight nurses have been participating in the study. Results: The analysis of the gathered data resulted in a general description of the daily work, but also in 5 categories describing the daily work. These categories were patients relations, staff relations, responsibility, nursing and HIV. Conclusions: The strength of this study has been the ability to provide an over all picture of the daily work which has not been done before
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Bagewitz, Astrid. "Healthcare seeking behaviour when suspecting malaria. An ethnographic field study of indigenous people in Uganda." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle (HS), 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-24661.
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Malaria är ett globalt problem, som framförallt existerar i de tropiska delarna av världen. I Uganda uppskattas 25-40% av patienter som uppsöker statlig vård vara patienter som har relaterade malaria symtom. Eftersom Batwa är en minoritetsgrupp som skiljer sig från övriga Ugandier i sin historiska livsstil, undersöker denna studie hur denna grupp söker vård. Studien är kvalitativ och har använt sig av en etnografisk metod, därav tio intervjuer och en fokusgrupp diskussion för att samla data. Det teoretiska ramverket har varit medicinsk antropologiskt, där en hälsouppsökande modell har använts. Resultatet visar på en mängd olika hälsoalternativ för Batwa att söka vård inom. Dock skiljer sig Batwas hälsouppsökande beteenden från andra gruppers beteenden, enligt tidigare studier, och från det teoretiska ramverkets modell, som använts i uppsatsen. Batwa föredrar offentlig vård i högre grad, eftersom det är ett billigare och ett mer lättillgängligt alternativ att bli frisk på, i jämförelse med många andra alternativ.Malaria is a global problem that exists mostly in the tropical region of the world. In Uganda approximately 25-40% of the patients who are seeking governmental healthcare are patients with malaria related symptoms. Because Batwa is a minority group who differ from other Ugandans in their historical lifestyle, the present study investigates how this group are seeking healthcare. The study is qualitative and has used an ethnographic method, whereby ten interviews and one focus-group discussion to collect data. The theoretical framework has been medical anthropology, where a healthcare seeking model has been used. The result reveals a varied spectrum of healthcare option for Batwa too seek treatment within. However, Batwa healthcare seeking behaviour differs from other groups of healthcare seeking behaviour, according to earlier studies, and from the model used in the theoretical framework in the present study. Batwa prefer governmental healthcare in a greater extent, because it is cheaper and a more accessible alternative to get treated, compared to many of the other alternatives.
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Manivannan, Niranchana. "Super Resolution in Ultra High Field MRI - A Comparison." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1293632071.
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Wooten, Hasani Omar. "Time-Dependent Neutron and Photon Dose-Field Analysis." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/7153.
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A unique tool is developed that allows the user to model physical representations of complicated glovebox facilities in two dimensions and determine neutral-particle flux and ambient dose-equivalent fields throughout that geometry. The code Pandemonium, originally designed to determine flux and dose rates only, has been improved to include realistic glovebox geometries, time-dependent source and detector positions, time-dependent shielding thickness calculations, time-integrated doses, a representative criticality accident scenario based on time-dependent reactor kinetics, and more rigorous photon treatment. The photon model has been significantly enhanced by expanding the energy range to 10 MeV to include fission photons, and by including a set of new buildup factors, the result of an extensive study into the previously unknown "purely-angular effect" on photon buildup. Purely-angular photon buildup factors are determined using discrete ordinates and coupled electron-photon cross sections to account for coherent and incoherent scattering and secondary photon effects of bremsstrahlung and florescence.
Improvements to Pandemonium result in significant modeling capabilities for processing facilities using intense neutron and photon sources, and the code obtains comparable results to Monte Carlo calculations but within a fraction of the time required to run such codes as MCNPX.
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Timmons, Michael J. (Michael Joseph). "Image-guided neurosurgery : integration of medical image data with real-time view of the surgical field." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/43420.
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Wade, Mark Alan. "An Annotated Bibliography of Current Research in the Field of the Medical Problems of Trumpet Playing." The Ohio State University, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1211989942.
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Conklin, Chris J. "Spatially Selective 2D RF Inner Field of View (iFOV) Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging (DKI) of the Pediatric Spinal Cord." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2015. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/333691.
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Electrical EngineeringPh.D.
Magnetic resonance based diffusion imaging has been gaining more utility and clinical relevance over the past decade. Using conventional echo planar techniques it is possible to acquire and characterize water diffusion within the central nervous system (CNS); namely in the form of Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI) and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI). While each modality provides valuable clinical information in terms of the presence of diffusion, DWI, and its directionality, DTI, the techniques used for analysis are limited to assuming an ideal Gaussian distribution for water displacement with no intermolecular interactions. This assumption reduces the amount of relevant information that can be interpreted in a clinical setting. By measuring the excess kurtosis, or peakedness, of the Gaussian distribution it is possible to get a better understanding of the underlying cellular structure. The objective of this work is to provide mathematical and experimental evidence that Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging (DKI) can provide additional information about the micromolecular environment of the pediatric spinal cord by more completely characterizing the probabilistic nature of random water displacement. A novel DKI imaging sequence based on a 2D spatially selective radio frequency pulse providing reduced FOV imaging with view angle tilting (VAT) was implemented, optimized on a 3Tesla MRI scanner, and tested on pediatric subjects (normal:15; patients with spinal cord injury:5). Software was developed and validated in-house for post processing of the DKI images and estimation of the tensor parameters. The results show statistically significant differences in kurtosis parameters (mean kurtosis, axial kurtosis) between normal and patients. DKI provides incremental and new information over conventional diffusion acquisitions that can be integrated into clinical protocols when coupled with higher order estimation algorithms.
