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Kopilaš V, Nasadiuk K, Martinelli L, Lhotska L, Todorovic Z, Vidmar M, Machado H, Svalastog AL, Gajović S. Perspectives on the COVID-19 Vaccination Rollout in 17 Countries: Reflexive Thematic and Frequency Analysis Based on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Framework. JMIR Hum Factors 2024; 11:e44258. [PMID: 38373020 PMCID: PMC10896317 DOI: 10.2196/44258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2022] [Revised: 07/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND As the SARS-CoV-2 virus created a global pandemic and rapidly became an imminent threat to the health and lives of people worldwide, the need for a vaccine and its quick distribution among the population was evident. Due to the urgency, and on the back of international collaboration, vaccines were developed rapidly. However, vaccination rollouts showed different success rates in different countries and some also led to increased vaccine hesitancy. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to identify the role of information sharing and context sensitivity in various vaccination programs throughout the initial COVID-19 vaccination rollout in different countries. Moreover, we aimed to identify factors in national vaccination programs related to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, safety, and effectiveness. Toward this end, multidisciplinary and multinational opinions from members of the Navigating Knowledge Landscape (NKL) network were analyzed. METHODS From May to July 2021, 25 completed questionnaires from 27 NKL network members were collected. These contributors were from 17 different countries. The responses reflected the contributors' subjective viewpoints on the status and details of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout in their countries. Contributors were asked to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (ie, SWOT) of the respective vaccination programs. The responses were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, followed by frequency analysis of identified themes according to the represented countries. RESULTS The perspectives of NKL network members showed a link between organizational elements of the vaccination rollout and the accompanying societal response, both of which were related to strengths and weaknesses of the process. External sociocultural variables, improved public communication around vaccination-related issues, ethical controversies, and the spread of disinformation were the dominant themes related to opportunities and challenges. In the SWOT 2×2 matrix, Availability and Barriers emerged as internal categories, whereas Transparent communication and promotion and Societal divide emerged as key external categories. CONCLUSIONS Inventory of themes and categories inspired by elements of the SWOT framework provides an informative multidisciplinary perspective for effective implementation of public health strategies in the battle against COVID-19 or any future pandemics of a similar nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanja Kopilaš
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Khrystyna Nasadiuk
- Department of Biochemistry, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Lviv, Ukraine
| | | | - Lenka Lhotska
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Zoran Todorovic
- University Hospital Medical Center "Bežanijska kosa", Belgrade,
- Department of Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade,
| | - Matjaz Vidmar
- Institute for the Study of Science, Technology and Innovation, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Helena Machado
- Institute for Social Sciences, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Anna Lydia Svalastog
- Østfold University College, Halden, Norway
- Centre for Research Ethics and Bioethics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Srećko Gajović
- BIMIS-Biomedical Research Center Šalata, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
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Hlubik J, Vyslouzilova L, Studnicka F, Vychodil R, Lhotska L. A Pilot Study to Assess Hydration in Geriatric Patients by Bioimpedance. Stud Health Technol Inform 2023; 309:250-254. [PMID: 37869852 DOI: 10.3233/shti230790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
Hydration plays a very important role in old age. This is because hydration changes over the course of life and therefore geriatric patients need to have their hydration monitored. However, the general problem is that there are no completely reliable methods' that can measure this. In this paper we performed a pilot monitoring in geriatric patients and compared directly measured electrical data with results from biochemistry. The observed correlations on our pilot sample show very promising values for (r=0.68) creatinine correlation with phase angle and (r=0.71) creatinine correlation with NI (nutritional index). It also shows that electrical readings may in the future indicate much more accurately the true status of the patient. Our research is still ongoing, and we are planning further measurements on a larger sample.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Hlubik
- CTU in Prague, Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Cognitive Systems and Neurosciences, Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Vyslouzilova
- CTU in Prague, Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Cognitive Systems and Neurosciences, Czech Republic
| | - Filip Studnicka
- University of Hradec Králové, Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, Czech Republic
| | - Rostislav Vychodil
- CTU in Prague, Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Cognitive Systems and Neurosciences, Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Lhotska
- CTU in Prague, Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Cognitive Systems and Neurosciences, Czech Republic
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Segal Y, Hadar O, Lhotska L. Using EfficientNet-B7 (CNN), Variational Auto Encoder (VAE) and Siamese Twins' Networks to Evaluate Human Exercises as Super Objects in a TSSCI Images. J Pers Med 2023; 13:jpm13050874. [PMID: 37241044 DOI: 10.3390/jpm13050874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
In this article, we introduce a new approach to human movement by defining the movement as a static super object represented by a single two-dimensional image. The described method is applicable in remote healthcare applications, such as physiotherapeutic exercises. It allows researchers to label and describe the entire exercise as a standalone object, isolated from the reference video. This approach allows us to perform various tasks, including detecting similar movements in a video, measuring and comparing movements, generating new similar movements, and defining choreography by controlling specific parameters in the human body skeleton. As a result of the presented approach, we can eliminate the need to label images manually, disregard the problem of finding the start and the end of an exercise, overcome synchronization issues between movements, and perform any deep learning network-based operation that processes super objects in images in general. As part of this article, we will demonstrate two application use cases: one illustrates how to verify and score a fitness exercise. In contrast, the other illustrates how to generate similar movements in the human skeleton space by addressing the challenge of supplying sufficient training data for deep learning applications (DL). A variational auto encoder (VAE) simulator and an EfficientNet-B7 classifier architecture embedded within a Siamese twin neural network are presented in this paper in order to demonstrate the two use cases. These use cases demonstrate the versatility of our innovative concept in measuring, categorizing, inferring human behavior, and generating gestures for other researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoram Segal
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva 84105001, Israel
| | - Ofer Hadar
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva 84105001, Israel
| | - Lenka Lhotska
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, 160 00 Prague, Czech Republic
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4
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Tichopád A, Augustynek M, Beneš J, Dlouhý M, Doležal T, Horáková D, Kršek M, Lhotska L, Panzner P, Penhaker M, Petr M, Piťha J, Popesko B, Rožánek M, Táborský M, Vrablík M. The way to data: opinions and recommendations for the provision of health data for secondary use. Cas Lek Cesk 2023; 162:61-66. [PMID: 37474288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Healthcare data held by state-run organisations is a valuable intangible asset for society. Its use should be a priority for its administrators and the state. A completely paternalistic approach by administrators and the state is undesirable, however much it aims to protect the privacy rights of persons registered in databases. In line with European policies and the global trend, these measures should not outweigh the social benefit that arises from the analysis of these data if the technical possibilities exist to sufficiently protect the privacy rights of individuals. Czech society is having an intense discussion on the topic, but according to the authors, it is insufficiently based on facts and lacks clearly articulated opinions of the expert public. The aim of this article is to fill these gaps. Data anonymization techniques provide a solution to protect individuals' privacy rights while preserving the scientific value of the data. The risk of identifying individuals in anonymised data sets is scalable and can be minimised depending on the type and content of the data and its use by the specific applicant. Finding the optimal form and scope of deidentified data requires competence and knowledge on the part of both the applicant and the administrator. It is in the interest of the applicant, the administrator, as well as the protected persons in the databases that both parties show willingness and have the ability and expertise to communicate during the application and its processing.
