Differential diagnostic value of procalcitonin in surgical and medical patients with septic shock.

Science.gov (United States)

Clec'h, Christophe; Fosse, Jean-Philippe; Karoubi, Philippe; Vincent, Francois; Chouahi, Imad; Hamza, Lilia; Cupa, Michel; Cohen, Yves

2006-01-01

To assess whether different diagnostic and prognostic cutoff values of procalcitonin should be considered in surgical and in medical patients with septic shock. Prospective observational study. Intensive care unit of the Avicenne teaching hospital, France. All patients with septic shock or noninfectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome within 48 hrs after admission. None. Patients were allocated to one of the following groups: group 1 (surgical patients with septic shock), group 2 (surgical patients with noninfectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome), group 3 (medical patients with septic shock), and group 4 (medical patients with noninfectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome). Procalcitonin at study entry was compared between group 1 and group 2 and between group 3 and group 4 to determine the diagnostic cutoff value in surgical and in medical patients, respectively. Procalcitonin was compared between survivors and nonsurvivors from group 1 and group 3 to determine its prognostic cutoff value. One hundred forty-three patients were included: 31 in group 1, 36 in group 2, 36 in group 3, and 40 in group 4. Median procalcitonin levels (ng/mL [interquartile range]) were higher in group 1 than in group 3 (34.00 [7.10-76.00] vs. 8.40 [3.63-24.70], p = .01). In surgical patients, the best diagnostic cutoff value was 9.70 ng/mL, with 91.7% sensitivity and 74.2% specificity. In medical patients, the best diagnostic cutoff value was 1.00 ng/mL, with 80% sensitivity and 94% specificity. Procalcitonin was a reliable early prognostic marker in medical but not in surgical patients with septic shock. A cutoff value of 6.00 ng/mL had 76% sensitivity and 72.7% specificity for separating survivors from nonsurvivors. The diagnostic cutoff value of procalcitonin was higher in surgical than in medical patients. Early procalcitonin was of prognostic interest in medical patients.

Medical diagnostic laboratories provisioning of services in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahi Jain

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Context: Diagnostic services have a very important role to play in medical decision-making, which have an impact on the nation′s health status. The understanding of Indian diagnostic services provisioning has certain literature gaps. Aims: This study focused on understanding the functioning of provision of diagnostic services by Indian diagnostic laboratories. Materials and Methods: Exploratory field visits and literature review were used as tools to understand the Indian health system. Results: Indian diagnostic laboratory can be classified into various categories based on the type of services provided and governance. The difference in their financing, resources, quality assurance of services and patient access to services was found in these different laboratories. Conclusions: It was concluded from the study that patient′s access to laboratory services is affected by the functioning of laboratories in terms of governance, financing, resources, quality assurance of services and patient services.

MEDICAL DIAGNOSTICS BY MICROSTRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF BIOLOGICAL LIQUID DRIED PATTERNS AS A PROBLEM OF BIOINFORMATICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petr Vladimirovich Lebedev-Stepanov, Dr.

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Motivation: It is important to develop the high-precision computerized methods for medical rapid diagnostic which is generalizing the unique clinical experience obtained in the past decade as specialized solutions for diagnostic problems of control of specific diseases and, potentially, for a wide health monitoring of virtually healthy population, identify the reserves of human health and take the actions to prevent of these reserves depletion. In this work we present one of the new directions in bioinformatics, i.e. medical diagnostics by automated expert system on basis of morphology analysis of digital image of biological liquid dried pattern. Results: Proposed method is combination of bioinformatics and biochemistry approaches for obtaining diagnostic information from a morphological analysis of standardized dried patterns of biological liquid sessile drop. We have carried out own research in collaboration with medical diagnostic centers and formed the electronic database for recognition the following types of diseases: candidiasis; neoplasms; diabetes mellitus; diseases of the circulatory system; cerebrovascular disease; diseases of the digestive system; diseases of the genitourinary system; infectious diseases; factors relevant to the work; factors associated with environmental pollution; factors related to lifestyle. The laboratory setup for diagnostics of the human body in pathology states is developed. The diagnostic results are considered. Availability: Access to testing the software can be obtained on request to the contact email below.

Diagnostic reference levels in medical imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenstein, M.

2001-01-01

The paper proposes additional advice to national or local authorities and the clinical community on the application of diagnostic reference levels as a practical tool to manage radiation doses to patients in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine. A survey was made of the various approaches that have been taken by authoritative bodies to establish diagnostic reference levels for medical imaging tasks. There are a variety of ways to implement the idea of diagnostic reference levels, depending on the medical imaging task of interest, the national or local state of practice and the national or local preferences for technical implementation. The existing International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) guidance is reviewed, the survey information is summarized, a set of unifying principles is espoused and a statement of additional advice that has been proposed to ICRP Committee 3 is presented. The proposed advice would meet a need for a unifying set of principles to provide a framework for diagnostic reference levels but would allow flexibility in their selection and use. While some illustrative examples are given, the proposed advice does not specify the specific quantities to be used, the numerical values to be set for the quantities or the technical details of how national or local authorities should implement diagnostic reference levels. (author)

Evaluation Of The Diagnostic Performance Of A Multimedia Medical Communications System.

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, John G.; Coristine, Marjorie; Goldberg, Morris; Beeton, Carolyn; Belanger, Garry; Tombaugh, Jo W.; Hickey, Nancy M.; Millward, Steven F.; Davis, Michael; Whittingham, David

1989-05-01

The central concern of radiologists when evaluating Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS) is the diagnostic performance of digital images compared to the original analog versions of the same images. Considerable work has been done comparing the ROC curves of various types of digital systems to the corresponding analog systems for the detection of specific phantoms or diseases. Although the studies may notify the radiologists that for a specific lesion a digital system may perform as well as the analog system, it tells the radiologists very little about the impact on diagnostic performance of a digital system in the general practice of radiology. We describe in this paper an alternative method for evaluating the diagnostic performance of a digital system and a preliminary experiment we conducted to test the methodology.

ASIC design of a digital fuzzy system on chip for medical diagnostic applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy Chowdhury, Shubhajit; Roy, Aniruddha; Saha, Hiranmay

2011-04-01

The paper presents the ASIC design of a digital fuzzy logic circuit for medical diagnostic applications. The system on chip under consideration uses fuzzifier, memory and defuzzifier for fuzzifying the patient data, storing the membership function values and defuzzifying the membership function values to get the output decision. The proposed circuit uses triangular trapezoidal membership functions for fuzzification patients' data. For minimizing the transistor count, the proposed circuit uses 3T XOR gates and 8T adders for its design. The entire work has been carried out using TSMC 0.35 µm CMOS process. Post layout TSPICE simulation of the whole circuit indicates a delay of 31.27 ns and the average power dissipation of the system on chip is 123.49 mW which indicates a less delay and less power dissipation than the comparable embedded systems reported earlier.

Medical Imaging System

Science.gov (United States)

1991-01-01

The MD Image System, a true-color image processing system that serves as a diagnostic aid and tool for storage and distribution of images, was developed by Medical Image Management Systems, Huntsville, AL, as a "spinoff from a spinoff." The original spinoff, Geostar 8800, developed by Crystal Image Technologies, Huntsville, incorporates advanced UNIX versions of ELAS (developed by NASA's Earth Resources Laboratory for analysis of Landsat images) for general purpose image processing. The MD Image System is an application of this technology to a medical system that aids in the diagnosis of cancer, and can accept, store and analyze images from other sources such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Medical imaging systems

Science.gov (United States)

Frangioni, John V

2013-06-25

A medical imaging system provides simultaneous rendering of visible light and diagnostic or functional images. The system may be portable, and may include adapters for connecting various light sources and cameras in open surgical environments or laparascopic or endoscopic environments. A user interface provides control over the functionality of the integrated imaging system. In one embodiment, the system provides a tool for surgical pathology.

Computational Diagnostic: A Novel Approach to View Medical Data.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mane, K. K. (Ketan Kirtiraj); Börner, K. (Katy)

2007-01-01

A transition from traditional paper-based medical records to electronic health record is largely underway. The use of electronic records offers tremendous potential to personalize patient diagnosis and treatment. In this paper, we discuss a computational diagnostic tool that uses digital medical records to help doctors gain better insight about a patient's medical condition. The paper details different interactive features of the tool which offer potential to practice evidence-based medicine and advance patient diagnosis practices. The healthcare industry is a constantly evolving domain. Research from this domain is often translated into better understanding of different medical conditions. This new knowledge often contributes towards improved diagnosis and treatment solutions for patients. But the healthcare industry lags behind to seek immediate benefits of the new knowledge as it still adheres to the traditional paper-based approach to keep track of medical records. However recently we notice a drive that promotes a transition towards electronic health record (EHR). An EHR stores patient medical records in digital format and offers potential to replace the paper health records. Earlier attempts of an EHR replicated the paper layout on the screen, representation of medical history of a patient in a graphical time-series format, interactive visualization with 2D/3D generated images from an imaging device. But an EHR can be much more than just an 'electronic view' of the paper record or a collection of images from an imaging device. In this paper, we present an EHR called 'Computational Diagnostic Tool', that provides a novel computational approach to look at patient medical data. The developed EHR system is knowledge driven and acts as clinical decision support tool. The EHR tool provides two visual views of the medical data. Dynamic interaction with data is supported to help doctors practice evidence-based decisions and make judicious

Tacit knowledge and visual expertise in medical diagnostic reasoning: implications for medical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Heiberg Engel, Peter Johan

2008-01-01

Much education--especially at the university level--has been criticized for having primarily dealt with explicit knowledge, i.e. those aspects of mental activities, which are verbal and conscious. Furthermore, research in medical diagnostic reasoning has been criticized for having focused on the specialty of intern medicine, while specialties with other skills, i.e. perceptive skills within pathology and radiology, have been ignored. To show that the concept of tacit knowledge is important in medical education-at all levels and in medical diagnostic reasoning. Describing how tacit knowledge according to Michael Polany, is experienced and expressed in day-to-day life, it is shown that there is a tacit dimension to all knowledge. Reviewing recent literature on medical diagnostic reasoning, it is shown that tacit knowledge is recognized in connection with concepts such as "non-analytical reasoning" and "dual process of reasoning." It is important that educators are trained in how explicit and implicit knowledge is attained and that tacit knowledge is included in educational programmes of all medical specialties.

Diagnostic Medical Imaging in Pediatric Patients and Subsequent Cancer Risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Mulvihill, David J; Jhawar, Sachin; Kostis, John B; Goyal, Sharad

2017-11-01

The use of diagnostic medical imaging is becoming increasingly more commonplace in the pediatric setting. However, many medical imaging modalities expose pediatric patients to ionizing radiation, which has been shown to increase the risk of cancer development in later life. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the available data regarding the risk of cancer development following exposure to ionizing radiation from diagnostic medical imaging. Attention is paid to modalities such as computed tomography scans and fluoroscopic procedures that can expose children to radiation doses orders of magnitude higher than standard diagnostic x-rays. Ongoing studies that seek to more precisely determine the relationship of diagnostic medical radiation in children and subsequent cancer development are discussed, as well as modern strategies to better quantify this risk. Finally, as cardiovascular imaging and intervention contribute substantially to medical radiation exposure, we discuss strategies to enhance radiation safety in these areas. Copyright © 2017 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tacit knowledge and visual expertise in medical diagnostic reasoning: implications for medical education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heiberg Engel, Peter Johan

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: Much education--especially at the university level--has been criticized for having primarily dealt with explicit knowledge, i.e. those aspects of mental activities, which are verbal and conscious. Furthermore, research in medical diagnostic reasoning has been criticized for having...... focused on the specialty of intern medicine, while specialties with other skills, i.e. perceptive skills within pathology and radiology, have been ignored. AIMS: To show that the concept of tacit knowledge is important in medical education-at all levels and in medical diagnostic reasoning. METHODS...... such as "non-analytical reasoning" and "dual process of reasoning." CONCLUSION: It is important that educators are trained in how explicit and implicit knowledge is attained and that tacit knowledge is included in educational programmes of all medical specialties....

Hybrid case-neural network (CNN) diagnostic system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamed, A.H.

2010-01-01

recently, the mobile health care has a great attention for the researcher and people all over the world. Case based reasoning (CBR) systems have proved their performance as world wide web (WWW) medical diagnostic systems. They were preferred rather than different reasoning approaches due to their high performance and results' explanation. But, their operations require a complex knowledge acquisition and management processes. On the other hand, it is found that, artificial neural network (ANN) has a great acceptance as a classifier methodology using a little amount of knowledge. But, ANN lacks of an explanation capability .The present research introduces a new web-based hybrid diagnostic system that can use the ANN inside the CBR , cycle.It can provide higher performance for the web diagnostic systems. Besides, the proposed system can be used as a web diagnostic system. It can be applied for diagnosis different types of systems in several domains. It has been applied in diagnosis of the cancer diseases that has a great spreading in recent years as a case of study . However, the suggested system has proved its acceptance in the manner.

MO-F-204-00: Preparing for the ABR Diagnostic and Nuclear Medical Physics Exams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2016-06-15

Adequate, efficient preparation for the ABR Diagnostic and Nuclear Medical Physics exams is key to successfully obtain ABR certification. Each part of the ABR exam presents its own challenges: Part I: Determine the scope of basic medical physics study material, efficiently review this material, and solve related written questions/problems. Part II: Understand imaging principles, modalities, and systems, including image acquisition, processing, and display. Understand the relationship between imaging techniques, image quality, patient dose and safety, and solve related written questions/problems. Part III: Gain crucial, practical, clinical medical physics experience. Effectively communicate and explain the practice, performance, and significance of all aspects of clinical medical physics. All parts of the ABR exam require specific skill sets and preparation: mastery of basic physics and imaging principles; written problem solving often involving rapid calculation; responding clearly and succinctly to oral questions about the practice, methods, and significance of clinical medical physics. This symposium focuses on the preparation necessary for each part of the ABR exam. Although there is some overlap, the nuclear exam covers a different body of knowledge than the diagnostic exam. A separate speaker will address those unique aspects of the nuclear exam, and how preparing for a second specialty differs from the first. Medical physicists who recently completed each ABR exam portion will share their experiences, insights, and preparation methods to help attendees best prepare for the challenges of each part of the ABR exam. In accordance with ABR exam security policy, no recalls or exam questions will be discussed. Learning Objectives: How to prepare for Part 1 of the ABR exam by determining the scope of basic medical physics study material and related problem solving/calculations How to prepare for Part 2 of the ABR exam by understanding diagnostic and/or nuclear

MO-F-204-00: Preparing for the ABR Diagnostic and Nuclear Medical Physics Exams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

Adequate, efficient preparation for the ABR Diagnostic and Nuclear Medical Physics exams is key to successfully obtain ABR certification. Each part of the ABR exam presents its own challenges: Part I: Determine the scope of basic medical physics study material, efficiently review this material, and solve related written questions/problems. Part II: Understand imaging principles, modalities, and systems, including image acquisition, processing, and display. Understand the relationship between imaging techniques, image quality, patient dose and safety, and solve related written questions/problems. Part III: Gain crucial, practical, clinical medical physics experience. Effectively communicate and explain the practice, performance, and significance of all aspects of clinical medical physics. All parts of the ABR exam require specific skill sets and preparation: mastery of basic physics and imaging principles; written problem solving often involving rapid calculation; responding clearly and succinctly to oral questions about the practice, methods, and significance of clinical medical physics. This symposium focuses on the preparation necessary for each part of the ABR exam. Although there is some overlap, the nuclear exam covers a different body of knowledge than the diagnostic exam. A separate speaker will address those unique aspects of the nuclear exam, and how preparing for a second specialty differs from the first. Medical physicists who recently completed each ABR exam portion will share their experiences, insights, and preparation methods to help attendees best prepare for the challenges of each part of the ABR exam. In accordance with ABR exam security policy, no recalls or exam questions will be discussed. Learning Objectives: How to prepare for Part 1 of the ABR exam by determining the scope of basic medical physics study material and related problem solving/calculations How to prepare for Part 2 of the ABR exam by understanding diagnostic and/or nuclear

Diagnostic Machine Learning Models for Acute Abdominal Pain: Towards an e-Learning Tool for Medical Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Khumrin, Piyapong; Ryan, Anna; Judd, Terry; Verspoor, Karin

2017-01-01

Computer-aided learning systems (e-learning systems) can help medical students gain more experience with diagnostic reasoning and decision making. Within this context, providing feedback that matches students' needs (i.e. personalised feedback) is both critical and challenging. In this paper, we describe the development of a machine learning model to support medical students' diagnostic decisions. Machine learning models were trained on 208 clinical cases presenting with abdominal pain, to predict five diagnoses. We assessed which of these models are likely to be most effective for use in an e-learning tool that allows students to interact with a virtual patient. The broader goal is to utilise these models to generate personalised feedback based on the specific patient information requested by students and their active diagnostic hypotheses.

Design of point-of-care (POC) microfluidic medical diagnostic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Leary, James F.

2018-02-01

Design of inexpensive and portable hand-held microfluidic flow/image cytometry devices for initial medical diagnostics at the point of initial patient contact by emergency medical personnel in the field requires careful design in terms of power/weight requirements to allow for realistic portability as a hand-held, point-of-care medical diagnostics device. True portability also requires small micro-pumps for high-throughput capability. Weight/power requirements dictate use of super-bright LEDs and very small silicon photodiodes or nanophotonic sensors that can be powered by batteries. Signal-to-noise characteristics can be greatly improved by appropriately pulsing the LED excitation sources and sampling and subtracting noise in between excitation pulses. The requirements for basic computing, imaging, GPS and basic telecommunications can be simultaneously met by use of smartphone technologies, which become part of the overall device. Software for a user-interface system, limited real-time computing, real-time imaging, and offline data analysis can be accomplished through multi-platform software development systems that are well-suited to a variety of currently available cellphone technologies which already contain all of these capabilities. Microfluidic cytometry requires judicious use of small sample volumes and appropriate statistical sampling by microfluidic cytometry or imaging for adequate statistical significance to permit real-time (typically medical decisions for patients at the physician's office or real-time decision making in the field. One or two drops of blood obtained by pin-prick should be able to provide statistically meaningful results for use in making real-time medical decisions without the need for blood fractionation, which is not realistic in the field.

The study of practices in planed diagnostic medical exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Popescu, Irina-Anca; Perju, Nicoleta Ana-Maria; Cobzeanu, Camelia

2011-01-01

The exposure of population to ionizing radiations in medical diagnostic purposes represents a planed exposure procedure, medically justified, having a direct impact on patient health state. A justification of exposure, with a result that can confirm a clinical diagnostic, implies further important steps in treatment decisions. Optimization in patients radiological protection is the result of observing the reference levels recommendations, which maintains a reasonable individual exposure to ionizing radiation in medical purpose. In this paper we investigated the justification of 4189 exposures of patients who underwent planed diagnostic medical investigation over 36 months in a radiological unit. The most frequent investigation concerned the spinal column in 38.3% of total exposures-mainly at lumbar level (63.0% and 24.1%, respectively of total number of exposures), followed by limb bones (20.6%) and thorax (26.9%). Justification of practices included: rheumatic pains in 45.8% of exposures followed by traumatic injuries (20.6%), pleural and pulmonary pathology (19.3%), malignant processes (12.3%), ear-nose-throat investigations (1.1%) and car accidents (0.9%). The females over 40 years old were the group with the highest number of medical exposures, with 54.5% of total practices. This study revealed that the number of medical exposures justification is almost equal with non-justified examinations, confirming a not so good correlation between clinical diagnostic and the required radiological investigation. The percentages of justified versus non-justified practices indicated by specialist physicians and general practitioners were slightly equal - 59.3% vs. 40.7%, 56.9% vs. 43.1%, respectively. The analysis of data concluded that either specialist/general physicians must evaluate more rigorously the patients and all clinical signs in order to reduce as reasonable as possible the non-justified medical exposures to ionizing radiations, and thus to avoid financial and

Teaching Critical Thinking in Graduate Medical Education: Lessons Learned in Diagnostic Radiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrissey, Benjamin; Heilbrun, Marta E

2017-01-01

The 2014 Institute of Medicine report, Graduate Medical Education that Meets the Nation's Health Needs , challenged the current graduate medical training process and encouraged new opportunities to redefine the fundamental skills and abilities of the physician workforce. This workforce should be skilled in critically evaluating the current systems to improve care delivery and health. To meet these goals, current challenges, motivations, and educational models at the medical school and graduate medical education levels related to formal training in nonclinical aspects of medicine, especially critical thinking, are reviewed. Our diagnostic radiology training program is presented as a "case study" to frame the review.

How 3D immersive visualization is changing medical diagnostics

Science.gov (United States)

Koning, Anton H. J.

2011-03-01

Originally the only way to look inside the human body without opening it up was by means of two dimensional (2D) images obtained using X-ray equipment. The fact that human anatomy is inherently three dimensional leads to ambiguities in interpretation and problems of occlusion. Three dimensional (3D) imaging modalities such as CT, MRI and 3D ultrasound remove these drawbacks and are now part of routine medical care. While most hospitals 'have gone digital', meaning that the images are no longer printed on film, they are still being viewed on 2D screens. However, this way valuable depth information is lost, and some interactions become unnecessarily complex or even unfeasible. Using a virtual reality (VR) system to present volumetric data means that depth information is presented to the viewer and 3D interaction is made possible. At the Erasmus MC we have developed V-Scope, an immersive volume visualization system for visualizing a variety of (bio-)medical volumetric datasets, ranging from 3D ultrasound, via CT and MRI, to confocal microscopy, OPT and 3D electron-microscopy data. In this talk we will address the advantages of such a system for both medical diagnostics as well as for (bio)medical research.

BIOANALYTICAL STANDARDIZING FOR SEROLOGICAL DIAGNOSTIC MEDICAL DEVICES

OpenAIRE

A. Yu. Galkin; A. G. Komar; A. A. Grigorenko

2015-01-01

In article we analyzed national and international regulations concerning the quality and safety of medical devices for in vitro diagnostics. We discussed the possibility of a partial application of the recommendations of the State Pharmacopoeia of Ukraine to this type of product. The main guiding regulatory documents establishing requirements for quality and safety tools for the serological diagnosis products are The technical regulation on medical devices for the diagnosis in vitro, DSTU ISO...

Medical diagnostics with mobile devices: Comparison of intrinsic and extrinsic sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, L; Long, K D; Wan, Y; Yu, H; Cunningham, B T

2016-01-01

We review the recent development of mobile detection instruments used for medical diagnostics, and consider the relative advantages of approaches that utilize the internal sensing capabilities of commercially available mobile communication devices (such as smartphones and tablet computers) compared to those that utilize a custom external sensor module. In this review, we focus specifically upon mobile medical diagnostic platforms that are being developed to serve the need in global health, personalized medicine, and point-of-care diagnostics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

X-ray medical diagnostics and thyroid cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsenova, T.; Chobanova, N.; Pavlova, A; Bajrakova, A.

1998-01-01

An analytical epidemiological study for assessment of X-ray medical diagnosis as a risk factor for thyroid cancer (TC) has been carried out. The data from the investigation of 90 TC cases and 180 controls matched by sex and age are used. The risk assessment is based on the distribution of investigated persons according to thyroid gland irradiation (as an equivalent dose cumulated from the procedures) and the number of different procedures of organs and systems. There is a significantly increased risk for TC from diagnostic lung examinations; fluoroscopy (OR=3.49, 95% CI=1.66±7.39, p=0.0002) and radiography (OR=2.48, 95% CI=1.05±5.86, p=0.02) (author)

Mapping the different methods adopted for diagnostic imaging instruction at medical schools in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Chojniak, Rubens; Carneiro, Dominique Piacenti; Moterani, Gustavo Simonetto Peres; Duarte, Ivone da Silva; Bitencourt, Almir Galvão Vieira; Muglia, Valdair Francisco; D'Ippolito, Giuseppe

2017-01-01

To map the different methods for diagnostic imaging instruction at medical schools in Brazil. In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire was sent to each of the coordinators of 178 Brazilian medical schools. The following characteristics were assessed: teaching model; total course hours; infrastructure; numbers of students and professionals involved; themes addressed; diagnostic imaging modalities covered; and education policies related to diagnostic imaging. Of the 178 questionnaires sent, 45 (25.3%) were completed and returned. Of those 45 responses, 17 (37.8%) were from public medical schools, whereas 28 (62.2%) were from private medical schools. Among the 45 medical schools evaluated, the method of diagnostic imaging instruction was modular at 21 (46.7%), classic (independent discipline) at 13 (28.9%), hybrid (classical and modular) at 9 (20.0%), and none of the preceding at 3 (6.7%). Diagnostic imaging is part of the formal curriculum at 36 (80.0%) of the schools, an elective course at 3 (6.7%), and included within another modality at 6 (13.3%). Professors involved in diagnostic imaging teaching are radiologists at 43 (95.5%) of the institutions. The survey showed that medical courses in Brazil tend to offer diagnostic imaging instruction in courses that include other content and at different time points during the course. Radiologists are extensively involved in undergraduate medical education, regardless of the teaching methodology employed at the institution.

Ordering of diagnostic information in encoded medical images. Accuracy progression

Science.gov (United States)

Przelaskowski, A.; Jóźwiak, R.; Krzyżewski, T.; Wróblewska, A.

2008-03-01

A concept of diagnostic accuracy progression for embedded coding of medical images was presented. Implementation of JPEG2000 encoder with a modified PCRD optimization algorithm was realized and initially verified as a tool for accurate medical image streaming. Mean square error as a distortion measure was replaced by other numerical measures to revise quality progression according to diagnostic importance of successively encoded image information. A faster increment of image diagnostic importance during reconstruction of initial packets of code stream was reached. Modified Jasper code was initially tested on a set of mammograms containing clusters of microcalcifications and malignant masses, and other radiograms. Teleradiologic applications were considered as the first area of interests.

Cognitive and system factors contributing to diagnostic errors in radiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Cindy S; Nagy, Paul G; Weaver, Sallie J; Newman-Toker, David E

2013-09-01

In this article, we describe some of the cognitive and system-based sources of detection and interpretation errors in diagnostic radiology and discuss potential approaches to help reduce misdiagnoses. Every radiologist worries about missing a diagnosis or giving a false-positive reading. The retrospective error rate among radiologic examinations is approximately 30%, with real-time errors in daily radiology practice averaging 3-5%. Nearly 75% of all medical malpractice claims against radiologists are related to diagnostic errors. As medical reimbursement trends downward, radiologists attempt to compensate by undertaking additional responsibilities to increase productivity. The increased workload, rising quality expectations, cognitive biases, and poor system factors all contribute to diagnostic errors in radiology. Diagnostic errors are underrecognized and underappreciated in radiology practice. This is due to the inability to obtain reliable national estimates of the impact, the difficulty in evaluating effectiveness of potential interventions, and the poor response to systemwide solutions. Most of our clinical work is executed through type 1 processes to minimize cost, anxiety, and delay; however, type 1 processes are also vulnerable to errors. Instead of trying to completely eliminate cognitive shortcuts that serve us well most of the time, becoming aware of common biases and using metacognitive strategies to mitigate the effects have the potential to create sustainable improvement in diagnostic errors.

Multi-channel medical imaging system

Science.gov (United States)

Frangioni, John V

2013-12-31

A medical imaging system provides simultaneous rendering of visible light and fluorescent images. The system may employ dyes in a small-molecule form that remain in the subject's blood stream for several minutes, allowing real-time imaging of the subject's circulatory system superimposed upon a conventional, visible light image of the subject. The system may provide an excitation light source to excite the fluorescent substance and a visible light source for general illumination within the same optical guide used to capture images. The system may be configured for use in open surgical procedures by providing an operating area that is closed to ambient light. The systems described herein provide two or more diagnostic imaging channels for capture of multiple, concurrent diagnostic images and may be used where a visible light image may be usefully supplemented by two or more images that are independently marked for functional interest.

Email for communicating results of diagnostic medical investigations to patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Barbara; Atherton, Helen; Sawmynaden, Prescilla; Car, Josip

2012-08-15

As medical care becomes more complex and the ability to test for conditions grows, pressure on healthcare providers to convey increasing volumes of test results to patients is driving investigation of alternative technological solutions for their delivery. This review addresses the use of email for communicating results of diagnostic medical investigations to patients. To assess the effects of using email for communicating results of diagnostic medical investigations to patients, compared to SMS/ text messaging, telephone communication or usual care, on outcomes, including harms, for health professionals, patients and caregivers, and health services. We searched: the Cochrane Consumers and Communication Review Group Specialised Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library, Issue 1 2010), MEDLINE (OvidSP) (1950 to January 2010), EMBASE (OvidSP) (1980 to January 2010), PsycINFO (OvidSP) (1967 to January 2010), CINAHL (EbscoHOST) (1982 to February 2010), and ERIC (CSA) (1965 to January 2010). We searched grey literature: theses/dissertation repositories, trials registers and Google Scholar (searched July 2010). We used additional search methods: examining reference lists and contacting authors. Randomised controlled trials, quasi-randomised trials, controlled before and after studies and interrupted time series studies of interventions using email for communicating results of any diagnostic medical investigations to patients, and taking the form of 1) unsecured email 2) secure email or 3) web messaging. All healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers in all settings were considered. Two review authors independently assessed the titles and abstracts of retrieved citations. No studies were identified for inclusion. Consequently, no data collection or analysis was possible. No studies met the inclusion criteria, therefore there are no results to report on the use of email for communicating results of diagnostic medical

Computer-aided diagnosis workstation and teleradiology network system for chest diagnosis using the web medical image conference system with a new information security solution

Science.gov (United States)

Satoh, Hitoshi; Niki, Noboru; Eguchi, Kenji; Ohmatsu, Hironobu; Kaneko, Masahiro; Kakinuma, Ryutaro; Moriyama, Noriyuki

2010-03-01

Diagnostic MDCT imaging requires a considerable number of images to be read. Moreover, the doctor who diagnoses a medical image is insufficient in Japan. Because of such a background, we have provided diagnostic assistance methods to medical screening specialists by developing a lung cancer screening algorithm that automatically detects suspected lung cancers in helical CT images, a coronary artery calcification screening algorithm that automatically detects suspected coronary artery calcification and a vertebra body analysis algorithm for quantitative evaluation of osteoporosis. We also have developed the teleradiology network system by using web medical image conference system. In the teleradiology network system, the security of information network is very important subjects. Our teleradiology network system can perform Web medical image conference in the medical institutions of a remote place using the web medical image conference system. We completed the basic proof experiment of the web medical image conference system with information security solution. We can share the screen of web medical image conference system from two or more web conference terminals at the same time. An opinion can be exchanged mutually by using a camera and a microphone that are connected with the workstation that builds in some diagnostic assistance methods. Biometric face authentication used on site of teleradiology makes "Encryption of file" and "Success in login" effective. Our Privacy and information security technology of information security solution ensures compliance with Japanese regulations. As a result, patients' private information is protected. Based on these diagnostic assistance methods, we have developed a new computer-aided workstation and a new teleradiology network that can display suspected lesions three-dimensionally in a short time. The results of this study indicate that our radiological information system without film by using computer-aided diagnosis

[Approaches to development and implementation of the medical information system for military-medical commission of the multidisciplinary military-medical organisation].

Science.gov (United States)

Kuvshinov, K E; Klipak, V M; Chaplyuk, A L; Moskovko, V M; Belyshev, D V; Zherebko, O A

2015-06-01

The current task of the implementation of medical information systems in the military and medical organizations is an automation of the military-medical expertise as one of the most important activities. In this regard, noteworthy experience of the 9th Medical Diagnostic Centre (9th MDC), where on the basis of medical information system "Interi PROMIS" for the first time was implemented the automation of the work of military medical commission. The given paper presents an algorithm for constructing of the information system for the military-medical examination; detailed description of its elements is given. According to military servicemen the implementation of the Military Medical Commission (MMC) subsystem of the medical information system implemented into the 9th MDC has reduced the time required for the MMC and paperwork, greatly facilitate the work of physicians and medical specialists on military servicemen examination. This software can be widely applied in ambulatory and hospital practice, especially in case of mass military-medical examinations.

Methodology for quantitative evaluation of diagnostic medical imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metz, C.

1980-01-01

This report deals with the evaluation of the performance of diagnostic medical imaging procedures using the Receiver Operating Characteristic or ROC analysis. The development of new tests for the statistical significance of apparent differences between ROC curves is discussed

Diagnostic imaging over the last 50 years: research and development in medical imaging science and technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doi, Kunio

2006-01-01

Over the last 50 years, diagnostic imaging has grown from a state of infancy to a high level of maturity. Many new imaging modalities have been developed. However, modern medical imaging includes not only image production but also image processing, computer-aided diagnosis (CAD), image recording and storage, and image transmission, most of which are included in a picture archiving and communication system (PACS). The content of this paper includes a short review of research and development in medical imaging science and technology, which covers (a) diagnostic imaging in the 1950s, (b) the importance of image quality and diagnostic performance, (c) MTF, Wiener spectrum, NEQ and DQE, (d) ROC analysis, (e) analogue imaging systems, (f) digital imaging systems, (g) image processing, (h) computer-aided diagnosis, (i) PACS, (j) 3D imaging and (k) future directions. Although some of the modalities are already very sophisticated, further improvements will be made in image quality for MRI, ultrasound and molecular imaging. The infrastructure of PACS is likely to be improved further in terms of its reliability, speed and capacity. However, CAD is currently still in its infancy, and is likely to be a subject of research for a long time. (review)

Analysis of errors during medical and computerized diagnostics of spherical lung neoplasms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pozmogov, A.I.; Petruk, D.A.