Temple University--Theses
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Wams, Emma J. "Neurodegeneration and brain cancer : a longitudinal field study of rest-activity and sleep." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:23d242cd-45c7-4dca-a3c5-b1e83747af13.
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This thesis investigates rest-activity and sleep profiles in neurodegeneration and brain cancer. Study 1 comprised longitudinal field assessments of rest-activity, sleep and memory in controls and memory-impairment individuals with: subjective memory complaint (SMC), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), mild and moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Four questions were addressed: (1) is SMC a prodromal stage of AD? (2) do characteristics of SMC predict future decline? (3) does cholinergic medication (ChEI) impact rest-activity and sleep of moderate AD patients? and (4) are there factors predicting response to ChEI? Study 2 assessed rest-activity and melatonin rhythms in a brain cancer patient (JJB), and post-mortem analysis of brain tissue assessed infiltration of cancer cells on the circadian clock (SCN). Both studies used questionnaires, cognitive tests, electroencephalography and actigraphy simultaneously at patients’ homes. In Study 1, the SMC group showed a reduced activity amplitude to be correlated with increasing memory impairment severity, lower sleep quality and efficiency. Increased sleep fragmentation was observed in all memory-impaired groups, although not correlated to impairment severity. Increased fragmentation of rest-activity rhythm correlated with increasing memory impairment severity in all groups except SMC. Following ChEI medication with donepezil, moderate AD patients showed increased sleep fragmentation, probably due to potentiation of available acetylcholine known to maintain arousal. Higher daytime-activity and lower activity in the rest-phase, when drug-naïve, predicted improved cognition following ChEIs. In Study 2, cancer cell infiltration of the patient’s SCN was confirmed. However, a robust circadian rest-activity period with a misaligned melatonin phase, was recorded, indicating that the effects of partial SCN lesions in humans are complex and this result was possibly in part are due to the masking effect of social behaviour.
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McElroy, Adlene Jones. "Antibullying Definition, Policy, Surveillance, Education, and Training in the Healthcare Field." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/6618.
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Workplace bullying in the healthcare field has contributed to decreasing productivity, decreasing employee morale, increasing workplace lawsuits, overall dissatisfaction in the workplace, and potentially compromising care to patients. Little, however, is known about how public policies related to workplace bullying impact the experiences of healthcare workers. Using Cornell and Limber's conceptualization of bullying, the purpose of this general qualitative study was to better understand the experiences of healthcare leaders and workers related to workplace bullying of a single health care facility. Data were principally collected from 9 participants representing three organizational leaders, three nurses, and three ancillary members staff. These interview data were transcribed, and then subjected to a coding and analysis procedure inspired by Stevick, Colaizzi, & Keen. Findings indicate that many participants have either experienced or witnessed organizational bullying, and that occurrences of bullying are more prevalent among staff. Findings also indicate that leaders consistently understand policies and law and organizational procedures related to bullying, but staff and nurses do not share this experience. Last, staff and nurses perceive that leaders fail to follow through with enforcing organizational policies related to bullying. Positive social change implications stemming from this study include recommendations to organizational leadership and regulatory boards to develop organizational and public policies that more clearly identify the liabilities and risks of non-compliance, as well as promoting an annual training protocol that better supports public and organizational policies related to anti-bullying measures. These recommendations may result in reduced incidents of bullying, and therefore improved care to patients.
Antibullying Definition, Policy, Surveillance, Education, and Training in the Healthca
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Ved, Hetal R. "A computer-based cascaded modeling and experimental approach to the physical characterization of a clinical full-field mammography system." Link to electronic thesis, 2002. http://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/ETD/Available/etd-0920102-144012.
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Accorsi, Roberto 1971. "Design of a near-field coded aperture cameras for high-resolution medical and industrial gamma-ray imaging." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8684.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (p. [251]-255).
Coded Aperture Imaging is a technique originally developed for X-ray astronomy, where typical imaging problems are characterized by far-field geometry and an object made of point sources distributed over a mainly dark background. These conditions provide, respectively, the basis of artifact-free and high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) imaging. When the coded apertures successful in far-field problems are used in near-field geometry, images are affected by extensive artifacts. The classic remedy is to move away from the object until a far-field geometry is restored, but this is at the expense of counting efficiency and, thus, of the SNR of the images. It is shown in this thesis that the application to near-field of a technique originally developed to mitigate the effects of non-uniform background in far-field applications results in a considerable reduction of near-field artifacts. This result opens the way to the exploitation in near-field problems of the favorable SNR characteristics of coded apertures: images comparable to those provided by state-of-the-art imagers can be obtained in a shorter time or while administering a lower dose to patients. Further developments follow when the SNR increase is traded for better resolution at constant time and dose.
(cont.) The main focus of this work is on a coded aperture camera specifically designed for high-resolution single-photon planar imaging with a pre-existing gamma (Anger) camera. Original theoretical findings and the results of computer simulations led to an optimal coded aperture that was tested experimentally in phantom as well as in-vivo studies. Results include, but are not limited to, 1.66-mm-resolution images of 99mTc-labeled blood and bone agents in a mouse. The theoretical bases for extension to sub-millimeter resolution and higher-energy isotopes are also laid and a candidate aperture capable of 0.96-mm resolution proposed. Potential applications are in small-animal imaging, pediatric nuclear medicine and breast imaging, where increased resolution can result in earlier diagnosis of disease. The last Chapter of the thesis extends the ideas developed to the design of a coded aperture suitable for CAFNA (Coded Aperture Fast Neutron Analysis), a contraband detection technique that has been under development at MIT for a number of years.
by Roberto Accorsi.