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Segal Y, Hadar O, Lhotska L. Assessing Human Mobility by Constructing a Skeletal Database and Augmenting it Using a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) Simulator. Stud Health Technol Inform 2022; 299:97-103. [PMID: 36325850 DOI: 10.3233/shti220967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
This paper presents a neural network simulator based on anonymized patient motions that measures, categorizes, and infers human gestures based on a library of anonymized patient motions. There is a need for a sufficient training set for deep learning applications (DL). Our proposal is to extend a database that includes a limited number of videos of human physiotherapy activities with synthetic data. As a result of our posture generator, we are able to generate skeletal vectors that depict human movement. A human skeletal model is generated by using OpenPose (OP) from multiple-person videos and photographs. In every video frame, OP represents each human skeletal position as a vector in Euclidean space. The GAN is used to generate new samples and control the parameters of the motion. The joints in our skeletal model have been restructured to emphasize their linkages using depth-first search (DFS), a method for searching tree structures. Additionally, this work explores solutions to common problems associated with the acquisition of human gesture data, such as synchronizing activities and linking them to time and space. A new simulator is proposed that generates a sequence of virtual coordinated human movements based upon a script.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoram Segal
- Department of Systems and Communication Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Ofer Hadar
- Department of Systems and Communication Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Lenka Lhotska
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
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Frize M, Tsapaki V, Lhotska L, da Silva AMM, Ibrahim F, Bezak E, Stoeva M, Barabino G, Lim S, Kaldoudi E, Tan PH, Marcu LG. Women in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering: past, present and future. Health Technol 2022; 12:655-662. [PMID: 35399289 PMCID: PMC8980510 DOI: 10.1007/s12553-022-00658-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Women in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering (WiMPBME) is a Task Group established in 2014 under the International Union of Physical and Engineering Scientists in Medicine (IUPESM). The group’s main role is to identify, develop, implement, and coordinate various tasks and projects related to women’s needs and roles in medical physics and biomedical engineering around the world. The current paper summarizes the past, present and future goals and activities undertaken or planned by the Task group in order to motivate, nurture and support women in medical physics and biomedical engineering throughout their professional careers. In addition, the article includes the historical pathway followed by various women’s groups and subcommittees from 2004 up to the present day and depicts future aims to further these professions in a gender-balanced manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monique Frize
- Department of Systems and Computer Engineering, Carleton University, K1S 5B6 Ottawa, ON Canada
| | - Virginia Tsapaki
- Medical Physics Department, Konstantopoulio General Hospitals, Athens, Greece
| | - Lenka Lhotska
- Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | | | - Fatimah Ibrahim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Centre for Innovation in Medical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Eva Bezak
- Cancer Research Institute, University of South Australia, 5001 Adelaide, SA Australia
| | - Magdalena Stoeva
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
| | | | - Sierin Lim
- School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 637457 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Eleni Kaldoudi
- School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupoli, Greece
| | - Peck Ha Tan
- School of Engineering, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Loredana G. Marcu
- Cancer Research Institute, University of South Australia, 5001 Adelaide, SA Australia
- Faculty of Informatics and Science, University of Oradea, 1 Universitatii str, 410087 Oradea, Bihor, Romania
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Bezak E, Carson-Chahhoud KV, Marcu LG, Stoeva M, Lhotska L, Barabino GA, Ibrahim F, Kaldoudi E, Lim S, Marques da Silva AM, Tan PH, Tsapaki V, Frize M. The Biggest Challenges Resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic on Gender-Related Work from Home in Biomedical Fields—World-Wide Qualitative Survey Analysis. IJERPH 2022; 19:ijerph19053109. [PMID: 35270801 PMCID: PMC8910706 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19053109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
(1) Background: This paper aims to present and discuss the most significant challenges encountered by STEM professionals associated with remote working during the COVID-19 lockdowns. (2) Methods: We performed a qualitative analysis of 921 responses from professionals from 76 countries to the open-ended question: “What has been most challenging during the lockdown for you, and/or your family?” (3) Findings: Participants reported challenges within the immediate family to include responsibilities for school, childcare, and children’s wellbeing; and the loss of social interactions with family and friends. Participants reported increased domestic duties, blurred lines between home and work, and long workdays. Finding adequate workspace was a problem, and adaptations were necessary, especially when adults shared the same setting for working and childcare. Connectivity issues and concentration difficulties emerged. While some participants reported employers’ expectations did not change, others revealed concerns about efficiency. Mental health issues were expressed as anxiety and depression symptoms, exhaustion and burnout, and no outlets for stress. Fear of becoming infected with COVID-19 and uncertainties about the future also emerged. Pressure points related to gender, relationship status, and ethnicities were also evaluated. Public policies differed substantially across countries, raising concerns about the adherence to unnecessary restrictions, and similarly, restrictions being not tight enough. Beyond challenges, some benefits emerged, such as increased productivity and less time spent getting ready for work and commuting. Confinement resulted in more quality time and stronger relationships with family. (4) Interpretation: Viewpoints on positive and negative aspects of remote working differed by gender. Females were more affected professionally, socially, and personally than males. Mental stress and the feeling of inadequate work efficiency in women were caused by employers’ expectations and lack of flexibility. Working from home turned out to be challenging, primarily due to a lack of preparedness, limited access to a dedicated home-office, and lack of previous experience in multi-layer/multi-scale environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Bezak
- Cancer Research Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia; (E.B.); (K.V.C.-C.)
| | - Kristin V. Carson-Chahhoud
- Cancer Research Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia; (E.B.); (K.V.C.-C.)