1985-01-01

Reasons for errors in medical and computerized diagnostics of spherical lung neoplasms are studied based on material of 212 case records and clinicoroentgenological data; it should promote improvement of their diagnostics

Moving beyond quality control in diagnostic radiology and the role of the clinically qualified medical physicist.

Science.gov (United States)

Delis, H; Christaki, K; Healy, B; Loreti, G; Poli, G L; Toroi, P; Meghzifene, A

2017-09-01

Quality control (QC), according to ISO definitions, represents the most basic level of quality. It is considered to be the snapshot of the performance or the characteristics of a product or service, in order to verify that it complies with the requirements. Although it is usually believed that "the role of medical physicists in Diagnostic Radiology is QC", this, not only limits the contribution of medical physicists, but is also no longer adequate to meet the needs of Diagnostic Radiology in terms of Quality. In order to assure quality practices more organized activities and efforts are required in the modern era of diagnostic radiology. The complete system of QC is just one element of a comprehensive quality assurance (QA) program that aims at ensuring that the requirements of quality of a product or service will consistently be fulfilled. A comprehensive Quality system, starts even before the procurement of any equipment, as the need analysis and the development of specifications are important components under the QA framework. Further expanding this framework of QA, a comprehensive Quality Management System can provide additional benefits to a Diagnostic Radiology service. Harmonized policies and procedures and elements such as mission statement or job descriptions can provide clarity and consistency in the services provided, enhancing the outcome and representing a solid platform for quality improvement. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) promotes this comprehensive quality approach in diagnostic imaging and especially supports the field of comprehensive clinical audits as a tool for quality improvement. Copyright © 2017 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Explanation of diagnostic criteria for radiation-induced nervous system disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xing Zhiwei; Jiang Enhai

2012-01-01

National occupational health standard-Diagnostic Criteria for Radiation-Induced Nervous System Disease has been issued and implemented by the Ministry of health. This standard contained three independent criteria of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerve injury. These three kinds of disease often go together in clinic,therefore,the three diagnostic criteria were merged into radioactive nervous system disease diagnostic criteria for entirety and maneuverability of the standard. This standard was formulated based on collection of the clinical practice experience, extensive research of relevant literature and foreign relevant publications. It is mainly applied to diagnosis and treatment of occupational radiation-induced nervous system diseases, and to nervous system diseases caused by medical radiation exposure as well. In order to properly implement this standard, also to correctly deal with radioactive nervous system injury, the main contents of this standard including dose threshold, clinical manifestation, indexing standard and treatment principle were interpreted in this article. (authors)

Course of radiological protection and safety in the medical diagnostic with X-rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dominguez A, C.E.

1997-01-01

The obtention of images of human body to the medical diagnostic is one of the more old and generalized applications for X-ray. Therefore the design and performance of equipment and installations as well as the operation procedures must be oriented toward safety with the purpose to guarantee this radiological practice will bring a net positive benefit to the society. Given that in Mexico only exists the standardization related to source and equipment generators of ionizing radiation in the industrial area and medical therapy, but not so to the medical diagnostic area it is the purpose of this work to present those standards related with this application branch. Also it is presented the preparation of a manual for the course named Formation of teachers in radiological protection and safety in the X-ray medical diagnostic in 1997 which was imparted at ININ. (Author)

Cancer risk analysis among medical diagnostic X-ray workers in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Jixian; Li Benxiao; Gao Zhiwei; Xu Jun; Zhang Jingyuan; Aoyama, Takashi; Sugahara, Tsutomu

1997-01-01

To provide the evidence and related rules of human malignant tumors produced by prolonged exposure to low level ionizing radiation. The cancer incidence (1950-1990) among 27011 medical diagnostic X-ray workers was compared with that among 25782 other medical specialists employed between 1950 and 1980 in China by means of O/E system. A significantly elevated risk of cancer was seen among diagnostic x-ray workers (RR = 1.1,95%Cl:1.0-1.2,P <0.05). Significantly elevated risks were seen for leukemia and cancers of skin, female breast, liver and esophagus, the RR being 2.3, 5.0, 1.6, 1.3 and 4.4 respectively. The RR for leukemia was higher for X-ray workers who began employment before 1970 and also for those who were young when employment began. The patterns of risk associated with length of service and with age and calendar year of initial employment suggest that the excesses of leukemia, skin cancer and female breast cancer were due to occupational exposure to X-rays. The ERR and EAR for leukemia and solid cancer were calculated roughly. (author)

[Current situations and problems of quality control for medical imaging display systems].

Science.gov (United States)

Shibutani, Takayuki; Setojima, Tsuyoshi; Ueda, Katsumi; Takada, Katsumi; Okuno, Teiichi; Onoguchi, Masahisa; Nakajima, Tadashi; Fujisawa, Ichiro

2015-04-01

Diagnostic imaging has been shifted rapidly from film to monitor diagnostic. Consequently, Japan medical imaging and radiological systems industries association (JIRA) have recommended methods of quality control (QC) for medical imaging display systems. However, in spite of its need by majority of people, executing rate is low. The purpose of this study was to validate the problem including check items about QC for medical imaging display systems. We performed acceptance test of medical imaging display monitors based on Japanese engineering standards of radiological apparatus (JESRA) X-0093*A-2005 to 2009, and performed constancy test based on JESRA X-0093*A-2010 from 2010 to 2012. Furthermore, we investigated the cause of trouble and repaired number. Medical imaging display monitors had 23 inappropriate monitors about visual estimation, and all these monitors were not criteria of JESRA about luminance uniformity. Max luminance was significantly lower year-by-year about measurement estimation, and the 29 monitors did not meet the criteria of JESRA about luminance deviation. Repaired number of medical imaging display monitors had 25, and the cause was failure liquid crystal panel. We suggested the problems about medical imaging display systems.

Sherlock Holmes' methods of deductive reasoning applied to medical diagnostics.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, L

1985-03-01

Having patterned the character of Sherlock Holmes after one of his professors, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, himself a physician, incorporated many of the didactic qualities of the 19th century medical diagnostician into the character of Holmes. In this paper I explore Holmes's techniques of deductive reasoning and their basis in 19th and 20th century medical diagnostics.

Development of JT-60 diagnostics system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Yasuo

1988-01-01

The various kinds of plasma diagnostics have been developed and utilized in the JT-60 experiments. The features of JT-60 diagnostics system and the historical proceeding of the development are described in this paper. Taking account of the design consideration, JT-60 diagnostics system is sorted out into eight groups, which include six diagnostics systems, the data processing system and diagnostics supporting system. The all devices in the JT-60 diagnostics system were instrumented on schedule in the end of the fiscal year of 1985 and have contributed to JT-60 experiments. (author)

The role of radiology in diagnostic error: a medical malpractice claims review.

Science.gov (United States)

Siegal, Dana; Stratchko, Lindsay M; DeRoo, Courtney

2017-09-26

Just as radiologic studies allow us to see past the surface to the vulnerable and broken parts of the human body, medical malpractice claims help us see past the surface of medical errors to the deeper vulnerabilities and potentially broken aspects of our healthcare delivery system. And just as the insights we gain through radiologic studies provide focus for a treatment plan for healing, so too can the analysis of malpractice claims provide insights to improve the delivery of safe patient care. We review 1325 coded claims where Radiology was the primary service provider to better understand the problems leading to patient harm, and the opportunities most likely to improve diagnostic care in the future.

Unintentional exposure to radiation during pregnancy from nuclear medical diagnostic procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moka, D.

2005-01-01

The administration of radiopharmaceuticals during pregnancy is contraindicated due to a lack of vital indications. However, if prenatal exposure to radiation should occur in the framework of a nuclear medical diagnostic procedure then fortunately no longterm side-effects would normally be expected. Radiation damage in the preimplantation phase leads to early abortion. However, if the further course of pregnancy remains uncomplicated then no subsequent side-effects need be expected. On a conservative estimate, it would require doses exceeding 50 mGy to cause radiation damage within the uterus after the preimplantation phase. However, the standard radioactivities applied for diagnostic purposes in nuclear medicine, can be obtained with doses of less than 20 mGy. On the basis of current knowledge, therefore, there is no reason to terminate pregnancy on medical grounds after diagnostic exposure to radiopharmaceuticals. (orig.)

An Interview with Medical Diagnostics Scientist Bernhard Weigl

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Megan

2010-01-01

Medical diagnostics help us evaluate a range of disorders, such as cancer and infectious diseases. In the United States and other developed countries, doctors have access to advanced equipment and laboratories that provide reliable diagnoses. As a result, when we are sick, we feel confident that we will get the treatment we need. Unfortunately,…

Sherlock Holmes's Methods of Deductive Reasoning Applied to Medical Diagnostics

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Larry

1985-01-01

Having patterned the character of Sherlock Holmes after one of his professors, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, himself a physician, incorporated many of the didactic qualities of the 19th century medical diagnostician into the character of Holmes. In this paper I explore Holmes's techniques of deductive reasoning and their basis in 19th and 20th century medical diagnostics. PMID:3887762

Principles for new optical techniques in medical diagnostics for mHealth applications

Science.gov (United States)

Balsam, Joshua Michael

Medical diagnostics is a critical element of effective medical treatment. However, many modern and emerging diagnostic technologies are not affordable or compatible with the needs and conditions found in low-income and middle-income countries and regions. Resource-poor areas require low-cost, robust, easy-to-use, and portable diagnostics devices compatible with telemedicine (i.e. mHealth) that can be adapted to meet diverse medical needs. Many suitable devices will need to be based on optical technologies, which are used for many types of biological analyses. This dissertation describes the fabrication and detection principles for several low-cost optical technologies for mHealth applications including: (1) a webcam based multi-wavelength fluorescence plate reader, (2) a lens-free optical detector used for the detection of Botulinum A neurotoxin activity, (3) a low cost micro-array reader that allows the performance of typical fluorescence based assays demonstrated for the detection of the toxin staphylococcal enterotoxin (SEB), and (4) a wide-field flow cytometer for high throughput detection of fluorescently labeled rare cells. This dissertation discusses how these technologies can be harnessed using readily available consumer electronics components such as webcams, cell phones, CCD cameras, LEDs, and laser diodes. There are challenges in developing devices with sufficient sensitivity and specificity, and approaches are presented to overcoming these challenges to create optical detectors that can serve as low cost medical diagnostics in resource-poor settings for mHealth.

MFTF-B plasma-diagnostic system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Throop, A.L.; Goerz, D.A.; Thomas, S.R.

1981-01-01

This paper describes the current design status of the plasma diagnostic system for MFTF-B. In this paper we describe the system requirement changes which have occurred as a result of the funded rescoping of the original MFTF facility into MFTF-B. We outline the diagnostic instruments which are currently planned, and present an overview of the diagnostic system

National variation of ADHD diagnostic prevalence and medication use: health care providers and education policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Fulton, Brent D; Scheffler, Richard M; Hinshaw, Stephen P; Levine, Peter; Stone, Susan; Brown, Timothy T; Modrek, Sepideh

2009-08-01

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnostic prevalence and medication use vary across U.S. census regions, but little is known about state-level variation. The purpose of this study was to estimate this variation across states and examine whether a state's health care provider characteristics and education policies are associated with this variation. Logistic regression models were estimated with 69,505 children aged four to 17 from the state-stratified and nationally representative 2003 National Survey of Children's Health, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diagnostic prevalence was higher in the South (odds ratio [OR]=1.42, p<.001) than in the West; among children with ADHD diagnoses, medication use was higher in the South (OR=1.60, p<.01) and the Midwest (OR=1.53, p<.01) versus the West. On these measures, several states differed from the U.S. averages, including some states that, on the basis of the regional patterns found above, would not be expected to differ: Michigan had a high diagnostic prevalence; Vermont, South Dakota, and Nebraska had low diagnostic prevalences; and Connecticut, New Jersey, and Kentucky had low medication rates. Both diagnosis and medication status were associated with the number, age, and type of physicians within a state, particularly pediatricians. However, state education policies were not significantly associated with either diagnostic prevalence or medication rates. To better understand the association between a state's health care provider characteristics and both diagnostic prevalence and medication use, it may be fruitful to examine the content of provider continuing education programs, including the recommendations of major health professional organization guidelines to treat ADHD.

Design of portable ultraminiature flow cytometers for medical diagnostics

Science.gov (United States)

Leary, James F.

2018-02-01

Design of portable microfluidic flow/image cytometry devices for measurements in the field (e.g. initial medical diagnostics) requires careful design in terms of power requirements and weight to allow for realistic portability. True portability with high-throughput microfluidic systems also requires sampling systems without the need for sheath hydrodynamic focusing both to avoid the need for sheath fluid and to enable higher volumes of actual sample, rather than sheath/sample combinations. Weight/power requirements dictate use of super-bright LEDs with top-hat excitation beam architectures and very small silicon photodiodes or nanophotonic sensors that can both be powered by small batteries. Signal-to-noise characteristics can be greatly improved by appropriately pulsing the LED excitation sources and sampling and subtracting noise in between excitation pulses. Microfluidic cytometry also requires judicious use of small sample volumes and appropriate statistical sampling by microfluidic cytometry or imaging for adequate statistical significance to permit real-time (typically in less than 15 minutes) initial medical decisions for patients in the field. This is not something conventional cytometry traditionally worries about, but is very important for development of small, portable microfluidic devices with small-volume throughputs. It also provides a more reasonable alternative to conventional tubes of blood when sampling geriatric and newborn patients for whom a conventional peripheral blood draw can be problematical. Instead one or two drops of blood obtained by pin-prick should be able to provide statistically meaningful results for use in making real-time medical decisions without the need for blood fractionation, which is not realistic in the doctor's office or field.

Medical diagnostics for indoor mold exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurraß, Julia; Heinzow, Birger; Aurbach, Ute; Bergmann, Karl-Christian; Bufe, Albrecht; Buzina, Walter; Cornely, Oliver A; Engelhart, Steffen; Fischer, Guido; Gabrio, Thomas; Heinz, Werner; Herr, Caroline E W; Kleine-Tebbe, Jörg; Klimek, Ludger; Köberle, Martin; Lichtnecker, Herbert; Lob-Corzilius, Thomas; Merget, Rolf; Mülleneisen, Norbert; Nowak, Dennis; Rabe, Uta; Raulf, Monika; Seidl, Hans Peter; Steiß, Jens-Oliver; Szewszyk, Regine; Thomas, Peter; Valtanen, Kerttu; Wiesmüller, Gerhard A

2017-04-01

In April 2016, the German Society of Hygiene, Environmental Medicine and Preventative Medicine (Gesellschaft für Hygiene, Umweltmedizin und Präventivmedizin (GHUP)) together with other scientific medical societies, German and Austrian medical societies, physician unions and experts has provided an AWMF (Association of the Scientific Medical Societies) guideline 'Medical diagnostics for indoor mold exposure'. This guideline shall help physicians to advise and treat patients exposed indoors to mold. Indoor mold growth is a potential health risk, even without a quantitative and/or causal association between the occurrence of individual mold species and health effects. Apart from the allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and the mycoses caused by mold, there is only sufficient evidence for the following associations between moisture/mold damages and different health effects: Allergic respiratory diseases, asthma (manifestation, progression, exacerbation), allergic rhinitis, exogenous allergic alveolitis and respiratory tract infections/bronchitis. In comparison to other environmental allergens, the sensitizing potential of molds is estimated to be low. Recent studies show a prevalence of sensitization of 3-10% in the total population of Europe. The evidence for associations to mucous membrane irritation and atopic eczema (manifestation, progression, exacerbation) is classified as limited or suspected. Inadequate or insufficient evidence for an association is given for COPD, acute idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage in children, rheumatism/arthritis, sarcoidosis, and cancer. The risk of infections from indoor molds is low for healthy individuals. Only molds that are capable to form toxins can cause intoxications. The environmental and growth conditions and especially the substrate determine whether toxin formation occurs, but indoor air concentrations are always very low. In the case of indoor moisture/mold damages, everyone can be affected by odor effects and

Biodosimetry for medical diagnostic X-ray workers using stable chromosome aberration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhiquan; Liu Xuping; Li Jin

1996-01-01

The stable chromosome aberrations of medical diagnostic X-ray workers were analyzed using G-banding and their accumulative doses were evaluated. The results showed that the frequencies of reciprocal translocation, stable aberration and total aberration among the 4417 metaphase spread from 44 cases of medical diagnostic X-ray workers were distinctly higher than control values (P<0.05∼0.005). The stable aberration predominated strikingly in total aberration and reciprocal translocation was 57% in the stable aberrations. The medical diagnostic X-ray workers were divided into 3 groups according to calendar year of entry. The data showed that the frequencies of total aberration, stable aberration and reciprocal translocation increased with working years, especially in two groups who started working before 1970, there are statistically significant differences between the calendar year of entry before 1960 and 1960∼1969 in X-ray workers and control group. According to the equation recommended by Straume, linear coefficient (α) in linear quadratic model recommended by Schmid and the transformation coefficient by Lucas, the accumulative doses calculated are 0.58, 0.37 and 0.07 Gy for calendar year of entry before 1960, 1960∼1969 and after 1970 in X-ray workers, respectively

Nordic working group for medical x-ray diagnostics: Diagnostic reference levels within xray diagnostics - experiences in the Nordic countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leitz, W.; Groen, P.; Servomaa, A.; Einarsson, G.; Olerud, H.

2003-01-01

Medical x-ray diagnostics is one of the few applications of ionising radiation where people are irradiated on purpose. The strategy for radiation protection is also different compared to that in other areas that have the zero-alternative as its ultimate goal, meaning that no human beings at all are exposed in these practices. The focus in x-ray diagnostics concerning radiation protection is justification and optimisation. Optimisation implies that the examination is performed in such a way that the radiation dose is as small as possible without jeopardising the diagnostic security. X- ray diagnostics is a complex method where many technical parameters and methodology factors together are interacting in the determination of radiation dose and image quality. The optimisation process is not a simple and uncomplicated procedure, this difficulty is reflected in many international and national surveys showing a large spread of patient doses for one and the same type of examination. The concept diagnostic reference levels (DRL) has been introduced as a tool for reducing this wide distribution that is obviously indicating a lack of optimisation, and for cutting the highest radiation doses. In this presentation the concept for DRL and the experience gained in the Nordic countries with DRL are described. (orig.)

[The diagnostic value of medical thoracoscopy for unexplained pleural effusion].

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Shu-juan; Mu, Xiao-yan; Zhang, Song; Su, Li-li; Ma, Wei-xia

2013-05-01

To explore the endoscopic features of patients with unexplained pleural effusion, and to evaluate the diagnostic value of medical thoracoscopy. A retrospective analysis of 2380 patients with unexplained pleural effusion (1320 males and 1060 females; age 15-94 years) in Shandong Provincial Hospital from 1992 to 2011 were performed .The diagnosis was confirmed by medical thoracoscopy. The endoscopic findings of malignant pleural effusion mostly showed nodules of varying sizes. The nodules could be grape-like, cauliflower-like, fused into masses, or diffused small nodules . The appearance of cancerous nodules was more diversified compared to tuberculous nodules. Tuberculous pleurisy was manifested as diffuse pleural congestion and miliary changes, multiple small gray-white nodules, fibrin deposition and adhesion in the pleural cavity, pleural thickening and loculation . The pathological diagnosis was as follows: pleural metastases in 899 (37.8%), primary pleural mesothelioma in 439 (18.4%), tuberculous pleurisy in 514 (21.6%), non-specific inflammation in 226 (9.5%), empyema in 190 (8.0%), hepatic pleural effusion in 36 (1.5%) and pleural effusion of unknown causes in 76 (3.2%) cases. The diagnostic positive rate of medical thoracoscopy was 96.8%. No serious complications were observed. Medical thoracoscopy is a relatively safe procedure and has an important application value in the diagnosis of unexplained pleural effusion.

Medical imaging systems

Science.gov (United States)

Frangioni, John V [Wayland, MA

2012-07-24

A medical imaging system provides simultaneous rendering of visible light and fluorescent images. The system may employ dyes in a small-molecule form that remains in a subject's blood stream for several minutes, allowing real-time imaging of the subject's circulatory system superimposed upon a conventional, visible light image of the subject. The system may also employ dyes or other fluorescent substances associated with antibodies, antibody fragments, or ligands that accumulate within a region of diagnostic significance. In one embodiment, the system provides an excitation light source to excite the fluorescent substance and a visible light source for general illumination within the same optical guide that is used to capture images. In another embodiment, the system is configured for use in open surgical procedures by providing an operating area that is closed to ambient light. More broadly, the systems described herein may be used in imaging applications where a visible light image may be usefully supplemented by an image formed from fluorescent emissions from a fluorescent substance that marks areas of functional interest.

Advances in medical diagnostic technology

CERN Document Server

Lai, Khin Wee; Mohamad Salim, Maheza Irna; Ong, Sang-Bing; Utama, Nugraha Priya; Myint, Yin Mon; Mohd Noor, Norliza; Supriyanto, Eko

2014-01-01

This book provides the most recent findings and knowledge in advanced diagnostics technology, covering a wide spectrum including brain activity analysis, breast and lung cancer detection, echocardiography, computer aided skeletal assessment to mitochondrial biology imaging at the cellular level. The authors explored magneto acoustic approaches and tissue elasticity imaging for the purpose of breast cancer detection. Perspectives in fetal echocardiography from an image processing angle are included. Diagnostic imaging in the field of mitochondrial diseases as well as the use of Computer-Aided System (CAD) are also discussed in the book. This book will be useful for students, lecturers or professional researchers in the field of biomedical sciences and image processing.

Safety of Medical Diagnostic Ultrasound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breyer, B.

1998-01-01

Large numbers of people (both sick and healthy) are routinely exposed to ultrasound waves. We shall discuss wave parameters and scanner properties that are relevant to the safety aspect. This includes central pulse frequency, pulse length, intensity (ISPTA and others), focusing, pulse repetition frequency, pulse pressure, etc. Since the transmitted ultrasound power has steadily been increasing during the last two decades, the problems are becoming more serious with time. Doppler methods have gained importance and 'popularity, which additionally increases ultrasound power requirements since the reflectivity of red blood cells is so small that the backscattered pressure is about 100 times less than that from soft tissue structures in the body. Main mechanisms that can potentially present hazard are heating and cavitation. The basic parameter used to assess thermal hazard is ISPTA and the optimal predictor of cavitation hazard is the peak rarefractional pressure. The hazard of heating-up can be summarized in saying that temperatures up to 38.5 o C are safe, while temperatures above 41 o C are definitely not. Care must be taken to stay within the safe zone. However, there does not exist a confirmed report of any type of hazardous effects on humans using intensities presently applied in diagnostic ultrasound scanners. Taking this into account, various international bodies have put limits to the application of ultrasound, which is best summarized in the FDA (USA) regulation that diagnostic apparatus may have an output of maximally 720 mW/cm 2 (derated) provided thermal and mechanical properties are indicated (onscreen) by properly defined Thermal Indices (TI) and Mechanical Index (MI). These aspects shall be discussed in some detail. We shall give the rules for the operator to apply ultrasound with minimal hazard. The general conclusion is that diagnostic ultrasound, as presently known, may be used whenever a qualified expert expects essential medical benefit for the

Noncancer death for medical diagnostic X-ray workers in China, 1950-1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia Weihua; Wang Jixian; Li Benxiao; Zhao Yongcheng; Zhang Jingyuan

2002-01-01

Objective: To investigate occupational radiation exposure effects on human non-cancer diseases. Methods: A cohort study for medical diagnostic X-ray workers and medical workers who never engaged in X-ray work was carried out. Results: The significantly enhanced noncancer deaths for X-ray workers were showed as follows: ischemic heart disease, RR was 1.39 ( P < 0.01 ); cerebrovascular disease, RR = 1.36 ( P < 0.01 ); aplastic anemia, RR = 10.35 (P < 0.01 ); disease of the nervous system, RR = 2.06 (P < 0.01); disease of the skin and subcutaneous tissues, RR = 3.23 (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Long-term occupational X-ray irradiation can enhance the overall risk of deaths, in which, risk for heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and aplastic anemia deaths may significantly related to the occupational exposure

ITER diagnostic system: Vacuum interface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patel, K.M., E-mail: Kaushal.Patel@iter.org [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 St Paul-Lez-Durance (France); Udintsev, V.S.; Hughes, S.; Walker, C.I.; Andrew, P.; Barnsley, R.; Bertalot, L. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 St Paul-Lez-Durance (France); Drevon, J.M. [Bertin Technologies, BP 22, 13762 Aix-en Provence cedex 3 (France); Encheva, A. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 St Paul-Lez-Durance (France); Kashchuk, Y. [Institution “PROJECT CENTER ITER”, 1, Akademika Kurchatova pl., Moscow (Russian Federation); Maquet, Ph. [Bertin Technologies, BP 22, 13762 Aix-en Provence cedex 3 (France); Pearce, R.; Taylor, N.; Vayakis, G.; Walsh, M.J. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 St Paul-Lez-Durance (France)

2013-10-15

Diagnostics play an essential role for the successful operation of the ITER tokamak. They provide the means to observe control and to measure plasma during the operation of ITER tokamak. The components of the diagnostic system in the ITER tokamak will be installed in the vacuum vessel, in the cryostat, in the upper, equatorial and divertor ports, in the divertor cassettes and racks, as well as in various buildings. Diagnostic components that are placed in a high radiation environment are expected to operate for the life of ITER. There are approx. 45 diagnostic systems located on ITER. Some diagnostics incorporate direct or independently pumped extensions to maintain their necessary vacuum conditions. They require a base pressure less than 10{sup −7} Pa, irrespective of plasma operation, and a leak rate of less than 10{sup −10} Pa m{sup 3} s{sup −1}. In all the cases it is essential to maintain the ITER closed fuel cycle. These directly coupled diagnostic systems are an integral part of the ITER vacuum containment and are therefore subject to the same design requirements for tritium and active gas confinement, for all normal and accidental conditions. All the diagnostics, whether or not pumped, incorporate penetration of the vacuum boundary (i.e. window assembly, vacuum feedthrough etc.) and demountable joints. Monitored guard volumes are provided for all elements of the vacuum boundary that are judged to be vulnerable by virtue of their construction, material, load specification etc. Standard arrangements are made for their construction and for the monitoring, evacuating and leak testing of these volumes. Diagnostic systems are incorporated at more than 20 ports on ITER. This paper will describe typical and particular arrangements of pumped diagnostic and monitored guard volume. The status of the diagnostic vacuum systems, which are at the start of their detailed design, will be outlined and the specific features of the vacuum systems in ports and extensions

ITER diagnostic system: Vacuum interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patel, K.M.; Udintsev, V.S.; Hughes, S.; Walker, C.I.; Andrew, P.; Barnsley, R.; Bertalot, L.; Drevon, J.M.; Encheva, A.; Kashchuk, Y.; Maquet, Ph.; Pearce, R.; Taylor, N.; Vayakis, G.; Walsh, M.J.

2013-01-01

Diagnostics play an essential role for the successful operation of the ITER tokamak. They provide the means to observe control and to measure plasma during the operation of ITER tokamak. The components of the diagnostic system in the ITER tokamak will be installed in the vacuum vessel, in the cryostat, in the upper, equatorial and divertor ports, in the divertor cassettes and racks, as well as in various buildings. Diagnostic components that are placed in a high radiation environment are expected to operate for the life of ITER. There are approx. 45 diagnostic systems located on ITER. Some diagnostics incorporate direct or independently pumped extensions to maintain their necessary vacuum conditions. They require a base pressure less than 10 −7 Pa, irrespective of plasma operation, and a leak rate of less than 10 −10 Pa m 3 s −1 . In all the cases it is essential to maintain the ITER closed fuel cycle. These directly coupled diagnostic systems are an integral part of the ITER vacuum containment and are therefore subject to the same design requirements for tritium and active gas confinement, for all normal and accidental conditions. All the diagnostics, whether or not pumped, incorporate penetration of the vacuum boundary (i.e. window assembly, vacuum feedthrough etc.) and demountable joints. Monitored guard volumes are provided for all elements of the vacuum boundary that are judged to be vulnerable by virtue of their construction, material, load specification etc. Standard arrangements are made for their construction and for the monitoring, evacuating and leak testing of these volumes. Diagnostic systems are incorporated at more than 20 ports on ITER. This paper will describe typical and particular arrangements of pumped diagnostic and monitored guard volume. The status of the diagnostic vacuum systems, which are at the start of their detailed design, will be outlined and the specific features of the vacuum systems in ports and extensions will be described

Diagnostic Reasoning across the Medical Education Continuum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Scott Smith

2014-07-01

Full Text Available We aimed to study linguistic and non-linguistic elements of diagnostic reasoning across the continuum of medical education. We performed semi-structured interviews of premedical students, first year medical students, third year medical students, second year internal medicine residents, and experienced faculty (ten each as they diagnosed three common causes of dyspnea. A second observer recorded emotional tone. All interviews were digitally recorded and blinded transcripts were created. Propositional analysis and concept mapping were performed. Grounded theory was used to identify salient categories and transcripts were scored with these categories. Transcripts were then unblinded. Systematic differences in propositional structure, number of concept connections, distribution of grounded theory categories, episodic and semantic memories, and emotional tone were identified. Summary concept maps were created and grounded theory concepts were explored for each learning level. We identified three major findings: (1 The “apprentice effect” in novices (high stress and low narrative competence; (2 logistic concept growth in intermediates; and (3 a cognitive state transition (between analytical and intuitive approaches in experts. These findings warrant further study and comparison.

DIAGNOSTICS OF DISORDERS AND DISEASES OF MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM IN SCHOOLCHILDREN: APPROACHES, TERMINOLOGY, CLASSIFICATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N.B. Mirskaya

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This article describes an information system for physicians working in general education institutes, which is named «Detection, correction and prophylaxis of musculoskeletal system disorders in students of general education institutes». This system was created for the purpose of improving diagnostics of initial stages of musculoskeletal system in schoolchildren, detecting of risk factors, and for the provision of timely prophylaxis during school education. The system was based on classification of functional disorders and initial stages of diseases of musculoskeletal system in schoolchildren, developed by authors of present article, and methods of medical examination and organization of this work.Key words: schoolchildren, musculoskeletal system, diagnostics, classification, prophylaxis.(Voprosy sovremennoi pediatrii — Current Pediatrics. 2009;8(3:10-13

Radiation doses from medical diagnostic procedures in Canada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aldrich, J E; Lentle, B C; Vo, C [British Columbia Univ., Vancouver, BC (Canada). Dept. of Radiology

1997-03-01

This document sets out to record and analyze the doses incurred in Canada from medical procedures involving the use of ionizing radiation in a typical year. Excluded are those doses incurred during therapeutic irradiation, since they differ in scale to such a large degree and because they are used almost exclusively in treating cancer. In this we are following a precedent set by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Ionizing Radiation. Although the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) notes that dose limits should not be applied to medical exposures, it also observes that doses in different settings for the same procedure may vary by as much as two orders of magnitude, and that there are considerable opportunities for dose reductions in diagnostic radiology. Because these data do not stand in isolation the report also encompasses a review of the relevant literature and some background comment on the evolving technology of the radiological sciences. Because there is a somewhat incomplete perception of the changes taking place in diagnostic methods we have also provided some introductory explanations of the relevant technologies. In addition, there is an analysis of at least some of the limitations on the completeness of the data which are reported here. (author).

Radiation doses from medical diagnostic procedures in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aldrich, J.E.; Lentle, B.C.; Vo, C.

1997-03-01

This document sets out to record and analyze the doses incurred in Canada from medical procedures involving the use of ionizing radiation in a typical year. Excluded are those doses incurred during therapeutic irradiation, since they differ in scale to such a large degree and because they are used almost exclusively in treating cancer. In this we are following a precedent set by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Ionizing Radiation. Although the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) notes that dose limits should not be applied to medical exposures, it also observes that doses in different settings for the same procedure may vary by as much as two orders of magnitude, and that there are considerable opportunities for dose reductions in diagnostic radiology. Because these data do not stand in isolation the report also encompasses a review of the relevant literature and some background comment on the evolving technology of the radiological sciences. Because there is a somewhat incomplete perception of the changes taking place in diagnostic methods we have also provided some introductory explanations of the relevant technologies. In addition, there is an analysis of at least some of the limitations on the completeness of the data which are reported here. (author)

Reasoning methods in medical consultation systems: artificial intelligence approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Shortliffe, E H

1984-01-01

It has been argued that the problem of medical diagnosis is fundamentally ill-structured, particularly during the early stages when the number of possible explanations for presenting complaints can be immense. This paper discusses the process of clinical hypothesis evocation, contrasts it with the structured decision making approaches used in traditional computer-based diagnostic systems, and briefly surveys the more open-ended reasoning methods that have been used in medical artificial intelligence (AI) programs. The additional complexity introduced when an advice system is designed to suggest management instead of (or in addition to) diagnosis is also emphasized. Example systems are discussed to illustrate the key concepts.

