Pressure ulcers are a common problem among patients with limited mobility, such as those bed-bound and wheelchair-bound. Constant and prolonged applied pressure is one of the extrinsic factors contributing to the development of pressure ulcers. Analyzing lying postures together with interface pressure measurements from a pressure sensitive bed helps revealing pressure hot spots that can potentially lead to pressure ulcer development. We propose an intelligent system that features lying posture classification with pressure hot spots identification based on interface pressure measurements to possibly identify potential pressure ulcer risk and to provide effective preventive measures. Experimental outcomes correctly classify different lying postures with an accuracy of up to 93%. The proposed system is expected to assist caregivers to detect risk evidence and to provide timely and appropriate interventions for effective pressure ulcer prevention.

Aung Phyo Wai

Siang Fook Foo

Weimin Huang

Jit Biswas

Chi-Chun Hsia

Koujuch Liou

Philip Yap

Lying Posture Classification for Pressure Ulcer Prevention

It is known that improvement in walking function can be achieved in patients suffering a movement disorder after stroke or spinal cord injury by providing intensive locomotor training. Rehabilitation robots allow for a longer and more intensive training than that achieved by conventional therapies. Robot assisted treadmill training also offers the ability to provide objective feedback within one training session and to monitor functional improvements over time. This article provides an overview of the technical features and reports the clinical data available for one of these systems known as "Lokomat". First, background information is given for the neural mechanisms of gait recovery. The basic technical approach of the Lokomat system is then described. Furthermore, new features are introduced including cooperative control strategies, assessment tools and augmented feedback. These features may be capable of further enhancing training intensity and patient participation. Findings from clinical studies are presented covering the feasibility as well as efficacy of Lokomat assisted treadmill training.

R. Riener

L. L&#xfc;nenburger

I. C. Maier

G. Colombo

V. Dietz

Locomotor Training in Subjects with Sensori-Motor Deficits: An Overview of the Robotic Gait Orthosis Lokomat

Introduction: Traditional biochemical and pharmaceutical methods employed today encounter problems of clinical side effects and drug resistance, and their use is becoming limited. Therefore, it has become important and necessary to develop new, alternative strategies to combat viral diseases.Materials and Method: A variety of viruses including M13 bacetriophage (nonenveloped ssDNA), tobacco mosaic virus (nonenveloped ssRNA), human papillomavirus (nonenveloped dsDNA) and human immunodeficiency virus (enveloped ssRNA), together with human red blood cells, Jurkat T-cells and mouse dendritic cells in their buffer solutions have been irradiated with near-infrared subpicosecond laser pulses in vitro.Results: A window of laser power density, approximately between 1 GW/cm2 and 10 GW/cm2, has been observed that allows killing the viral particles while leaving mammalian cells unharmed.Conclusion: The ultrashort pulsed laser technology may have great potential for disinfection of blood components.

Shaw-Wei D. Tsen

Yu-Shan D. Tsen

K. T. Tsen

T. C. Wu

Selective Inactivation of Viruses with Femtosecond Laser Pulses and its Potential Use for in Vitro Therapy

Over the past few years, there has been growing interest in neuro-responsive intracerebral local treatments of seizures, such as focal drug delivery, focal cooling, or electrical stimulation. This mode of treatment requires an effective intracerebral electroencephalographic acquisition system, seizure detector, brain stimulator, and wireless system that consume ultra-low power. This review focuses on alternative brain stimulation treatments for medically intractable epilepsy patients. We mainly discuss clinical studies of long-term responsive stimulation and suggest safer optimized therapeutic options for epilepsy. Finally, we conclude our study with the proposed low-power, implantable fully integrated device that automatically detects low-voltage fast activity ictal onsets and triggers focal treatment to disrupt seizure progression. The detection performance was verified using intracerebral electroencephalographic recordings from two patients with epilepsy. Further experimental validation of this prototype is underway.

Muhammad Tariqus Salam

Mohamad Sawan

Dang Khoa Nguyen

Low-Power Implantable Device for Onset Detection and Subsequent Treatment of Epileptic Seizures: A Review

The syringe infusion pump has been established as the instrument of choice for high-risk infusions, where potent drugs are often delivered at low rates of flow. However, numerous instances of unexpected flow error with consequent patient physiological impact have been reported. These include unwanted bolus delivery on release of line occlusion, dosage fluctuation due to pump height change and fluid reflux within the multiple pump installations now common in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This article examines the performance of a typical ICU syringe infusion pump and identifies mechanical compliance, inherent in commercial designs, as a source of flow error that should not be ignored by equipment designers. A prototype low compliance system is described and tested with performance compared to the conventional design, demonstrating advantages in terms of lower flow error.

Robert Murphy

Steven Wilcox

A New Approach in the Design of High-Risk Infusion Technology

Pathological myopia is the seventh leading cause of blindness worldwide. Current methods for the detection of pathological myopia are manual and subjective. We have developed a system known as PAMELA (Pathological Myopia Detection Through Peripapillary Atrophy) to automatically assess a retinal fundus image for pathological myopia. This paper focuses on the texture analysis component of PAMELA which uses texture features, clinical image context and support vector machine-based classification to detect the presence of pathological myopia in a retinal fundus image. Results on a test image set from the Singapore Eye Research Institute show an accuracy of 87.5% and a sensitivity and specificity of 0.85 and 0.90 respectively. The results show good promise for PAMELA to be developed as an automatic tool for pathological myopia detection.

Jiang Liu

Damon W. K. Wong

Joo Hwee Lim

Ngan Meng Tan

Zhuo Zhang

Huiqi Li

Fengshou Yin

Benghai Lee

Seang Mei Saw

Louis Tong

Tien Yin Wong

Detection of Pathological Myopia by PAMELA with Texture-Based Features through an SVM Approach

About this journal

Journal of Healthcare Engineering provides a vehicle for the exchange of advanced knowledge, emerging technologies, and innovative ideas related to all aspects of engineering involved in healthcare delivery processes and systems.

Journal profile

Meet the editorial board

Journal of Healthcare Engineering maintains an Editorial Board of practicing researchers from around the world, to ensure manuscripts are handled by editors who are experts in the field of study.

Editor spotlight

Submit your proposal

Do you think there is an emerging area of research that really needs to be highlighted? Or an existing research area that has been overlooked or would benefit from deeper investigation? Raise the profile of a research area by leading a Special Issue.

Special Issues

Author guidelines

Editorial board

Databases and indexing

Journal of Healthcare Engineering - Table of contents 2010

Journal of Healthcare Engineering | Hindawi

title

Journal of Healthcare Engineering provides a vehicle for the exchange of advanced knowledge, emerging technologies, and innovative ideas related to all aspects of engineering involved in healthcare delivery processes and systems.

Journal of Healthcare Engineering