- Australian Centre for Precision Health, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
- School of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
| | - Loredana G. Marcu
- Cancer Research Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia; (E.B.); (K.V.C.-C.)
- Faculty of Informatics and Science, University of Oradea, 1 Universitatii Str., 410087 Oradea, Romania
- Correspondence:
| | - Magdalena Stoeva
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria;
| | - Lenka Lhotska
- Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, 160 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic;
| | | | - Fatimah Ibrahim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Centre for Innovation in Medical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia;
| | - Eleni Kaldoudi
- School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Alexandroupoli, Greece;
| | - Sierin Lim
- School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637457, Singapore;
| | - Ana Maria Marques da Silva
- School of Technology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Porto Alegre 90619-900, Brazil;
| | - Peck Ha Tan
- School of Engineering, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore 599489, Singapore;
| | - Virginia Tsapaki
- Medical Physics Department, Konstantopoulio General Hospitals, Nea Ionia, 14233 Athens, Greece;
| | - Monique Frize
- Department of Systems and Computer Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada;
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Lhotska L, Husák J, Stejskal J, Kotek M, Dolezal J, Adolf J. Role of virtual reality in the life of ageing population. NEURAL NETW WORLD 2022. [DOI: 10.14311/nnw.2022.32.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Virtual reality (VR) has been on the scene for several decades already. Its first applications were in gaming. However, hardware and software were expensive and thus not for everybody. Since that time, the development of technology proceeded fast and enabled to open new application areas for VR. Currently many commercial systems are available for gaming, training and education, simulations, design, and also for medical purposes. In the article we focus on VR applications in healthcare. First we present existing commercial solutions, and research studies showing the potential of VR in healthcare. In recent years there have appeared many interesting projects and applications aimed at ageing population as target users. We present examples of such projects. Based on our previous experience and after analysis of available solutions, we propose a conceptual architecture od software environment for development of such applications and discuss their potential use. Finally, the implementation of the proposed architecture for interactive application of experience sets is described.
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Frize M, Lhotska L, Marcu LG, Stoeva M, Barabino G, Ibrahim F, Lim S, Kaldoudi E, Marques da Silva AM, Tan PH, Tsapaki V, Bezak E. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on gender-related work from home in STEM fields-Report of the WiMPBME Task Group. Gend Work Organ 2021; 28:378-396. [PMID: 34230783 PMCID: PMC8251105 DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many people, including those in the fields of science and engineering, to work from home. The new working environment caused by the pandemic is assumed to have a different impact on the amount of work that women and men can do from home. Particularly, if the major burden of child and other types of care is still predominantly on the shoulders of women. As such, a survey was conducted to assess the main issues that biomedical engineers, medical physicists (academics and professionals), and other similar professionals have been facing when working from home during the pandemic. A survey was created and disseminated worldwide. It originated from a committee of International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine (IUPESM; Women in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering Task Group) and supported by the Union. The ethics clearance was received from Carleton University. The survey was deployed on the Survey Monkey platform and the results were analyzed using IBM SPSS software. The analyses mainly consisted of frequency of the demographic parameters and the cross-tabulation of gender with all relevant variables describing the impact of work at home. A total of 921 responses from biomedical professions in 76 countries were received: 339 males, 573 females, and nine prefer-not-to-say/other. Regarding marital/partnership status, 85% of males were married or in partnership, and 15% were single, whereas 72% of females were married or in partnership, and 26% were single. More women were working from home during the pandemic (68%) versus 50% of men. More men had access to an office at home (68%) versus 64% for women. The proportion of men spending more than 3 h on child care and schooling per day was 12%, while for women it was 22%; for household duties, 8% of men spent more than 3 h; for women, this was 12.5%. It is interesting to note that 44% of men spent between 1 and 3 h per day on household duties, while for women, it was 55%. The high number of survey responses can be considered excellent. It is interesting to note that men participate in childcare and household duties in a relatively high percentage; although this corresponds to less hours daily than for women. It is far more than can be found 2 and 3 decades ago. This may reflect the situation in the developed countries only-as majority of responses (75%) was received from these countries. It is evident that the burden of childcare and household duties will have a negative impact on the careers of women if the burden is not more similar for both sexes. It is important to recognize that a change in policies of organizations that hire them may be required to provide accommodation and compensation to minimize the negative impact on the professional status and career of men and women who work in STEM fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monique Frize
- Department of Systems and Computer Engineering Carleton University Ottawa Ontario Canada
| | - Lenka Lhotska
- Faculty of Biomedical Engineering Czech Technical University in Prague Prague Czech Republic
| | - Loredana G Marcu
- Faculty of Science University of Oradea Oradea Romania.,Cancer Research Institute University of South Australia Adelaide South Australia Australia
| | - Magdalena Stoeva
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging Medical University of Plovdiv Plovdiv Bulgaria
| | | | - Fatimah Ibrahim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Centre for Innovation in Medical Engineering Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
| | - Sierin Lim
- School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Nanyang Technological University Singapore
| | - Eleni Kaldoudi
- School of Medicine Democritus University of Thrace Alexandroupoli Greece
| | | | - Peck Ha Tan
- School of Engineering Ngee Ann Polytechnic Singapore
| | - Virginia Tsapaki
- Department of Medical Physics Konstantopoulio General Hospitals Athens Greece
| | - Eva Bezak
- Cancer Research Institute University of South Australia Adelaide South Australia Australia
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Abstract