Ph.D.
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Mashamba, Mabula. "Translation and cultural adaptation with reference to Tshivenda and English : a case study of the medical field." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/2193.
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Thesis (M.A. (African languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2011The aim of this study was to investigate the problems encountered by translators when translating medical terms from English into Tshivenda. It has been revealed in this study that the major problem that the translators are confronted with is lack of terminology in the specialized field such as Health. This problem is caused by the fact that different languages entail a variety of culture. The study revealed that most translators and lexicographers resort to transliteration and borrowing when confronted with zero-equivalence. They regard transliteration and borrowing as the quickest possible strategies. The study discovered that transliteration should not be opted as an alternative strategy to deal with zero-equivalence as users will be led to a state of confusion. The study revealed that communicative translation is regarded as the most fruitful method of translation as it conveys the exact message of the original in a best possible manner. Both the source and the target users get the same message. KEY CONCEPTS Translation, Culture, Source Language (SL), Target Language (TL), Translation equivalence and Zero-equivalence.
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Nilsson, Hampus, and David Lindqvist. "SMALL SCALE POWER GENERATION FOR A RURAL MEDICAL CLINIC : A minor field study in Linga Linga, Mozambique." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för industriell teknik och management (ITM), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-264114.
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In Sub-Saharan Africa, 76 % of the population lack access to electricity. This situation prohibits economic growth, causes major health issues, and impedes the education of its populace. Considerable work and effort are being made to increase the populace’s access to electricity. Even small amounts of electricity can make a difference and increase the quality of life. There have been several studies conducted that investigate possible solutions for small scale power generation in Mozambique, but the proposed solutions have not been implemented. Other studies have been carried out that investigate practical solutions for small scale power generation and implementing them, albeit not in Mozambique. This thesis therefore tries to cover the entire spectra, from possible solution to practical implementation, in Mozambique. This thesis is conducted as a case study, with a rural clinic in the village of Linga Linga, Mozambique, as case. The thesis analyses the clinic’s energy demand, the most suitable renewable energy resource for the clinic as well as local materials and components to construct a small scale power generation solution. The main research question that is answered is "What renewable and sustainable small scale power generation solution can be built, using local resources, to deliver electricity to a rural medical clinic?". To answer the main research question, necessary information was gathered, where Mozambique’s energy situation, renewable energy technologies in general and previous small scale energy projects in particular were studied. Thereafter, the energy demand as well as the daily variation of demand were investigated. An evaluation of which renewable energy resources that were locally available and most suitable was also conducted. Finally, a small scale power generation solution, using local material and components, was constructed and evaluated. The energy demand of the clinic was estimated to be 2 795 Wh per day, with a maximum power demand of 150 W. The energy demand consisted of five lamps and one refrigerator. Solar energy was evaluated as the renewable energy resource most suitable for the particular area. Moreover, a solar power system was constructed, with a maximum power of 880 W and a total battery energy capacity of 5 760 Wh, of which 50 % can be utilised without risking the health and lifetime of the batteries. The total cost for the solar power system amounted to 141 482 MZN, corresponding to circa 20 447 SEK. The purpose with the thesis was to evaluate a viable way to produce electricity and to implement a practical solution for a medical clinic. With a solar power system in place, the life quality of the inhabitants in Linga Linga has been improved. Looking forward, this thesis provides a piece of the puzzle for how electrification of rural Sub-Saharan Africa can be conducted, from energy demand to installation, and contributes to the Agenda 2030 goal of clean energy for everyone.I Subsahariska Afrika saknar 76 % av invånarna tillgång till elektricitet. Detta leder till försämrad ekonomisk tillväxt, betydande hälsoproblem och undermåliga utbildningsresultat. Omfattande arbete och åtgärder genomförs för att förbättra situationen och öka tillgången till elektricitet. Även den minsta mängd elektricitet kan göra skillnad och höja livskvaliteten. Flera studier har gjorts där möjliga lösningar för småskalig kraftproduktion i Moçambique utreds, men inga föreslagna lösningar har implementerats. Det har också gjorts studier som har undersökt praktiska lösningar för småskalig kraftproduktion och därefter implementerat dessa, om än inte i Moçambique. Denna studie försöker därför täcka hela spektrat, från möjlig lösning till implementering, i Moçambique. Denna studie genomförs som en fältstudie där en klinik i byn Linga Linga på den moçambikanska landsbygden står i fokus. Studien analyserar klinikens energibehov, den mest lämpliga förnybara energikällan samt de mest lämpliga lokala materialen och komponenterna nödvändiga för att bygga en småskalig kraftproduktionslösning. Huvudfrågan som utreds och besvaras är: "Vilken förnyelsebar och hållbar småskalig kraftproduktionslösning kan byggas med lokala resurser för att förse en medicinsk klinik på landsbyggden med elektricitet?". För att besvara huvudfrågan har nödvändig information inhämtats, där energisituationen i Moçambique, förnybara energiteknologier och tidigare projekt rörande småskalig kraftproduktion studerats. Därefter undersöktes energibehovet och den dagliga variationen av energiförbrukningen i kliniken. Vidare utvärderades vilka förnybara energikällor som var lokalt tillgängliga och mest lämpliga. Slutligen konstruerades en småskalig kraftproduktionslösning av lokalt tillgängliga material och komponenter. Energibehovet för kliniken uppskattades till 2 795 Wh per dag, med ett maximalt effektbehov om 150 W. Energibehovet består av fem lampor och ett kylskåp. Solenergi utvärderades som den lämpligaste energikällan för applikationen. Ett solkraftssystem konstruerades också, med en maximal effekt om 880 W och en total batterikapacitet om 5 760 Wh, av vilken 50 % kan användas. Den totala kostnaden för systemet uppgick till 141 482 MZN, motsvarande cirka 20 447 SEK. Avsikten med denna studie var att utvärdera både en teoretisk möjlig lösning såväl som en praktisk implementering av en kraftproduktionslösning till en klinik. Med ett system på plats, har nu livskvaliteten för invånarna förbättrats. För den framtida forskningen bidrar denna studie till att lägga kunskapspusslet om hur elektrifiering av subsahariska Afrika kan genomföras, från energibehov till installation, och bidrar därmed till Agenda 2030 och det globala målet om hållbar energi för alla.