Development of an electronic medical report delivery system to 3G GSM mobile (cellular) phones for a medical imaging department.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Eugene Y; Lee, Chiang; Cai, Weidong; Feng, Dagan; Fulham, Michael

2007-01-01

Medical practice is characterized by a high degree of heterogeneity in collaborative and cooperative patient care. Fast and effective communication between medical practitioners can improve patient care. In medical imaging, the fast delivery of medical reports to referring medical practitioners is a major component of cooperative patient care. Recently, mobile phones have been actively deployed in telemedicine applications. The mobile phone is an ideal medium to achieve faster delivery of reports to the referring medical practitioners. In this study, we developed an electronic medical report delivery system from a medical imaging department to the mobile phones of the referring doctors. The system extracts a text summary of medical report and a screen capture of diagnostic medical image in JPEG format, which are transmitted to 3G GSM mobile phones.

Scaling-Up the Functional Diagnostic Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamed, A.H.

2008-01-01

Functional diagnostic systems received a lot of attention in the last decade. They have proven their powerful for diagnosis the new faults of some complex systems. But, they still have some complexity in both the representation and reasoning about the large-scale systems. This paper introduces a new functional diagnostic system that can divide its small functions into main and auxiliary ones. This process enables the diagnostic system to scale -up the representation of the tested system and simplify the diagnostic mechanism tasks. Thus, it can improve both the representation and reasoning complexity. Also,it can decrease the required analysis, cost, and time. Proposed system can be applied for a wide area of the large-scale systems. It has been proven its acceptance to be applied practically for the Complex real-time systems

Clinical Training of Medical Physicists Specializing in Diagnostic Radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

The application of radiation in human health, for both diagnosis and treatment of disease, is an important component of the work of the IAEA. The responsibility for the increasing technical aspects of this work is undertaken by the medical physicist. To ensure good practice in this vital area, structured clinical training programmes are required to complement academic learning. This publication is intended to be a guide to the practical implementation of such a programme for diagnostic radiology. There is a general and growing awareness that radiation medicine is increasingly dependent on well trained medical physicists based in the clinical setting. However, an analysis of the availability of medical physicists indicates a large shortfall of qualified and capable professionals. This is particularly evident in developing countries. While strategies to increase academic educational opportunities are critical to such countries, the need for guidance on structured clinical training was recognized by the members of the Regional Cooperative Agreement (RCA) for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Sciences for Asia and the Pacific. Consequently, a technical cooperation regional project (RAS6038) under the RCA programme was formulated to address this need in the Asia-Pacific region by developing suitable material and establishing its viability. Development of a clinical training guide for medical physicists specializing in diagnostic radiology started in 2007 with the appointment of a core drafting committee of regional and international experts. The publication drew on the experiences of clinical training programmes in Australia and New Zealand, the UK and the USA, and was moderated by physicists working in the Asian region. This publication follows the approach of the IAEA publication Training Course Series No. 37, Clinical Training of Medical Physicists specializing in Radiation Oncology. This approach to clinical training has been successfully tested

Next Generation Diagnostic System (NGDS) Increment 1 Early Fielding Report

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-07

the NGDS production representative configuration, which includes a different laptop computer. System Overview The Services intend for the NGDS to...Powder/Surface Water collected on swabs Soil/Sand Animal Blood Vectors (such as insects) Test Adequacy The data from the OA, supplemented by data...results. The medical provider used NGDS diagnostic results to tailor antibiotic treatment to the specific biological agent identified or to cease

An audit of diagnostic tests performed in medical microbiology, and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Clinical audit is an important tool for reviewing and improving the quality of service in clinical laboratories. This is a three year audit of diagnostic test carried out in Medical Microbiology and Immunology laboratories of University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Nigeria. The objectives were to document and ...

The evaluation of diagnostic medical exposures in the Czech Republic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrova, K.; Klener, V.; Heribanova, A.; Husak, V.; Masopust, J.

1998-01-01

Surveys were performed in the Czech Republic to evaluate diagnostic medical exposures. The results are presented in 4 tables: (i) burden from the use of radiopharmaceuticals (examination, radiopharmaceutical, no. of procedures, average administered activity, conversion factor, collective effective dose); (ii) use of radiopharmaceuticals at nuclear medicine departments (type of examination, type of radiopharmaceutical, no. of departments, average administered activity); (iii) reference levels of administered activity specified for some diagnostic procedures for the adult patient (examination, radionuclide, chemical form, administered activity); and (iv) X-ray examinations (examination, annual no. of procedures, effective dose, age distribution, sex distribution). (P.A.)

Nova target diagnostics control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Severyn, J.R.

1985-01-01

During the past year the Nova target diagnostics control system was finished and put in service. The diagnostics loft constructed to the north of the target room provides the environmental conditions required to collect reliable target diagnostic data. These improvements include equipment cooling and isolation of the power source with strict control of instrumentation grounds to eliminate data corruption due to electromagnetic pulses from the laser power-conditioning system or from target implosion effects

The scheme and implementing of workstation configuration for medical imaging information system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tao Yonghao; Miao Jingtao

2002-01-01

Objective: To discuss the scheme and implementing for workstation configuration of medical imaging information system which would be adapted to the practice situation of China. Methods: The workstations were logically divided into PACS workstations and RIS workstations, the former applied to three kinds of diagnostic practice: the small matrix images, large matrix images, and high resolution gray scale display application, and the latter consisted of many different models which depended upon the usage and function process. Results: A dual screen configuration for image diagnostic workstation integrated the image viewing and reporting procedure physically, while the small matrix images as CT or MR were operated on 17 in (1 in = 2.54 cm) color monitors, the conventional X-ray diagnostic procedure was implemented based on 21 in color monitors or portrait format gray scale 2 K by 2.5 K monitors. All other RIS workstations not involved in image process were set up with a common PC configuration. Conclusion: The essential principle for designing a workstation scheme of medical imaging information system should satisfy the basic requirements of medical image diagnosis and fit into the available investment situation

Fluorescence spectroscopy for medical and environmental diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johansson, Jonas.

1993-09-01

Fluorescence spectroscopy can be used for diagnostics in medical and environmental applications. The many aspects of fluorescence emission are utilized to enhance the accuracy of the diagnosis. A fluorescence detection system, based on nitrogen laser or dye laser excitation and optical multichannel detection, was constructed, and fluorescence spectra from human malignant tumours of various origins, were recorded. Tumour demarcation was observed using exogenous chromophores, as well as the endogenous tissue fluorescence. In particular, δ-amino levulinic acid was found to provide very good tumour demarcation. A multi-colour imaging system capable of simultaneous recording of four fluorescence images at selected wavelengths, was developed. Examples of processed images, based on the four sub-images, are shown for malignant tumours. In addition, data from photodynamic treatment of human malignant tumours are presented. Autofluorescence spectra from excised pieces of human atherosclerotic aorta and atherosclerotic coronary segment were found to be different from those of non-diseased vessels. Furthermore, fluorescence decay curves from atherosclerotic samples were found to differ from those of non-diseased samples. It is concluded that both spectral and temporal information should be utilized to enhance the demarcation. Methods for obtaining fluorescence data free from interference from blood, with applications to in vivo laser angioplasty of atherosclerosis, are discussed. The optical multichannel system and the multi-colour imaging system were integrated with a remote sensing system, originally used for environmental measurements, to obtain fluorescence spectra as well as fluorescence images of plants at a distance of up to 100 m. The fluorescence data from plants subject to environmental stress or senescent plants were found to differ from those obtained from healthy vegetation. 359 refs

Applying Diagnostics to Enhance Cable System Reliability (Cable Diagnostic Focused Initiative, Phase II)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hartlein, Rick [Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC), Atlanta, GA (United States). National Electric Energy Testing, Research and Applications Center (NEETRAC); Hampton, Nigel [Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC), Atlanta, GA (United States). National Electric Energy Testing, Research and Applications Center (NEETRAC); Perkel, Josh [Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC), Atlanta, GA (United States). National Electric Energy Testing, Research and Applications Center (NEETRAC); Hernandez, JC [Univ. de Los Andes, Merida (Venezuela); Elledge, Stacy [Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC), Atlanta, GA (United States). National Electric Energy Testing, Research and Applications Center (NEETRAC); del Valle, Yamille [Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC), Atlanta, GA (United States). National Electric Energy Testing, Research and Applications Center (NEETRAC); Grimaldo, Jose [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States). School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Deku, Kodzo [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States). George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering

2016-02-01

The Cable Diagnostic Focused Initiative (CDFI) played a significant and powerful role in clarifying the concerns and understanding the benefits of performing diagnostic tests on underground power cable systems. This project focused on the medium and high voltage cable systems used in utility transmission and distribution (T&D) systems. While many of the analysis techniques and interpretations are applicable to diagnostics and cable systems outside of T&D, areas such as generating stations (nuclear, coal, wind, etc.) and other industrial environments were not the focus. Many large utilities in North America now deploy diagnostics or have changed their diagnostic testing approach as a result of this project. Previous to the CDFI, different diagnostic technology providers individually promoted their approach as the “the best” or “the only” means of detecting cable system defects.

[Development of expert diagnostic system for common respiratory diseases].

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Wei-hua; Chen, You-ling; Yan, Zheng

2014-03-01

To develop an internet-based expert diagnostic system for common respiratory diseases. SaaS system was used to build architecture; pattern of forward reasoning was applied for inference engine design; ASP.NET with C# from the tool pack of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 was used for website-interview medical expert system.The database of the system was constructed with Microsoft SQL Server 2005. The developed expert system contained large data memory and high efficient function of data interview and data analysis for diagnosis of various diseases.The users were able to perform this system to obtain diagnosis for common respiratory diseases via internet. The developed expert system may be used for internet-based diagnosis of various respiratory diseases,particularly in telemedicine setting.

Virtual reality aided visualization of fluid flow simulations with application in medical education and diagnostics.

Science.gov (United States)

Djukic, Tijana; Mandic, Vesna; Filipovic, Nenad

2013-12-01

Medical education, training and preoperative diagnostics can be drastically improved with advanced technologies, such as virtual reality. The method proposed in this paper enables medical doctors and students to visualize and manipulate three-dimensional models created from CT or MRI scans, and also to analyze the results of fluid flow simulations. Simulation of fluid flow using the finite element method is performed, in order to compute the shear stress on the artery walls. The simulation of motion through the artery is also enabled. The virtual reality system proposed here could shorten the length of training programs and make the education process more effective. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The two types of stethoscope systems for respiration system diagnostics of the human body

Science.gov (United States)

Abashkin, Vladimir; Achimova, Elena

2003-12-01

An acoustic multimode fiber optic sensors for medical diagnostics based upon the shutter principle has been elaborated with semiconductor laser diode as light source. The construction and the method of component preparation are described. Other type of stethoscope is electrical one. Both stethoscopes are four channels. The kinetics and dynamic vibrations and sounds of the human body can be detected, acquired and then processing by personal computer for medical diagnostics.

Children's exposure to diagnostic medical radiation and cancer risk: epidemiologic and dosimetric considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linet, Martha S.; Rajaraman, Preetha; Kim, Kwang pyo

2009-01-01

While the etiology of most childhood cancers is largely unknown, epidemiologic studies have consistently found an association between exposure to medical radiation during pregnancy and risk of childhood cancer in offspring. The relation between early life diagnostic radiation exposure and occurrence of pediatric cancer risks is less clear. This review summarizes current and historical estimated doses for common diagnostic radiologic procedures as well as the epidemiologic literature on the role of maternal prenatal, children's postnatal and parental preconception diagnostic radiologic procedures on subsequent risk of childhood malignancies. Risk estimates are presented according to factors such as the year of birth of the child, trimester and medical indication for the procedure, and the number of films taken. The paper also discusses limitations of the methods employed in epidemiologic studies to assess pediatric cancer risks, the effects on clinical practice of the results reported from the epidemiologic studies, and clinical and public health policy implications of the findings. Gaps in understanding and additional research needs are identified. Important research priorities include nationwide surveys to estimate fetal and childhood radiation doses from common diagnostic procedures, and epidemiologic studies to quantify pediatric and lifetime cancer risks from prenatal and early childhood exposures to diagnostic radiography, CT, and fluoroscopically guided procedures. (orig.)

Upgrading the Medical Physics Calibration Laboratory Towards ISO/IEC 17025: Radiation Standards and Calibration in Diagnostic Radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asmaliza Hashim; Muhammad Jamal Md Isa; Abd Aziz Mhd Ramli; Wan Hazlinda Ismail; Norhayati Abdullah; Shahrul Azlan Azizan; Siti Sara Deraman; Nor Azlin Azraai; Md Khairusalih Md Zin

2010-01-01

Calibration of quality control (QC) test tools used in diagnostic radiology is legally required under the Ministry of Health (MOH) requirement. The Medical Physics Calibration Laboratory of the Malaysian Nuclear Agency is the national focal point for the calibration of quality control test tools used in diagnostic radiology. The Medical Physics Calibration Laboratory has measurement traceability to primary standard dosimetry laboratory (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB)), thus providing an interface between the primary standard dosimetry laboratory and Malaysian hospitals, clinics and license class H holder. The Medical Physics Calibration Laboratory facility is comprised of a constant potential x-ray system with a capability of 160 kV tube and a series of reference and working standard ion chambers. The stability of reference and working standard ion chambers was measured using strontium-90. Dosimetric instruments used in diagnostic radiology is calibrated in terms of air kerma to comply with an International Code of Practices of dosimetry for example IAEA's Technical Report Series number 457. The new series of standard radiation qualities was established based on ISO/IEC 61267. The measurement of beam homogeneity was measured using film and ion chamber to define the field size at certain distance and kV output was measured using the spectrometer and non-invasive kVp meter. The uncertainties measurement was determined with expended uncertainties to a level of confidence of approximately 95% (coverage factor k=2). This paper describes the available facility and the effort of the Medical Physics Calibration Laboratory to upgrade the laboratory towards ISO/IEC 17025. (author)

Some aspects of diagnostic systems perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korosec, D.

1998-01-01

The integrity and safety of all nuclear power plant systems and components is guaranteed by the high requirements to quality assurance during all phases of design, fabrication, construction and operation. Many of the countries operating nuclear facilities, introduced advanced, sophisticated diagnostic systems for continuous monitoring safety important process parameters. The licensee should perform an assessment of the existing diagnostic systems, often supplied by the original design, their reliability and the need for the introduction of the additional monitoring/diagnostic systems. The operating experience should be taken into account and the assessment of the further needs. On this field has to be made on the results of PSA studies. In addition to the cost benefit analysis the evaluation of the new diagnostic systems in the light of nuclear safety should be also made. Experience, gained from the utilities, which have already installed this kind of the equipment should be very useful. Introducing new diagnostic systems will require often a safety assessment of the necessary modifications. Licensing process should be based on the existing nuclear legislation with certain additional requirements. (author)

[Cognitive errors in diagnostic decision making].

Science.gov (United States)

Gäbler, Martin

2017-10-01

Approximately 10-15% of our diagnostic decisions are faulty and may lead to unfavorable and dangerous outcomes, which could be avoided. These diagnostic errors are mainly caused by cognitive biases in the diagnostic reasoning process.Our medical diagnostic decision-making is based on intuitive "System 1" and analytical "System 2" diagnostic decision-making and can be deviated by unconscious cognitive biases.These deviations can be positively influenced on a systemic and an individual level. For the individual, metacognition (internal withdrawal from the decision-making process) and debiasing strategies, such as verification, falsification and rule out worst-case scenarios, can lead to improved diagnostic decisions making.

Exposure criteria for medical diagnostic ultrasound: 1, Criteria based on thermal mechanisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

A previous report (NCRP, 1983) contains a comprehensive review of biological effects and mechanisms of action of ultrasound and an analysis of their implications for medical ultrasound. This Report presents background material for a scientifically-based approach to safety assessment of ultrasound. It is intended to help the medical community take advantage of new developments, while maintaining the excellent safety record which now exists for diagnostic ultrasound

SU-E-P-01: An Informative Review On the Role of Diagnostic Medical Physicist in the Academic and Private Medical Centers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weir, V; Zhang, J

2014-01-01

Purpose: The role of physicist in the academic and private hospital environment continues to evolve and expand. This becomes more obvious with the newly revised requirements of the Joint Commission (JC) on imaging modalities and the continued updated requirements of ACR accreditation for medical physics (i.e., starting in June 2014, a physicists test will be needed before US accreditation). We provide an informative review on the role of diagnostic medical physicist and hope that our experience will expedite junior physicists in understanding their role in medical centers, and be ready to more opportunities. Methods: Based on our experience, diagnostic medical physicists in both academic and private medical centers perform several clinical functions. These include providing clinical service and physics support, ensuring that all ionizing radiation devices are tested and operated in compliance with the State and Federal laws, regulations and guidelines. We also discuss the training and education required to ensure that the radiation exposure to patients and staff is as low as reasonably achievable. We review the overlapping roles of medical and health physicist in some institutions. Results: A detailed scheme on the new requirements (effective 7/1/2014) of the JC is provided. In 2015, new standards for fluoroscopy, cone beam CT and the qualifications of staff will be phased in. A summary of new ACR requirements for different modalities is presented. Medical physicist have other duties such as sitting on CT and fluoroscopy committees for protocols design, training of non-radiologists to meet the new fluoroscopy rules, as well as helping with special therapies such as Yittrium 90 cases. Conclusion: Medical physicists in both academic and private hospitals are positioned to be more involved and prominent. Diagnostic physicists need to be more proactive to involve themselves in the day to day activities of the radiology department

SU-E-P-01: An Informative Review On the Role of Diagnostic Medical Physicist in the Academic and Private Medical Centers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weir, V [Baylor Health Care System, Dallas, TX (United States); Zhang, J [University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY (United States)

2014-06-01

Purpose: The role of physicist in the academic and private hospital environment continues to evolve and expand. This becomes more obvious with the newly revised requirements of the Joint Commission (JC) on imaging modalities and the continued updated requirements of ACR accreditation for medical physics (i.e., starting in June 2014, a physicists test will be needed before US accreditation). We provide an informative review on the role of diagnostic medical physicist and hope that our experience will expedite junior physicists in understanding their role in medical centers, and be ready to more opportunities. Methods: Based on our experience, diagnostic medical physicists in both academic and private medical centers perform several clinical functions. These include providing clinical service and physics support, ensuring that all ionizing radiation devices are tested and operated in compliance with the State and Federal laws, regulations and guidelines. We also discuss the training and education required to ensure that the radiation exposure to patients and staff is as low as reasonably achievable. We review the overlapping roles of medical and health physicist in some institutions. Results: A detailed scheme on the new requirements (effective 7/1/2014) of the JC is provided. In 2015, new standards for fluoroscopy, cone beam CT and the qualifications of staff will be phased in. A summary of new ACR requirements for different modalities is presented. Medical physicist have other duties such as sitting on CT and fluoroscopy committees for protocols design, training of non-radiologists to meet the new fluoroscopy rules, as well as helping with special therapies such as Yittrium 90 cases. Conclusion: Medical physicists in both academic and private hospitals are positioned to be more involved and prominent. Diagnostic physicists need to be more proactive to involve themselves in the day to day activities of the radiology department.

Radiation protection of patients in diagnostic radiology: implementation of a management system optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corpas Rivera, L.; Devesa Pardo, F. J.; Gamez Jimenez, J. L.; Vallejo Carrascal, C.; Garcia de Diego, A. A.; Amador Vela-Hidalgo, J. J.

2011-01-01

The enforcement of quality in diagnostic radiology (Royal Decree 1976/1999 laying down the criteria for quality in diagnostic radiology and Royal Decree 815/2001 to justify the use of ionizing radiations for medical exposure, etc.) and recommendations and European regulations on the matter, is done by carrying out the optimization of the doses received, based on image quality in a continuous process of monitoring of such dose from the dose reference Values ??(VRD ) that the system has allowed to establish for each technique.

Radiation protection in medical diagnostic radiology in the city of Sobral, Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menezes, F.L.; Paschoal, C.M.M.; Ferreira, F.C.L.; Alcantara, M.C.

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the suitability to radiation protection of four diagnostic radiology medical services in the city of Sobral-CE, Northeast of Brazil, and to analyze results of the literature for the cities of Rio Branco-AC, North of Brazil, and Rio de Janeiro-RJ, South-east of Brazil. In Sobral-CE, it was performed interviews and direct observations with reference to Brazilian law, the National Ordinance No.453/1998 of the Ministry of Health that regulates the operation of medical and odontological diagnostic radiology services. The results show the occurrence of many items in disagreement with the standard. The technical and operational infractions have basically due to unfamiliarity with the legislation, the lack of investment in training and/or professional development courses. (authors)

Application of diagnostic reference levels in medical practice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bourguignon, Michel [Faculty of Medicine of Paris, Deputy Director General, Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), Paris (France)

2006-07-01

Diagnosis reference levels (D.R.L.) are defined in the Council Directive 97/43 EURATOM as 'Dose levels in medical radio diagnosis practices or in the case of radiopharmaceuticals, levels of activity, for typical examinations for groups of standards-sized patients or standards phantoms for broadly defined types of equipment. These levels are expected not to be exceeded for standard procedures when good and normal practice regarding diagnostic and technical performance is applied'. Thus D.R.L. apply only to diagnostic procedures and does not apply to radiotherapy. Radiation protection of patients is based on the application of 2 major radiation protection principles, justification and optimization. The justification principle must be respected first because the best way to protect the patient is not to carry a useless test. Radiation protection of the patient is a continuous process and local dose indicator values in the good range should not prevent the radiologist or nuclear medicine physician to continue to optimize their practice. (N.C.)

Application of diagnostic reference levels in medical practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bourguignon, Michel

2006-01-01

Diagnosis reference levels (D.R.L.) are defined in the Council Directive 97/43 EURATOM as 'Dose levels in medical radio diagnosis practices or in the case of radiopharmaceuticals, levels of activity, for typical examinations for groups of standards-sized patients or standards phantoms for broadly defined types of equipment. These levels are expected not to be exceeded for standard procedures when good and normal practice regarding diagnostic and technical performance is applied'. Thus D.R.L. apply only to diagnostic procedures and does not apply to radiotherapy. Radiation protection of patients is based on the application of 2 major radiation protection principles, justification and optimization. The justification principle must be respected first because the best way to protect the patient is not to carry a useless test. Radiation protection of the patient is a continuous process and local dose indicator values in the good range should not prevent the radiologist or nuclear medicine physician to continue to optimize their practice. (N.C.)

Thioaptamer Diagnostic System, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — AM Biotechnologies (AM) will develop a diagnostic system in response to SBIR Topic X10.01 Reusable Diagnostic Lab Technology that will simultaneously detect and...

Evidence of the preferential use of disease prototypes over case exemplars among early year one medical students prior to and following diagnostic training.

Science.gov (United States)

Papa, Frank J; Li, Feiming

2015-12-01

Two core dual processing theory (DPT) System I constructs (Exemplars and Prototypes) were used to: 1) formulate a training exercise designed to improve diagnostic performance in year one medical students, and 2) explore whether any observed performance improvements were associated with preferential use of exemplars or prototypes. With IRB approval, 117 year one medical students participated in an acute chest pain diagnostic training exercise. A pre- and post-training test containing the same 27 case vignettes was used to determine if the subjects' diagnostic performance improved via training in both exemplars and prototypes. Exemplar and Prototype theory was also used to generate a unique typicality estimate for each case vignette. Because these estimates produce different performance predictions, differences in the subjects' observed performance would make it possible to infer whether subjects were preferentially using Exemplars or Prototypes. Pre- vs. post-training comparison revealed a significant performance improvement; t=14.04, pmid typical vignettes: t=4.94, pleast typical: t=5.16, pmid typical: t=2.94, pleast typical: t=6.64, ptheory than Exemplar theory. DPT is useful in designing and evaluating the utility of new approaches to diagnostic training, and, investigating the cognitive factors driving diagnostic capabilities among early medical students.

Effects of job stress on hypertension among medical diagnostic X-ray workers in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Zhigang; Wang Jixian; Zhao Yongcheng; Zhang Wei

2004-01-01

Objective: To study the relation between job stress and hypertension among medical diagnostic x-ray workers in China. Methods: A total of 264 confirmed cases of hypertension were selected among medical diagnostic X-ray workers from 10 provinces and cities. A case-control study with 1:2 matched pair was conducted. Job stress was defined according to Siegrist effort-reward imbalance model. Results: High imbalance ,high overcommitment and severe work environment were associated with enhanced hypertension risk significantly. The OR was 1.848 (P=0.018), 2.058 (P=0.000) and 1.797 (P=0.008) for imbalance, overcommitment and severe work environment, respectively. After controlling other risk factors, the relation still remained significant. Conclusion: The main work-related risk factors causing hypertension among diagnostic X-ray workers are effort-reward imbalance, overcommitment and severe work environment. (authors)

Relativity Screens for Misvalued Medical Services: Impact on Noninvasive Diagnostic Radiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenkrantz, Andrew B; Silva, Ezequiel; Hawkins, C Matthew

2017-11-01

In 2006, the AMA/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) introduced ongoing relativity screens to identify potentially misvalued medical services for payment adjustments. We assess the impact of these screens upon the valuation of noninvasive diagnostic radiology services. Data regarding relativity screens and relative value unit (RVU) changes were obtained from the 2016 AMA Relativity Assessment Status Report. All global codes in the 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule with associated work RVUs were classified as noninvasive diagnostic radiology services versus remaining services. The frequency of having ever undergone a screen was compared between the two groups. Screened radiology codes were further evaluated regarding the RVU impact of subsequent revaluation. Of noninvasive diagnostic radiology codes, 46.0% (201 of 437) were screened versus 22.2% (1,460 of 6,575) of remaining codes (P < .001). Most common screens for which radiology codes were identified as potentially misvalued were (1) high expenditures (27.5%) and (2) high utilization (25.6%). The modality and body region most likely to be identified in a screen were CT (82.1%) and breast (90.9%), respectively. Among screened radiology codes, work RVUs, practice expense RVUs, and nonfacility total RVUs decreased in 20.3%, 65.9%, and 75.3%, respectively. All screened CT, MRI, brain, and spine codes exhibited decreased total RVUs. Policymakers' ongoing search for potentially misvalued medical services has disproportionately impacted noninvasive diagnostic radiology services, risking the introduction of unintended or artificial shifts in physician practice. Copyright © 2017 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic omission errors in acute paediatric practice: impact of a reminder system on decision-making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fisher Helen

2006-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Diagnostic error is a significant problem in specialities characterised by diagnostic uncertainty such as primary care, emergency medicine and paediatrics. Despite wide-spread availability, computerised aids have not been shown to significantly improve diagnostic decision-making in a real world environment, mainly due to the need for prolonged system consultation. In this study performed in the clinical environment, we used a Web-based diagnostic reminder system that provided rapid advice with free text data entry to examine its impact on clinicians' decisions in an acute paediatric setting during assessments characterised by diagnostic uncertainty. Methods Junior doctors working over a 5-month period at four paediatric ambulatory units consulted the Web-based diagnostic aid when they felt the need for diagnostic assistance. Subjects recorded their clinical decisions for patients (differential diagnosis, test-ordering and treatment before and after system consultation. An expert panel of four paediatric consultants independently suggested clinically significant decisions indicating an appropriate and 'safe' assessment. The primary outcome measure was change in the proportion of 'unsafe' workups by subjects during patient assessment. A more sensitive evaluation of impact was performed using specific validated quality scores. Adverse effects of consultation on decision-making, as well as the additional time spent on system use were examined. Results Subjects attempted to access the diagnostic aid on 595 occasions during the study period (8.6% of all medical assessments; subjects examined diagnostic advice only in 177 episodes (30%. Senior House Officers at hospitals with greater number of available computer workstations in the clinical area were most likely to consult the system, especially out of working hours. Diagnostic workups construed as 'unsafe' occurred in 47/104 cases (45.2%; this reduced to 32.7% following system

Mamma diagnostics for MTRA (medical-radiological personnel)/RT (radiologists); Mammadiagnostik fuer MTRA/RT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fischer, Uwe; Baum, Friedemann

2014-07-01

The text book on mamma diagnostics for MTRA (medical-radiological personnel)/RT (radiologists) covers the following issues: Anatomy, development and physiology of mammary glands; tumor development an breast cancer risk; pathology, non-imaging diagnostics; mammography: physical-technical fundamentals; mammography: analogue technique; mammography: digital technique; mammography: quality assurance; mammography: legal questions and radiation protection; mammography: new developments; mammography: setting technique; mammography: use and appraisal; mamma-sonography: technique and methodology; mamma-sonography: assignment and appraisal, mamma-NMR: technique and methodology; mamma-NMR: assignment and appraisal lymph node diagnostics; mamma interventions; biopsy; mamma interventions: marking examination concepts; therapeutic concepts; hygienic concepts; communication and interaction.

Management system of personnel dosimetry based on ISO 9001:2008 for medical diagnostic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Queiroz, Carlos E.B.; Gerber Junior, Walmoli; Jahn, Tiago R.; Hahn, Tiago T.; Fontana, Thiago S.; Bolzan, Vagner

2013-01-01

MDose is a computer management system of personal dosimetry in diagnostic radiology services physician based on ISO 9001:9008 management system. According to Brazilian law all service radiology should implement a control of personal dosimetry in addition to radiation doses greater than 1.5 mSv/year service should do research of high dose, which is to identify the causes the resulting dose increase professional. This work is based on the use of the PDCA cycle in a JAVA software developed as a management method in the analysis of high doses in order to promote systematic and continuous improvement within the organization of radiological protection of workers

Multispectral system for medical fluorescence imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersson, P.S.; Montan, S.; Svanberg, S.

1987-01-01

The principles of a powerful multicolor imaging system for tissue fluorescence diagnostics are discussed. Four individually spectrally filtered images are formed on a matrix detector by means of a split-mirror arrangement. The four images are processed in a computer, pixel by pixel, by means of mathematical operations, leading to an optimized contrast image, which enhances a selected feature. The system is being developed primarily for medical fluorescence imaging, but has wide applications in fluorescence, reflectance, and transmission monitoring related to a wide range of industrial and environmental problems. The system operation is described for the case of linear imaging on a diode array detector. Laser-induced fluorescence is used for cancer tumor and arteriosclerotic plaque demarcation using the contrast enhancement capabilities of this imaging system. Further examples of applications include fluorescing minerals and flames

MEDIC: medical embedded device for individualized care.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Winston H; Bui, Alex A T; Batalin, Maxim A; Au, Lawrence K; Binney, Jonathan D; Kaiser, William J

2008-02-01

Presented work highlights the development and initial validation of a medical embedded device for individualized care (MEDIC), which is based on a novel software architecture, enabling sensor management and disease prediction capabilities, and commercially available microelectronic components, sensors and conventional personal digital assistant (PDA) (or a cell phone). In this paper, we present a general architecture for a wearable sensor system that can be customized to an individual patient's needs. This architecture is based on embedded artificial intelligence that permits autonomous operation, sensor management and inference, and may be applied to a general purpose wearable medical diagnostics. A prototype of the system has been developed based on a standard PDA and wireless sensor nodes equipped with commercially available Bluetooth radio components, permitting real-time streaming of high-bandwidth data from various physiological and contextual sensors. We also present the results of abnormal gait diagnosis using the complete system from our evaluation, and illustrate how the wearable system and its operation can be remotely configured and managed by either enterprise systems or medical personnel at centralized locations. By using commercially available hardware components and software architecture presented in this paper, the MEDIC system can be rapidly configured, providing medical researchers with broadband sensor data from remote patients and platform access to best adapt operation for diagnostic operation objectives.

Case-Based Fault Diagnostic System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamed, A.H.

2014-01-01

Nowadays, case-based fault diagnostic (CBFD) systems have become important and widely applied problem solving technologies. They are based on the assumption that “similar faults have similar diagnosis”. On the other hand, CBFD systems still suffer from some limitations. Common ones of them are: (1) failure of CBFD to have the needed diagnosis for the new faults that have no similar cases in the case library. (2) Limited memorization when increasing the number of stored cases in the library. The proposed research introduces incorporating the neural network into the case based system to enable the system to diagnose all the faults. Neural networks have proved their success in the classification and diagnosis problems. The suggested system uses the neural network to diagnose the new faults (cases) that cannot be diagnosed by the traditional CBR diagnostic system. Besides, the proposed system can use the another neural network to control adding and deleting the cases in the library to manage the size of the cases in the case library. However, the suggested system has improved the performance of the case based fault diagnostic system when applied for the motor rolling bearing as a case of study

Ionizing radiation used in medical diagnostics as a source of radiation exposure of the patient with occupational diseases. Analysis and problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apostolova, D.B.; Paskalev, Z.D.

2001-01-01

X-rays in medical diagnostic are the major source of Bulgarian population exposure to ionizing radiations. Diagnostic X-ray is the most diagnostic application and is used in a wide variety of examinations. The modern concept for radiation protection of patients in diagnostic radiology is based on two main principles: justification of the examinations and radiation protection optimization. It is pointed out that the collective effective dose of radiation may be considerably reduced by decreasing the number of clinically unwarranted X-ray examination of storage and delivery of diagnostic information and adopting a system for physical and technical quality control of the X-ray equipment. The aim of this investigation is assessment of the collective effective doses for the patients with occupational diseases exposed to ionizing radiation by radiological diagnostics. The study covers the period of 1990 through 1999. A total of 3293 patients, treated in the Department of Occupational Toxicology, Clinic of Occupational Diseases, Medical University - Sofia, were examined with X-ray and KT (cervical and lumbar spine, chest, skull, stomach, extremities, pelvis, brain). Most of the observed patients were with predominantlyheavy metals poisonings and a few with other chemical agents poisonings. Number of patients with radiological examinations was 1938, number of examination per capita was 0,59 and the total number of radiological examinations was 2536. The average number of radiological examination for one patient was 1,36, the most number of radiological examinations for one patient was 4. The collective effective dose for an examined patient was 1803 man.mSv. Our results shown the essential of the raising ensure that the medical exposure of patients be the minimum necessary to achieve the required diagnostic objective. (author)

Psychometric perspectives on diagnostic systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borsboom, D.