The paper describes the concept of the Industry 4.0 and its reflection in health care. Industry 4.0 connects intelligent production concepts with external factors, including those linked with the production and those linked more with human, as for example intelligent homes or social web systems. Communication, data and information play an important role in the whole system. After explaining basic characteristics of the Industry 4.0 concept and its main parts, we show how they can be utilized in the health care sector and what their advantages are. Key technologies and techniques include Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence, data integration, robotization, virtual reality, and 3D printing. Finally, we identify the main challenges and research directions. Among the most important ones are interoperability, standardization, reliability, security and privacy, ethical and legal issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenka Lhotska
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics.,Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
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Adolf J, Dolezal J, Kutilek P, Hourova M, Hejda J, Milerska I, Lhotska L. Automatic Telerehabilitation System in a Home Environment Using Computer Vision. Stud Health Technol Inform 2020; 273:142-148. [PMID: 33087604 DOI: 10.3233/shti200629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we follow up on research dealing with body tracking and motor rehabilitation. We describe the current situation in telerehabilitation in the home environment. Existing solutions do not allow wide adoption due to hardware requirements and complicated setup. We come with the possibility of telerehabilitation using only laptop or mobile web camera. Together with physiotherapists, we have compiled a set of complex motor exercises to show that the system can be practically used.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jindrich Adolf
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jaromir Dolezal
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Patrik Kutilek
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Jan Hejda
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Iva Milerska
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Lhotska
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
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Barabino G, Frize M, Ibrahim F, Kaldoudi E, Lhotska L, Marcu L, Stoeva M, Tsapaki V, Bezak E. Solutions to Gender Balance in STEM Fields Through Support, Training, Education and Mentoring: Report of the International Women in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering Task Group. Sci Eng Ethics 2020; 26:275-292. [PMID: 30806940 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-019-00097-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Accepted: 02/20/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this article is to offer a view of the current status of women in medical physics and biomedical engineering, while focusing on solutions towards gender balance and providing examples of current activities carried out at national and international levels. The International Union of Physical and Engineering Scientists in Medicine is committed to advancing women in science and health and has several initiatives overseen by the Women in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering Task Group. Some of the main strategies proposed by the Task Group to attain gender balance are: (a) identify and promote female role models that achieve successful work-life balance, (b) establish programs to develop female leaders, (c) create opportunities for females to increase the international visibility within the scientific community, and (d) establish archives and databases of women in STEM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilda Barabino
- The Grove School of Engineering, The City College of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - Monique Frize
- Department of Systems and Computer Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - Fatimah Ibrahim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Center for Innovation in Medical Engineering (CIME), Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Eleni Kaldoudi
- School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupoli, Greece
| | - Lenka Lhotska
- Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague 6, Czech Republic
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Loredana Marcu
- Faculty of Science, University of Oradea, 1 Universitatii str, 410087, Oradea, Romania
- Cancer Research Institute and School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia
| | - Magdalena Stoeva
- Chair IOMP Medical Physics World Board, International Organization for Medical Physics, York, UK
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
| | - Virginia Tsapaki
- Medical Physics Unit, Konstantopoulio General Hospital, Agias Olgas 3-5, 14233, Nea Ionia, Greece
| | - Eva Bezak
- Cancer Research Institute and School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia.
- Department of Physics, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia.
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13
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Stechova K, Hlubik J, Pithova P, Cikl P, Lhotska L. Comprehensive Analysis of the Real Lifestyles of T1D Patients for the Purpose of Designing a Personalized Counselor for Prandial Insulin Dosing. Nutrients 2019; 11:nu11051148. [PMID: 31126048 PMCID: PMC6567095 DOI: 10.3390/nu11051148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2019] [Revised: 05/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Post-prandial hyperglycemia is still a challenging issue in intensified insulin therapy. Data of 35 T1D patients during a four-week period were analyzed: RT-CGM (real time continuous glucose monitoring) record, insulin doses, diet (including meal photos), energy expenditure, and other relevant conditions. Patients made significant errors in carbohydrate counting (in 56% of cooked and 44% of noncooked meals), which resulted in inadequate insulin doses. Subsequently, a mobile application was programmed to provide individualized advice on prandial insulin dose. When using the application, a patient chooses only the type of categorized situation (e.g., meals with other relevant data) without carbohydrates counting. The application significantly improved postprandial glycemia as normoglycemia was reached in 95/105 testing sessions. Other important findings of the study include: A high intake of saturated fat (median: 162% of recommended intake); a low intake of fiber and vitamin C (median: 42% and 37%, respectively, of recommended intake); an increase in overweight/obesity status (according to body fat measurement), especially in women (median of body fat: 30%); and low physical activity (in 16/35 patients). The proposed individualized approach without carbohydrate counting may help reach postprandial normoglycemia but it is necessary to pay attention to the lifestyle habits of T1D patients too.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katerina Stechova
- Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Motol, V Uvalu 84, 15006 Prague 5-Motol, Czech Republic.
| | - Jan Hlubik
- The Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Jugoslavskych partyzanu 1580/3, 160 00 Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Pavlina Pithova
- Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Motol, V Uvalu 84, 15006 Prague 5-Motol, Czech Republic.
| | - Petr Cikl
- Fitsport Complex Inc., Polní 1006/11, 664 91 Ivancice, Czech Republic.
| | - Lenka Lhotska
- The Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Jugoslavskych partyzanu 1580/3, 160 00 Prague, Czech Republic.
- Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, nam. Sitna 3105, 272 01 Kladno, Czech Republic.