Na África subsaariana, 76 % da população não tem acesso a electricidade. Este problema inibe o crescimento económico, causa enormes problemas de saúde e conduz a precários resultados em matéria de educação. Trabalhos e esforços consideráveis têm sido envidados no sentido de aumentar o acesso à rede eléctrica. Por menor que seja o sinal de energia, pode fazer a diferença e melhorar a qualidade de vida. Diversos estudos têm sido realizados com vista a encontrar possíveis soluções para geração de energia de pequena escala em Moçambique contudo, as soluções propostas não chegaram a ser implementadas. Outros estudos foram levados a cabo de forma a encontrar soluções práticas de geração de energia em pequena escala e a sua implementação mas não em Moçambique. Esta tese, por sua vez, procura cobrir o espectro completo, partindo de uma possível solução para uma implementação prática em Mocambique. Esta tese é realizada como um estudo de caso, baseado em uma clínica localizada na vila de Linga Linga, Moçambique. A tese analisa a demanda de energia da clínica, os recursos de energia renováveis mais apropriados assim como os materiais locais e componentes necessários para a construção de um gerador de energia de pequena escala. A principal questão da pesquisa a qual se responde é " Que geradores de energia de pequena escala renováveis e sustentáveis se podem construir com o uso de recursos locais por forma a fornecer energia a uma clínica médica?". Para responder a principal questão da pesquisa, foi levada a cabo uma revisão literária, onde se estudadou a situação de acesso a energia em Moçambique, as tecnologias de energias renováveis no geral e os projectos anteriores voltados para a energia de pequena escala. Em seguida, a procura pela energia foi de igual modo investigada como variação diária. Foi feita uma avaliação sobre os recursos de energias renováveis disponíveis localmente e os mais apropriados. Por fim, uma solução para geração de energia de pequena escala com recurso a materiais e componentes locais foi construída e avaliada. A demanda da clínica foi estimada em 2 795 Wh por dia, com uma demanda máxima de 150 W de energia. As exigências de energia consistiam em cinco lâmpadas e um refrigerador. A energia solar foi avaliada como sendo a energia renovável mais apropriada para a área em particular. Adicionalmente, foi construído um sistema de energia solar com potência máxima de 880 W e uma capacidade total da bateria de 5 760 Wh, dos quais se pode usar 50 %. O custo total do sistema de energia solar totalizou 141 482 MZN, correspondendo a cerca de 20 447 SEK. A tese tenciona avaliar uma forma viável de produzir electricidade e implementar uma solução prática para uma clínica médica. Com o sistema de energia solar estabelecido, a qualidade de vida dos habitantes de Linga Linga foi melhorada. Olhando para frente, esta tese oferece uma solução sobre como se pode processar a electrificação da África subsaariana, desde a demanda pela energia até a sua instalação e seu contributo para a meta energia limpa para todos da Agenda 2030.
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Abduljabar, Haya, and Hanan Hadi. "Sterilization of Medical Equipment in a Third World Country : A Minor Field Study in Linga Linga, Mozambique." Thesis, KTH, Medicinteknik och hälsosystem, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-287363.
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The non-profit organization Project Vita has recently built a maternity clinic in Linga Linga, where the medical instruments to be sterilized are boiled in water for an hour. The fuel needed to boil the water is wood, which is a scarce resource. This is why, according to the healthcare worker that was interviewed in Mozambique, it is desirable to have an electric-powered solution to sterilise the medical instruments. After research on the different sterilization techniques that exist, the conclusion was drawn that the safest way to sterilise is by the use of an autoclave. However, it would be difficult to implement and maintain an autoclave in Linga Linga. Therefore, it was proposed to build an autoclave using a pressure cooker. Through experimentation, different programs, times and pressures were tested to find out if a pressure cooker could sterilise a common object. It could be concluded that theoretically, it seems that the pressure cooker reached a temperature of over 121 degrees Celsius. However, the pressure could not be measured nor was a biological indicator, that could indicate if an autoclave or pressure cooker does sterile, used. This project was to be done in Mozambique, but because of COVID-19, a travel ban was set in motion and universities and laboratories had limited access, thus limiting the project. As a result, it is still unclear if a pressure cooker can be used to sterilize medical instruments.Detta arbete ingår som en del av Project Vitas arbete med en förlossningsklinik i Linga Linga, Moçambique.
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Kelley, Sean William. "An analysis of the use of medical applications required for complex humanitarian disasters and emergencies via Hastily Formed Networks (HFN) in the field." Thesis, Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/1946.