2008-01-01

The author identifies four conceptualizations of the relation between symptoms and disorders as utilized in diagnostic systems such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994): A constructivist perspective, which holds

Health Technology Assessment for Molecular Diagnostics: Practices, Challenges, and Recommendations from the Medical Devices and Diagnostics Special Interest Group.

Science.gov (United States)

Garfield, Susan; Polisena, Julie; S Spinner, Daryl; Postulka, Anne; Y Lu, Christine; Tiwana, Simrandeep K; Faulkner, Eric; Poulios, Nick; Zah, Vladimir; Longacre, Michael

2016-01-01

Health technology assessments (HTAs) are increasingly used to inform coverage, access, and utilization of medical technologies including molecular diagnostics (MDx). Although MDx are used to screen patients and inform disease management and treatment decisions, there is no uniform approach to their evaluation by HTA organizations. The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Devices and Diagnostics Special Interest Group reviewed diagnostic-specific HTA programs and identified elements representing common and best practices. MDx-specific HTA programs in Europe, Australia, and North America were characterized by methodology, evaluation framework, and impact. Published MDx HTAs were reviewed, and five representative case studies of test evaluations were developed: United Kingdom (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's Diagnostics Assessment Programme, epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase mutation), United States (Palmetto's Molecular Diagnostic Services Program, OncotypeDx prostate cancer test), Germany (Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Healthcare, human papillomavirus testing), Australia (Medical Services Advisory Committee, anaplastic lymphoma kinase testing for non-small cell lung cancer), and Canada (Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, Rapid Response: Non-invasive Prenatal Testing). Overall, the few HTA programs that have MDx-specific methods do not provide clear parameters of acceptability related to clinical and analytic performance, clinical utility, and economic impact. The case studies highlight similarities and differences in evaluation approaches across HTAs in the performance metrics used (analytic and clinical validity, clinical utility), evidence requirements, and how value is measured. Not all HTAs are directly linked to reimbursement outcomes. To improve MDx HTAs, organizations should provide greater transparency, better communication and collaboration between industry and HTA

Application Of The CSRL Language To The Design Of Diagnostic Expert Systems: The Moodis Experience, A Preliminary Report

Science.gov (United States)

Bravos, Angelo; Hill, Howard; Choca, James; Bresolin, Linda B.; Bresolin, Michael J.

1986-03-01

Computer technology is rapidly becoming an inseparable part of many health science specialties. Recently, a new area of computer technology, namely Artificial Intelligence, has been applied toward assisting the medical experts in their diagnostic and therapeutic decision making process. MOODIS is an experimental diagnostic expert system which assists Psychiatry specialists in diagnosing human Mood Disorders, better known as Affective Disorders. Its diagnostic methodology is patterned after MDX, a diagnostic expert system developed at LAIR (Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence Research) of Ohio State University. MOODIS is implemented in CSRL (Conceptual Structures Representation Language) also developed at LAIR. This paper describes MOODIS in terms of conceptualization and requirements, and discusses why the MDX approach and CSRL were chosen.

42 CFR 410.32 - Diagnostic x-ray tests, diagnostic laboratory tests, and other diagnostic tests: Conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Procedural Terminology published by the American Medical Association. (3) Levels of supervision. Except where... & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES MEDICARE PROGRAM SUPPLEMENTARY MEDICAL INSURANCE (SMI) BENEFITS Medical and Other Health Services § 410.32 Diagnostic x-ray tests, diagnostic laboratory...

[The Offer of Medical-Diagnostic Self-Tests on German Language Websites: Results of a Systematic Internet Search].

Science.gov (United States)

Kuecuekbalaban, P; Schmidt, S; Muehlan, H

2018-03-01

The aim of the current study was to provide an overview of medical-diagnostic self-tests which can be purchased without a medical prescription on German language websites. From September 2014 to March 2015, a systematic internet research was conducted with the following search terms: self-test, self-diagnosis, home test, home diagnosis, quick test, rapid test. 513 different self-tests for the diagnostics of 52 diverse diseases or health risks were identified, including chronic diseases (e. g. diabetes, chronic disease of the kidneys, liver, and lungs), sexually transmitted diseases (e. g. HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea), infectious diseases (e. g. tuberculosis, malaria, Helicobacter pylori), allergies (e. g. house dust, cats, histamine) and cancer as well as tests for the diagnostics of 12 different psychotropic substances. These were sold by 90 companies in Germany and by other foreign companies. The number of medical-diagnostic self-tests which can be bought without a medical prescription on the Internet has increased enormously in the last 10 years. Further studies are needed for the identification of the determinants of the use of self-tests as well as the impact of the application on the experience and behavior of the user. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

The analysis of distribution of the chromosome aberration breakpoints from medical diagnostic X-ray workers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Qin; Li Jin; Tang Weisheng; Wang Zhiquan

2003-01-01

Objective: To analyze the distribution of the chromosome aberration breakpoints from medical diagnostic x-ray workers. Methods: The breakpoints of lymphocyte chromosomes are analyzed using G-banding. Results: There are 146 breakpoints among 3545 metaphase in 37 cases of X-ray workers. There are statistically significant differences between observed values and expected values (χ 2 =42.82, df=23, P 0.05). Conclusion: The chromosome aberration breakpoints of medical diagnostic X-ray workers are non-random. The observed values of breakpoint numbers are higher than those of the expected values in 7 and 14 chromosomes (P<0.05)

Diagnostic imaging in internal medicine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eisenberg, R.L.

1985-01-01

This book examines medical diagnostic techniques. Topics considered include biological considerations in the approach to clinical medicines; infectious diseases; disorders of the heart; disorders of the vascular system; disorders of the respiratory system; diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract; disorders of the alimentary tract; disorders of the hepatobiliary system and pancreas; disorders of the hematopoietic system; disorders of bone and bone mineralization; disorders of the joints, connective tissues, and striated muscles; disorders of the nervous system; miscellaneous disorders; and procedures in diagnostic imaging

A preface on advances in diagnostics for infectious and parasitic diseases: detecting parasites of medical and veterinary importance.

Science.gov (United States)

Stothard, J Russell; Adams, Emily

2014-12-01

There are many reasons why detection of parasites of medical and veterinary importance is vital and where novel diagnostic and surveillance tools are required. From a medical perspective alone, these originate from a desire for better clinical management and rational use of medications. Diagnosis can be at the individual-level, at close to patient settings in testing a clinical suspicion or at the community-level, perhaps in front of a computer screen, in classification of endemic areas and devising appropriate control interventions. Thus diagnostics for parasitic diseases has a broad remit as parasites are not only tied with their definitive hosts but also in some cases with their vectors/intermediate hosts. Application of current diagnostic tools and decision algorithms in sustaining control programmes, or in elimination settings, can be problematic and even ill-fitting. For example in resource-limited settings, are current diagnostic tools sufficiently robust for operational use at scale or are they confounded by on-the-ground realities; are the diagnostic algorithms underlying public health interventions always understood and well-received within communities which are targeted for control? Within this Special Issue (SI) covering a variety of diseases and diagnostic settings some answers are forthcoming. An important theme, however, throughout the SI is to acknowledge that cross-talk and continuous feedback between development and application of diagnostic tests is crucial if they are to be used effectively and appropriately.

An analysis of cancer death risk among medical diagnostic X-ray workers in China, 1950-1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Yongcheng; Wang Jixian; Zhang Wei; Li Benxiao; Fan Tiqiang; Zhang Jingyuan

2002-01-01

Objective: To investigate effects of occupational radiation exposure on cancer death among medical diagnostic X-ray workers. Methods: A cohort study on medical diagnostic X-ray workers and non-X-ray medical workers was carried out and a risk analysis of cancer death between 1950 and 1995 was conducted with the O/E system. Results: A significant enhancement in cancer death risk for X-ray workers was found, especially those engaged in X-ray work in early calendar years. The overall cancer RR was 1.26, (95 % CI: 1.14 - 1.38), for leukemia it was 2.48, (95% CI: 1.68-3.51 ); for esophagus cancer, 3.18, (95% CI: 2.02 -4.77); for liver cancer, 1.54, (95 % CI: 1.27 - 1.86); and for bone cancer, 2.48, (95 % CI: 1.00 - 5.40). In the late calendar year cohort a significant enhancement of cancer death was seen only in esophagus cancer (RR = 4.19, 95 % CI: 1.80 - 8.25) and lung cancer (RR = 1.60, 95% CI:1.10-2.25). Conclusion: Long-term occupational X-ray irradiation can enhance the risk of cancer death when the cumulative dose reached a certain level. The significant enhancement of cancer death for leukemia and some solid cancers may be related to the occupational exposure to X-rays

Expert system for fast reactor diagnostic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parcy, J.P.

1982-09-01

A general description of expert systems is given. The operation of a fast reactor is reviewed. The expert system to the diagnosis of breakdowns limited to the reactor core. The structure of the system is described: specification of the diagnostics; structure of the data bank and evaluation of the rules; specification of the prediagnostics and evaluation; explanation of the diagnostics; time evolution of the system; comparison with other expert systems. Applications to some cases of faults are finally presented [fr

Delivering Diagnostic Quality Video over Mobile Wireless Networks for Telemedicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sira P. Rao

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In real-time remote diagnosis of emergency medical events, mobility can be enabled by wireless video communications. However, clinical use of this potential advance will depend on definitive and compelling demonstrations of the reliability of diagnostic quality video. Because the medical domain has its own fidelity criteria, it is important to incorporate diagnostic video quality criteria into any video compression system design. To this end, we used flexible algorithms for region-of-interest (ROI video compression and obtained feedback from medical experts to develop criteria for diagnostically lossless (DL quality. The design of the system occurred in three steps-measurement of bit rate at which DL quality is achieved through evaluation of videos by medical experts, incorporation of that information into a flexible video encoder through the notion of encoder states, and an encoder state update option based on a built-in quality criterion. Medical experts then evaluated our system for the diagnostic quality of the video, allowing us to verify that it is possible to realize DL quality in the ROI at practical communication data transfer rates, enabling mobile medical assessment over bit-rate limited wireless channels. This work lays the scientific foundation for additional validation through prototyped technology, field testing, and clinical trials.

Internet-based system for simulation-based medical planning for cardiovascular disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, Brooke N; Draney, Mary T; Ku, Joy P; Taylor, Charles A

2003-06-01

Current practice in vascular surgery utilizes only diagnostic and empirical data to plan treatments, which does not enable quantitative a priori prediction of the outcomes of interventions. We have previously described simulation-based medical planning methods to model blood flow in arteries and plan medical treatments based on physiologic models. An important consideration for the design of these patient-specific modeling systems is the accessibility to physicians with modest computational resources. We describe a simulation-based medical planning environment developed for the World Wide Web (WWW) using the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) and the Java programming language.

The future of novel diagnostics in medical mycology.

Science.gov (United States)

Teles, Fernando; Seixas, Jorge

2015-04-01

Several fungal diseases have become serious threats to human health and life, especially upon the advent of human immunodeficiency virus/AIDS epidemics and of other typical immunosuppressive conditions of modern life. Accordingly, the burden posed by these diseases and, concurrently, by intensive therapeutic regimens against these diseases has increased worldwide. Existing and available rapid tests for point-of-care diagnosis of important fungal diseases could enable the limitations of current laboratory methods for detection and identification of medically important fungi to be surpassed, both in low-income countries and for first-line diagnosis (screening) in richer countries. As with conventional diagnostic methods and devices, former immunodiagnostics have been challenged by molecular biology-based platforms, as a way to enhance the sensitivity and shorten the assay time, thus enabling early and more accurate diagnosis. Most of these tests have been developed in-house, without adequate validation and standardization. Another challenge has been the DNA extraction step, which is especially critical when dealing with fungi. In this paper, we have identified three major research trends in this field: (1) the application of newer biorecognition techniques, often applied in analytical chemistry; (2) the development of new materials with improved physico-chemical properties; and (3) novel bioanalytical platforms, allowing fully automated testing. Keeping up to date with the fast technological advances registered in this field, primarily at the proof-of-concept level, is essential for wise assessment of those that are likely to be more cost effective and, as already observed for bacterial and viral pathogens, may provide leverage to the current tepid developmental status of novel and improved diagnostics for medical mycology. © 2015 The Authors.

Laser-induced fluorescence for medical diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersson Engels, S.

1989-12-01

Laser-induced fluorescence as a tool for tissue diagnostics is discussed. Both spectrally and time-resolved fluorescence signals are studied to optimize the demarcation of diseased lesions from normal tissue. The presentation is focused on two fields of application: the identification of malignant tumours and atherosclerotic plaques. Tissue autofluorescence as well as fluorescence from administered drugs have been utilized in diseased tissue diagnosis. The fluorescence criterion for tissue diagnosis is, as far as possible, chosen to be independent of unknown fluorescence parameters, which are not correlated to the type of tissue investigated. Both a dependence on biological parameters, such as light absorption in blood, and instrumental characteristics, such as excitation pulse fluctuations and detection geometry, can be minimized. Several chemical compounds have been studied in animal experiments after intraveneous injection to verify their capacity as malignant tumour marking drugs under laser excitation and fluorescence detection. Another objective of these studies was to improve our understanding of the mechanism and chemistry behind the retention of the various drugs in tissue. The properties of a chemical which maximize its selective retention in tumours are discussed. In order to utilize this diagnostic modality, three different clinically adapted sets of instrumentation have been developed and are presented. Two of the systems are nitrogen-laser-based fluorosensors; one is a point-monitoring system with full spectral resolution and the other one is an imaging system with up to four simultaneously recorded images in different spectral bands. The third system is a low-cost point-monitoring mercury-lamp-based fluoroscence emission as well as reflection characteristics of tissue. (author)

Retrospective Dose Reconstruction for Medical Diagnostic X Ray Workers in China using Stable Chromosome Aberrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Q.; Liu, P.; Li, J.; Wang, Q.; Tang, S.; Sun, M.; Wang, L.; Aoyama, T.; Sugahara, T.

1998-01-01

The chromosome rearrangements in medical diagnostic X ray workers were analysed using the G-banding technique and evaluated collectively in accumulated doses. A total of 9102 metaphase spreads from 84 medical diagnostic X ray workers and 17 controls were scored. The results showed that: (1) the frequencies of translocation, stable chromosome aberration and total aberration in X ray workers were significantly higher than those of controls (P < 0.05 γ 0.005), unstable chromosome aberrations (including dicentric and acentric aberration) tended upwards; (2) the main aberration in stable aberrations was reciprocal translocation; (3) the stable aberration predominated strikingly in total aberrations. The medical diagnostic X ray workers were divided into three groups according to calendar year of entry. The data showed that the frequencies of translocation, stable aberration and total aberration increased with earlier year of entry, especially in two groups who started working before 1970. According to the equation recommended by Straume et al, linear coefficient (α) in the linear quadratic model provided by Fernandez's experiment, their collective accumulation doses calculated were 0.53, 0.26 and 0.06 Gy for calendar year of entry before 1960, 1960-1969, and after 1970, in X ray workers, respectively. (author)

Children's exposure to diagnostic medical radiation and cancer risk: epidemiologic and dosimetric considerations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Linet, Martha S.; Rajaraman, Preetha [National Cancer Institute, Radiation Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Bethesda, MD (United States); Kim, Kwang pyo [National Cancer Institute, Radiation Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Bethesda, MD (United States); Kyung Hee University, Department of Nuclear Engineering, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi (Korea)

2009-02-15

While the etiology of most childhood cancers is largely unknown, epidemiologic studies have consistently found an association between exposure to medical radiation during pregnancy and risk of childhood cancer in offspring. The relation between early life diagnostic radiation exposure and occurrence of pediatric cancer risks is less clear. This review summarizes current and historical estimated doses for common diagnostic radiologic procedures as well as the epidemiologic literature on the role of maternal prenatal, children's postnatal and parental preconception diagnostic radiologic procedures on subsequent risk of childhood malignancies. Risk estimates are presented according to factors such as the year of birth of the child, trimester and medical indication for the procedure, and the number of films taken. The paper also discusses limitations of the methods employed in epidemiologic studies to assess pediatric cancer risks, the effects on clinical practice of the results reported from the epidemiologic studies, and clinical and public health policy implications of the findings. Gaps in understanding and additional research needs are identified. Important research priorities include nationwide surveys to estimate fetal and childhood radiation doses from common diagnostic procedures, and epidemiologic studies to quantify pediatric and lifetime cancer risks from prenatal and early childhood exposures to diagnostic radiography, CT, and fluoroscopically guided procedures. (orig.)

Principles and applications of polymerase chain reaction in medical diagnostic fields: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Valones, Marcela Agne Alves; Guimarães, Rafael Lima; Brandão, Lucas André Cavalcanti; de Souza, Paulo Roberto Eleutério; de Albuquerque Tavares Carvalho, Alessandra; Crovela, Sergio

2009-01-01

Recent developments in molecular methods have revolutionized the detection and characterization of microorganisms in a broad range of medical diagnostic fields, including virology, mycology, parasitology, microbiology and dentistry. Among these methods, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) has generated great benefits and allowed scientific advancements. PCR is an excellent technique for the rapid detection of pathogens, including those difficult to culture. Along with conventional PCR techniques, Real-Time PCR has emerged as a technological innovation and is playing an ever-increasing role in clinical diagnostics and research laboratories. Due to its capacity to generate both qualitative and quantitative results, Real-Time PCR is considered a fast and accurate platform. The aim of the present literature review is to explore the clinical usefulness and potential of both conventional PCR and Real-Time PCR assays in diverse medical fields, addressing its main uses and advances.

Structural shielding of medical X-ray rooms for diagnostic installations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabitsch, H.

1979-06-01

In Part I (RIG 8), the various design procedures for shielding against X-rays are discussed and compared. In particular, this comparison is carried out between the shielding obtained conforming to the Austrian Regulations for Radiation Protection and that obtained from the DIN-standard DIN 6812; this latter includes the various operating conditions of diagnostic installations up to 150 kV. Several examples for particular structural shielding components in medical radiation rooms are given. (author)

Intelligent neural network diagnostic system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamed, A.H.

2010-01-01

Recently, artificial neural network (ANN) has made a significant mark in the domain of diagnostic applications. Neural networks are used to implement complex non-linear mappings (functions) using simple elementary units interrelated through connections with adaptive weights. The performance of the ANN is mainly depending on their topology structure and weights. Some systems have been developed using genetic algorithm (GA) to optimize the topology of the ANN. But, they suffer from some limitations. They are : (1) The computation time requires for training the ANN several time reaching for the average weight required, (2) Slowness of GA for optimization process and (3) Fitness noise appeared in the optimization of ANN. This research suggests new issues to overcome these limitations for finding optimal neural network architectures to learn particular problems. This proposed methodology is used to develop a diagnostic neural network system. It has been applied for a 600 MW turbo-generator as a case of real complex systems. The proposed system has proved its significant performance compared to two common methods used in the diagnostic applications.

Clinical Training of Medical Physicists Specializing in Diagnostic Radiology (French Edition)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

The application of radiation in human health, for both diagnosis and treatment of disease, is an important component of the work of the IAEA. The responsibility for the increasing technical aspects of this work is undertaken by the medical physicist. To ensure good practice in this vital area, structured clinical training programmes are required to complement academic learning. This publication is intended to be a guide to the practical implementation of such a programme for diagnostic radiology. There is a general and growing awareness that radiation medicine is increasingly dependent on well trained medical physicists based in the clinical setting. However, an analysis of the availability of medical physicists indicates a large shortfall of qualified and capable professionals. This is particularly evident in developing countries. While strategies to increase academic educational opportunities are critical to such countries, the need for guidance on structured clinical training was recognized by the members of the Regional Cooperative Agreement (RCA) for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Sciences for Asia and the Pacific. Consequently, a technical cooperation regional project (RAS6038) under the RCA programme was formulated to address this need in the Asia-Pacific region by developing suitable material and establishing its viability. Development of a clinical training guide for medical physicists specializing in diagnostic radiology started in 2007 with the appointment of a core drafting committee of regional and international experts. The publication drew on the experiences of clinical training programmes in Australia and New Zealand, the UK and the USA, and was moderated by physicists working in the Asian region. This publication follows the approach of the IAEA publication Training Course Series No. 37, Clinical Training of Medical Physicists specializing in Radiation Oncology. This approach to clinical training has been successfully tested

Clinical Training of Medical Physicists Specializing in Diagnostic Radiology (Spanish Edition)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

The application of radiation in human health, for both diagnosis and treatment of disease, is an important component of the work of the IAEA. The responsibility for the increasing technical aspects of this work is undertaken by the medical physicist. To ensure good practice in this vital area, structured clinical training programmes are required to complement academic learning. This publication is intended to be a guide to the practical implementation of such a programme for diagnostic radiology. There is a general and growing awareness that radiation medicine is increasingly dependent on well trained medical physicists based in the clinical setting. However, an analysis of the availability of medical physicists indicates a large shortfall of qualified and capable professionals. This is particularly evident in developing countries. While strategies to increase academic educational opportunities are critical to such countries, the need for guidance on structured clinical training was recognized by the members of the Regional Cooperative Agreement (RCA) for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Sciences for Asia and the Pacific. Consequently, a technical cooperation regional project (RAS6038) under the RCA programme was formulated to address this need in the Asia-Pacific region by developing suitable material and establishing its viability. Development of a clinical training guide for medical physicists specializing in diagnostic radiology started in 2007 with the appointment of a core drafting committee of regional and international experts. The publication drew on the experiences of clinical training programmes in Australia and New Zealand, the UK and the USA, and was moderated by physicists working in the Asian region. This publication follows the approach of the IAEA publication Training Course Series No. 37, Clinical Training of Medical Physicists specializing in Radiation Oncology. This approach to clinical training has been successfully tested

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT USED IN DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING IN BULGARIA AND COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE AND OPTIMIZATION AIMED AT IMPROVING THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svetoslav Garov

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Purpose: to reveal the current condition of medical equipment in Bulgaria related to those major groups of socially significant diseases and to make an attempt to define guidelines for its optimization in view of improving the functioning and management of the healthcare system in this field. Material and methods: The following research methods have been applied: 1. Document review method – research, processing and analysis of medical statistical information taken from data from WHO and annual reports of NRA. The study includes data from 2009 - 2015. 2. Graphical method – summarizing data in relevant tables and diagram presentations. Results: The article analyzes the condition of medical equipment in the field of oncologic and cardiologic medical aid in Bulgaria based on data taken from WHO (World Health Organization and annual reports of NRA (Nuclear Regulatory Agency. Six types of diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy devices have been studied: Magnetic Resonance Imaging units (MRI; Computed Tomography Scanners (CT, Positron Emission Tomography Scanners, Mammographs, Linear accelerators and Telecobalt units (Cobalt-60. The condition of medical equipment since 2009 has been analyzed, results have been reported and trends - studied. Conclusion: The oncologic and cardiologic medical equipment in Bulgaria has been gradually improving in the last seven years, but quantitative indicators regarding the devices studied are still far away from the figures recommended by WHO with one single exception, i.e. Computed Tomography Scanners.

Nuclear power plant diagnostic system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prokop, K.; Volavy, J.

1982-01-01

Basic information is presented on diagnostic systems used at nuclear power plants with PWR reactors. They include systems used at the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant in the USSR, at the Nord power plant in the GDR, the system developed at the Hungarian VEIKI institute, the system used at the V-1 nuclear power plant at Jaslovske Bohunice in Czechoslovakia and systems of the Rockwell International company used in US nuclear power plants. These diagnostic systems are basically founded on monitoring vibrations and noise, loose parts, pressure pulsations, neutron noise, coolant leaks and acoustic emissions. The Rockwell International system represents a complex unit whose advantage is the on-line evaluation of signals which gives certain instructions for the given situation directly to the operator. The other described systems process signals using similar methods. Digitized signals only serve off-line computer analyses. (Z.M.)

Value of multi-criteria decision analysis in early assessment of medical diagnostic devices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

IJzerman, Maarten Joost; Hummel, J. Marjan

2010-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Multicriteria decision analytic (MCDA) techniques are a powerful tool in evaluating health care interventions where multiple, often competing, factors need to be considered. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is one such technique. We have applied AHP to evaluate medical diagnostic

Cognitive Medical Multiagent Systems

OpenAIRE

Barna Iantovics

2010-01-01

The development of efficient and flexible agent-based medical diagnosis systems represents a recent research direction. Medical multiagent systems may improve the efficiency of traditionally developed medical computational systems, like the medical expert systems. In our previous researches, a novel cooperative medical diagnosis multiagent system called CMDS (Contract Net Based Medical Diagnosis System) was proposed. CMDS system can solve flexibly a large variety of medical diagnosis problems...

IMPLEMENTATION OF TURNOUTS TECHNICAL DIAGNOSTICS SYSTEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. YU. Buryak

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose. In the paper it is necessary to: 1 find out the causes of turnouts faults to determine diagnostic features failures; 2 consider the requirements structure, purpose components of turnouts, work and technology of their maintenance to determine the construction of the economic activities related to system to the turnout’s maintenance; 3 substantiate the possibility, necessity and prospects of automated diagnostics turnout’s implementation; 4 elaborate a prototype of an automated hardware and software system for the turnouts control parameters and perform diagnostics on them. Methodology. In the paper possible turnouts faults were presented and manifestations and influence on its work were shown. According to the current technology works the process analyze of turnouts’ maintenance was conducted, were defined the basic performed operations during the examination of appearance, parameters and check the repair or replacement of parts and assemblies. Based on the analysis of reasons of turnouts malfunctioning and their fixes were systematized types of damages and ways to deal with them, an information scheme of troubleshooting were created, opportunities and limits of automating the process of diagnostics were identified and compared with the existing method of turnouts maintenance. A diagnostics system block diagram was created, an algorithm of its work was developed and established main basic principles of operation. Software and hardware to determine the turnout’s state considering diagnostic performance of points in use were applied. Findings. During the experiment was created a method of automated turnout’s diagnostics with AC electric drives, managed centrally. The results of automated hardware and software system make it possible to control turnout’s parameters and perform diagnostics on them. Originality. Authors created the method of turnout’s state determination by current curve and its spectral composition in the

ATA diagnostic data handling system: an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambers, F.W.; Kallman, J.; McDonald, J.; Slominski, M.

1984-01-01

The functions to be performed by the ATA diagnostic data handling system are discussed. The capabilities of the present data acquisition system (System 0) are presented. The goals for the next generation acquisition system (System 1), currently under design, are discussed. Facilities on the Octopus system for data handling are reviewed. Finally, we discuss what has been learned about diagnostics and computer based data handling during the past year

[The challenges of standardization in clinical diagnostic laboratories of medical organizations].

Science.gov (United States)

Men'shikov, V V

2013-04-01

The generalized data concerning the conditions of application of regulations of national standards in clinical diagnostic laboratories of medical organizations is presented. The primary information was provided by 14 regions of 6 federal administrative okrugs of Russia. The causes of challenges of application of requirements of standards are presented. They are mostly related with insufficient financial support, lacking of manpower, difficulties with reagents supply, inadequate technical maintenance of devices and absence of support of administration of medical organizations. The recommendations are formulated concerning the necessity of publishing the document of Minzdrav of Russia to determine the need in application of standards in laboratory practice.

Cognitive Medical Multiagent Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barna Iantovics

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The development of efficient and flexible agent-based medical diagnosis systems represents a recent research direction. Medical multiagent systems may improve the efficiency of traditionally developed medical computational systems, like the medical expert systems. In our previous researches, a novel cooperative medical diagnosis multiagent system called CMDS (Contract Net Based Medical Diagnosis System was proposed. CMDS system can solve flexibly a large variety of medical diagnosis problems. This paper analyses the increased intelligence of the CMDS system, which motivates its use for different medical problem’s solving.

CSIR research, development and innovation initiatives for the medical device and diagnostic industry

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Vilakazi, Busisiwe

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This presentation is focused on development and innovation initiatives in the medical device and diagnostic industry. It is presented by Dr Busisiwe Vilakasi at The 6th CSIR Conference: Ideas that work for industrial development, 5-6 October 2017...

Diagnostic Imaging in the Medical Support of the Future Missions to the Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Sargsyan, Ashot E.; Jones, Jeffrey A.; Hamilton, Douglas R.; Dulchavsky, Scott A.; Duncan, J. Michael

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation is a course that reviews the diagnostic imaging techniques available for medical support on the future moon missions. The educational objectives of the course are to: 1) Update the audience on the curreultrasound imaging in space flight; 2) Discuss the unique aspects of conducting ultrasound imaging on ISS, interplanetary transit, ultrasound imaging on ISS, interplanetary transit, and lunar surface operations; and 3) Review preliminary data obtained in simulations of medical imaging in lunar surface operations.

A Self-Diagnostic System for the M6 Accelerometer

Science.gov (United States)

Flanagan, Patrick M.; Lekki, John

2001-01-01

The design of a Self-Diagnostic (SD) accelerometer system for the Space Shuttle Main Engine is presented. This retrofit system connects diagnostic electronic hardware and software to the current M6 accelerometer system. This paper discusses the general operation of the M6 accelerometer SD system and procedures for developing and evaluating the SD system. Signal processing techniques using M6 accelerometer diagnostic data are explained. Test results include diagnostic data responding to changing ambient temperature, mounting torque and base mounting impedance.

Photoionization sensors for non-invasive medical diagnostics

Science.gov (United States)

Mustafaev, Aleksandr; Rastvorova, Iuliia; Khobnya, Kristina; Podenko, Sofia

2016-09-01

The analysis of biomarkers can help to identify the significant number of diseases: lung cancer, tuberculosis, diabetes, high levels of stress, psychosomatic disorders etc. To implement continuous monitoring of the state of human health, compact VUV photoionization detector with current-voltage measurement is designed by Saint-Petersburg Mining University Plasma Research Group. This sensor is based on the patented method of stabilization of electric parameters - CES (Collisional Electron Spectroscopy). During the operation at atmospheric pressure VUV photoionization sensor measures the energy of electrons, produced in the ionization with the resonance photons, whose wavelength situated in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV). A special software was developed to obtain the second-order derivative of the I-U characteristics, taken by the VUV sensor, to construct the energy spectra of the characteristic electrons. VUV photoionization detector has an unique set of parameters: small size (10*10*1 mm), low cost, wide range of recognizable molecules, as well as accuracy, sufficient for using this instrument for the medical purposes. This device can be used for non-invasive medical diagnostics without compromising the quality of life, for control of environment and human life. Work supported by Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises in Science and Technology.

Reliability and diagnostic of modular systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Kohlas

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Reliability and diagnostic are in general two problems discussed separately. Yet the two problems are in fact closely related to each other. Here, this relation is considered in the simple case of modular systems. We show, how the computation of reliability and diagnostic can efficiently be done within the same Bayesian network induced by the modularity of the structure function of the system.

Radiation effects in IFMIF Li target diagnostic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Molla, J.; Vila, R.; Shikama, T.; Horiike, H.; Simakov, S.; Ciotti, M.; Ibarra, A.

2009-01-01

Diagnostics for the lithium target will be crucial for the operation of IFMIF. Several parameters as the lithium temperature, target thickness or wave pattern must be monitored during operation. Radiation effects may produce malfunctioning in any of these diagnostics due to the exposure to high radiation fields. The main diagnostic systems proposed for the operation of IFMIF are reviewed in this paper from the point of view of radiation damage. The main tools for the assessment of the performance of these diagnostics are the neutronics calculations by using specialised codes and the information accumulated during the last decades on the radiation effects in functional materials, components and diagnostics for ITER. This analysis allows to conclude that the design of some of the diagnostic systems must be revised to assure the high availability required for the target system.

Medical thoracoscopy: a useful diagnostic tool for undiagnosed pleural effusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Agarwal, Abhishek; Prasad, Rajendra; Garg, Rajiv; Verma, S K; Singh, Abhijeet; Husain, N

2014-01-01

We aimed to assess the role of medical thoracoscopy in patients with undiagnosed pleural effusion. Patiens presenting with pleural effusion underwent three pleural aspirations. Patients in whom pleural fluid analysis was inconclusive underwent closed pleural biopsy for diagnostic confirmation. Patients in whom closed pleural biopsy was incolcusive underwent medical thoracoscopy using a rigid thoracoscope with a viewing angle of zero degrees was done under local anaesthesia and sedation with the patient lying in lateral decubitus position with the affected side up. Biopsy specimens from parietal pleura were obtained under direct vision and were sent for histopathological examination. Of the 128 patients with pleural effusion who were studied, pleural fluid examination established the diagnosis in 81 (malignancy 33, tuberculosis 33, pyogenic 14 and fungal 1); 47 patients underwent closed pleural biopsy and a diagnosis was made in 28 patients (malignancy 24, tuberculosis 4). The remaining 19 patients underwent medical thoracoscopy and pleural biopsy and the aetiological diagnosis could be confirmed in 13 of the 19 patients (69%) (adenocarcinoma 10, poorly differentiated carcinoma 2 and mesothelioma 1). Medical thoracoscopy is a useful tool for the diagnosis of pleural diseases. The procedure is safe with minimal complications.