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14
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Milerska I, Kremen V, Gerla V, St Louis EK, Lhotska L. Semi-automated Detection of Polysomnographic REM Sleep without Atonia (RSWA) in REM Sleep Behavioral Disorder. Biomed Signal Process Control 2019; 51:243-252. [PMID: 33868447 PMCID: PMC8048213 DOI: 10.1016/j.bspc.2019.02.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
We aimed at evaluating semi-automatic detection and quantification of polysomnographic REM sleep without atonia (RSWA). As basic requirements, we defined lower time demand, the possibility of comparison of several evaluations and ease of examination for neurologists. We focused on well-known primary processing of surface electromyographic signals and selected recordings that were free of technical artifacts that could compromise automated signal detection. Thus we created a comprehensive method consisting of several modules (data preprocessing, signal filtration, envelopes creation, detection of ECG QRS complexes, iterative RSWA detection, detection evaluation and interactive visualization). The original dataset consisted of 7 individual polysomnography (PSG) recordings of individual human adult subjects with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). RSWA detection was performed with three different methods for envelope creation (envelope by moving average filter, envelope by Savitzky-Golay filtration and peaks interpolation). Best RSWA detection was achieved using the envelope by moving average filter (average precision 64.24±12.34 % and recall 91.63±10.07 %). The lowest precision was 42.86 % with 100 % recall.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iva Milerska
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University, Department of Cybernetics, Prague, Czech Republic
- The Czech Istitute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Czech Technival University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Vaclav Kremen
- The Czech Istitute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Czech Technival University, Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Vaclav Gerla
- The Czech Istitute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Czech Technival University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Erik K. St Louis
- Mayo Center for Sleep Medicine, Department of Neurology and Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Lenka Lhotska
- The Czech Istitute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics, Czech Technival University, Prague, Czech Republic
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15
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Gerla V, Kremen V, Macas M, Dudysova D, Mladek A, Sos P, Lhotska L. Iterative expert-in-the-loop classification of sleep PSG recordings using a hierarchical clustering. J Neurosci Methods 2019; 317:61-70. [PMID: 30738880 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2019.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2018] [Revised: 12/27/2018] [Accepted: 01/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The classification of sleep signals is a subjective and time consuming task. A large number of automatic classifiers have been published in the past decade but a sleep community has no strong confidence to use them in clinical practice and still remains using a standard manual scoring according standardized rules. NEW METHOD We developed a semi-supervised data-driven approach for objective and efficient evaluation of polysomnographic (PSG) data. The proposed algorithm finds a representative set of signal segments that are subsequently scored by a sleep neurologist. The remaining part of the recording is then automatically classified using these templates. RESULTS The method was evaluated on 36 PSG recordings (18 chronic insomniacs, 18 healthy controls). We show a faster and objective evaluation of PSG data compared to the manual scoring that is over-performing automated classifiers (accuracy increases ∼14%). The classification results are comparable on both datasets. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S) The methodology that we propose has not yet been published in the area of sleep PSG data processing. The performance of our method is comparable to various published automated approaches (a typical published classification accuracy is ∼75-95%). The method allows the evaluation of PSG recordings in more general terms and across different recording devices and standards. CONCLUSIONS The proposed solution is not based on a single-purpose rules or heuristics and training model is not trained on other patient's sleep recordings. The method is applicable to wide range of similar tasks and various types of physiological signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Gerla
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - V Kremen
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - M Macas
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
| | - D Dudysova
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic; Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - A Mladek
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic; Department of Cybernetics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic; Neurosurgical Department, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Czech Republic
| | - P Sos
- National Institute of Mental Health, Klecany, Czech Republic
| | - L Lhotska
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic; Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
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16
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Adolf J, Dolezal J, Lhotska L. Affordable Personalized, Immersive VR Motor Rehabilitation System with Full Body Tracking. Stud Health Technol Inform 2019; 261:75-81. [PMID: 31156094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
During the last decade, we have experienced fast development of virtual reality technology combined with various sensors and applications in different fields. The devices and applications are more easily accessible for the broader public. In this article, we describe a feasibility study of an affordable personalized, immersive VR motor rehabilitation system with full body tracking. While virtual reality rehabilitation is a relatively new field, several applications were already proven more effective than traditional rehabilitation programs. The applied methods utilize VR headset HTC Vive and HTC trackers together witch inverse kinematics algorithms to provide full body tracking. For that, we provide a framework for individual body calibration. The main result of the study is a developed virtual environment with guided rehabilitation scenarios based on personalized body calibration. We have proven that this approach can be used in personalized rehabilitation programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jindrich Adolf
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics
| | | | - Lenka Lhotska
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics
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17
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Petnik J, Lhotska L. Suitable Data Representation for Abnormal Pattern Detection in Smart Home Environment. Stud Health Technol Inform 2019; 261:25-30. [PMID: 31156087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Development in the area of sensor technologies and subsequently applications within the Internet of Things allows the implementation of systems for continuous monitoring of human's vital parameters and daily activities. This development is welcomed since the population aged 65 and over is constantly increasing. Moreover, the number of seniors living alone is also increasing. The monitoring systems can contribute to the safety and security of elderly people and allow them to stay at home where they are used to live as long as possible. Application of various sensor types raises questions on the most suitable sensor data representation, not losing useful information, and also on the design of detection and evaluation algorithms. In the paper, we briefly present several existing approaches and explain why we decided to use the basic ideas coming from the area of behaviour informatics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiri Petnik
- Faculty of Information Technology, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Lhotska
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
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18
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Saifutdinova E, Gerla V, Macas M, Lhotska L. P04-Spatial geometric analysis in sleep polysomnographic data. Clin Neurophysiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2018.01.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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19
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Gerla V, Saifutdinova E, Macas M, Mladek A, Lhotska L. P01-Comparison of short-time Fourier transform and continuous wavelet transform for frequency analysis of sleep EEG. Clin Neurophysiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2018.01.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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20
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Lhotska L, Doležal J, Adolf J, Potůček J, Křížek M, Chbani B. Personalized Monitoring and Assistive Systems: Case Study of Efficient Home Solutions. Stud Health Technol Inform 2018; 249:19-28. [PMID: 29866952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The rapid emergence and proliferation of connected medical devices and their application in healthcare are already part of the Healthcare Internet of Things (IoT) - as this area started to be named. Their true impact on patient care and other aspects of healthcare remains to be seen and is highly dependent on the quality and relevancy of the data acquired. There is also the trend of application of IoT in telemedicine and home care environment. Currently many research groups focus on design and development of various solutions that can assist elderly and handicapped people in their home environment. However, many of these solutions are sophisticated and require advanced users that are able to control the device, handle error states and exceptions. They are frequently using expensive technologies that are good for laboratory environment but they are not affordable for many elderly or handicapped persons. In the paper we will analyze the current situation, present identified needs of elderly population and propose potential solutions. On a case study of efficient home solution of a personalized and assistive system we will show possibilities of technologically simple solutions using off-the-shelf devices and elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenka Lhotska