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This thesis analyzes the feasibility, efficacy and usability of medical operations working in concert with a Fly-Away Kit (FLAK) and the forming of Hastily Formed Networks (HFNs) in support of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) operations. The initial focus of this research is on the requirements, situation, area of operations, and mission differences between nongovernmental organizations and governmental organizations. The thesis researches and discusses the possibilities for implementing medical technology in the field and the conditions and scenarios in HA/DR that may affect its success. This process will also define the requirements for medical operations as well as facilitate a methodology for ensuring those requirements are met. This thesis investigates the suitability of currently available COTS hardware and software components for medical operations. In addition, it includes a comprehensive review of the value of electronic medical records and telemedicine technologies. Virtually all organizations responding to the December 26, 2004 Southeast Asia tsunami did not have the benefit of large scale medical information technology. For example, the ability to ascertain the real extent of injuries due to the tsunami was hampered by the lack of a central database. Initial media reports claimed a death toll of over 300,000 people, when in fact hindsight now provides a more accurate tally of just over 200,000 dead. This disparity resulted from an archaic system of tracking and accounting. Undoubtedly, humanitarian medical organizations will greatly benefit from the implementation of medical information technology capabilities. This thesis lays the groundwork for further research into medical technologies that can be deployed in the field with humanitarian medical teams in the near future.
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Li, Weiqi. "The endothelial glycocalyx : recovery, stability and role in electric field-directed cell migration in vitro." Thesis, Queen Mary, University of London, 2014. http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/8942.
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Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of unnatural death worldwide. Damage to the endothelial glycocalyx impairs endothelial functions and thereafter leads to the development of cardiovascular diseases. Despite this, many issues remain to be explored in our understanding of the metabolism and vasculoprotective potential of the glycocalyx. This study focuses on the recovery and structural stability of the glycocalyx, and its role in electric field-directed cell migration in vitro. The integrity of the glycocalyx is compromised following trypsin treatment during cell passages. Results from our study show that cell seeding density affects the recovery speed of the glycocalyx in the first 48h. Higher cell density results in more rapid recovery of the glycocalyx. Regardless of the initial cell seeding density, a well-developed glycocalyx layer is observed when cell confluence is reached. Micropatterning is used to study effects of the cell shape on the recovery of the glycocalyx. Elliptical patterns have been used to conform endothelial cells to torpedo shapes, mimicking their morphology under a shear flow. More rapid development of the glycocalyx on elliptical cells is observed than that on circular shaped cells during the early stage of recovery. Effects of the actin cytoskeleton on the stability of the glycocalyx are investigated, following our interest in shedding of the glycocalyx in abnormal vascular microenvironment. Rapid depolymerisation of the actin cytoskeleton leads to cell retraction within 10mins, with the glycocalyx preserved on the cell surface. This is also seen during 24h persistent actin disruption under static conditions. However, when endothelial cells are subjected to 24h steady laminar shear stress, the glycocalyx is seen to shift to the downstream of the cell surface in the control group, and with actin depolymerisation, significant shedding of the glycocalyx from the luminal surface of the cell is observed. This happens together with the loss of focal adhesions on the basal membrane. Using a custom designed electric field (EF) chamber, I demonstrate that the cell migration speed increases by 30~40% following 5h of EF exposure. Cells also show preferred movement towards the anode. However, both are abolished after the enzymatic removal of the glycocalyx, indicating that the speedup and the directional cell migration in applied EF require the presence of the glycocalyx. Even distribution of the glycocalyx on the cell surface at the end of the EF stimulation suggests that EF-directed cell migration is not related to the polarization of the glycocalyx on the cell membrane. All these findings provide a better understanding of the glycocalyx, which will help to develop new strategies for protection of the glycocalyx, restoration of endothelial functions and finally prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
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Inanlou, Farzad Michael-David. "Innovative transceiver approaches for low-power near-field and far-field applications." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/52245.
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Wireless operation, near-field or far-field, is a core functionality of any mobile or autonomous system. These systems are battery operated or most often utilize energy scavenging as a means of power generation. Limited access to power, expected long and uninterrupted operation, and constrained physical parameters (e.g. weight and size), which limit overall power harvesting capabilities, are factors that outline the importance for innovative low-power approaches and designs in advanced low-power wireless applications. Low-power approaches become especially important for the wireless transceiver, the block in charge of wireless/remote functionality of the system, as this block is usually the most power hungry component in an integrated system-on-chip (SoC). Three such advanced applications with stringent power requirements are examined including space-based exploratory remote sensing probes and their associated radiation effects, millimeter-wave phased-array radar for high-altitude tactical and geological imaging, and implantable biomedical devices (IMDs), leading to the proposal and implementation of low-power wireless solutions for these applications in SiGe BiCMOS and CMOS and platforms.
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Gutierrez-Nibeyro, Santiago Daniel. "Outcomes of Medical Treatment for Pathologies of the Equine Foot Diagnosed with Magnetic Resonance Imaging." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/34461.
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A retrospective study was performed to determine the prevalence of foot pathologies of horses subjected to magnetic resonance imaging for foot lameness and to determine the long-term outcome of horses after medical treatment. The MR studies of 95 horses were interpreted retrospectively by a boarded certified radiologist. Follow-up information was obtained from medical records, owners and referring veterinarians via telephone questionnaires. Long term response to treatment (minimum of 12 months) was recorded. Horses were divided in two different groups based on the diagnosis and on the treatment using intrasynovial antiinflammatory drugs or not. Logistic regression analysis was performed to compare the outcome between the two groups.