MFTF plasma diagnostics data acquisition system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, G.E.; Coffield, F.E.

1979-01-01

The initial goal of the Data Acquisition System (DAS) is to control 11 instruments chosen as the startup diagnostic set and to collect, process, and display the data that these instruments produce. These instruments are described in a paper by Stan Thomas, et. al. entitled ''MFTF Plasma Diagnostics System.'' The DAS must be modular and flexible enough to allow upgrades in the quantity of data taken by an instrument, and also to allow new instruments to be added to the system. This is particularly necessary to support a research project where needs and requirements may change rapidly as a result of experimental findings. Typically, the startup configuration of the diagnostic instruments will contain only a fraction of the planned detectors, and produce approximately one half the data that the expanded version is designed to generate. Expansion of the system will occur in fiscal year 1982

Residual heat removal system diagnostic advisor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tripp, L.

1991-01-01

This paper reports on the Residual Heat Removal System (RHRS) Diagnostic Advisor which is an expert system designed to alert the operators to abnormal conditions that exits in the RHRS and offer advice about the cause of the abnormal conditions. The Advisor uses a combination of rule-based and model-based diagnostic techniques to perform its functions. This diagnostic approach leads to a deeper understanding of the RHRS by the Advisor and consequently makes it more robust to unexpected conditions. The main window of the interactive graphic display is a schematic diagram of the RHRS piping system. When a conclusion about a failed component can be reached, the operator can bring up windows that describe the failure mode of the component and a brief explanation about how the Advisor arrived at its conclusion

NPP Mochovce units 1 and 2 diagnostic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heidenreich, S.

1997-01-01

In this paper the diagnostic systems (leak detection monitoring, vibration monitoring, lose parts monitoring, fatigue monitoring) of NPP Mochovce units 1 and 2 are presented. All of the designed diagnostic systems are personal computer based systems

Mechatronics in design of monitoring and diagnostic systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uhl, T.; Barszcz, T. [Univ. of Mining and Metallurgy, Krakow (Poland); Hanc, A. [Energocontrol Ltd., Krakow (Poland)

2003-07-01

Nowadays development of computer engineering in area of hardware and software gives new possibilities of monitoring and diagnostics system design. The paper presents analysis of new possible solutions for design of monitoring and diagnostic systems including; smart sensor design, modular software design and communication modules. New concept of monitoring system based on home page server solution (nano-server) is presented. Smart sensor design concept with embedded hardware for diagnostic application is shown. New software concept for monitoring and diagnostics automation and examples of applications of new design for condition monitoring based on proposed solution are carefully discussed. (orig.)

An easy-to-use diagnostic system development shell

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, L. C.; Ross, J. B.; Han, C. Y.; Wee, W. G.

1987-01-01

The Diagnostic System Development Shell (DSDS), an expert system development shell for diagnostic systems, is described. The major objective of building the DSDS is to create a very easy to use and friendly environment for knowledge engineers and end-users. The DSDS is written in OPS5 and CommonLisp. It runs on a VAX/VMS system. A set of domain independent, generalized rules is built in the DSDS, so the users need not be concerned about building the rules. The facts are explicitly represented in a unified format. A powerful check facility which helps the user to check the errors in the created knowledge bases is provided. A judgement facility and other useful facilities are also available. A diagnostic system based on the DSDS system is question driven and can call or be called by other knowledge based systems written in OPS5 and CommonLisp. A prototype diagnostic system for diagnosing a Philips constant potential X-ray system has been built using the DSDS.

A Diagnostic Ultrasound Imaging System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Seong Woo

1999-01-01

The ability to see the internal organs of the human body in a noninvasive way is a powerful diagnostic tool of modern medicine. Among these imaging modalities such as X-ray, MRI, and ultrasound. MRI and ultrasound are presenting much less risk of undesirable damage of both patient and examiner. In fact, no deleterious effects have been reported as a result of clinical examination by using MRI and ultrasound diagnostic equipment. As a result, their market volume has been rapidly increased. MRI has a good resolution. but there are a few disadvantages such as high price. non-real-time imaging capability. and expensive diagnostic cost. On the other hand, the ultrasound imaging system has inherently poor resolution as compared with X-ray and MRI. In spite of its poor resolution, the ultrasound diagnostic equipment is lower in price and has an ability of real-time imaging as compared with the others. As a result, the ultrasound imaging system has become general and essential modality for imaging the internal organs of human body. In this review various researches and developments to enhance the resolution of the ultrasound images are explained and future trends of the ultrasound imaging technology are described

Converting Radiology Operations in a Six-Hospital Healthcare System from Film-Based to Digital: Another Leadership Role for the Diagnostic Medical Physicist

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arreola, Manuel M.; Rill, Lynn N.

2004-01-01

As medical facilities across the United States continue to convert their radiology operations from film-based to digital environments, partially accomplished and failed endeavors are frequent because of the lack of competent and knowledgeable leadership. The diagnostic medical physicist is, without a doubt, in a privileged position to take such a leadership role, not only because of her/his understanding of the basics principles of new imaging modalities, but also because of her/his inherent participation in workflow design and educational/training activities. A well-structured approach by the physicist will certainly lead the project to a successful completion, opening, in turn, new opportunities for the medical physicist to become an active participant in the decision-making process for an institution

Converting Radiology Operations in a Six-Hospital Healthcare System from Film-Based to Digital: Another Leadership Role for the Diagnostic Medical Physicist

Science.gov (United States)

Arreola, Manuel M.; Rill, Lynn N.

2004-09-01

As medical facilities across the United States continue to convert their radiology operations from film-based to digital environments, partially accomplished and failed endeavors are frequent because of the lack of competent and knowledgeable leadership. The diagnostic medical physicist is, without a doubt, in a privileged position to take such a leadership role, not only because of her/his understanding of the basics principles of new imaging modalities, but also because of her/his inherent participation in workflow design and educational/training activities. A well-structured approach by the physicist will certainly lead the project to a successful completion, opening, in turn, new opportunities for the medical physicist to become an active participant in the decision-making process for an institution.

MTX [Microwave Tokamak Experiment] plasma diagnostic system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rice, B.W.; Hooper, E.B.; Brooksby, C.A.

1987-01-01

In this paper, a general overview of the MTX plasma diagnostics system is given. This includes a description of the MTX machine configuration and the overall facility layout. The data acquisition system and techniques for diagnostic signal transmission are also discussed. In addition, the diagnostic instruments planned for both an initial ohmic-heating set and a second FEL-heating set are described. The expected range of plasma parameters along with the planned plasma measurements will be reviewed. 7 refs., 5 figs

Diagnostic radiology physics: A handbook for teachers and students. Endorsed by: American Association of Physicists in Medicine, Asia-Oceania Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics, European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dance, D. R. [Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford (United Kingdom); Christofides, S. [New Nicosia General Hospital (Cyprus); Maidment, A. D.A. [University of Pennsylvania (United States); McLean, I. D. [International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria); Ng, K. H. [University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

2014-09-15

This publication is written for students and teachers involved in programmes that train medical physicists for work in diagnostic radiology. It provides, in the form of a syllabus, a comprehensive overview of the basic medical physics knowledge required for the practice of modern diagnostic radiology. This makes it particularly useful for graduate students and residents in medical physics programmes. The material presented in the publication has been endorsed by the major international organizations and is the foundation for academic and clinical courses in both diagnostic radiology physics and in emerging areas such as imaging in radiotherapy.

Study for the design method of multi-agent diagnostic system to improve diagnostic performance for similar abnormality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minowa, Hirotsugu; Gofuku, Akio

2014-01-01

Accidents on industrial plants cause large loss on human, economic, social credibility. In recent, studies of diagnostic methods using techniques of machine learning such as support vector machine is expected to detect the occurrence of abnormality in a plant early and correctly. There were reported that these diagnostic machines has high accuracy to diagnose the operating state of industrial plant under mono abnormality occurrence. But the each diagnostic machine on the multi-agent diagnostic system may misdiagnose similar abnormalities as a same abnormality if abnormalities to diagnose increases. That causes that a single diagnostic machine may show higher diagnostic performance than one of multi-agent diagnostic system because decision-making considering with misdiagnosis is difficult. Therefore, we study the design method for multi-agent diagnostic system to diagnose similar abnormality correctly. This method aimed to realize automatic generation of diagnostic system where the generation process and location of diagnostic machines are optimized to diagnose correctly the similar abnormalities which are evaluated from the similarity of process signals by statistical method. This paper explains our design method and reports the result evaluated our method applied to the process data of the fast-breeder reactor Monju

High-performance control system for a heavy-ion medical accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lancaster, H.D.; Magyary, S.B.; Sah, R.C.

1983-03-01

A high performance control system is being designed as part of a heavy ion medical accelerator. The accelerator will be a synchrotron dedicated to clinical and other biomedical uses of heavy ions, and it will deliver fully stripped ions at energies up to 800 MeV/nucleon. A key element in the design of an accelerator which will operate in a hospital environment is to provide a high performance control system. This control system will provide accelerator modeling to facilitate changes in operating mode, provide automatic beam tuning to simplify accelerator operations, and provide diagnostics to enhance reliability. The control system being designed utilizes many microcomputers operating in parallel to collect and transmit data; complex numerical computations are performed by a powerful minicomputer. In order to provide the maximum operational flexibility, the Medical Accelerator control system will be capable of dealing with pulse-to-pulse changes in beam energy and ion species.

High-performance control system for a heavy-ion medical accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lancaster, H.D.; Magyary, S.B.; Sah, R.C.

1983-03-01

A high performance control system is being designed as part of a heavy ion medical accelerator. The accelerator will be a synchrotron dedicated to clinical and other biomedical uses of heavy ions, and it will deliver fully stripped ions at energies up to 800 MeV/nucleon. A key element in the design of an accelerator which will operate in a hospital environment is to provide a high performance control system. This control system will provide accelerator modeling to facilitate changes in operating mode, provide automatic beam tuning to simplify accelerator operations, and provide diagnostics to enhance reliability. The control system being designed utilizes many microcomputers operating in parallel to collect and transmit data; complex numerical computations are performed by a powerful minicomputer. In order to provide the maximum operational flexibility, the Medical Accelerator control system will be capable of dealing with pulse-to-pulse changes in beam energy and ion species

Medical telerobotic systems: current status and future trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Avgousti, Sotiris; Christoforou, Eftychios G; Panayides, Andreas S; Voskarides, Sotos; Novales, Cyril; Nouaille, Laurence; Pattichis, Constantinos S; Vieyres, Pierre

2016-08-12

Teleoperated medical robotic systems allow procedures such as surgeries, treatments, and diagnoses to be conducted across short or long distances while utilizing wired and/or wireless communication networks. This study presents a systematic review of the relevant literature between the years 2004 and 2015, focusing on medical teleoperated robotic systems which have witnessed tremendous growth over the examined period. A thorough insight of telerobotics systems discussing design concepts, enabling technologies (namely robotic manipulation, telecommunications, and vision systems), and potential applications in clinical practice is provided, while existing limitations and future trends are also highlighted. A representative paradigm of the short-distance case is the da Vinci Surgical System which is described in order to highlight relevant issues. The long-distance telerobotics concept is exemplified through a case study on diagnostic ultrasound scanning. Moreover, the present review provides a classification into short- and long-distance telerobotic systems, depending on the distance from which they are operated. Telerobotic systems are further categorized with respect to their application field. For the reviewed systems are also examined their engineering characteristics and the employed robotics technology. The current status of the field, its significance, the potential, as well as the challenges that lie ahead are thoroughly discussed.

Update of diagnostic medical and dental x-ray exposures in Romania

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sorop, Ioana; Mossang, Daniela; Dadulescu, Elena [Radiation Hygiene Laboratory of Public Health Authority Dolj, 2, Constantin Lecca Street, Craiova (Romania); Iacob, Mihai Radu [University ' Alexandru Ioan Cuza' , 11, Carol I Street, 700506, Iasi (Romania); Iacob, Olga [Institute of Public Health, 14, Victor Babes Street, 700465 Iasi (Romania)], E-mail: danamossang@sanpubdj.ro

2008-12-15

This national study, the third in the last 15 years, updates the magnitude of medical radiation exposure from conventional x-ray examinations, in order to optimise the radiological protection to the population in a cost-effective manner. Effective doses from diagnostic radiology were estimated for adult and paediatric patients undergoing the 20 most important types of x-ray examination. Data were collected from 179 x-ray departments, selected by their annual workload, throughout the country. Estimates were made using two dosimetric quantities: entrance surface dose, derived from the absorbed dose in air measured by simulation of radiographic examinations, and dose-area product, measured during fluoroscopic examinations performed on adult and paediatric patients. Conversion coefficients to effective dose of the UK National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) have been used in all calculations. The effective dose per patient from all medical x-ray examinations was 0.74 mSv and the resulting annual collective effective dose was 6930 man Sv, with annual effective dose per caput of 0.33 mSv. The current size of population exposure from diagnostic radiology is lower than the previous one by 40%, but could be about 30% higher by taking into account the estimated contribution from computed tomography (CT) procedures.

SPECIFICITY OF MANIFACTURING PROCESS VALIDATION FOR DIAGNOSTIC SEROLOGICAL DEVICES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Yu. Galkin

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research was to analyze recent scientific literature, as well as national and international legislature on manifacturing process validation of biopharmaceutical production, in particular devices for serological diagnostics. Technology validation in the field of medical devices for serological diagnostics is most influenced by the Technical Regulation for Medical Devices for in vitro Diagnostics State Standards of Ukraine – SSU EN ISO 13485:2015 “Medical devices. Quality management system. Requirements for regulation”, SSU EN ISO 14971:2015 “Medical devices. Instructions for risk management”, Instruction ST-N of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine 42-4.0:2014 “Medications. Suitable industrial practice”, State Pharmacopoeia of Ukraine and Instruction ICH Q9 on risk management. Current recommendations for validations of drugs manufacturing process, including biotechnological manufacturing, can not be directly applied to medical devices for in vitro diagnostics. It was shown that the specifics of application and raw materials require individual validation parameters and process validations for serological diagnostics devices. Critical parameters to consider in validation plans were provided for every typical stage of production of in vitro diagnostics devices on the example of immunoassay kits, such as obtaining protein antigens, including recombinant ones, preparations of mono- and polyclonal antibodies, immunoenzyme conjugates and immunosorbents, chemical reagents etc. The bottlenecks of technologies for in vitro diagnostics devices were analyzed from the bioethical and biosafety points of view.

Supervisory Control and Diagnostics System Distributed Operating System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGoldrick, P.R.

1979-01-01

This paper contains a description of the Supervisory Control and Diagnostics System (SCDS) Distributed Operating System. The SCDS consists of nine 32-bit minicomputers with shared memory. The system's main purpose is to control a large Mirror Fusion Test Facility

Evaluation of Chest Ultrasound Integrated Teaching of Respiratory System Physiology to Medical Students

Science.gov (United States)

Paganini, Matteo; Bondì, Michela; Rubini, Alessandro

2017-01-01

Ultrasound imaging is a widely used diagnostic technique, whose integration in medical education is constantly growing. The aim of this study was to evaluate chest ultrasound usefulness in teaching respiratory system physiology, students' perception of chest ultrasound integration into a traditional lecture in human physiology, and short-term…

Diagnostic system for primary circuits of pressurized-water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liska, J.; Majer, J.

1983-01-01

The diagnostic system monitors the reactor, the main circulating pipe, the main circulating pump, the main shut-off valve, the steam generator and the pressurizer. Diagnostic signals are obtained from the sensors designed for operation measurements and from sensors for special diagnostic purposes. The following operations are carried out: detection of dangerous dynamic stress of components, detection of damage to functional surfaces of components, detection of occurrence and propagation of defects in component materials, detection of loose particles and foreign bodies, detection of coolant leakage, detection of coolant boiling in the core and detection of impermissible non-homogeneities of fields of physical quantities in the core. The diagnostic system comprises: monitoring, classification of properly investigated effects, periodical tracing and long-term tracing. The operational diagnostics system developed by the SKODA Concern consists of a vibration monitoring system, a spectral analysis system and a central evaluation system. (M.D.)

Senior medical students' awareness of radiation risks from common diagnostic imaging examinations.

Science.gov (United States)

Scali, Elena; Mayo, John; Nicolaou, Savvas; Kozoriz, Michael; Chang, Silvia

2017-12-01

Senior medical students represent future physicians who commonly refer patients for diagnostic imaging studies that may involve ionizing radiation. The radiology curriculum at the University of British Columbia provides students with broad-based knowledge about common imaging examinations. The purpose of this study was to investigate students' awareness of radiation exposures and risks. An anonymous multiple-choice cross-sectional questionnaire was distributed to final year medical students to assess knowledge of radiation from common diagnostic examinations and radiation-related risks following completion of the longitudinal radiology curriculum, carried out over the four years of medical training. Sixty-three of 192 eligible students participated (33% response rate). The majority felt that knowledge of radiation doses of common imaging examinations is somewhat or very important; however, only 12% (N = 8) routinely discuss radiation-related risks with patients. While all respondents recognized children as most sensitive to the effects of radiation, only 24% (N = 15) correctly identified gonads as the most radiation-sensitive tissue. Almost all respondents recognized ultrasound and MRI as radiation free modalities. Respondents who correctly identified the relative dose of common imaging examinations in chest x-ray equivalents varied from 3-77% (N = 2 - 49); the remaining responses were largely underestimates. Finally, 44% (N = 28) correctly identified the excess risk of a fatal cancer from an abdominal CT in an adult, while the remainder underestimated this risk. Medical students acknowledge the importance of radiation-related issues to patient care. While almost all students are familiar with radiation-free modalities, many are not familiar with, and commonly underestimate, the relative doses and risks of common imaging studies. This may expose patients to increasing imaging investigations and exposure to radiation hazards.

Stochastic risk estimation from medical x-ray diagnostic examinations, 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashizume, Tadashi; Maruyama, Takashi; Noda, Yutaka; Iwai, Kazuo; Tateno, Y.; Nishizawa, Kanae.

1981-01-01

The risks of genetic, leukemia and malignant diseases from medical X-ray diagnostic examinations were estimated using the frequency of radiographic and fluoroscopic exposures per diagnostic examination, child expectancy, leukemia and malignancy significant factors, and using a weighting factor determined on the basis of data concerning the cancer mortality among atomic bomb survivors in Nagasaki and of a recommendation of International Commission of Radiological Protection. The organ or tissue doses with respect to the stochastic risks were determined with ionization chambers and thermoluminescent dosimeters placed at the positions of the organs or tissues in a RANDO woman phantom which was exposed to diagnostic X-rays according to technical factors of typical radiographic and fluoroscopic examinations obtained from a nationwide survey. The resultant risks by age-group and type of radiographic and fluoroscopic examination are tabulated in terms of risk level of 10 -6 . In general, the total risk defined as the sum of genetic, leukemia and malignant risks was a high value for the X-ray diagnosis of digestive organs involving barium meal and barium enema. For example, the total risk for young age-group was 100 to 200 x 10 -6 for the X-ray diagnosis of digestive organs. The total risk from the chest radiography was lower value as compared with the risk from the X-ray diagnosis of other organs or tissues. On the contrary, the risk from the chest tomography was comparable to the risk from the diagnosis of digestive organs. The total risk decreased with increasing of age for every X-ray diagnostic examination. (author)

Resilient actions in the diagnostic process and system performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Michael W; Davis Giardina, Traber; Murphy, Daniel R; Laxmisan, Archana; Singh, Hardeep

2013-12-01

Systemic issues can adversely affect the diagnostic process. Many system-related barriers can be masked by 'resilient' actions of frontline providers (ie, actions supporting the safe delivery of care in the presence of pressures that the system cannot readily adapt to). We explored system barriers and resilient actions of primary care providers (PCPs) in the diagnostic evaluation of cancer. We conducted a secondary data analysis of interviews of PCPs involved in diagnostic evaluation of 29 lung and colorectal cancer cases. Cases covered a range of diagnostic timeliness and were analysed to identify barriers for rapid diagnostic evaluation, and PCPs' actions involving elements of resilience addressing those barriers. We rated these actions according to whether they were usual or extraordinary for typical PCP work. Resilient actions and associated barriers were found in 59% of the cases, in all ranges of timeliness, with 40% involving actions rated as beyond typical. Most of the barriers were related to access to specialty services and coordination with patients. Many of the resilient actions involved using additional communication channels to solicit cooperation from other participants in the diagnostic process. Diagnostic evaluation of cancer involves several resilient actions by PCPs targeted at system deficiencies. PCPs' actions can sometimes mitigate system barriers to diagnosis, and thereby impact the sensitivity of 'downstream' measures (eg, delays) in detecting barriers. While resilient actions might enable providers to mitigate system deficiencies in the short run, they can be resource intensive and potentially unsustainable. They complement, rather than substitute for, structural remedies to improve system performance. Measures to detect and fix system performance issues targeted by these resilient actions could facilitate diagnostic safety.

Diagnostic Neural Network Systems for the Electronic Circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamed, A.H.

2014-01-01

Neural Networks is one of the most important artificial intelligent approaches for solving the diagnostic processes. This research concerns with uses the neural networks for diagnosis of the electronic circuits. Modern electronic systems contain both the analog and digital circuits. But, diagnosis of the analog circuits suffers from great complexity due to their nonlinearity. To overcome this problem, the proposed system introduces a diagnostic system that uses the neural network to diagnose both the digital and analog circuits. So, it can face the new requirements for the modern electronic systems. A fault dictionary method was implemented in the system. Experimental results are presented on three electronic systems. They are: artificial kidney, wireless network and personal computer systems. The proposed system has improved the performance of the diagnostic systems when applied for these practical cases

Expert system applications in support of system diagnostics and prognostics at EBR-II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehto, W.K.; Gross, K.C.

1989-01-01

Expert systems have been developed to aid in the monitoring and diagnostics of the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Systems have been developed for failed fuel surveillance and diagnostics and reactor coolant pump monitoring and diagnostics. A third project is being done jointly by ANL-W and EG ampersand G Idaho to develop a transient analysis system to enhance overall plant diagnostic and prognostic capability. The failed fuel surveillance and diagnosis system monitors, processes, and interprets information from nine key plant sensors. It displays to the reactor operator diagnostic information needed to make proper decisions regarding technical specification conformance during reactor operation with failed fuel. 8 refs., 9 figs., 2 tabs

Diagnostic system for the nuclear medicine with baby cyclotron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kashihara, Masao; Wakasa, Shyuichiro

1982-01-01

The system of cyclotron nuclear medicine consists of ''RI-production by using the cyclotron'', ''production of radio-pharmaceuticals labeled with RI'', ''positron tomography''. On the other hand, Ultra compact cyclotron (Baby cyclotron) itself, RI production technique and positron tomography have been rapidly developed and advanced. We think that these three functions must be balance in the development in order to spread this system into the routine work in the hospital. However, since the technology of the synthesis for the labeled compounds is not so developed so far, more advance can be strongly expected. In this report, construction of the cyclotron nuclear medicine, utility for the practical use of RI produced by using the cyclotron, technique of RI production, and the studies on automated and efficient productions of radio-pharmaceuticals labeled with short-lived positron emitters for medical diagnostic use are described. (author)

Towards first principle medical diagnostics: on the importance of disease-disease and sign-sign interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Ramezanpour, Abolfazl; Mashaghi, Alireza

2017-07-01

A fundamental problem in medicine and biology is to assign states, e.g. healthy or diseased, to cells, organs or individuals. State assignment or making a diagnosis is often a nontrivial and challenging process and, with the advent of omics technologies, the diagnostic challenge is becoming more and more serious. The challenge lies not only in the increasing number of measured properties and dynamics of the system (e.g. cell or human body) but also in the co-evolution of multiple states and overlapping properties, and degeneracy of states. We develop, from first principles, a generic rational framework for state assignment in cell biology and medicine, and demonstrate its applicability with a few simple theoretical case studies from medical diagnostics. We show how disease-related statistical information can be used to build a comprehensive model that includes the relevant dependencies between clinical and laboratory findings (signs) and diseases. In particular, we include disease-disease and sign-sign interactions and study how one can infer the probability of a disease in a patient with given signs. We perform comparative analysis with simple benchmark models to check the performances of our models. We find that including interactions can significantly change the statistical importance of the signs and diseases. This first principles approach, as we show, facilitates the early diagnosis of disease by taking interactions into accounts, and enables the construction of consensus diagnostic flow charts. Additionally, we envision that our approach will find applications in systems biology, and in particular, in characterizing the phenome via the metabolome, the proteome, the transcriptome, and the genome.

Are diagnostic criteria for eating disorders markers of medical severity?

Science.gov (United States)

Peebles, Rebecka; Hardy, Kristina K; Wilson, Jenny L; Lock, James D

2010-05-01

The objective of this study was to compare the medical severity of adolescents who had eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS) with those who had anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Medical records of 1310 females aged 8 through 19 years and treated for AN, BN, or EDNOS were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with EDNOS were subcategorized into partial AN (pAN) and partial BN (pBN) when they met all Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria but 1 for AN or BN, respectively. Primary outcome variables were heart rate, systolic blood pressure, temperature, and QTc interval on electrocardiogram. Additional physiologically significant medical complications were also reviewed. A total of 25.2% of females had AN, 12.4% had BN, and 62.4% had EDNOS. The medical severity of patients with EDNOS was intermediate to that of patients with AN and BN in all primary outcomes. Patients with pAN had significantly higher heart rates, systolic blood pressures, and temperatures than those with AN; patients with pBN did not differ significantly from those with BN in any primary outcome variable; however, patients with pAN and pBN differed significantly from each other in all outcome variables. Patients with pBN and BN had longer QTc intervals and higher rates of additional medical complications reported at presentation than other groups. EDNOS is a medically heterogeneous category with serious physiologic sequelae in children and adolescents. Broadening AN and BN criteria in pediatric patients to include pAN and pBN may prove to be clinically useful.

Comparison of 3MP medical-grade to 1MP office grade LCD monitors in mammographic diagnostic and perceptual performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ong, Aaron; Tan, Shu.; Gledhill, Samuel; Hennessy, Oliver; Lui, Belinda; Lee, Alan; Lemish, Wayne; Styles, Colin; Pun, Emma; Padmanabhan, Meenakshi; Pitman, Alexander G.; Tauro, Paul; Waugh, Paul

2011-01-01

Full text: Picture archiving and communication systems images designed to be viewed on high-resolution medical-grade monitors are routinely viewed on office-grade monitors on the wards or at home. This study aimed to determine whether a statistically significant difference in diagnostic (cancer detection) and perceptual (microcalcification detection) performance exists between 3MP grade and 1MP office-grade monitors. 3MP Dome medical-grade liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors (Planar, Beaverton, OR, USA) were compared to 1MP Dell office-grade LCD monitors (Dell Inc, Round Rock, TX, USA). Eight radiologists (reader experi ence 8-30 years) read the same set of 100 mammograms (23/100 with proven cancers and 52/100 with microcalcifications) presented in random order on three occasions separated by two time intervals of 12 weeks. Reads 1 and 3 utilised 3MP monitors and formed the baseline read. Read 2 utilised 1MP monitors and constituted the experimental read. Reading conditions were standardised. Readers were aware of which monitors they were using. Mul tivariate logistic regression analysis (to account for reader variability and monitor impact) was performed to assess for statistical significance. At a = 5%, confidence intervals analysis comparing the measured parameters between 1MP to 3MP monitors demonstrated no statistically significant difference in diagnostic and perceptual performance for the reader group. In cancer detection (the diagnostic task), reader accuracy remained high irrespective of monitor type. Regression analysis comparing performance with 1MP against 3MP monitors found P values of 0.693 and 0.324 for diagnostic and perceptual performance, respectively. There were no statistically and clinically significant differences between 3MP and 1MP monitors in mammographic diagnostic and perceptual performance. Comparable performance may be due to compensatory behav iour by readers.

The Qualitative-Quantitative Analysis and the Study of Personnel's Awareness of the Management Strategies of the Wastes of Medical Diagnostic Laboratories of Rasht, in 2009

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nabizadeh R.

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Waste produced by health and treatment centers (hospitals including medical diagnostic laboratories is one of the sources of municipal waste production. Waste produced by medical diagnostic laboratories due to the existence of pathogens and infectious materials by high importance is one of the environmental issues. This survey has been done on the qualitative-quantitative analytical bases, and the investigation has focused on the management strategies of the waste material of medical diagnostic laboratories of Rasht, Iran in 2009. Methods: In this descriptive study, samples were collected from 19 medical diagnostic laboratories of Rasht in 3 consecutive days (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday every week, after filling the questionnaire and interviewing with the managers. Then, the samples were separated manually, and divided into 46 different constituents and weighed. Next, the constituents were classified based on characteristics and potentiality of being hazardous.Results: The total amount of annual waste production by the medical diagnostic laboratories of Rasht is 25785.143kg. In this study, the share of manufacturing conventional waste (domestic type wastes, especially infectious, chemical, pharmaceutical, and radioactive wastes were 1.16%, 95.34%, 1.42% and 2.08%, respectively. The highest and lowest amount of waste production relates to plastic materials and wood which are 48.37 and 0.43%, respectively. In this study sharp cutting things were calculated to be 10.52%. Furthermore, 84 percent of the managers of the medical diagnostic laboratories had not had enough information of the circulars and instructions on the enforceable management strategies of the medical wastes.Conclusion: Concerning the management of the medical waste production in the medical diagnostic laboratories, it is suggested that the managers and the personnel be trained on the separation, collection, and disinfection techniques and final disposal

Knowledge acquisition for nuclear power plant unit diagnostic system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Xiaodong; Xi Shuren

2003-01-01

The process of acquiring knowledge and building a knowledge base is critical to realize fault diagnostic system at unit level in a nuclear power plant. It directly determines whether the diagnostic system can be applied eventually in a commercial plant. A means to acquire knowledge and its procedures was presented in this paper for fault diagnostic system in a nuclear power plant. The work can be carried out step by step and it is feasible in a commercial nuclear power plant. The knowledge base of the fault diagnostic system for a nuclear power plant can be built after the staff finish the tasks according to the framework presented in this paper

The Design of Diagnostic Medical Facilities where Ionising Radiation is used

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malone, J.; O'Reilly, G.; O'Connor, U.; Gallagher, A.; Sheahan, N.; Fennell, S.

2009-06-01

The original Code of Practice on The Design of Diagnostic Medical Facilities Using Ionising Radiation was first published by the Nuclear Energy Board in 1988. In the intervening years the 'Blue Book' as it became known has served the medical community well as the sector has expanded and modernised and the late Dr Noel Nowlan, then Chief Executive of the Nuclear Energy Board, deserves much credit for initiating this pioneering contribution to radiation safety in Ireland. There have been significant developments since its publication in terms of the underlying radiation protection legislation, regulatory practice as well as developments in new technologies that have given rise to the need for a revision of the Code. This revised Code is based on a comprehensive draft document produced by the Haughton Institute under contract to the RPII and was finalised following extensive consultations with the relevant stakeholders. The revised Code includes a brief review of the current legislative framework and its specific impact on the management of building projects (Chapters 1 and 2), a presentation of the main types of radiological (Chapter 3) and nuclear medicine (Chapter 4) facilities, a treatment of the technical aspects of shielding calculations (Chapter 5) and a discussion of the practical aspects of implementing shielding solutions in a building context (Chapter 6). The primary purpose of the Code is to assist in the design of diagnostic facilities to the highest radiation protection standards in order to ensure the safety of workers and members of the public and the delivery of a safe service to patients. Diagnostic radiology is a dynamic environment and the Code is intended to be used in consultation with the current literature, an experienced Radiation Protection Advisor and a multidisciplinary project team

Imaging techniques for medical diagnosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gudden, F.

1982-01-01

In the last few decades, science, engineering and medicine have combinded to improve the quality of our lives to a level previously unimagined. Within the framework of medical engineering - the field of activity of the Medical Engineering Group of Siemens AG - diagnostic image-generating systems have played an important role in effecting these changes and improvements. The importance of these systems to the success of the Group is clearly evident. Diagnostic imaging systems account for 65% of the sales achieved by this Group. In this article an overview is presented of the major innovations and the aims of developments in the field of imaging systems. (orig.)

Medical Physics Staffing Needs in Diagnostic Imaging and Radionuclide Therapy: An Activity Based Approach [Endorsed by International Organization for Medical Physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2018-01-01

Over the last decades, the rapid technological development of diagnostic and interventional radiology and nuclear medicine has made them major tools of modern medicine. However, at the same time the involved risks, the growing number of procedures and the increasing complexity of the procedures require competent professional staff to ensure safe and effective patient diagnosis, treatment and management. Medical physicists (or clinically qualified medical physicists) have been recognized as vital health professionals with important and clear responsibilities related to quality and safety of applications of ionizing radiation in medicine. This publication describes an algorithm developed to determine the recommended staffing levels for clinical medical physics services in medical imaging and radionuclide therapy, based on current best practice, as described in international guidelines.

Laboratory Information Systems in Molecular Diagnostics: Why Molecular Diagnostics Data are Different.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Roy E; Henricks, Walter H; Sirintrapun, Sahussapont J

2016-03-01

Molecular diagnostic testing presents new challenges to information management that are yet to be sufficiently addressed by currently available information systems for the molecular laboratory. These challenges relate to unique aspects of molecular genetic testing: molecular test ordering, informed consent issues, diverse specimen types that encompass the full breadth of specimens handled by traditional anatomic and clinical pathology information systems, data structures and data elements specific to molecular testing, varied testing workflows and protocols, diverse instrument outputs, unique needs and requirements of molecular test reporting, and nuances related to the dissemination of molecular pathology test reports. By satisfactorily addressing these needs in molecular test data management, a laboratory information system designed for the unique needs of molecular diagnostics presents a compelling reason to migrate away from the current paper and spreadsheet information management that many molecular laboratories currently use. This paper reviews the issues and challenges of information management in the molecular diagnostics laboratory.