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
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21
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Gerla V, Kremen V, Covassin N, Lhotska L, Saifutdinova E, Bukartyk J, Marik V, Somers V. Automatic identification of artifacts and unwanted physiologic signals in EEG and EOG during wakefulness. Biomed Signal Process Control 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bspc.2016.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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22
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Bursa M, Lhotska L. The Use of Convolutional Neural Networks in Biomedical Data Processing. Information Technology in Bio- and Medical Informatics 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-64265-9_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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23
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Lhotska L, Stechova K, Pharow P. Personal Portable Devices in the Light of the Internet of Things. Stud Health Technol Inform 2017; 237:34-46. [PMID: 28479540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Personal portable devices have already gained their position in health services. However, mobile technologies and Internet of Things open new areas of applications. The possibility to collect many data types continuously over long time intervals brings various questions that must be answered in the design process. We also discuss briefly the role of the user. We illustrate the complexity of the field by a case study of diabetes management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenka Lhotska
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Peter Pharow
- Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT, Ilmenau, Germany
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24
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Lhotska L, Cheshire P, Pharow P, Macku D. Non-technical Issues in Design and Development of Personal Portable Devices. Stud Health Technol Inform 2016; 221:46-50. [PMID: 27071874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Mobile technologies are constantly evolving and with the development of Internet of Things we can expect continuous increase of various applications. Mobile technologies have undeniable opportunities to play an important role in health services. Concerning purely technical aspects, almost every problem can be solved. However, there are still many unsolved and unclear issues related with ethics and governance mechanisms for mobile phone applications. These issues are even more critical in medical and health care applications of mobile technologies. This paper tries to analyse ethical, and privacy-related challenges that may occur when introducing Personal Portable Devices (PPD) to collect and record personal health data in health care and welfare environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenka Lhotska
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Peter Pharow
- Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT, Ilmenau, Germany
| | - David Macku
- Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
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25
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Tomanova M, Lippert-Grüner M, Lhotska L. Specific rehabilitation exercise for the treatment of patients with chronic low back pain. J Phys Ther Sci 2015; 27:2413-7. [PMID: 26356065 PMCID: PMC4563279 DOI: 10.1589/jpts.27.2413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2014] [Accepted: 11/28/2014] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
[Purpose] To evaluate the efficacy of our special rehabilitation method for patients with
low back pain (LBP). [Subjects and Methods] All participants (n=33) received at least five
individual 30-minute therapy sessions per week using the INFINITY method® and
six group therapy sessions per week in a gymnasium and swimming pool, each lasting 30
minutes and including the INFINITY method®. The treatment lasted between four
to seven weeks. Plantar function using a graphic method (computer plantography), graphical
quantification of postural control during static standing (posturography), and pain were
measured and evaluated before and after rehabilitation therapy. The INFINITY
method® is a special rehabilitation method for patients with musculoskeletal
problems. The method focuses on stabilization and strengthening of the trunk, dorsal and
abdominal muscles, including the deep stabilization system which is closely linked with
diaphragmatic breathing. It teaches the central nervous system to control muscles more
precisely. [Results] Plantar functions, postural control in the upright stance and pain of
LBP patients were significantly improved by 4−7 weeks of rehabilitation treatment with the
INFINITY method®. There were significant differences in all measured dependent
variables of the patients between before and after treatment. [Conclusion] Rehabilitation
therapy with the INFINITY method® positively influences body stabilization and
pain in patients with problems of the lumbar spine. This method presents a new improved
approach (with enhanced effect) to rehabilitation therapy for LBP patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Tomanova
- Rehabilitation Clinic Brandýs nad Orlicí, Czech Republic ; Czech Technical University, Czech Republic
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26
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27
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Kuzilek J, Kremen V, Lhotska L. Comparison of JADE and canonical correlation analysis for ECG de-noising. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2015; 2014:3857-60. [PMID: 25570833 DOI: 10.1109/embc.2014.6944465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
This paper explores differences between two methods for blind source separation within frame of ECG de-noising. First method is joint approximate diagonalization of eigenmatrices, which is based on estimation of fourth order cross-cummulant tensor and its diagonalization. Second one is the statistical method known as canonical correlation analysis, which is based on estimation of correlation matrices between two multidimensional variables. Both methods were used within method, which combines the blind source separation algorithm with decision tree. The evaluation was made on large database of 382 long-term ECG signals and the results were examined. Biggest difference was found in results of 50 Hz power line interference where the CCA algorithm completely failed. Thus main power of CCA lies in estimation of unstructured noise within ECG. JADE algorithm has larger computational complexity thus the CCA perfomed faster when estimating the components.
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28
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Kuzilek J, Kremen V, Soucek F, Lhotska L. Independent component analysis and decision trees for ECG holter recording de-noising. PLoS One 2014; 9:e98450. [PMID: 24905359 PMCID: PMC4048160 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2013] [Accepted: 05/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
We have developed a method focusing on ECG signal de-noising using Independent component analysis (ICA). This approach combines JADE source separation and binary decision tree for identification and subsequent ECG noise removal. In order to to test the efficiency of this method comparison to standard filtering a wavelet- based de-noising method was used. Freely data available at Physionet medical data storage were evaluated. Evaluation criteria was root mean square error (RMSE) between original ECG and filtered data contaminated with artificial noise. Proposed algorithm achieved comparable result in terms of standard noises (power line interference, base line wander, EMG), but noticeably significantly better results were achieved when uncommon noise (electrode cable movement artefact) were compared.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Kuzilek
- Department of Cybernetics, FEE, CTU in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Vaclav Kremen
- Department of Cybernetics, FEE, CTU in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
- Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics, CTU in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Filip Soucek
- Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, ICRC, St. Anne's Hospital in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Lhotska
- Department of Cybernetics, FEE, CTU in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
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29
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Pomerleau J, Knai C, Foster C, Rutter H, Darmon N, Derflerova Brazdova Z, Hadziomeragic A, Pekcan G, Pudule I, Robertson A, Brunner E, Suhrcke M, Gabrijelcic Blenkus M, Lhotska L, Maiani G, Mistura L, Lobstein T, Martin B, Elinder L, Logstrup S, Racioppi F, McKee M. Measuring the food and built environments in urban centres: Reliability and validity of the EURO-PREVOB Community Questionnaire. Public Health 2013; 127:259-67. [DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2012.12.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2012] [Revised: 11/02/2012] [Accepted: 12/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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30
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Cheshire P, Lhotska L, Pharow P. Virtual physiological human and its role for advanced pHealth service provision. Stud Health Technol Inform 2013; 189:33-37. [PMID: 23739353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
This paper provides an introduction to some of the most important challenges that may occur when introducing the principle of Personal Portable Devices for providing information in terms of Big Data on the one hand, and the concept of the Virtual Physiological Human on the other. Both concepts can be applied to exploit their specific capability to collect and record personal health data of different levels of granularity into processes of personalized health service provision. The paper thus analyzes Big Data approaches and their capability to provide information for personalized service provision, and the same goes for the Virtual Physiological Human as such. But it is not only devices, concepts, models, and strategies that are involved in personalized health care as well as welfare and wellness service provision to human beings - it is the human being himself, too. This paper addresses technological and methodological aspects of using large amounts of data whereas another paper submitted to this conference will bring forward the aspects of applied sensor and device technology in relation to decision support and decision making for pHealth services.