The null hypothesis was that the proportion of horses treated successfully between treatment protocols was similar.
A diagnosis based on magnetic resonance imaging was made in all horses. Approximately 30% of horses had â ¥ 4 lesions, which were determined to be responsible for the lameness and 70% of horses had navicular bone abnormalities. Treatment was determined by individual clinician judgment. No significant difference was found in the long-term outcome between treatment groups. This result suggests that intrasynovial antiinflammatory drugs may not provide additional benefit over corrective shoeing, rest followed by controlled exercise in horses with lesions of structures associated with the navicular apparatus or the distal interphalangeal joint.Master of Science
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Ahmady, Phoulady Hady. "Adaptive Region-Based Approaches for Cellular Segmentation of Bright-Field Microscopy Images." Scholar Commons, 2017. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6794.
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Microscopy image processing is an emerging and quickly growing field in medical imaging research area. Recent advancements in technology including higher computation power, larger and cheaper storage modules, and more efficient and faster data acquisition devices such as whole-slide imaging scanners contributed to the recent microscopy image processing research advancement. Most of the methods in this research area either focus on automatically process images and make it easier for pathologists to direct their focus on the important regions in the image, or they aim to automate the whole job of experts including processing and classifying images or tissues that leads to disease diagnosis.
This dissertation is consisted of four different frameworks to process microscopy images. All of them include methods for segmentation either as the whole suggested framework or the initial part of the framework for future feature extraction and classification. Specifically, the first proposed framework is a general segmentation method that works on histology images from different tissues and segments relatively solid nuclei in the image, and the next three frameworks work on cervical microscopy images, segmenting cervical nuclei/cells. Two of these frameworks focus on cervical tissue segmentation and classification using histology images and the last framework is a comprehensive segmentation framework that segments overlapping cervical cells in cervical cytology Pap smear images.
One of the several commonalities among these frameworks is that they all work at the region level and use different region features to segment regions and later either expand, split or refine the segmented regions to produce the final segmentation output. Moreover, all proposed frameworks work relatively much faster than other methods on the same datasets.
Finally, proving ground truth for datasets to be used in the training phase of microscopy image processing algorithms is relatively time-consuming, complicated and costly. Therefore, I designed the frameworks in such a way that they set most (if not all) of the parameters adaptively based on each image that is being processed at the time. All of the included frameworks either do not depend on training datasets at all (first three of the four discussed frameworks) or need very small training datasets to learn or set a few parameters.
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Hei, Xiali. "Security Issues and Defense Methods for Wireless Medical Devices." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2014. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/264269.
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Computer and Information SciencePh.D.
This dissertation evaluates the design of several defense schemes for wireless medical devices to address security issues. These schemes are designed to enable efficient and effective access control of wireless medical devices in both non-emergency and emergency situations. In recent years, the range of available wireless medical devices has increased and includes cardiac pacemakers, insulin pump, defibrillators, cochlear implants, neurostimulators, and various drug delivery systems. Unfortunately, most existing wireless medical devices lack sufficient security mechanisms to protect patients from malicious attacks. Thus, with the rise in use of medical implants, security becomes a critical issue as attacks on wireless medical devices may harm patients. Security on wireless medical devices is a relatively new field, which has not been thoroughly researched yet. The authors of a lot of articles have proposed token based, certification based and proximity based schemes to address the issue. However, most of the current solutions have many limitations and cannot be widely applied. Therefore, better solutions are needed. In order to address this issue, we design a novel and multiple-layer access control framework for wireless medical devices. In a low layer level, we utilize bi-channel technology and multi-factor authentication to defend against various attacks at wireless medical devices. Our system utilizes near field communication (NFC) to do device pairing and uses the medical device's wireless radio to perform remote programming. This approach defends against most attacks because our NFC pairing scheme guarantees that the successful communication range between the programmer and wireless medical devices is less than 6cm. When the patient is in a crowded area such as on public transportation, a different person's mobile devices and the patient's medical devices may be located less than 6cm apart; we use the patient's cell phone to detect such an environment. To avoid attacks in crowded areas, we design a scheme to detect such a situation using the patient's cell phone. User involvement is used on non-implantable medical devices (IMDs) and a patient access pattern based access control (PAPAC) scheme is used on IMDs. We also design a response time based scheme to defend against fake patient attacks. Our analyses and experiments show that the protection schemes are efficient and effective. In a high layer level, we design patient infusion pattern based access control (PIPAC) scheme for wireless medical devices. Specifically, insulin pumps are most widely applied wireless medical devices. The pump parameters and doses can be adjusted by anyone with an easily obtained USB device. The hacker can deliver a lethal dose without knowing the device's serial number in advance. To address this issue, we propose a PIPAC for wireless insulin pumps. This scheme employs a supervised learning approach to learn normal patient infusion patterns in terms of the dosage amount, rate, and time of infusion, which are automatically recorded in insulin pump logs. The generated regression models are used to dynamically configure a safe infusion range for abnormal infusion identification. Our proposed algorithms are evaluated with real insulin pump logs used by several patients for up to 6 months. The experimental results demonstrate that our scheme can reliably detect a single overdose attack with a success rate up to 98\% and defend against a chronic overdose attack with a very high success rate. For IMDs in non-emergency case, the PAPAC scheme we design utilizes the patient's IMD access pattern to address resource depletion (RD) attacks. It is a novel support vector machine (SVM) based scheme. This SVM based scheme is very effective at defending against RD attacks. Our experimental results show that the average detection rate is above 90\%. For IMDs in emergency cases, we design a novel biometrics based two-level secure access control scheme that utilizes a patient's biometrics to prevent unauthorized access to the IMD. The scheme consists of two levels: level-one employs a patient's some basic biometrics and is lightweight; level-two uses a patient's customized iris data to achieve effective authentication. The experimental results show that our IMD access control scheme is very effective and has small overhead in terms of battery, CPU and memory. Thus, it is suitable for IMDs. Both the false acceptance rate (FAR) and false rejection rate (FRR) are close to zero with a suitable threshold. Protecting wireless medical devices is a very challenging task due to their extremely limited resource constraints. It is necessary to balance the overhead of security schemes and security requirements. In this dissertation, we will first discuss security vulnerabilities in wireless medical device systems. Then we will present our framework using smart phones and other technologies, such as near field communication based access control. Further, we will describe the detailed design of this framework. Finally, extensive experiments show that our schemes can achieve good performance with small overhead.