BWR recirculation pump diagnostic expert system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiang, S.C.; Morimoto, C.N.; Torres, M.R.

2004-01-01

At General Electric (GE), an on-line expert system to support maintenance decisions for BWR recirculation pumps for nuclear power plants has been developed. This diagnostic expert system is an interactive on-line system that furnishes diagnostic information concerning BWR recirculation pump operational problems. It effectively provides the recirculation pump diagnostic expertise in the plant control room continuously 24 hours a day. The expert system is interfaced to an on-line monitoring system, which uses existing plant sensors to acquire non-safety related data in real time. The expert system correlates and evaluates process data and vibration data by applying expert rules to determine the condition of a BWR recirculation pump system by applying knowledge based rules. Any diagnosis will be automatically displayed, indicating which pump may have a problem, the category of the problem, and the degree of concern expressed by the validity index and color hierarchy. The rules incorporate the expert knowledge from various technical sources such as plant experience, engineering principles, and published reports. These rules are installed in IF-THEN formats and the resulting truth values are also expressed in fuzzy terms and a certainty factor called a validity index. This GE Recirculation Pump Expert System uses industry-standard software, hardware, and network access to provide flexible interfaces with other possible data acquisition systems. Gensym G2 Real-Time Expert System is used for the expert shell and provides the graphical user interface, knowledge base, and inference engine capabilities. (author)

Medical History of Elderly Patients in the Emergency Setting: Not an Easy Point-of-Care Diagnostic Marker

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tobias Lindner

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Medical histories are a crucially important diagnostic tool. Elderly patients represent a large and increasing group of emergency patients. Due to cognitive deficits, taking a reliable medical history in this patient group can be difficult. We sought to evaluate the medical history-taking in emergency patients above 75 years of age with respect to duration and completeness. Methods. Anonymous data of consecutive patients were recorded. Times for the defined basic medical history-taking were documented, as were the availability of other sources and times to assess these. Results. Data of 104 patients were included in the analysis. In a quarter of patients (25%, n=26 no complete basic medical history could be obtained. In the group of patients where complete data could be gathered, only 16 patients were able to provide all necessary information on their own. Including other sources like relatives or GPs prolonged the time until complete medical history from 7.3 minutes (patient only to 26.4 (+relatives and 56.3 (+GP minutes. Conclusions. Medical histories are important diagnostic tools in the emergency setting and are prolonged in the elderly, especially if additional documentation and third parties need to be involved. New technologies like emergency medical cards might help to improve the availability of important patient data but implementation of these technologies is costly and faces data protection issues.

Context-sensitive autoassociative memories as expert systems in medical diagnosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olivera Fernando

2006-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The complexity of our contemporary medical practice has impelled the development of different decision-support aids based on artificial intelligence and neural networks. Distributed associative memories are neural network models that fit perfectly well to the vision of cognition emerging from current neurosciences. Methods We present the context-dependent autoassociative memory model. The sets of diseases and symptoms are mapped onto a pair of basis of orthogonal vectors. A matrix memory stores the associations between the signs and symptoms, and their corresponding diseases. A minimal numerical example is presented to show how to instruct the memory and how the system works. In order to provide a quick appreciation of the validity of the model and its potential clinical relevance we implemented an application with real data. A memory was trained with published data of neonates with suspected late-onset sepsis in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU. A set of personal clinical observations was used as a test set to evaluate the capacity of the model to discriminate between septic and non-septic neonates on the basis of clinical and laboratory findings. Results We show here that matrix memory models with associations modulated by context can perform automatic medical diagnosis. The sequential availability of new information over time makes the system progress in a narrowing process that reduces the range of diagnostic possibilities. At each step the system provides a probabilistic map of the different possible diagnoses to that moment. The system can incorporate the clinical experience, building in that way a representative database of historical data that captures geo-demographical differences between patient populations. The trained model succeeds in diagnosing late-onset sepsis within the test set of infants in the NICU: sensitivity 100%; specificity 80%; percentage of true positives 91%; percentage of true negatives 100

Context-sensitive autoassociative memories as expert systems in medical diagnosis

Science.gov (United States)

Pomi, Andrés; Olivera, Fernando

2006-01-01

Background The complexity of our contemporary medical practice has impelled the development of different decision-support aids based on artificial intelligence and neural networks. Distributed associative memories are neural network models that fit perfectly well to the vision of cognition emerging from current neurosciences. Methods We present the context-dependent autoassociative memory model. The sets of diseases and symptoms are mapped onto a pair of basis of orthogonal vectors. A matrix memory stores the associations between the signs and symptoms, and their corresponding diseases. A minimal numerical example is presented to show how to instruct the memory and how the system works. In order to provide a quick appreciation of the validity of the model and its potential clinical relevance we implemented an application with real data. A memory was trained with published data of neonates with suspected late-onset sepsis in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). A set of personal clinical observations was used as a test set to evaluate the capacity of the model to discriminate between septic and non-septic neonates on the basis of clinical and laboratory findings. Results We show here that matrix memory models with associations modulated by context can perform automatic medical diagnosis. The sequential availability of new information over time makes the system progress in a narrowing process that reduces the range of diagnostic possibilities. At each step the system provides a probabilistic map of the different possible diagnoses to that moment. The system can incorporate the clinical experience, building in that way a representative database of historical data that captures geo-demographical differences between patient populations. The trained model succeeds in diagnosing late-onset sepsis within the test set of infants in the NICU: sensitivity 100%; specificity 80%; percentage of true positives 91%; percentage of true negatives 100%; accuracy (true positives

Studying the Impact of Spaceflight Environment on Immune Functions Using New Molecular Diagnostics System

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Luchino

Immune functions are altered during space flights. Latent virus reactivation, reduction in the number of immune cells, decreased cell activation and increased sensitivity of astronauts to infections following their return on Earth demonstrate that the immune system is less efficient during space flight. The causes of this immune deficiency are not fully understood and this dysfunction during long-term missions could result in the appearance of opportunistic infections or a decrease in the immuno-surveillance mechanisms that eradicate cancer cells. Therefore, the immune functions of astronauts will have to be monitored continuously during long-term missions in space, using miniature and semi-automated diagnostic systems. The objectives of this project are to study the causes of space-related immunodeficiency, to develop countermeasures to maintain an optimal immune function and to improve our capacity to detect infectious diseases during space missions through the monitoring of astronauts' immune system. In order to achieve these objectives, an Immune Function Diagnostic System (IFDS) will be designed to perform a set of immunological assays on board spacecrafts or on planet-bound bases. Through flow cytometric assays and molecular biology analyses, this diagnostic system could improve medical surveillance of astronauts and could be used to test countermeasures aimed at preventing immune deficiency during space missions. The capacity of the instrument to assess cellular fluorescence and to quantify the presence of soluble molecules in biological samples would support advanced molecular studies in space life sciences. Finally, such diagnostic system could also be used on Earth in remote areas or in mobile hospitals following natural disasters to fight against infectious diseases and other pathologies.

TFTR diagnostic control and data acquisition system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sauthoff, N.R.; Daniels, R.E.; PPL Computer Division

1985-01-01

General computerized control and data-handling support for TFTR diagnostics is presented within the context of the Central Instrumentation, Control and Data Acquisition (CICADA) System. Procedures, hardware, the interactive man--machine interface, event-driven task scheduling, system-wide arming and data acquisition, and a hierarchical data base of raw data and results are described. Similarities in data structures involved in control, monitoring, and data acquisition afford a simplification of the system functions, based on ''groups'' of devices. Emphases and optimizations appropriate for fusion diagnostic system designs are provided. An off-line data reduction computer system is under development

X-ray diagnostics, X-ray therapy, diagnostics and therapy with radioactive materials in free medical practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Setzer, H.D.

1976-01-01

On the basis of the documents of the Kassenaerztliche Vereinigung Niederbayerns in Straubing, the work of the established general practicioners in the fields of X-ray and nuclear medicine was investigated for the 1st quarter of 1971, and the X-ray diagnostic services rendered were evaluated according to age and sex. 2/3 of all doctors participating in a health insurance plan in Lower Bavaria are general practitioners; all other fields are represented less often than in Munich. The values for the whole Federal Republic are in between. Internal specialists, radiologists, and urologists together carry out 85.7% of the ten examinations which contribute most to the total gonadal dose. An application of the data on the 1st quarter to the annual value is only possible by allowing for an error of 13.1%. All in all, 6% more X-ray services are administered to men than to women. For both sexes, the genetically most important group of 15-34 resp. 15-39 years of age is highly represented, although young men receive X-ray diagnostics more frequently. X-ray therapy makes up only about 0.5% of all services. Nuclear medical diagnostics is employed to the same extent by radiologists and internal specialists, while therapy with radioactive substances is almost exclusively provided by radiologists. Relative to the population density, radioactive substances are more often used in Lower Bavaria than in West Berlin. (orig.) [de

iCBLS: An interactive case-based learning system for medical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Maqbool; Han, Soyeon Caren; Bilal, Hafiz Syed Muhammad; Lee, Sungyoung; Kang, Matthew Jee Yun; Kang, Byeong Ho; Razzaq, Muhammad Asif; Amin, Muhammad Bilal

2018-01-01

Medical students should be able to actively apply clinical reasoning skills to further their interpretative, diagnostic, and treatment skills in a non-obtrusive and scalable way. Case-Based Learning (CBL) approach has been receiving attention in medical education as it is a student-centered teaching methodology that exposes students to real-world scenarios that need to be solved using their reasoning skills and existing theoretical knowledge. In this paper, we propose an interactive CBL System, called iCBLS, which supports the development of collaborative clinical reasoning skills for medical students in an online environment. The iCBLS consists of three modules: (i) system administration (SA), (ii) clinical case creation (CCC) with an innovative semi-automatic approach, and (iii) case formulation (CF) through intervention of medical students' and teachers' knowledge. Two evaluations under the umbrella of the context/input/process/product (CIPP) model have been performed with a Glycemia study. The first focused on the system satisfaction, evaluated by 54 students. The latter aimed to evaluate the system effectiveness, simulated by 155 students. The results show a high success rate of 70% for students' interaction, 76.4% for group learning, 72.8% for solo learning, and 74.6% for improved clinical skills. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Target diagnostic system for the National Ignition Facility (NIF)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leeper, R.J.; Chandler, G.A.; Cooper, G.W.; Derzon, M.S.

1996-01-01

A review of recent progress on the design of a diagnostic system proposed for ignition target experiments on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) will be presented. This diagnostic package contains an extensive suite of optical, x-ray, gamma-ray, and neutron diagnostics that enable measurements of the performance of both direct and indirect driven NIF targets. The philosophy used in designing all of the diagnostics in the set has emphasized redundant and independent measurement of fundamental physical quantities relevant to the operation of the NIF target. A unique feature of these diagnostics is that they are being designed to be capable of operating, in the high radiation, EMP, and debris backgrounds expected on the NIF facility. The diagnostic system proposed can be categorized into three broad areas: laser characterization, hohlraum characterization, and capsule performance diagnostics. The operating principles of a representative instrument from each class of diagnostic employed in this package will be summarized and illustrated with data obtained in recent prototype diagnostic tests

Review of medical discharge summaries and medical documentation in a metropolitan hospital: impact on diagnostic-related groups and Weighted Inlier Equivalent Separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, N; Perera, P; Roberts, A; Nagappan, R

2013-07-01

Accurate and comprehensive clinical documentation is crucial for effective ongoing patient care, follow up and to optimise case mix-based funding. Each Diagnostic Related Group (DRG) is assigned a 'weight', leading to Weighted Inlier Equivalent Separation (WIES), a system many public and private hospitals in Australia subscribe to. To identify the top DRG in a general medical inpatient service, the completeness of medical discharge documentation, commonly missed comorbidities and system-related issues and subsequent impact on DRG and WIES allocation. One hundred and fifty completed discharge summaries were randomly selected from the top 10 medical DRG in our health service. From a detailed review of the clinical documentation, principal diagnoses, associated comorbidities and complications, where appropriate, the DRG and WIES were modified. Seventy-two (48%) of the 150 reviewed admissions resulted in a revision of DRG and WIES equivalent to an increase of AUD 142,000. Respiratory-based DRG generated the largest revision of DRG and WIES, while 'Cellulitis' DRG had the largest relative change. Twenty-seven per cent of summaries reviewed necessitated a change in coding with no subsequent change in DRG allocation or WIES. Acute renal failure, anaemia and electrolyte disturbances were the most commonly underrepresented entities in clinical discharge documentation. Seven patients had their WIES downgraded. Comprehensive documentation of principal diagnosis/diagnoses, comorbidities and their complications is imperative to optimal DRG and WIES allocation. Regular meetings between clinical and coding staff improve the quality and timeliness of medical documentation, ensure adequate communication with general practitioners and lead to appropriate funding. © 2013 The Authors; Internal Medicine Journal © 2013 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

Thioaptamer Diagnostic System, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — AM Biotechnologies (AM) in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories will develop a Thioaptamer Diagnostic System (TDS) in response to Topic X10.01 Reusable...

Current practice in laboratory diagnostics of autoimmune diseases in Croatia. 
Survey of the Working group for laboratory diagnostics of autoimmune diseases of the Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuna, Andrea Tešija; Đerek, Lovorka; Kozmar, Ana; Drvar, Vedrana

2016-10-15

With the trend of increasing incidence of autoimmune diseases, laboratories are faced with exponential growth of the requests for tests relating the diagnosis of these diseases. Unfortunately, the lack of laboratory personnel experienced in this specific discipline of laboratory diagnostic, as well as an unawareness of a method limitation often results in confusion for clinicians. The aim was to gain insight into number and type of Croatian laboratories that perform humoral diagnostics with the final goal to improve and harmonize laboratory diagnostics of autoimmune diseases in Croatia. In order to get insight into current laboratory practice two questionnaires, consisting of 42 questions in total, were created. Surveys were conducted using SurveyMonkey application and were sent to 88 medical biochemistry laboratories in Croatia for the first survey. Out of 33 laboratories that declared to perform diagnostic from the scope, 19 were selected for the second survey based on the tests they pleaded to perform. The survey comprised questions regarding autoantibody hallmarks of systemic autoimmune diseases while regarding organ-specific autoimmune diseases was limited to diseases of liver, gastrointestinal and nervous system. Response rate was high with 80 / 88 (91%) laboratories which answered the first questionnaire, and 19 / 19 (1.0) for the second questionnaire. Obtained results of surveys indicate high heterogeneity in the performance of autoantibody testing among laboratories in Croatia. Results indicate the need of creating recommendations and algorithms in order to harmonize the approach to laboratory diagnostics of autoimmune diseases in Croatia.

Diagnostic accuracy of commercial system for computer-assisted detection (CADx) as an adjunct to interpretation of mammograms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menna, Sabatino; Di Virgilio, Maria Rosaria; Burke, Paolo; Frigerio, Alfonso; Boglione, Elisa; Ciccarelli, Grazia; Di Filippo, Sabato; Garretti, Licia

2005-01-01

Purpose. To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the commercial computer-aided detection CADx system for the reading of mammograms. Materials and methods. The study assessed the Second Look system developed and marketed by CADx Medical Systems, Montreal, Canada. The diagnostic sensitivity was evaluated by means of a retrospective study on 98 consecutive cancers detected at screening by double independent reading. The specificity and the positive predictive value (PPV) for cancer of the CADx system were prospectively evaluated on a second group of 560 consecutive mammograms of asymptomatic women not included in screening program. The radiologist who was present during the test assessed the abnormal mammographic findings by one or more of the following diagnostic procedures: physical examination, additional mammographic detail views with or without magnification,ultrasonography, ultrasound- or mammography guided fine needle aspiration cytology, and core-biopsy. The exams first underwent conventional reading and then a second reading carried out with the aid of the CADx system. Results.The overall diagnostic sensitivity of the CADx system on the 98 screening cancers was 81.6%; in particular it was 89.3% for calcifications, 83.9% for masses and only 37.5% for architectural distortion. The CADx markings for each mammography were 4.7 on average. Identification of invasive carcinoma was independent from tumour size. In the second group of 560 mammograms, the CADx system marked all cases identified as positive by conventional reading and confirmed by biopsy (7/7), but did not permit the detection of any additional cancer. The CADx markings per exam were 4.2 on average, the specificity was 13.7% and the PPV was 0.55% versus 13.7% recall rate of conventional reading. CADx reading led to a 1.96% (11/560) increase of the women necessitating further diagnostic investigation. Conclusions. The results of our study show that the diagnostic sensitivity of the CADx system is lower

Risk factors of coronary heart disease among medical diagnostic X-ray workers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Wei; Wang Jixian; Zhao Yongcheng; Li Benxiao; Fan Tiqiang; Zhao Zhigang; Lin Zhidong

2002-01-01

Objective: To investigate risk factors of coronary heart disease (CHD) in medical diagnostic X-ray workers in China, especially the relationship of CHD with occupational irradiation. Methods: A 1:2 matched case-control study was carried out. The study subjects consisted of 112 pair-matched cases and controls coming from different hospitals in China. Information about occupational and non-occupational risk factors obtained by interviewing every subjects personally. Individual doses were estimated by normalized work load method. SAS 6.12 software conditional Logistic regression method was applied to data analysis. Results: Variables such as family history of CHD (OR=17.298, P = 0.0001), history of hypertension (OR = 6.172, P = 0.0003), overweight (OR = 2.679, P = 0.0150), physical exercises (OR = 0.421, P0.0333), diabetes (OR = 7.823, P = 0.0200), radiation protection condition (OR = 3.992, P 0.0027), and accumulated radiation dose (OR = 1.612, P 0.0454) were included in the last model. Conclusions: For the medical diagnostic X-ray workers, family history of coronary heart disease, history of hypertension, diabetes, etc. are the main risk factors of CHD, and occupational exposure may be a potential risk factor. As for the mechanism, further studies are needed

Beam profile diagnostics system for SDUV-FEL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Yichao; Han Lifeng; Chen Yongzhong

2010-01-01

A new beam profile diagnostics system for Shanghai Deep Ultraviolet Free Electron Laser (SDUV-FEL) has been developed based on industrial Ethernet, with good versatility and scalability. The system includes three major subsystems for image acquisition,pneumatic control and stepper motor control, respectively. Virtual instrument technology is adopted to drive the devices, and to develop the measurement software. In this paper,we describe the system structure, and its hardware and software design. The results of system commissioning are given as well. As an important diagnostic tool and data acquisition method, the system has been successfully applied to the measurement and control of the SDUV-FEL.(authors)

Development trends for diagnostic systems in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunze, U.; Pohl, U.

1998-01-01

Monitoring systems used in nuclear power plants have made remarkable progress over the past four or five years. Development has followed the trends and changes in philosophy for the purpose of monitoring systems in nuclear power plants: They are no longer expected to fulfill only safety tasks, the plant personnel require information on which to base condition-oriented maintenance. A new generation of monitoring and diagnostic systems has been developed by Siemens recently. This new generation, called Series '95, is PC-based. An overview is given for the KUeS '95 loose parts diagnostic system, the SUeS '95 vibration monitoring system, the FLUeS leak detection system and the SIPLUG valve diagnostics system. The objectives behind the development of these new systems are both safety-related and economic. The new systems improve the reliability and quality of monitoring techniques and incorporate better detection and diagnostic capabilities. Progress has also been made in automation of the systems so as to reduce routine work, give higher sensitivity for the monitoring task and reduce the scope of maintenance. (author)

Toward First Principle Medical Diagnostics: On the Importance of Disease-Disease and Sign-Sign Interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abolfazl Ramezanpour

2017-07-01

Full Text Available A fundamental problem in medicine and biology is to assign states, e.g., healthy or diseased, to cells, organs or individuals. State assignment or making a diagnosis is often a nontrivial and challenging process and, with the advent of omics technologies, the diagnostic challenge is becoming more and more serious. The challenge lies not only in the increasing number of measured properties and dynamics of the system (e.g., cell or human body but also in the co-evolution of multiple states and overlapping properties, and degeneracy of states. We develop, from first principles, a generic rational framework for state assignment in cell biology and medicine, and demonstrate its applicability with a few simple theoretical case studies from medical diagnostics. We show how disease–related statistical information can be used to build a comprehensive model that includes the relevant dependencies between clinical and laboratory findings (signs and diseases. In particular, we include disease-disease and sign–sign interactions and study how one can infer the probability of a disease in a patient with given signs. We perform comparative analysis with simple benchmark models to check the performances of our models. We find that including interactions can significantly change the statistical importance of the signs and diseases. This first principles approach, as we show, facilitates the early diagnosis of disease by taking interactions into accounts, and enables the construction of consensus diagnostic flow charts. Additionally, we envision that our approach will find applications in systems biology, and in particular, in characterizing the phenome via the metabolome, the proteome, the transcriptome, and the genome.

Proton storage ring (PSR) diagnostics and control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clout, P.

1983-01-01

When any new accelerator or storage ring is built that advances the state of the art, the diagnostic system becomes extremely important in tuning the facility to full specification. This paper will discuss the various diagnostic devices planned or under construction for the PSR and their connection into the control system

Visualizing and measuring the temperature field produced by medical diagnostic ultrasound using thermography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vachutka, J; Grec, P; Mornstein, V; Caruana, C J

2008-01-01

The heating of tissues by diagnostic ultrasound can pose a significant hazard particularly in the imaging of the unborn child. The demonstration of the temperature field in tissue is therefore an important objective in the teaching of biomedical physics to healthcare professionals. The temperature field in a soft tissue model was made visible and measured using thermography. Temperature data from the images were used to investigate the dependence of temperature increase within the model on ultrasound exposure time and distance from the transducer. The experiment will be used within a multi-professional biomedical physics teaching laboratory for enhancing learning regarding the principles of thermography and the thermal effects of ultrasound to medical and healthcare students and also for demonstrating the quantitative use of thermographic imaging to students of biophysics, medical physics and medical technology

Radiation doses to patients in medical diagnostic x-ray examinations in New Zealand: a 1983-84 survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williamson, B.D.P.; Poletti, J.L.; Cartwright, P.H.; Le Heron, J.C.

1993-06-01

A survey of doses to patients undergoing diagnostic x-ray examinations was performed in 1983-84. Developments since 1983-84 were reviewed and estimates made of the frequency of x-ray examinations, and doses to patients, as at 1992. The collective effective dose from general medical diagnostic radiology in 1983-84 was estimated to have been about 443 μSv per capita per annum. The figure excluded computed tomography which was estimated to have contributed about 5.6 μSv per capita per annum and mammography gave 0.3 μSv per annum. The total per capital effective dose from all medical diag over the whole period from 1983-84 to 1992. The highest dose examinations in 1983-84 were the fluoroscopic procedures barium enema and meal. Over the whole period 1983-84 to 1992 the genetically significant dose (GSD) to the population of New Zealand from medical diagnostic radiology was estimated to have been in the range 200-250 μSv per capita per annum. The two opposing tendencies noted for effective dose, viz, the fall in frequency of some examination types and the rise of Computed tomography, acted also upon this dose index. 43 refs., tabs., figs., ills

An epidemiologic investigation of cancers among medical diagnostic X-ray workers of 1950-1996 in Jiangsu province

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Ningle; Wang Jin; Xu Cuizhen; Hu Lianzhi; Hou Bijun

2001-01-01

Objective: To research the phenomenon and characteristic of radiation oncogenesis among medical diagnostic X-ray workers. Methods: The cancer incidence data of the fixed cohort from the beginning of 1950 to the end of 1996 were collected. The estimates of relative risk (RR) were calculated by AMFIT in Epicure (Hirosoft International Corp, 1988-1992). Results: During the period of 1950-1996 there were 312 cancers among 215 355 person-years at risk in a cohort of 7701 subjects, including, medical diagnostic X-ray workers and workers of other departments in the same hospitals. The RR adjusted for sex and age for overall cancers was more than 1. The incidence of female breast cancer increased significantly (RR = 3.3, 95%, CI = 1.39 - 8.07), and the relative risks for solid cancer and leukemia were 1.2 and 2.6, respectively. The average age of occurrence of malignant tumors was moved up from 55.0 years in the controls to 51.3 years in the X-ray workers. Conclusions: There is a positive effect of radiation oncogenesis on medical diagnostic X-ray workers, although the sample size is not large enough to make a definite overall conclusion statistically. Further follow-up is needed

A flexible mobile-device biosensing instrumentation platform for point-of-care medical diagnostics applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Patou, François; Pfreundt, Andrea; Zulfiqar, Azeem

2014-01-01

helping to address this challenge. Specifically, Lab-on-Chip (LoC) devices have a key role to play in the advent of Point-of-Care (PoC) medical applications, driving a shift of the medical diagnostics paradigm and the transition from a centralized, technical, high-throughput biological sample analysis...... programmable electrical readout from LoCs potentially comprehending varied transducers addressing different targeted biological markers. A smart-phone/tablet docking-station embeds the hardware interface necessary for the implementation of a smart-phone digital lock-in amplifier. The platform is tested...

Benchmarking Diagnostic Algorithms on an Electrical Power System Testbed

Science.gov (United States)

Kurtoglu, Tolga; Narasimhan, Sriram; Poll, Scott; Garcia, David; Wright, Stephanie

2009-01-01

Diagnostic algorithms (DAs) are key to enabling automated health management. These algorithms are designed to detect and isolate anomalies of either a component or the whole system based on observations received from sensors. In recent years a wide range of algorithms, both model-based and data-driven, have been developed to increase autonomy and improve system reliability and affordability. However, the lack of support to perform systematic benchmarking of these algorithms continues to create barriers for effective development and deployment of diagnostic technologies. In this paper, we present our efforts to benchmark a set of DAs on a common platform using a framework that was developed to evaluate and compare various performance metrics for diagnostic technologies. The diagnosed system is an electrical power system, namely the Advanced Diagnostics and Prognostics Testbed (ADAPT) developed and located at the NASA Ames Research Center. The paper presents the fundamentals of the benchmarking framework, the ADAPT system, description of faults and data sets, the metrics used for evaluation, and an in-depth analysis of benchmarking results obtained from testing ten diagnostic algorithms on the ADAPT electrical power system testbed.

Systematic Benchmarking of Diagnostic Technologies for an Electrical Power System

Science.gov (United States)

Kurtoglu, Tolga; Jensen, David; Poll, Scott

2009-01-01

Automated health management is a critical functionality for complex aerospace systems. A wide variety of diagnostic algorithms have been developed to address this technical challenge. Unfortunately, the lack of support to perform large-scale V&V (verification and validation) of diagnostic technologies continues to create barriers to effective development and deployment of such algorithms for aerospace vehicles. In this paper, we describe a formal framework developed for benchmarking of diagnostic technologies. The diagnosed system is the Advanced Diagnostics and Prognostics Testbed (ADAPT), a real-world electrical power system (EPS), developed and maintained at the NASA Ames Research Center. The benchmarking approach provides a systematic, empirical basis to the testing of diagnostic software and is used to provide performance assessment for different diagnostic algorithms.

Advance of the National Program of Radiological Protection and Safety for medical diagnostic with X-rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verdejo S, M.

1999-01-01

The National Program of Radiological Protection and Safety for medical diagnostic with X-ray (Programa Nacional de Proteccion y Seguridad Radiologica para diagnostico medico con rayos X) was initiated in the General Direction of Environmental Health (Direccion General de Salud Ambiental) in 1995. Task coordinated with different dependences of the Public Sector in collaboration between the Secretary of Health (Secretaria de Salud), the National Commission of Nuclear Safety and Safeguards (Comision Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear y Salvaguardias) and, the National Institute of Nuclear Research (Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares). The surveillance to the fulfilment of the standardization in matter of Radiological Protection and Safety in the medical diagnostic with X-rays has been obtained for an important advance in the Public sector and it has been arousing interest in the Private sector. (Author)

Integrating Nursing Diagnostic Concepts into the Medical Entities Dictionary Using the ISO Reference Terminology Model for Nursing Diagnosis

OpenAIRE

Hwang, Jee-In; Cimino, James J.; Bakken, Suzanne

2003-01-01

Objective: The purposes of the study were (1) to evaluate the usefulness of the International Standards Organization (ISO) Reference Terminology Model for Nursing Diagnoses as a terminology model for defining nursing diagnostic concepts in the Medical Entities Dictionary (MED) and (2) to create the additional hierarchical structures required for integration of nursing diagnostic concepts into the MED.

Beam diagnostic system for SSC on HIRFL central console

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Guixu; Wang Zhen; Huang Tuanhua

1998-01-01

The SSC ion beam diagnostic system on the console of HIRFL in institute of modern physics is presented. The information between console and diagnostic system can be transferred via DECnet communication. The central computer for HIRFL console is VAX-8350, the working computer of diagnostic system is changed from IBM PC/XT to COMPAQ 486, and the operating program is rewritten from FORTRAN to C. In order to communicate information, DECnet TTT function is put into both programs on the VAX and PC

The introduction of compulsory compliance testing of medical diagnostic x-ray equipment in Western Australia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rafferty, M. W.; Jacob, C. S.

1995-01-01

Performance testing of medical diagnostic X-ray equipment can reveal equipment faults which, while not always clinically detectable, may contribute to reduced image quality and unnecessary radiation exposure of both patients and staff. Routine testing of such equipment is highly desirable to identify such faults and allows them to be rectified. The Radiological council of Western Australia is moving towards requiring compulsory compliance testing of all (new and existing) medical diagnostic X-ray equipment that all new mobile radiographic and new mammographic X-ray equipment be issued with a compliance test certificate as a prerequisite for registration. Workbooks which provide details of the tests required and recommended test methods have been prepared for medical radiographic (mobile and fixed), fluoroscopic and mammographic X-ray equipment. It is intended that future workbooks include details of the tests and methods for dental and computed tomography X-ray units. The workbooks are not limited to the compliance testing of items as specified in the Regulations, but include tests for other items such as film processing, darkrooms and image quality (for fluoroscopic equipment). Many of the workbook tests could be used within a regular quality assurance program for diagnostic X-ray equipment. Persons who conduct such compliance tests will need to be licensed and have all test certificates endorsed by a qualified expert. Suitable training and assessment of compliance testers will be required. Notification of such tests (including non-compliant items and corrective actions taken) will be required by the Radiological Council as a condition of equipment registration. 9 refs

Total picture archiving communication system for medical use at medium-sized hospitals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kabata, Shun; Goto, Kazuhiko; Yamada, Kazumi; Okaniwa, Hiroshi.

1991-01-01

An increasingly widespread use of diagnostic imaging systems has seen a concomitant rise in the number of medical images. Picture archiving and communication system (PACS) allows filmless storage by digitizing images to record and store into the optical disk, and allows the rapid data retrieval and transmission. It is anticipated that PACS may be a promising approach to the medical routine practice. In January 1991, Hitachi PACS was introduced in Tokyo Hitachi Hospital. In this paper, the experience with PACS in the clinical setting is presented. The process of improvement in PACS is given in terms of the following: the flow of images, image deletion in the image workstation, and the number of sequential images to be observed. (N.K.)

Image-based medical expert teleconsultation in acute care of injuries. A systematic review of effects on information accuracy, diagnostic validity, clinical outcome, and user satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Hasselberg, Marie; Beer, Netta; Blom, Lisa; Wallis, Lee A; Laflamme, Lucie

2014-01-01

To systematically review the literature on image-based telemedicine for medical expert consultation in acute care of injuries, considering system, user, and clinical aspects. Systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles. Searches of five databases and in eligible articles, relevant reviews, and specialized peer-reviewed journals. Studies were included that covered teleconsultation systems based on image capture and transfer with the objective of seeking medical expertise for the diagnostic and treatment of acute injury care and that presented the evaluation of one or several aspects of the system based on empirical data. Studies of systems not under routine practice or including real-time interactive video conferencing were excluded. The procedures used in this review followed the PRISMA Statement. Predefined criteria were used for the assessment of the risk of bias. The DeLone and McLean Information System Success Model was used as a framework to synthesise the results according to system quality, user satisfaction, information quality and net benefits. All data extractions were done by at least two reviewers independently. Out of 331 articles, 24 were found eligible. Diagnostic validity and management outcomes were often studied; fewer studies focused on system quality and user satisfaction. Most systems were evaluated at a feasibility stage or during small-scale pilot testing. Although the results of the evaluations were generally positive, biases in the methodology of evaluation were concerning selection, performance and exclusion. Gold standards and statistical tests were not always used when assessing diagnostic validity and patient management. Image-based telemedicine systems for injury emergency care tend to support valid diagnosis and influence patient management. The evidence relates to a few clinical fields, and has substantial methodological shortcomings. As in the case of telemedicine in general, user and system quality aspects are poorly

Diagnostic system and diagnostic experiences at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katona, Tamas

1986-01-01

The major functions of the diagnostic system of the first two units of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant are as follows: monitoring the mechanical integrity of the reactor and the primary coolant circuit by means of vibration diagnostics; leakage detection of the primary coolant circuit by means of high frequency sonic analysis; loose parts monitoring based on the analysis of high frequency signals of acceleration detectors; and monitoring the vibration state of the turbines and rotary machines by the latter method or by a procedure based on the detection of mechanical vibrations. Up-to-date vibration diagnostics is based on the information supplied by either acceleration detectors or pressure fluctuation detectors, or in-core and ex-core neutron detectors. (V.N.)