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31
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Pharow P, Lhotska L, Cheshire P. Personal portable devices as enablers for advanced pHealth decision support and decision making services. Stud Health Technol Inform 2013; 189:27-32. [PMID: 23739352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Mobile devices are becoming more and more important for services offered either directly to individuals, or indirectly as part of a therapeutic or rehabilitation procedure. Representing the work of the EFMI WG "Personal Portable Devices", this paper offers an introduction to some of the most important technical and privacy-related challenges that arise when introducing mobile sensor or actuator devices (and networks) into health care, wellness, and fitness processes in order to exploit their capability to collect, record and process personal health data. Data processing can be viewed in three classes of application, namely processes for recommendations, decision support and decision making in personalized health and wellbeing service provision. This paper therefore briefly addresses aspects such as the Medical Device Directive for certifying devices in that respect. But regardless whether being MDD-compliant or not, each class of devices may have its own benefits and weaknesses in terms of enabling health-related personalized decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Pharow
- Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT, Ilmenau, Germany
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32
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Kuzilek J, Lhotska L. Electrocardiogram beat detection enhancement using independent component analysis. Med Eng Phys 2012; 35:704-11. [PMID: 22921100 DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2012.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2012] [Revised: 07/16/2012] [Accepted: 07/29/2012] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Beat detection is a basic and fundamental step in electrocardiogram (ECG) processing. In many ECG applications strong artifacts from biological or technical sources could appear and cause distortion of ECG signals. Beat detection algorithm desired property is to avoid these distortions and detect beats in any situation. Our developed method is an extension of Christov's beat detection algorithm, which detects beat using combined adaptive threshold on transformed ECG signal (complex lead). Our offline extension adds estimation of independent components of measured signal into the transformation of ECG creating a signal called complex component, which enhances ECG activity and enables beat detection in presence of strong noises. This makes the beat detection algorithm much more robust in cases of unpredictable noise appearances, typical for holter ECGs and telemedicine applications of ECG. We compared our algorithm with the performance of our implementation of the Christov's and Hamilton's beat detection algorithm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Kuzilek
- Department of Cybernetics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, CTU in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
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33
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Gerla V, Radisavljevic Djordjevic V, Lhotska L, Krajca V, Paul K. 21. Analysis of newborn EEG recorded at 40th week of postconceptional age. Clin Neurophysiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2011.10.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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34
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Bursa M, Lhotska L, Chudacek V, Spilka J, Janku P, Huser M. Practical Problems and Solutions in Hospital Information System Data Mining. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-32395-9_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
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35
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Whitney G, Keith S, Bühler C, Hewer S, Lhotska L, Miesenberger K, Sandnes FE, Stephanidis C, Velasco CA. Twenty five years of training and education in ICT Design for All and Assistive Technology. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.3233/tad-2011-0324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Constantine Stephanidis
- Institute of Computer Science (ICS) Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion, Greece
| | - Carlos A. Velasco
- Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT, Sankt Augustin, Germany
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION Polysomnography (PSG) is one of the most important noninvasive methods for studying maturation of the child brain. Sleep in infants is significantly different from sleep in adults. This paper addresses the problem of computer analysis of neonatal polygraphic signals. METHODS We applied methods designed for differentiating three important neonatal behavioral states: quiet sleep, active sleep, and wakefulness. The proportion of these states is a significant indicator of the maturity of the newborn brain in clinical practice. In this study, we used data provided by the Institute for Care of Mother and Child, Prague (12 newborn infants of similar postconceptional age). The data were scored by an experienced physician to four states (wake, quiet sleep, active sleep, movement artifact). For accurate classification, it was necessary to determine the most informative features. We used a method based on power spectral density (PSD) applied to each EEG channel. We also used features derived from electrooculogram (EOG), electromyogram (EMG), ECG, and respiration [pneumogram (PNG)] signals. The most informative feature was the measure of regularity of respiration from the PNG signal. We designed an algorithm for interpreting these characteristics. This algorithm was based on Markov models. RESULTS The results of automatic detection of sleep states were compared to the "sleep profiles" determined visually. We evaluated both the success rate and the true positive rate of the classification, and statistically significant agreement of the two scorings was found. Two variants, for learning and for testing, were applied, namely learning from the data of all 12 newborns and tenfold cross-validation, and learning from the data of 11 newborns and testing on the data from the 12th newborn. We utilized information obtained from several biological signals (EEG, ECG, PNG, EMG, EOG) for our final classification. We reached the final success rate of 82.5%. The true positive rate was 81.8% and the false positive rate was 6.1%. DISCUSSION The most important step in the whole process is feature extraction and feature selection. In this process, we used visualization as an additional tool that helped us to decide which features to select. Proper selection of features may significantly influence the success rate of the classification. We made a visual comparison of the computed features with the manual scoring provided by the expert. A hidden Markov model was used for classification. The advantage of this model is that it determines the future behavior of the process by its present state. In this way, it preserves information about temporal development.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Gerla
- Gerstner Laboratory, Czech Technical University, Prague, Czech Republic.