Temple University--Theses
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Goodnight, Michelle E. "Assessment of Microcirculatory Perfusion in Healthy Anesthetized Cats Undergoing Ovariohysterectomy Using Sidestream Dark Field Microscopy." The Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1306898964.
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Glazer, Evan S. "Intracellular Hyperthermia Mediated by Nanoparticles in Radiofrequency Fields in the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/222840.
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Intracellular hyperthermic therapy may prove to be a unique and novel approach to the management of pancreatic cancer. Utilizing the principle of photothermal destruction, selective killing of cancer cells with minimal injury to normal tissues may be possible. This dissertation investigated the role of antibody targeted metal nanoparticles and the cytotoxic effects of nonionizing radiofrequency fields in pancreatic cancer. Cancer cell death was induced by heat release from intracellular metal nanoparticles after radiofrequency field exposure. Fluorescent and gold nanoparticles were delivered with two antibodies, cetuximab and PAM-4, to pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and mouse xenografts in vivo. Selective delivery of these nanoparticles induced cell death in vitro and decreased tumor burden in vivo after whole animal RF field exposure. This occurred through both apoptosis and necrosis. In addition, activated caspase-3 was increased after antibody treatment and RF field exposure. Furthermore, although there was non-specific uptake by the liver and spleen in vivo, there was no evidence of acute or chronic toxicity in the animals. These results are in agreement with the principle that malignant cells are more thermally sensitive than normal cells or tissues. Selective intracellular delivery of metal nanoparticles coupled with whole body RF field exposure may be a beneficial therapy against micrometastases and unresectable pancreatic cancer in the future. Further studies are planned with more specific antibodies, other nanoparticles, and other cancer targets.
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Haemer, Gillian. "Optimizing Radio Frequency Coil Performance for Parallel Magnetic Resonance Imaging at Ultra High Field| Evaluation and Optimization of Integrated High Permittivity Materials." Thesis, New York University, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10751718.
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In the time since magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was introduced, scientific progress has allowed for a factor-of-ten increase in static magnetic (B 0) field strength, and has developed MR into a clinical workhorse. This increase in B0 field strength has the potential to provide significant gains to the inherent signal-to-noise ratio of resulting images. However, this progress has been limited by degradations in the spatial homogeneity of the radiofrequency magnetic fields used for nuclear excitation (B 1), which have wavelengths comparable to the dimensions of the human body in modern high-field MRI. Techniques to improve homogeneity, including B1-shimming and parallel transmission, require multi-element radiofrequency (RF) transmit arrays. Increasing B0 field strength is also associated with an increase in the deposition of RF energy into the subject, clinically measured and regulated as Specific energy Absorption Rate (SAR), deposited in tissue during image acquisition. High permittivity materials (HPMs) have the potential to augment RF coil performance outside of B1-shimming or parallel transmission methods. The use of HPM pads placed in existing RF coils has also been shown to provide a potential reduction of array SAR in nuclear excitation, as well as potential performance benefits in signal reception. However, the question of how best to strategically use these materials in the space between the coil and the sample in order to maximize benefit and alleviate any potential problems has not yet been thoroughly addressed.
The contributions presented in this dissertation demonstrate the potential utility of the integration of HPMs into transmit-receive RF coils, as an integral component of the hardware design. A framework to quickly choose the relative permittivities of integrated materials, optimized relative to an absolute standard (rather than relative to a different design) is introduced, and used to demonstrate that readily available material properties can provide significant improvements in multi-element transmit performance. A subsequent analysis of practical effects and limitations of these materials on the RF coil resonance properties is performed, including the description of a unique adverse resonance splitting phenomenon and how to avoid it. A transmit/receive RF coil design is built and evaluated, first on its own experimentally, and then in simulation with a helmet-shaped high permittivity material former to examine the benefits and challenges associated with HPM integration into RF coils.
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Cappellaro, Giulia. "Institutional pluralism and organizational change : insights from hybrid organizational forms in the Italian health care field." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.648682.
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Turesson, Gerda. "Prevention of HIV. A field study of Tanzanian nurses´ culturally-adopted prevention work against HIV." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle (HS), 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-26747.