Overview of data acquisition system for SST-1 diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Manika; Mansuri, Imran; Raval, Tushar; Sharma, A.L; Pradhan, S.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • An account of architecture and data acquisition activities of SST-1 data acquisition system (DAS) for SST-1 diagnostics and subsystems. • PXI based Data acquisition system and CAMAC based Data acquisition system for slow and fast plasma diagnostics. • SST-1 DAS interface and its communication with SST-1 central control system. Integration of SST-1 DAS with timing system. • SST-1 DAS data archival and data analysis. - Abstract: The recent first phase operations of SST-1 in short pulse mode have provided an excellent opportunity for the essential initial tests and benchmark of the SST-1 Data Acquisition System. This paper describes the SST-1 Data Acquisition systems (DAS), which with its heterogeneous composition and distributed architecture, aims to cover a wide range of slow to fast channels interfaced with a large set of diagnostics. The DAS also provides the essential user interface for data acquisition to cater both on and off-line data usage. The central archiving and retrieval service is based on a dual step architecture involving a combination of Network Attached Server (NAS) and a Storage Area Network (SAN). SST-1 Data Acquisition Systems have been reliably operated in the SST-1 experimental campaigns. At present different distributed DAS caters the need of around 130 channels from different SST-1 diagnostics and its subsystems. PXI based DAS and CAMAC based DAS have been chosen to cater the need, with sampling rates varying from 10Ksamples/sec to 1Msamples/sec. For these large sets of channels acquiring from individual diagnostics and subsystems has been a combined setup, subjected to a gradual phase of optimization and tests resulting into a series of improvisations over the recent operations. In order to facilitate a reliable data acquisition, the model further integrates the objects of the systems with the Central Control System of SST-1 using the TCP/IP communication. The associated DAS software essentially addresses the

Overview of data acquisition system for SST-1 diagnostics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharma, Manika, E-mail: bithi@ipr.res.in; Mansuri, Imran; Raval, Tushar; Sharma, A.L; Pradhan, S.

2016-11-15

Highlights: • An account of architecture and data acquisition activities of SST-1 data acquisition system (DAS) for SST-1 diagnostics and subsystems. • PXI based Data acquisition system and CAMAC based Data acquisition system for slow and fast plasma diagnostics. • SST-1 DAS interface and its communication with SST-1 central control system. Integration of SST-1 DAS with timing system. • SST-1 DAS data archival and data analysis. - Abstract: The recent first phase operations of SST-1 in short pulse mode have provided an excellent opportunity for the essential initial tests and benchmark of the SST-1 Data Acquisition System. This paper describes the SST-1 Data Acquisition systems (DAS), which with its heterogeneous composition and distributed architecture, aims to cover a wide range of slow to fast channels interfaced with a large set of diagnostics. The DAS also provides the essential user interface for data acquisition to cater both on and off-line data usage. The central archiving and retrieval service is based on a dual step architecture involving a combination of Network Attached Server (NAS) and a Storage Area Network (SAN). SST-1 Data Acquisition Systems have been reliably operated in the SST-1 experimental campaigns. At present different distributed DAS caters the need of around 130 channels from different SST-1 diagnostics and its subsystems. PXI based DAS and CAMAC based DAS have been chosen to cater the need, with sampling rates varying from 10Ksamples/sec to 1Msamples/sec. For these large sets of channels acquiring from individual diagnostics and subsystems has been a combined setup, subjected to a gradual phase of optimization and tests resulting into a series of improvisations over the recent operations. In order to facilitate a reliable data acquisition, the model further integrates the objects of the systems with the Central Control System of SST-1 using the TCP/IP communication. The associated DAS software essentially addresses the

The study on cytogenetic analysis and dosimetry reconstruction for medical diagnostic X-ray workers using G-banding and fluorescence in situ hybridization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Jin; Wang Qin; Tang Weisheng; Sun Yuanming; Wang Zhiquan

2003-01-01

Objective: To estimate the dose of medical diagnostic X-ray workers. Methods: The chromosome aberrations were analyzed by G-banding or FISH in medical diagnostic X-ray workers with different calendar years of entry. Results: The biological doses estimated by the two methods were in agreement with the doses evaluated by physical methods. Conclusion: G-banding and FISH are effective ways to analyse the chromosome translocations

Translating silicon nanowire BioFET sensor-technology to embedded point-of-care medical diagnostics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pfreundt, Andrea; Zulfiqar, Azeem; Patou, François

2013-01-01

Silicon nanowire and nanoribbon biosensors have shown great promise in the detection of biomarkers at very low concentrations. Their high sensitivity makes them ideal candidates for use in early-stage medical diagnostics and further disease monitoring where low amounts of biomarkers need to be de......Silicon nanowire and nanoribbon biosensors have shown great promise in the detection of biomarkers at very low concentrations. Their high sensitivity makes them ideal candidates for use in early-stage medical diagnostics and further disease monitoring where low amounts of biomarkers need...... to be detected. However, in order to translate this technology from the bench to the bedside, a number of key issues need to be taken into consideration: Integrating nanobiosensors-based technology requires to overcome the difficult tradeoff between imperatives for high device reproducibilty and associated...... rising fabrication costs. Also the translation of nano-scale sensor technology into daily-use point-of-care devices requires acknowledgement of the end-user requirements, making device portability and human-interfacing a focus point in device development. Sample handling or purification for instance...

A flexible simulator for training an early fault diagnostic system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marsiletti, M.; Santinelli, A.; Zuenkov, M.; Poletykin, A.

1997-01-01

An early fault diagnostic system has been developed addressed to timely trouble shooting in process plants during any operational modes. The theory of this diagnostic system is related with the usage of learning methods for automatic generation of knowledge bases. This approach enables the conversion of ''cause→effect'' relations into ''effect→possible-causes'' ones. The diagnostic rules are derived from the operation of a plant simulator according to a specific procedure. Flexibility, accuracy and high speed are the major characteristics of the training simulator, used to generate the diagnostic knowledge base. The simulator structure is very flexible, being based on LEGO code but allowing the use of practically any kind of FORTRAN routines (recently also ACSL macros has been introduced) as plant modules: this permits, when needed, a very accurate description of the malfunctions the diagnostic system should ''known''. The high speed is useful to shorten the ''learning'' phase of the diagnostic system. The feasibility of the overall system has been assessed, using as reference plant the conventional Sampierdarena (Italy) power station, that is a combined cycle plant dedicated to produce both electrical and heat power. The hardware configuration of this prototype system was made up of a network of a Hewlett-Packard workstation and a Digital VAX-Station. The paper illustrates the basic structure of the simulator used for this diagnostic system training purpose, as well as the theoretical background on which the diagnostic system is based. Some evidence of the effectiveness of the concept through the application to Sampierdarena 40 MW cogeneration plant is reported. Finally an outline of an ongoing application to a WWER-1000 plant is given; the operating system is, in this case, UNIX. (author)

Pediatric radiological diagnostics in suspected child abuse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erfurt, C.; Schmidt, U.; Hahn, G.; Roesner, D.

2009-01-01

Advanced and specialized radiological diagnostics are essential in the case of clinical suspicion of pediatric injuries to the head, thorax, abdomen, and extremities when there is no case history or when ''battered child syndrome'' is assumed on the basis of inadequate trauma. In particular, the aim of this sophisticated diagnostic procedure is the detection of lesions of the central nervous system (CNS) in order to initiate prompt medical treatment. If diagnostic imaging shows typical findings of child abuse, accurate documented evidence of the diagnostic results is required to prevent further endangerment of the child's welfare. (orig.) [de

In-phantom spectrometry of medical diagnostic x rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stansbury, P.S.

1977-10-01

A program of measurements was made to determine the spectral fluence distributions at locations of significance in a heterogeneous, hominoid phantom exposed to x rays in a manner simulating medical diagnostic radiology. The measurements were made with a specially constructed NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The detector had a spherically shaped active volume 0.6 cm in diameter. The resolution of this detector was five times worse than that of a more conventional NaI(Tl) spectrometer. Resolution broadening and other distortions were removed from the observed pulse height spectra with a computer-coded, iterative unfolding technique. The performance of the spectrometer and the unfolding scheme was assessed by comparing, in a few cases, the unfolded NaI(Tl) spectra with spectra determined with a high resolution Ge(Li) spectrometer. The measurements were made in a physical model of an idealized representation of an average adult patient

In-phantom spectrometry of medical diagnostic x rays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stansbury, P. S.

1977-10-01

A program of measurements was made to determine the spectral fluence distributions at locations of significance in a heterogeneous, hominoid phantom exposed to x rays in a manner simulating medical diagnostic radiology. The measurements were made with a specially constructed NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The detector had a spherically shaped active volume 0.6 cm in diameter. The resolution of this detector was five times worse than that of a more conventional NaI(Tl) spectrometer. Resolution broadening and other distortions were removed from the observed pulse height spectra with a computer-coded, iterative unfolding technique. The performance of the spectrometer and the unfolding scheme was assessed by comparing, in a few cases, the unfolded NaI(Tl) spectra with spectra determined with a high resolution Ge(Li) spectrometer. The measurements were made in a physical model of an idealized representation of an average adult patient.

Medical capsule robots: A renaissance for diagnostics, drug delivery and surgical treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Mapara, Sanyat S; Patravale, Vandana B

2017-09-10

The advancements in electronics and the progress in nanotechnology have resulted in path breaking development that will transform the way diagnosis and treatment are carried out currently. This development is Medical Capsule Robots, which has emerged from the science fiction idea of robots travelling inside the body to diagnose and cure disorders. The first marketed capsule robot was a capsule endoscope developed to capture images of the gastrointestinal tract. Today, varieties of capsule endoscopes are available in the market. They are slightly larger than regular oral capsules, made up of a biocompatible case and have electronic circuitry and mechanisms to capture and transmit images. In addition, robots with diagnostic features such as in vivo body temperature detection and pH monitoring have also been launched in the market. However, a multi-functional unit that will diagnose and cure diseases inside the body has not yet been realized. A remote controlled capsule that will undertake drug delivery and surgical treatment has not been successfully launched in the market. High cost, inadequate power supply, lack of control over drug release, limited space for drug storage on the capsule, inadequate safety and no mechanisms for active locomotion and anchoring have prevented their entry in the market. The capsule robots can revolutionize the current way of diagnosis and treatment. This paper discusses in detail the applications of medical capsule robots in diagnostics, drug delivery and surgical treatment. In diagnostics, detailed analysis has been presented on wireless capsule endoscopes, issues associated with the marketed versions and their corresponding solutions in literature. Moreover, an assessment has been made of the existing state of remote controlled capsules for targeted drug delivery and surgical treatment and their future impact is predicted. Besides the need for multi-functional capsule robots and the areas for further research have also been

An expert system for turbogenerator diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bessenyei, Z.; Tomcsanyi, T.; Toth, Z.; Laczay, I.

1992-01-01

In 1990, an expert system for turbo-generator diagnostics (EST-D) was installed at the 3rd and 4th units of the Paks NPP (Hungary). The expert system is strongly integrated to the ARGUS II vibration monitoring and diagnostics system. The system works on IBM PC AT. The VEIKI's and the NPP's human experts were interviewed to fill up the knowledgebase. The system is able to identify 13 different faults of the parts of a turbogenerator. The knowledgebase consists of ca 200 rules. The rules were built in and the system was verified and validated using a model of the turbines and using the experiences gathered with ARGUS II during the last 3 years. The maintenance personnel is authorized to modify and/or extend the knowledgebase. The input data for evaluation come from measured vibration patterns produced by the ARGUS II system, database of events, and maintenance data input by the maintenance personnel. The expert system is based on the modified GENESYS 2.1 shell (developed by SZAMALK, Hungary). Some limitations from PC application were eliminated, and a new, independent explanation module and man-machine interface were developed. Using this man-machine interface, one of the basic goals of the expert system developments was achieved: the human experts contribution is not necessary for diagnoses. The operator of the diagnostics system is able to produce the reports of diagnoses. Of course the interface allows the human experts to see the diagnoses through. It should be mentioned, at the beginning of 1991, we installed a similar expert system at the 1st 1000 MW WWER type unit of the Kalinin NPP (Soviet Union). In this paper, the operation of the EST-D, the man-machine interface and the operational experiences of the first 4 months work are explained. 2 refs., 14 figs

Clinical applications of SONIALVISION 100 digital diagnostic table system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiomi, Takeshi; Shimizu, Tatsuya; Iinuma, Masao; Takemoto, Hajime; Tanaka, Shuji

2003-01-01

This report refers to the clinical applications of our newly developed SONIALVISION 100 fully digitalized X-ray diagnostic table system. The main design concept of the SONIALVISION 100 system is the improvement of workflow in various clinical fields. The development of digital imaging technologies has come to allow fully digitalized X-ray diagnostic table systems to be widely utilized in various clinical applications, including interventional radiology (IVR) and examinations using contrast medium. This report mainly refers to the clinical applications of the Shimadzu SONIALVISION 100 digitalized X-ray diagnostic table system, also presenting some typical image data demonstrating the high efficiency, made available through the use of this new system, in high-speed spot imaging and digital tomography. (author)

OpenID Connect as a security service in cloud-based medical imaging systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Weina; Sartipi, Kamran; Sharghigoorabi, Hassan; Koff, David; Bak, Peter

2016-04-01

The evolution of cloud computing is driving the next generation of medical imaging systems. However, privacy and security concerns have been consistently regarded as the major obstacles for adoption of cloud computing by healthcare domains. OpenID Connect, combining OpenID and OAuth together, is an emerging representational state transfer-based federated identity solution. It is one of the most adopted open standards to potentially become the de facto standard for securing cloud computing and mobile applications, which is also regarded as "Kerberos of cloud." We introduce OpenID Connect as an authentication and authorization service in cloud-based diagnostic imaging (DI) systems, and propose enhancements that allow for incorporating this technology within distributed enterprise environments. The objective of this study is to offer solutions for secure sharing of medical images among diagnostic imaging repository (DI-r) and heterogeneous picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) as well as Web-based and mobile clients in the cloud ecosystem. The main objective is to use OpenID Connect open-source single sign-on and authorization service and in a user-centric manner, while deploying DI-r and PACS to private or community clouds should provide equivalent security levels to traditional computing model.

Reducing Diagnostic Errors through Effective Communication: Harnessing the Power of Information Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Naik, Aanand Dinkar; Rao, Raghuram; Petersen, Laura Ann

2008-01-01

Diagnostic errors are poorly understood despite being a frequent cause of medical errors. Recent efforts have aimed to advance the "basic science" of diagnostic error prevention by tracing errors to their most basic origins. Although a refined theory of diagnostic error prevention will take years to formulate, we focus on communication breakdown, a major contributor to diagnostic errors and an increasingly recognized preventable factor in medical mishaps. We describe a comprehensive framework that integrates the potential sources of communication breakdowns within the diagnostic process and identifies vulnerable steps in the diagnostic process where various types of communication breakdowns can precipitate error. We then discuss potential information technology-based interventions that may have efficacy in preventing one or more forms of these breakdowns. These possible intervention strategies include using new technologies to enhance communication between health providers and health systems, improve patient involvement, and facilitate management of information in the medical record. PMID:18373151

Advanced Light Source beam diagnostics systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hinkson, J.

1993-10-01

The Advanced Light Source (ALS), a third-generation synchrotron light source, has been recently commissioned. Beam diagnostics were very important to the success of the operation. Each diagnostic system is described in this paper along with detailed discussion of its performance. Some of the systems have been in operation for two years. Others, in the storage ring, have not yet been fully commissioned. These systems were, however, working well enough to provide the essential information needed to store beam. The devices described in this paper include wall current monitors, a beam charge monitor, a 50 ohm Faraday cup, DC current transformers, broad-hand striplines, fluorescence screens, beam collimators and scrapers, and beam position monitors. Also, the means by which waveforms are digitized and displayed in the control room is discussed

Unintentional exposure to radiation during pregnancy from nuclear medical diagnostic procedures; Unabsichtliche Strahlenexposition in der Schwangerschaft durch nuklearmedizinische Diagnostik

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moka, D. [Gemeinschaftspraxis fuer Radiologie und Nuklearmedizin, Essen (Germany)

2005-12-01

The administration of radiopharmaceuticals during pregnancy is contraindicated due to a lack of vital indications. However, if prenatal exposure to radiation should occur in the framework of a nuclear medical diagnostic procedure then fortunately no longterm side-effects would normally be expected. Radiation damage in the preimplantation phase leads to early abortion. However, if the further course of pregnancy remains uncomplicated then no subsequent side-effects need be expected. On a conservative estimate, it would require doses exceeding 50 mGy to cause radiation damage within the uterus after the preimplantation phase. However, the standard radioactivities applied for diagnostic purposes in nuclear medicine, can be obtained with doses of less than 20 mGy. On the basis of current knowledge, therefore, there is no reason to terminate pregnancy on medical grounds after diagnostic exposure to radiopharmaceuticals. (orig.)

The potential of high resolution melting analysis (hrma) to streamline, facilitate and enrich routine diagnostics in medical microbiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruskova, Lenka; Raclavsky, Vladislav

2011-09-01

Routine medical microbiology diagnostics relies on conventional cultivation followed by phenotypic techniques for identification of pathogenic bacteria and fungi. This is not only due to tradition and economy but also because it provides pure culture needed for antibiotic susceptibility testing. This review focuses on the potential of High Resolution Melting Analysis (HRMA) of double-stranded DNA for future routine medical microbiology. Search of MEDLINE database for publications showing the advantages of HRMA in routine medical microbiology for identification, strain typing and further characterization of pathogenic bacteria and fungi in particular. The results show increasing numbers of newly-developed and more tailor-made assays in this field. For microbiologists unfamiliar with technical aspects of HRMA, we also provide insight into the technique from the perspective of microbial characterization. We can anticipate that the routine availability of HRMA in medical microbiology laboratories will provide a strong stimulus to this field. This is already envisioned by the growing number of medical microbiology applications published recently. The speed, power, convenience and cost effectiveness of this technology virtually predestine that it will advance genetic characterization of microbes and streamline, facilitate and enrich diagnostics in routine medical microbiology without interfering with the proven advantages of conventional cultivation.

Medical imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elliott, Alex

2005-01-01

Diagnostic medical imaging is a fundamental part of the practice of modern medicine and is responsible for the expenditure of considerable amounts of capital and revenue monies in healthcare systems around the world. Much research and development work is carried out, both by commercial companies and the academic community. This paper reviews briefly each of the major diagnostic medical imaging techniques-X-ray (planar and CT), ultrasound, nuclear medicine (planar, SPECT and PET) and magnetic resonance. The technical challenges facing each are highlighted, with some of the most recent developments. In terms of the future, interventional/peri-operative imaging, the advancement of molecular medicine and gene therapy are identified as potential areas of expansion

BRAIN Journal - Cognitive Medical Multiagent Systems

OpenAIRE

Barna Iantovics

2017-01-01

Abstract The development of efficient and flexible agent-based medical diagnosis systems represents a recent research direction. Medical multiagent systems may improve the efficiency of traditionally developed medical computational systems, like the medical expert systems. In our previous researches, a novel cooperative medical diagnosis multiagent system called CMDS (Contract Net Based Medical Diagnosis System) was proposed. CMDS system can solve flexibly a large variety of medical diagn...

RANZAR Body Systems Framework of diagnostic imaging examination descriptors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pitman, Alexander D.; Penlington, Lisa; Doromal, Darren; Vukolova, Natalia; Slater, Gregory

2014-01-01

A unified and logical system of descriptors for diagnostic imaging examinations and procedures is a desirable resource for radiology in Australia and New Zealand and is needed to support core activities of RANZCR. Existing descriptor systems available in Australia and New Zealand (including the Medicare DIST and the ACC Schedule) have significant limitations and are inappropriate for broader clinical application. An anatomically based grid was constructed, with anatomical structures arranged in rows and diagnostic imaging modalities arranged in columns (including nuclear medicine and positron emission tomography). The grid was segregated into five body systems. The cells at the intersection of an anatomical structure row and an imaging modality column were populated with short, formulaic descriptors of the applicable diagnostic imaging examinations. Clinically illogical or physically impossible combinations were ‘greyed out’. Where the same examination applied to different anatomical structures, the descriptor was kept identical for the purposes of streamlining. The resulting Body Systems Framework of diagnostic imaging examination descriptors lists all the reasonably common diagnostic imaging examinations currently performed in Australia and New Zealand using a unified grid structure allowing navigation by both referrers and radiologists. The Framework has been placed on the RANZCR website and is available for access free of charge by registered users. The Body Systems Framework of diagnostic imaging examination descriptors is a system of descriptors based on relationships between anatomical structures and imaging modalities. The Framework is now available as a resource and reference point for the radiology profession and to support core College activities.

RANZCR Body Systems Framework of diagnostic imaging examination descriptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Pitman, Alexander G; Penlington, Lisa; Doromal, Darren; Slater, Gregory; Vukolova, Natalia

2014-08-01

A unified and logical system of descriptors for diagnostic imaging examinations and procedures is a desirable resource for radiology in Australia and New Zealand and is needed to support core activities of RANZCR. Existing descriptor systems available in Australia and New Zealand (including the Medicare DIST and the ACC Schedule) have significant limitations and are inappropriate for broader clinical application. An anatomically based grid was constructed, with anatomical structures arranged in rows and diagnostic imaging modalities arranged in columns (including nuclear medicine and positron emission tomography). The grid was segregated into five body systems. The cells at the intersection of an anatomical structure row and an imaging modality column were populated with short, formulaic descriptors of the applicable diagnostic imaging examinations. Clinically illogical or physically impossible combinations were 'greyed out'. Where the same examination applied to different anatomical structures, the descriptor was kept identical for the purposes of streamlining. The resulting Body Systems Framework of diagnostic imaging examination descriptors lists all the reasonably common diagnostic imaging examinations currently performed in Australia and New Zealand using a unified grid structure allowing navigation by both referrers and radiologists. The Framework has been placed on the RANZCR website and is available for access free of charge by registered users. The Body Systems Framework of diagnostic imaging examination descriptors is a system of descriptors based on relationships between anatomical structures and imaging modalities. The Framework is now available as a resource and reference point for the radiology profession and to support core College activities. © 2014 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.

Study of results of prophylactic medical examination of personnel of radioisotope diagnostic laboratories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mokrousova, Eh.V.

1988-01-01

Preliminary results of the analysis of frequency of revealed diseases in radiological diagnostic personnel of leningrad medical establishments are given. A close connection between the frequency of revealed diseases and the age is more manifested than between the frequency of revealed diseases and personnel length of service. By the end of occupational activity the frequency of radiological personnel diseases doesn't exceed the similar frequency in population. 3 refs; 2 tabs

MO-AB-210-00: Diagnostic Ultrasound Imaging Quality Control and High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Therapy Hands-On Workshop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

The goal of this ultrasound hands-on workshop is to demonstrate advancements in high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and to demonstrate quality control (QC) testing in diagnostic ultrasound. HIFU is a therapeutic modality that uses ultrasound waves as carriers of energy. HIFU is used to focus a beam of ultrasound energy into a small volume at specific target locations within the body. The focused beam causes localized high temperatures and produces a well-defined regions of necrosis. This completely non-invasive technology has great potential for tumor ablation and targeted drug delivery. At the workshop, attendees will see configurations, applications, and hands-on demonstrations with on-site instructors at separate stations. The involvement of medical physicists in diagnostic ultrasound imaging service is increasing due to QC and accreditation requirements. At the workshop, an array of ultrasound testing phantoms and ultrasound scanners will be provided for attendees to learn diagnostic ultrasound QC in a hands-on environment with live demonstrations of the techniques. Target audience: Medical physicists and other medical professionals in diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology with interest in high-intensity focused ultrasound and in diagnostic ultrasound QC. Learning Objectives: Learn ultrasound physics and safety for HIFU applications through live demonstrations Get an overview of the state-of-the art in HIFU technologies and equipment Gain familiarity with common elements of a quality control program for diagnostic ultrasound imaging Identify QC tools available for testing diagnostic ultrasound systems and learn how to use these tools List of supporting vendors for HIFU and diagnostic ultrasound QC hands-on workshop: Philips Healthcare Alpinion Medical Systems Verasonics, Inc Zonare Medical Systems, Inc Computerized Imaging Reference Systems (CIRS), Inc. GAMMEX, Inc., Cablon Medical BV Steffen Sammet: NIH/NCI grant 5R25CA132822, NIH/NINDS grant 5R25NS

MO-AB-210-00: Diagnostic Ultrasound Imaging Quality Control and High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Therapy Hands-On Workshop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2015-06-15

The goal of this ultrasound hands-on workshop is to demonstrate advancements in high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and to demonstrate quality control (QC) testing in diagnostic ultrasound. HIFU is a therapeutic modality that uses ultrasound waves as carriers of energy. HIFU is used to focus a beam of ultrasound energy into a small volume at specific target locations within the body. The focused beam causes localized high temperatures and produces a well-defined regions of necrosis. This completely non-invasive technology has great potential for tumor ablation and targeted drug delivery. At the workshop, attendees will see configurations, applications, and hands-on demonstrations with on-site instructors at separate stations. The involvement of medical physicists in diagnostic ultrasound imaging service is increasing due to QC and accreditation requirements. At the workshop, an array of ultrasound testing phantoms and ultrasound scanners will be provided for attendees to learn diagnostic ultrasound QC in a hands-on environment with live demonstrations of the techniques. Target audience: Medical physicists and other medical professionals in diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology with interest in high-intensity focused ultrasound and in diagnostic ultrasound QC. Learning Objectives: Learn ultrasound physics and safety for HIFU applications through live demonstrations Get an overview of the state-of-the art in HIFU technologies and equipment Gain familiarity with common elements of a quality control program for diagnostic ultrasound imaging Identify QC tools available for testing diagnostic ultrasound systems and learn how to use these tools List of supporting vendors for HIFU and diagnostic ultrasound QC hands-on workshop: Philips Healthcare Alpinion Medical Systems Verasonics, Inc Zonare Medical Systems, Inc Computerized Imaging Reference Systems (CIRS), Inc. GAMMEX, Inc., Cablon Medical BV Steffen Sammet: NIH/NCI grant 5R25CA132822, NIH/NINDS grant 5R25NS

Role of the medical physicist in quality control in diagnostic x-ray departments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cameron, J.R.

1973-01-01

Medical physicists can play a role in education of future radiologists and technologists by teaching quality control needs and techniques. He or she can also provide service to the diagnostic section by establishing a quality control program. Finally, the medical physicist can play an important role in the development of simple and inexpensive techniques for quality control by radiological technologists. The ongoing work at the University of Wisconsin in this area is to provide quality control in measurement of the effective kVcp, the measurement of the effective focal spot size, the performance of the processing equipment, the output in mR/mAs, and the measurement of the half-value-layer and the total filtration. (U.S.)

Health care sensor--based systems for point of care monitoring and diagnostic applications: a brief survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsakalakis, Michail; Bourbakis, Nicolaos G

2014-01-01

Continuous, real-time remote monitoring through medical point--of--care (POC) systems appears to draw the interest of the scientific community for healthcare monitoring and diagnostic applications the last decades. Towards this direction a significant merit has been due to the advancements in several scientific fields. Portable, wearable and implantable apparatus may contribute to the betterment of today's healthcare system which suffers from fundamental hindrances. The number and heterogeneity of such devices and systems regarding both software and hardware components, i.e sensors, antennas, acquisition circuits, as well as the medical applications that are designed for, is impressive. Objective of the current study is to present the major technological advancements that are considered to be the driving forces in the design of such systems, to briefly state the new aspects they can deliver in healthcare and finally, the identification, categorization and a first level evaluation of them.

On-line diagnostics for a real time system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sreenivasan, P.

1976-01-01

The purpose of an on-line diagnostics is to infuse the ability of self diagnosing in an online computer to enhance its dependability in a real time system. Such a diagnostics evolved for the CDPS of the Fast Breeder Test Reactor at Kalpakkam is reported. The two phases of the diagnostics, i.e., the malfunction detection and post detection action are described in some detail. (A.K.)

Diagnostic Imaging Workshop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sociedad Argentina de Fisica Medica

2012-01-01

The American Association of Physicist in Medicine (AAPM), the International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP) and the Argentina Society of Medical Physics (SAFIM) was organized the Diagnostic Imaging Workshop 2012, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. This workshop was an oriented training and scientific exchange between professionals and technicians who work in medical physics, especially in the areas of diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy, with special emphasis on the use of multimodal imaging for radiation treatment, planning as well of quality assurance associates.

WE-AB-206-01: Diagnostic Ultrasound Imaging Quality Assurance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zagzebski, J. [University of Wisconsin (United States)

2016-06-15

The involvement of medical physicists in diagnostic ultrasound imaging service is increasing due to QC and accreditation requirements. The goal of this ultrasound hands-on workshop is to demonstrate quality control (QC) testing in diagnostic ultrasound and to provide updates in ACR ultrasound accreditation requirements. The first half of this workshop will include two presentations reviewing diagnostic ultrasound QA/QC and ACR ultrasound accreditation requirements. The second half of the workshop will include live demonstrations of basic QC tests. An array of ultrasound testing phantoms and ultrasound scanners will be available for attendees to learn diagnostic ultrasound QC in a hands-on environment with live demonstrations and on-site instructors. The targeted attendees are medical physicists in diagnostic imaging. Learning Objectives: Gain familiarity with common elements of a QA/QC program for diagnostic ultrasound imaging dentify QC tools available for testing diagnostic ultrasound systems and learn how to use these tools Learn ACR ultrasound accreditation requirements Jennifer Walter is an employee of American College of Radiology on Ultrasound Accreditation.

WE-AB-206-01: Diagnostic Ultrasound Imaging Quality Assurance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zagzebski, J.

2016-01-01

The involvement of medical physicists in diagnostic ultrasound imaging service is increasing due to QC and accreditation requirements. The goal of this ultrasound hands-on workshop is to demonstrate quality control (QC) testing in diagnostic ultrasound and to provide updates in ACR ultrasound accreditation requirements. The first half of this workshop will include two presentations reviewing diagnostic ultrasound QA/QC and ACR ultrasound accreditation requirements. The second half of the workshop will include live demonstrations of basic QC tests. An array of ultrasound testing phantoms and ultrasound scanners will be available for attendees to learn diagnostic ultrasound QC in a hands-on environment with live demonstrations and on-site instructors. The targeted attendees are medical physicists in diagnostic imaging. Learning Objectives: Gain familiarity with common elements of a QA/QC program for diagnostic ultrasound imaging dentify QC tools available for testing diagnostic ultrasound systems and learn how to use these tools Learn ACR ultrasound accreditation requirements Jennifer Walter is an employee of American College of Radiology on Ultrasound Accreditation.

Effective diagnostic DAQ systems to reduce unnecessary data in KSTAR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Taegu, E-mail: glory@nfri.re.kr; Lee, Woongryol; Hong, Jaesic; Park, Kaprai

2016-11-15

Highlights: • When plasma shots do not successfully perform during the intended target time, the diagnostics systems continue to record these unusable data, contributing to increasing data size. • To overcome this problem, some KSTAR’s library were upgraded to monitor the plasma status in real-time. • With the real-time information of plasma status, some of the KSTAR diagnostic systems stop the acquisition process of unnecessary data. • We were able to reduce the refuse data of approximately 698 GByte in the KSTAR 7th campaign. • It was a very effective way to store useful data, and it was helpful to analysts after shot. - Abstract: The plasma status of Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) is measured by various diagnostics systems. The measured data size has been increasing every year due to increasing plasma pulse lengths, higher diagnostics operating frequencies, the additions of new diagnostic systems, and an increasing number of diagnostics channels. At times, when plasma shots do not successfully perform during the intended target time, the diagnostics systems continue to record these unusable data, contributing to increasing data size. In addition, the analysis time was affected, as these data need to be separated from the relevant data set. To overcome this problem, KSTAR’s Standard Framework (SFW), Real Time Monitoring (RTMON), and Pulse Automation and Scheduling System (PASS) were upgraded to monitor the plasma status in real-time. When the plasma current is less than 200kA, RTMON sends the plasma status information every second to the SFW via EPICS Channel Access. With the real-time information on plasma status, some of the KSTAR diagnostic systems stop the acquisition process of unnecessary data. This paper describes a method for reducing the storage of unnecessary data and its results in the KSTAR 7th campaign.