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39
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Lhotska L. Biomedical engineering as health care profession. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2007; 2007:5937-5940. [PMID: 18003365 DOI: 10.1109/iembs.2007.4353699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the paper is to inform about the requirements laid on education in the fields of Biomedical Technology and Biomedical Engineering in the connection with legal provisions on non-medical health service occupations in the Czech Republic and its compliance with the working documents on harmonization of biomedical engineering education in Europe (BIOMEDEA project). The legal provisions define completely new position of technical personnel in the health care service system. We show how the legal regulations and European recommendations are reflected in Master study at the Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenka Lhotska
- Department of Cybernetics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technicka 2, 166 27 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
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40
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Lhotska L. Multi-agent system as a platform for management of medical documentation. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2007; 2007:3661-3664. [PMID: 18002791 DOI: 10.1109/iembs.2007.4353125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The paper is focused on description of an ongoing project of a pilot study and implementation of a multi-agent system for management of medical documentation in a hospital. First we analyzed the problem and divided it into four groups of tasks: storing and retrieving stored data, user interaction, data archiving, and system security. All these tasks are performed by corresponding agents, namely user interface agent, database agent, archive agent, and security agent. Communication between the agents is a crucial point of the system operation. The system has been designed as an open system and we assume that it will be extended by additional agents with new functions, e.g. decision support, biomedical signal evaluation, laboratory test evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenka Lhotska
- Department of Cybernetics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University, Prague, Technicka 2, 166 27 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
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Krajca V, Petranek S, Paul K, Matousek M, Mohylova J, Lhotska L. Automatic Detection of Sleep Stages in Neonatal EEG Using the Structural Time Profiles. 2005 IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 27TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2005; 2005:6014-6. [PMID: 17281632 DOI: 10.1109/iembs.2005.1615862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The new method for automatic sleep stages detection in neonatal EEG was developed. The procedure is based on processing of time profiles computed by adaptive segmentation and subsequent classification of signal graphoelements. The time profiles, functions of the class membership in the course of time, reflect the dynamic EEG structure and may be used for indication of changes in the neonatal sleep stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Krajca
- Faculty Hospital Bulovka, Deprtment of Neurology, Prague, Czech Republic.
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Affiliation(s)
- D F Savage
- Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development, World Health Organisation, Geneva
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Kokol P, Hleb Babic S, Lhotska L, Stepankova O. Intelligent medical systems - preface. Int J Med Inform 2001; 63:1-4. [PMID: 11518660 DOI: 10.1016/s1386-5056(01)00166-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Abstract
The paper describes several types of efficiency enhancements of 'classical' rule-based diagnostic expert systems. The blackboard control structure enables to explore more knowledge bases of the same syntax in parallel, the taxonomy structures make fast zooming of attention possible and provide additional inference mechanism based on inheritance principles. The applicability of the enhancing techniques is documented by four case studies exploring the extended FEL-EXPERT shell in different tasks of medical decision-making. The authors consider the enhancing techniques as useful steps on the way from 'classical' diagnostic expert systems towards more complex multi-agent decision tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Lhotska
- The Gerstner Laboratory, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technická 2, 166 27 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
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45
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Abstract
Despite progress in promotion and support of breastfeeding over the past decade, the HIV pandemic necessitates new actions based on human rights, such as voluntary and confidential testing and counseling, offering HIV-positive women objective information on the risks and costs of all infant feeding options, and providing appropriate support for their decisions. Implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative and the International Code of Marketing are essential components of a rights-based policy response to HIV and will lessen spillover of replacement feeding among HIV-negative women. Protective effects of nevirapine and exclusive breastfeeding, as well as the listed additional topics, require further research. We have yet to make exclusive breastfeeding easy and common when mothers choose to breastfeed.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Lhotska
- Nutrition Section, UNICEF, New York, New York 10017, USA.
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Komarek L, Kebza V, Lhotska L, Osancova K, Janovska J, Okenkova J, Roth Z, Vignerova J, Potockova J, Havel RJ. "Healthy Dubec" -design of a joint Czech-American community project for the reduction of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease (adapted from American experience). Cent Eur J Public Health 1995; 3:230-3. [PMID: 8903527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The project is a combination of individual and community-based intervention which adapted and modified methods and techniques originally used in The Three-City Community Study and The Stanford Five-City Project in a small community outside Prague. The goal is to reduce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk factors by primary and secondary prevention, using a community-based approach. 61.5% of examined population with the low risk score during the baseline survey was exposed to intervention by community-based methods. 38.5% of adult population was included in intervention activities within the framework of secondary prevention in high risk groups. There are described: the method of community oriented intervention and the intervention oriented on high risk groups - nutrition intervention, quit smoking activities, stress control, physical activity promotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Komarek
- National Institute of Public Health, Prague, Czech Republic
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Siniarska A, Lhotska L, Dickinson F. Changes in biological status of the Jastarnia population over the last 20-year period. Stud Hum Ecol 1992; 10:187-206. [PMID: 1344722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/25/2023]
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to analyze changes in the biological condition of the inhabitants of Jastarnia (Hel Peninsula), who were examined three times during 1963-87. A total of 1791 persons of both sexes, aged from 3 to 80 years were under study. A total of 20 somatic and physiological traits were considered. According to the data of the Central Statistical Office (available from 1976) the birth rate in Jastarnia increased in 1987 but mortality increased even at a higher rate so that the increase of the population (per 1000 inhabitants) was reduced from 6.8 in 1976 to 3.7 in 1987. A factor analysis, used to estimate socio-economic conditions of two generations of this town, has shown that the apartment size and income of a family (factor 1) explained the highest percentage of the variance of the traits considered. Education of parents was on the second position (factor 2). The next factor (3) represented biological properties of parents measured by their stature. The last one (factor 4) characterized family size in the second generation, for the first generation this trait being related with factor 2 (culture). A tendency to slim body was observed in children and youth. However, the ratio of chest circumference to stature (Marty index) did not change, which can be explained in terms of the adaptation to maritime climate. The content of adipose tissue increased in children and youth, and also the vital capacity of lungs in relation to stature (Ziemssen index) increased in children. Blood pressure at rest was reduced in 1987, but systolic blood pressure at work was increased. An increase in the minute respiration rate and reduction of chest extension in the contemporary youth seem to be rather unfavorable.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Siniarska
- Department of Human Ecology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw
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