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HIV är ett av de största hälsoproblem som världen som står inför idag. Tanzania är ett land som drabbats hårt av HIV-epidemin. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka sjuksköterskans preventiva HIV-arbete i Kageraregionen i Tanzania. Leiningers teori om kulturens påverkan av sjuksköterskans omvårdnadsarbete har använts som teoretisk referensram. Studien är kvalitativ och använder ethnonursing som metod. Datainsamlingen har i huvudsak bestått av deltagande observation och intervjuer. Resultatet visar att sjuksköterskan i huvudsak har tre arbetsuppgifter avseende preventionsarbete mot HIV: hälsoupplysning, HIV-testning och att förhindra smittspridning från mor till barn. Sjuksköterskan anpassar delvis sitt ar-bete efter de kulturella och sociala dimensioner som existerar i den kontext hon arbetar i. Tre teman för kulturens inverkan på preventionsarbetet framträder vid analysen av resultatet: genus, fattigdom och beteendeförändringar.HIV is one of the gravest health problems facing the world today and Tanzania is a country deeply afflicted by the HIV epidemic. The object of this study is to investigate the nurses' HIV-preventive work in the Kagera Region in Tanzania. Leininger's theory on the influence of culture on nurses’ caring work has been used as the theoretical frame of reference. The study is qualitative and the method used is ethonursing. The data has been gathered mainly through participant observation and interviewing. The result reveals that the nurse has chiefly three work tasks related to HIV-prevention: health education, HIV testing and preventing the spread from mother to child. The nurse adapts her mode of work in part according to the cultural and social dimensions in which she works. Three themes showing the interaction of culture within preventative work emerge in the analysis of the result: gender, poverty and behavioural changes.
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Näsman, Per. "Risk, Risk Analysis and Decision-making with Reference to Biostatistics and the Field of Medicine." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Säkerhetsforskning (stängd 20110301), 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-24304.
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Risk, risk analysis and decision-making are essential aspects of health care andmedicine, for patients as well as for physicians and for society as a whole, andthe concept of risk and risk analysis in decision-making has a long history. Theword risk has many different interpretations and has no commonly accepteddefinition. In this thesis, we shall let risk stand for the combination of randomor uncertain events with negative consequences for human health, life and/orwelfare and/or the environment together with some measures of the likelihoodof such events. We believe this is the dominant concept and understanding ofrisk, the risk being the likelihood or probability of an event followed by somenegative consequences or activities of that event. In this doctoral thesis, we focus on biostatistics, risks and risk analysis in thefield of medicine, a science which has been using methods from the area of riskanalysis for a long time. The seven papers (paper I - paper VII) presented inthis thesis, together with a general introduction to risk, risk analysis anddecision-making, will be used to illustrate and discuss risk analysis as a tool fordecision-making in the field of medicine. From my point a view, risk analysisin the field of medicine aims to reduce pain, raise the quality of life, reduce therisk of adverse events, compare cost efficiency between different treatmentregimes and prolong a healthy life. Based on results presented in the thesis, weconclude that biostatistics, risks and risk analysis used in the field of medicineare valuable methods for evaluation of hypotheses within the health care areaand a good basis for decision-making.QC 20100901
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Hainguerlot, Marine. "Probability distortion in clinical judgment : field study and laboratory experiments." Thesis, Paris 1, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017PA01E034/document.
Full textAbstract:
Cette thèse étudie la distorsion de probabilité dans le jugement clinique afin de comparer le jugement des médecins à des modèles statistiques. Nous supposons que les médecins forment leur jugement clinique en intégrant une composante analytique et une composante intuitive. Dans ce cadre, les médecins peuvent souffrir de plusieurs biais dans la façon dont ils évaluent et intègrent les deux composantes. Cette thèse rassemble les résultats obtenus sur le terrain et en laboratoire. À partir de données médicales, nous avons constaté que les médecins n'étaient pas aussi bons que les modèles statistiques à intégrer des évidences médicales. Ils surestimaient les petites probabilités que le patient soit malade et sous-estimaient les probabilités élevées. Nous avons constaté que leur jugement biaisé pourrait entraîner un sur-traitement. Comment améliorer leur jugement? Premièrement, nous avons envisagé de remplacer le jugement du médecin par la probabilité de notre modèle statistique. Pour améliorer la décision, il était nécessaire d'élaborer un score statistique qui combine le modèle analytique, la composante intuitive du médecin et sa déviation observée par rapport à la décision attendue. Deuxièmement, nous avons testé en laboratoire des facteurs qui peuvent influencer le traitement de l'information. Nous avons trouvé que la capacité des participants à apprendre la valeur de la composante analytique, sans feedback externe, dépend de la qualité de leur composante intuitive et de leur mémoire de travail. Nous avons aussi trouvé que la capacité des participants à intégrer les deux composantes dépend de leur mémoire de travail, mais pas de leur évaluation de la composante intuitiveThis thesis studies probability distortion in clinical judgment to compare physicians’ judgment with statistical models. We considered that physicians form their clinical judgment by integrating an analytical component and an intuitive component. We documented that physicians may suffer from several biases in the way they evaluate and integrate the two components. This dissertation gathers findings from the field and the lab. With actual medical data practice, we found that physicians were not as good as the statistical models at integrating consistently medical evidence. They overestimated small probabilities that the patient had the disease and under estimated large probabilities. We found that their biased probability judgment might cause unnecessary health care treatment. How then can we improve physician judgment? First, we considered to replace physician judgment by the probability generated from our statistical model. To actually improve decision it was necessary to develop a statistical score that combines the analytical model, the intuitive component of the physician and his observed deviation from the expected decision. Second, we tested in the lab factors that may affect information processing. We found that participants’ ability to learn about the value of the analytical component, without external feedback, depends on the quality of their intuitive component and their working memory. We also found that participants’ ability to integrate both components together depends on their working memory but not their evaluation of the intuitive component