Development of the Model of the System of Managerial Diagnostics of the Enterprise on the Basis of Improvement of Diagnostic Purposes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grzegorz Pawlowski

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the article is to develop a model of the system of managerial diagnostics of the enterprise on the basis of the improvement of diagnostic purposes. The developed model of the system of managerial diagnostics of the enterprise is a set of subjects (owners, managers, investors, specialists, etc., objects (management system, resources, technology, methods (a set of methods and means, business indicators and criteria (parameters that, when interacting, provide the achievement (efficient and effective of the diagnostic objectives of the system of the objectives of managerial diagnostics of the enterprise, taking into account the compliance of its competitive strategy of the state of the environment function of direct action (competitors, customers, suppliers, mediators, and other contact audiences in the context of improving the efficiency and developing the management. It is determined that the system of goals of the model of the system of managerial diagnostics of the enterprise (taking into account the ensuring of the compliance of the system of management with strategic goals and tactical tasks form the following key diagnostic objectives that require improvement on the basis of business indicators (parameters, namely: 1 diagnostics of the effectiveness of controlling the internal business processes of the enterprise; 2 diagnostics of the effectiveness of the typical organizational structure of enterprise management; 3 diagnostics of the efficiency of standardization of the work of linear and functional managers and specialists at the enterprise; 4 diagnostics of the enterprise in the areas of vocational education, labor activity and motivation, innovation work and social development; 5 diagnostics of the level of conflict in the team at the enterprise; 6 diagnostics of efficiency of use of information technologies in the management of the enterprise. The prospect of further research in this area is to improve the complex system of

Hungarian medical physics MSc education

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Legrady, D.; Czifrus, Z.; Zarand, P.; Aszodi, A.; Pesznyak, C.; Major, T.

2012-01-01

The medical physics specialisation aims at providing high level interdisciplinary theoretical and practical knowledge and readily applicable skills, which can put into action in both the clinical and the R and D field. The first competence based gradual medical physics course in the B.Sc./M.Sc. system in Hungary was launched two years ago at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Budapest University of Technology and Economics managed by the Institute of Nuclear Techniques. The MSc programme was compiled on the base of EFOMP, IPEM, AAPM and IAEA recommendations. The course curriculum comprises fundamental physical subjects (atomic and molecular physics, nuclear physics and particle physics) as well as fundamental medical knowledge (anatomy, physiology and radiobiology) required for subjects of diagnostic and therapy. Students of this MSc branch may chose further subjects from a 'compulsory optional' set of subjects, which contains medical imaging, X-ray diagnostics, radiation therapy, magnetic resonance imaging, radiation protection, Monte Carlo calculation and its clinical applications, ultrasound diagnostics and nuclear medicine. (authors)

Integrating nursing diagnostic concepts into the medical entities dictionary using the ISO Reference Terminology Model for Nursing Diagnosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Jee-In; Cimino, James J; Bakken, Suzanne

2003-01-01

The purposes of the study were (1) to evaluate the usefulness of the International Standards Organization (ISO) Reference Terminology Model for Nursing Diagnoses as a terminology model for defining nursing diagnostic concepts in the Medical Entities Dictionary (MED) and (2) to create the additional hierarchical structures required for integration of nursing diagnostic concepts into the MED. The authors dissected nursing diagnostic terms from two source terminologies (Home Health Care Classification and the Omaha System) into the semantic categories of the ISO model. Consistent with the ISO model, they selected Focus and Judgment as required semantic categories for creating intensional definitions of nursing diagnostic concepts in the MED. Because the MED does not include Focus and Judgment hierarchies, the authors developed them to define the nursing diagnostic concepts. The ISO model was sufficient for dissecting the source terminologies into atomic terms. The authors identified 162 unique focus concepts from the 266 nursing diagnosis terms for inclusion in the Focus hierarchy. For the Judgment hierarchy, the authors precoordinated Judgment and Potentiality instead of using Potentiality as a qualifier of Judgment as in the ISO model. Impairment and Alteration were the most frequently occurring judgments. Nursing care represents a large proportion of health care activities; thus, it is vital that terms used by nurses are integrated into concept-oriented terminologies that provide broad coverage for the domain of health care. This study supports the utility of the ISO Reference Terminology Model for Nursing Diagnoses as a facilitator for the integration process.

Beyond Diagnostic Accuracy: The Clinical Utility of Diagnostic Tests

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bossuyt, Patrick M. M.; Reitsma, Johannes B.; Linnet, Kristian; Moons, Karel G. M.

2012-01-01

Like any other medical technology or intervention, diagnostic tests should be thoroughly evaluated before their introduction into daily practice. Increasingly, decision makers, physicians, and other users of diagnostic tests request more than simple measures of a test's analytical or technical

Diagnostic and Measuring Systems of the Power Transformers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Michalik

2003-01-01

Full Text Available In the article the diagnostic and measuring systems dedicated for complex output tests of power transformers aswell as their diagnostic is dcscribcd. The aim of research in this area was to elaborate the problem of so-called open loop measuring system controlled by PC. The attribute "open" means the possibility to adapt the system for different electric equipment, different measurands and an zdaptation of the way of monitoring, evaluation and distribution of output information according to specific requirements the controlled transformer.

ISHM-oriented adaptive fault diagnostics for avionics based on a distributed intelligent agent system

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jiuping; Zhong, Zhengqiang; Xu, Lei

2015-10-01

In this paper, an integrated system health management-oriented adaptive fault diagnostics and model for avionics is proposed. With avionics becoming increasingly complicated, precise and comprehensive avionics fault diagnostics has become an extremely complicated task. For the proposed fault diagnostic system, specific approaches, such as the artificial immune system, the intelligent agents system and the Dempster-Shafer evidence theory, are used to conduct deep fault avionics diagnostics. Through this proposed fault diagnostic system, efficient and accurate diagnostics can be achieved. A numerical example is conducted to apply the proposed hybrid diagnostics to a set of radar transmitters on an avionics system and to illustrate that the proposed system and model have the ability to achieve efficient and accurate fault diagnostics. By analyzing the diagnostic system's feasibility and pragmatics, the advantages of this system are demonstrated.

Automated System for Control of the Vacuum Diagnostic System for the TJ-II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez Sanchez, A.; Montoro Peinado, A.; Encabo Fernandez, J.; Gama de la Serrano, J.; Sanchez Sarabia, E.

1999-12-01

This report describes the monitoring and remote control systems belonging to the high vacuum systems of the TJ-II diagnostics. These systems are part of each diagnostic and their control has been integrated into the automata that carries out this task. All the controllers are connected through a Profibus network, so as to interchange data between themselves as well as between the general system of TJ-II. (Author)

Local area network for the plasma diagnostics system of MFTF-B

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lau, N.H.; Minor, E.G.

1983-01-01

The MFTF-B Plasma Diagnostics System will be implemented in stages, beginning with a start-up set of diagnostics and evolving toward a basic set. The start-up set contains 12 diagnostics which will acquire a total of about 800 Kbytes of data per machine pulse; the basic set contains 23 diagnostics which will acquire a total of about 8 Mbytes of data per pulse. Each diagnostic is controlled by a Foundation System consisting of a DEC LSI-11/23 microcomputer connected to CAMAC via a 5 Mbits/second serial fiber-optic link and connected to a supervisory computer (Perkin-Elmer 3250) via a 9600 baud RS232 link. The Foundation System is a building block used throughout MFTF-B for control and status monitoring. However, its 9600 baud link to the supervisor presents a bottleneck for the large data transfers required by diagnostics. To overcome this bottleneck the diagnostics Foundation Systems will be connected together with an additional LSI-11/23 called the master to form a Local Area Network (LAN) for data acquisition

Lists I and II, nuclear medical diagnostics. As of January 18, 1983

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-01-01

The information booklet presents the guidelines of the Federal Association of Panel Doctors, concerning the minimum equipment required for nuclear medical diagnostics practices (nuclear medical equipment guidelines), in the amended version of May 18, 1981; it also contains the list I (modern commercially available equipment) and the list II (older types of equipment). The devices specified in these lists are products of firms that are members of the ZVEI, and are in compliance with the guidelines of the Panel Doctors' Association. Combinations of older computer equipment/cameras with up-to-date equipment, also come up to the standards given in the guidelines if specifically mentioned therein. The list of manufacturers gives addresses of the manufacturers of the equipment stated in list I and II. An appendix up-dates the information to the date of October 1, 1986. (orig./HP) [de

Laser and plasma diagnostics for the OMEGA Upgrade Laser System (invited) (abstract)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Letzring, S.A.

1995-01-01

The upgraded OMEGA laser system will be capable of delivering up to 30 kJ of 351-nm laser light with various temporal pulse shapes onto a variety of targets for both ICF and basic plasma physics experiments. ICF experiments will cover a wide parameter space up to near-ignition conditions, and basic interaction and plasma physics experiments will cover previously unattainable parameter spaces. The laser system is the tool with which the experiments are performed; the diagnostics, both of the laser system and the interaction between the laser and the target, form the heart of the experiment. A new suite of diagnostics is now being designed and constructed. Most of these are based on diagnostics previously fielded on the OMEGA laser system very successfully over the last ten years, but there are some new diagnostics, both for the laser and the interaction experiments, which have had to be invented. Laser system diagnostics include high-energy, full-beam calorimetry for all of the 60 beams of the upgrade; a novel, multispectral energy-measuring system for assessing the tuning of the frequency-multiplying crystals; a beam-balance diagnostic that forms the heart of the energy-balance system; and a peak power diagnostic that forms the heart of the power-balance system. Target diagnostics will include the usual time-integrated x-ray imaging systems, both pinhole cameras and x-ray microscopes; x-ray spectrometers, both imaging and spatially integrating; plamsa calorimeters, including x-ray calorimetry; and time-resolved x-ray diagnostics, both nonimaging and imaging in one and two dimensions. Neutron diagnostics will include several measurements of total yield, secondary, and possibly tertiary yield and neutron spectroscopy with several time-of-flight spectrometers. Other measurements will include ''knock-on'' particle measurements and neutron activation of shell materials as a diagnostic of compressed fuel and shell density

From molecular imaging to systems diagnostics: Time for another paradigm shift?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, King C.P. [Department of Radiology, Methodist Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, 6565 Fannin Street, D280 Houston, TX 77030 (United States)], E-mail: kli@tmhs.org

2009-05-15

The term 'Molecular Imaging' has hit the consciousness of radiologists only in the past decade although many of the concepts that molecular imaging encompasses has been practiced in biomedical imaging, especially in nuclear medicine, for many decades. Many new imaging techniques have allowed us to interrogate biologic events at the cellular and molecular level in vivo in four dimensions but the challenge now is to translate these techniques into clinical practice in a way that will enable us to revolutionize healthcare delivery. The purpose of this article is to introduce the term 'Systems Diagnostics' and examine how radiologists can become translators of disparate sources of information into medical decisions and therapeutic actions.

From molecular imaging to systems diagnostics: Time for another paradigm shift?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, King C.P.

2009-01-01

The term 'Molecular Imaging' has hit the consciousness of radiologists only in the past decade although many of the concepts that molecular imaging encompasses has been practiced in biomedical imaging, especially in nuclear medicine, for many decades. Many new imaging techniques have allowed us to interrogate biologic events at the cellular and molecular level in vivo in four dimensions but the challenge now is to translate these techniques into clinical practice in a way that will enable us to revolutionize healthcare delivery. The purpose of this article is to introduce the term 'Systems Diagnostics' and examine how radiologists can become translators of disparate sources of information into medical decisions and therapeutic actions.

Integration of the ITER diagnostic plant systems with CODAC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simrock, S.; Barnsley, R.; Bertalot, L.; Hansalia, C.; Klotz, W.D.; Makijarvi, P.; Reichle, R.; Vayakis, G.; Yonekawa, I.; Walker, C.; Wallander, A.; Walsh, M.; Winter, A.

2011-01-01

ITER requires extensive diagnostic systems in order to meet the requirements for machine operation, protection, plasma control and physics studies. The realization of these systems is a major challenge not only because of the harsh environment and the nuclear requirements but also with respect to Instrumentation and Control (I and C) of all the 59 diagnostics plants. The Plant Systems I and C are mostly 'in-kind', i.e. procured by the seven ITER Domestic Agencies (DAs), while the Central I and C Systems are 'in-fund', i.e. procured by ITER Organization (IO). Standardization of Plant Systems I and C is of primary importance and has been one of the highest priority tasks of CODAC. The standards are published in the Plant Control Design Handbook (PCDH) which will be followed to ensure a homogeneous design, guarantee high availability and simplify maintenance and support future upgrades. Most important for a successful commissioning and operation of the ITER facility are the concepts of interfacing the diagnostics plant systems with CODAC and the standards for instrumentation and control which must be followed all contributing parties. In this paper, we will elaborate on the concepts of interfacing the diagnostics plant systems with CODAC and the standards that must be followed for the design.

An investigation into the use of ''expert systems'' for system-wide diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Booth, A.W.; Carroll, J.T.

1987-01-01

This paper has explained how expert systems function and how they might be used to provide a FASTBUS system-wide diagnostic program. The authors propose that the system be used to diagnose the FASTBUS system at FERMILAB's CDF experiment. There are many important areas which have not been addressed in great detail in this paper (such as the roles of the knowledge engineer and the expert during the knowledge acquisition phase), but the central idea of the embodiment of an expert skill in a computer is clear. Development of a system-wide diagnostic program requires building knowledge from all our system experts, into the system. To expand the expert system beyond its network diagnostic ability, to include finding faulty modules would be worthwhile. Having an ''intelligent'' assistant who is on shift 24 hours each day would relieve the ''real'' experts from laborious, time-consuming and sometimes repetitive tasks undertaken during the debugging process. The system could also provide a testbed for evaluation and comparison when considering future expert-system applications such as ''run-control'' and ''data analysis''. In the context of a system-wide diagnostic program, an ''expert system'' is not intended to replace human experts but simply to help them. It is envisaged that there will always be important interaction between the human expert and the ''expert system''. The incremental development of the ''expert system'' should ensure that it is useful in the short term (by debugging to the S.I./segment level for example), and even more useful in the medium to longer term as it acquires more and more knowledge and the ability to debug to the module level. Expert systems exist and are working successfully in many problem domains. See the bibliography for examples of ''expert systems'' built in the high energy physics environment

Medical image information system 2001. Development of the medical image information system to risk management- Medical exposure management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuranishi, Makoto; Kumagai, Michitomo; Shintani, Mitsuo

2000-01-01

This paper discusses the methods and systems for optimizing the following supplements 10 and 17 for national health and medical care. The supplements 10 and 17 of DICOM (digital imaging and communications in medicine) system, which is now under progress for the purpose to keep compatibility within medical image information system as an international standard, are important for making the cooperation between HIS (hospital information system)/RIS (radiation information system) and modality (imaging instruments). Supplement 10 concerns the system to send the information of patients and their orders through HIS/RIS to modality and 17, the information of modality performed procedure step (MPPS) to HIS/RIS. The latter defines to document patients' exposure, a part of which has not been recognized in Japan. Thus the medical information system can be useful for risk-management of medical exposure in future. (K.H.)

Medical image information system 2001. Development of the medical image information system to risk management- Medical exposure management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuranishi, Makoto; Kumagai, Michitomo; Shintani, Mitsuo [Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical Univ. (Japan). Hospital

2000-12-01

This paper discusses the methods and systems for optimizing the following supplements 10 and 17 for national health and medical care. The supplements 10 and 17 of DICOM (digital imaging and communications in medicine) system, which is now under progress for the purpose to keep compatibility within medical image information system as an international standard, are important for making the cooperation between HIS (hospital information system)/RIS (radiation information system) and modality (imaging instruments). Supplement 10 concerns the system to send the information of patients and their orders through HIS/RIS to modality and 17, the information of modality performed procedure step (MPPS) to HIS/RIS. The latter defines to document patients' exposure, a part of which has not been recognized in Japan. Thus the medical information system can be useful for risk-management of medical exposure in future. (K.H.)

Performance diagnostic system for emergency diesel generators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Logan, K.P.

1991-01-01

Diesel generators are commonly used for emergency backup power at nuclear stations. Emergency diesel generators (EDGs) are subject to both start-up and operating failures, due to infrequent and fast-start use. EDG reliability can be critical to plant safety, particularly when station blackout occurs. This paper describes an expert diagnostic system designed to consistently evaluate the operating performance of diesel generators. The prototype system is comprised of a suite of sensor monitoring, cylinder combustion analyzing, and diagnostic workstation computers. On-demand assessments of generator and auxiliary equipment performance are provided along with color trend displays comparing measured performance to reference-normal conditions

Diagnostics systems for the TBR-E tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueda, M.; Ferreira, J.L.; Aso, Y.; Ferreira, J.G.

1992-08-01

A general view of the several diagnostics systems proposed for the TBR-E tokamak is given. This project is a joint undertaking of INPE, USP and UNICAMP plasma laboratories. The requirements for the measurements of the plasma produced parameters are described. Special attention is given for diagnostics used to investigate new physical issues on a low aspect ratio tokamak such as TBR-E. (author)

Collective dose estimation in Portuguese population due to medical exams of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teles, Pedro; Vaz, Pedro; Paulo, Graciano; Santos, Joana; Pascoal, Ana; Lanca, Isabel; Matela, Nuno; Sousa, Patrick; Carvoeiras, Pedro; Parafita, Rui; Simaozinho, Paula

2013-01-01

In order to assess the exposure of the Portuguese population to ionizing radiation due to medical examinations of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine, a working group, consisting of 40 institutions, public and private, was created to evaluation the coletive dose in the Portuguese population in 2010. This work was conducted in collaboration with the Dose Datamed European consortium, which aims to assess the exposure of the European population to ionizing radiation due to 20 diagnostic radiology examinations most frequent in Europe (the 'TOP 20') and nuclear medicine examinations. We obtained an average value of collective dose of ≈ 1 mSv/caput, which puts Portugal in the category of countries medium to high exposure to Europe. We hope that this work can be a starting point to bridge the persistent lack of studies in the areas referred to in Portugal, and to enable the characterization periodic exposure of the Portuguese population to ionizing radiation in the context of medical applications

Quality assurance programme for isotope diagnostic laboratories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krasznai, Istvan

1987-01-01

Quality assurance systems are suggested to be introduced in laboratories, in accordance with the recommendations of IAEA and WHO, taking local circumstances into consideration. It is emphasized that a quantitative enhancement of work must not endanger its quality; diagnostic information must be undistorted, reproducible, and gathered with the minimum of radiation burden. National authorities are requested to strengthen their supervision. Recommendations for quality assurance methods are given for medical isotope diagnostic laboratories. (author)

Image-based medical expert teleconsultation in acute care of injuries. A systematic review of effects on information accuracy, diagnostic validity, clinical outcome, and user satisfaction.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marie Hasselberg

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the literature on image-based telemedicine for medical expert consultation in acute care of injuries, considering system, user, and clinical aspects. DESIGN: Systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles. DATA SOURCES: Searches of five databases and in eligible articles, relevant reviews, and specialized peer-reviewed journals. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Studies were included that covered teleconsultation systems based on image capture and transfer with the objective of seeking medical expertise for the diagnostic and treatment of acute injury care and that presented the evaluation of one or several aspects of the system based on empirical data. Studies of systems not under routine practice or including real-time interactive video conferencing were excluded. METHOD: The procedures used in this review followed the PRISMA Statement. Predefined criteria were used for the assessment of the risk of bias. The DeLone and McLean Information System Success Model was used as a framework to synthesise the results according to system quality, user satisfaction, information quality and net benefits. All data extractions were done by at least two reviewers independently. RESULTS: Out of 331 articles, 24 were found eligible. Diagnostic validity and management outcomes were often studied; fewer studies focused on system quality and user satisfaction. Most systems were evaluated at a feasibility stage or during small-scale pilot testing. Although the results of the evaluations were generally positive, biases in the methodology of evaluation were concerning selection, performance and exclusion. Gold standards and statistical tests were not always used when assessing diagnostic validity and patient management. CONCLUSIONS: Image-based telemedicine systems for injury emergency care tend to support valid diagnosis and influence patient management. The evidence relates to a few clinical fields, and has substantial methodological

Diagnostic value and safety of medical thoracoscopy in tuberculous pleural effusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhen; Xu, Li-Li; Wu, Yan-Bing; Wang, Xiao-Juan; Yang, Yuan; Zhang, Jun; Tong, Zhao-Hui; Shi, Huan-Zhong

2015-09-01

Differentiating tuberculous pleural effusion from other lymphocytic pleural effusions is often challenging. This retrospective study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of medical thoracoscopy in patients with suspected tuberculous pleural effusion. Between July 2005 and June 2014, patients with pleural effusions of unknown etiologies underwent medical thoracoscopy in our institute after less invasive means of diagnosis had failed. Demographic, radiographic, procedural, and histological data of patients with tuberculous pleural effusion were analyzed. During this 9-year study, 333 of 833 patients with pleural effusion were confirmed to have tuberculous pleurisy. Under thoracoscopy, we observed pleural nodules in 69.4%, pleural adhesion in 66.7%, hyperemia in 60.7%, plaque-like lesions in 6.0%, ulceration in 1.5% of patients with tuberculous pleurisy. Pleural biopsy revealed the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the pleural tissue or/and demonstration of caseating granulomas in 330 (99.1%) patients. No serious adverse events were recorded, and the most common minor complication was transient chest pain (43.2%) from the indwelling chest tube. Our data showed that medical thoracoscopy is a simple procedure with high diagnostic yield and excellent safety for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Target Diagnostic Control System Implementation for the National Ignition Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shelton, R.T.; Kamperschroer, J.H.; Lagin, L.J.; Nelson, J.R.; O'Brien, D.W.

2010-01-01

The extreme physics of targets shocked by NIF's 192-beam laser are observed by a diverse suite of diagnostics. Many diagnostics are being developed by collaborators at other sites, but ad hoc controls could lead to unreliable and costly operations. A Diagnostic Control System (DCS) framework for both hardware and software facilitates development and eases integration. Each complex diagnostic typically uses an ensemble of electronic instruments attached to sensors, digitizers, cameras, and other devices. In the DCS architecture each instrument is interfaced to a low-cost Windows XP processor and Java application. Each instrument is aggregated with others as needed in the supervisory system to form an integrated diagnostic. The Java framework provides data management, control services and operator GUI generation. DCS instruments are reusable by replication with reconfiguration for specific diagnostics in XML. Advantages include minimal application code, easy testing, and high reliability. Collaborators save costs by assembling diagnostics with existing DCS instruments. This talk discusses target diagnostic instrumentation used on NIF and presents the DCS architecture and framework.

The wireless diagnostic system for motor operated valves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Haruo; Akiyama, Michiaki; Suzuki, Syunichi

2010-01-01

To aim at maintenance optimization, a motor operated valve (MOV) diagnostic system called 'MOVDAS' has been developed by using new sensor technologies incorporating torque sensor into the MOV. It has been introduced into nuclear power plants operated by Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) for the support of Condition Based Maintenance (CBM). This system, directly checking the torque behavior of the MOV, accurately diagnoses the condition of the MOV during plant operation. Further for the ease of data collection and manpower saving, the wireless diagnostic system based on MOVDAS utilizing Personal Handyphone System (PHS) has been recently introduced into nuclear power plants in JAPC. (author)

Statistical physics of medical diagnostics: Study of a probabilistic model.

Science.gov (United States)

Mashaghi, Alireza; Ramezanpour, Abolfazl

2018-03-01

We study a diagnostic strategy which is based on the anticipation of the diagnostic process by simulation of the dynamical process starting from the initial findings. We show that such a strategy could result in more accurate diagnoses compared to a strategy that is solely based on the direct implications of the initial observations. We demonstrate this by employing the mean-field approximation of statistical physics to compute the posterior disease probabilities for a given subset of observed signs (symptoms) in a probabilistic model of signs and diseases. A Monte Carlo optimization algorithm is then used to maximize an objective function of the sequence of observations, which favors the more decisive observations resulting in more polarized disease probabilities. We see how the observed signs change the nature of the macroscopic (Gibbs) states of the sign and disease probability distributions. The structure of these macroscopic states in the configuration space of the variables affects the quality of any approximate inference algorithm (so the diagnostic performance) which tries to estimate the sign-disease marginal probabilities. In particular, we find that the simulation (or extrapolation) of the diagnostic process is helpful when the disease landscape is not trivial and the system undergoes a phase transition to an ordered phase.

Statistical physics of medical diagnostics: Study of a probabilistic model

Science.gov (United States)

Mashaghi, Alireza; Ramezanpour, Abolfazl

2018-03-01

We study a diagnostic strategy which is based on the anticipation of the diagnostic process by simulation of the dynamical process starting from the initial findings. We show that such a strategy could result in more accurate diagnoses compared to a strategy that is solely based on the direct implications of the initial observations. We demonstrate this by employing the mean-field approximation of statistical physics to compute the posterior disease probabilities for a given subset of observed signs (symptoms) in a probabilistic model of signs and diseases. A Monte Carlo optimization algorithm is then used to maximize an objective function of the sequence of observations, which favors the more decisive observations resulting in more polarized disease probabilities. We see how the observed signs change the nature of the macroscopic (Gibbs) states of the sign and disease probability distributions. The structure of these macroscopic states in the configuration space of the variables affects the quality of any approximate inference algorithm (so the diagnostic performance) which tries to estimate the sign-disease marginal probabilities. In particular, we find that the simulation (or extrapolation) of the diagnostic process is helpful when the disease landscape is not trivial and the system undergoes a phase transition to an ordered phase.

Medical knowledge packages and their integration into health-care information systems and the World Wide Web.

Science.gov (United States)

Adlassnig, Klaus-Peter; Rappelsberger, Andrea

2008-01-01

Software-based medical knowledge packages (MKPs) are packages of highly structured medical knowledge that can be integrated into various health-care information systems or the World Wide Web. They have been established to provide different forms of clinical decision support such as textual interpretation of combinations of laboratory rest results, generating diagnostic hypotheses as well as confirmed and excluded diagnoses to support differential diagnosis in internal medicine, or for early identification and automatic monitoring of hospital-acquired infections. Technically, an MKP may consist of a number of inter-connected Arden Medical Logic Modules. Several MKPs have been integrated thus far into hospital, laboratory, and departmental information systems. This has resulted in useful and widely accepted software-based clinical decision support for the benefit of the patient, the physician, and the organization funding the health care system.

Occupational medical prophylaxis for the musculoskeletal system: A function-oriented system for physical examination of the locomotor system in occupational medicine (fokus(C

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schwarze Sieglinde

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Occupational physicians are very often confronted with questions as to the fitness of the postural and locomotor systems, especially the spinal column. Occupational medical assessment and advice can be required by patients with acute symptoms, at routine check-ups, by persons who have problems doing certain jobs, and for expert medical reports as to the fitness of persons with chronic disorders or after operations. Therefore, for occupational medical purposes a physical examination must aim primarily to investigate functions and not structures or radiologic evidence. The physical examination should be structured systematically and according to regions of the body and, together with a specific (pain anamnesis should provide a basis for the medical assessment. This paper presents a function-oriented system for physical examination of the locomotor system, named fokus(C (Funktionsorientierte Koerperliche Untersuchungssystematik, also available on DVD. fokus(C has been developed with a view to its relevance for occupational medical practice and does not aim primarily to provide a precise diagnosis. Decisive for an occupational medical assessment of disorders of the musculoskeletal system is rather information about functional disorders and any impairment of performance or mobility which they can cause. The division of the physical examination into a rapid screening phase and a subsequent more intensive functional diagnostic phase has proved its practicability in many years of day-to-day use. Here, in contrast to the very extensive measures recommended for orthopaedic and manual diagnosis, for reasons of efficiency and usability of the system in routine occupational medical examinations the examination is structured according to the findings. So it is reduced to that which is most necessary and feasible.

Comparative guide to emerging diagnostic tools for large commercial HVAC systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Friedman, Hannah; Piette, Mary Ann

2001-05-01

This guide compares emerging diagnostic software tools that aid detection and diagnosis of operational problems for large HVAC systems. We have evaluated six tools for use with energy management control system (EMCS) or other monitoring data. The diagnostic tools summarize relevant performance metrics, display plots for manual analysis, and perform automated diagnostic procedures. Our comparative analysis presents nine summary tables with supporting explanatory text and includes sample diagnostic screens for each tool.

Systems for noise diagnostics of WWER nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Por, G.

1996-01-01

The aim of this paper is to give a short overview of the noise diagnostics system developed by Hungarian firms which are in operation in WWER type NPP Units. Giving a list of systems developed for noise diagnostics of WWER reactors we present their main characteristics, their goal and some of their achievements. The second part deals with the problem of acceptance of noise system by NPP and regulations. (author). 24 refs

Systems for noise diagnostics of WWER nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Por, G [Technical Univ. of Budapest, Budapest (Hungary)

1997-12-31

The aim of this paper is to give a short overview of the noise diagnostics system developed by Hungarian firms which are in operation in WWER type NPP Units. Giving a list of systems developed for noise diagnostics of WWER reactors we present their main characteristics, their goal and some of their achievements. The second part deals with the problem of acceptance of noise system by NPP and regulations. (author). 24 refs.

Diagnostic systems developed in NPPRI (VUJE) Trnava Inc. for NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kucharek, P.

1998-01-01

Since foundation of Nuclear Power Plant Research Institute (NPPRI) in 1977, the department of diagnostics has been dealt with problems related to the theoretical, practical and organizatory questions of operational diagnostics connected with PWR type nuclear components. This department acts directly in locality of NPP Jaslovske Bohunice, but there are performances for all NPP in Slovak or Czech Republic (Dukovany, Mochovce, and Temelin). Besides direct services and achievements for NPP there exist advisory, experts and research activities for the government and supervising authorities, too. In 1985, NPPRI began systematically construct and verify technical means for operational diagnostics of main circulating pumps (MCP) with good results, based on own rich practical experiences and contacts with organisations abroad. In recent years NPPRI as one of recognised qualified and authorised institutions in Slovak Republic has begun to develop a new generation of diagnostic systems for NPP on high technical level but with lower procuring costs in comparison with western countries products. This contribution deals with four following types of diagnostic systems which were not only developed but also delivered and installed on Slovak and Czech nuclear units: - Loose part monitoring system (LPMS), - Humidity monitoring system (HUMON), - Reactor coolant pumps monitoring system (RCPMS), - Primary circuit vibration monitoring system (VMS). Main features of new generation from middle of 1990's of these systems are described in this paper and operational experiences with them too. (author)

Overview of MFTF supervisory control and diagnostics system software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ng, W.C.

1979-01-01

The Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF) at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) is currently the largest mirror fusion research project in the world. Its Control and Diagnostics System is handled by a distributed computer network consisting of nine Interdata minicomputer systems and about 65 microprocessors. One of the design requirements is tolerance of single-point failure. If one of the computer systems becomes inoperative, the experiment can still be carried out, although the system responsiveness to operator command may be degraded. In a normal experiment cycle, the researcher can examine the result of the previous experiment, change any control parameter, fire a shot, collect four million bytes of diagnostics data, perform intershot analysis, and have the result presented - all within five minutes. The software approach adopted for the Supervisory Control and Diagnostics System features chief programmer teams and structured programming. Pascal is the standard programming language in this project

Dynamic Visualization of SNS Diagnostics Summary Report and System Status

CERN Document Server

Blokland, Willem; Long, Cary D; Murphy, Darryl J; Purcell, John D; Sundaram, Madhan

2005-01-01

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) accelerator systems will deliver a 1.0 GeV, 1.4 MW proton beam to a liquid mercury target for neutron scattering research. The accelerator complex consists of a 1 GeV linear accelerator, an accumulator ring and associated transport lines. The SNS diagnostics platform is PC-based running Embedded Windows XP and LabVIEW. The diagnostics instruments communicate with the control system using the Channel Access (CA) protocol of the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS). This paper describes the Diagnostics Group's approach to collecting data from the instruments, processing it, and presenting live in a summarized way over the web. Effectively, adding a supervisory level to the diagnostics instruments. One application of this data mining is the "Diagnostics Status Page" that summarizes the insert-able devices, transport efficiencies, and the mode of the accelerator in a compact webpage. The displays on the webpage change automatically to show the latest and/o...

[Development of the lung cancer diagnostic system].

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, You-Jiang; Yu, Shou-Yi

2009-07-01

To develop a lung cancer diagnosis system. A retrospective analysis was conducted in 1883 patients with primary lung cancer or benign pulmonary diseases (pneumonia, tuberculosis, or pneumonia pseudotumor). SPSS11.5 software was used for data processing. For the relevant factors, a non-factor Logistic regression analysis was used followed by establishment of the regression model. Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 system development platform and VB.Net corresponding language were used to develop the lung cancer diagnosis system. The non-factor multi-factor regression model showed a goodness-of-fit (R2) of the model of 0.806, with a diagnostic accuracy for benign lung diseases of 92.8%, a diagnostic accuracy for lung cancer of 89.0%, and an overall accuracy of 90.8%. The model system for early clinical diagnosis of lung cancer has been established.

The JET diagnostic fast central acquisition and trigger system (abstract)

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, A. W.; Blackler, K.

1995-01-01

Most plasma physics diagnostics sample at a fixed frequency that is normally matched to available memory limits. This technique is not appropriate for long pulse machines such as JET where sampling frequencies of hundreds of kHz are required to diagnose very fast events. As a result of work using real-time event selection within the previous JET soft x-ray diagnostic, a single data acquisition and event triggering system for all suitable fast diagnostics, the fast central acquisition and trigger system (Fast CATS), has been developed for JET. The front-end analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) part samples all channels at 250 kHz, with a 100 kHz pass band and a stop band of 125 kHz. The back-end data collection system is based around Texas Instruments TMS320C40 microprocessors. Within this system, two levels of trigger algorithms are able to evaluate data. The first level typically analyzes data on a per diagnostic and individual channel basis. The second level looks at the data from one or more diagnostics in a window around the time of interest flagged by the first level system. Selection criteria defined by the diagnosticians are then imposed on the results from the second level to decide whether that data should be kept. The use of such a system involving intelligent real time trigger algorithms and fast data analysis will improve both the quantity and quality of JET diagnostic data, while providing valuable input to the design of data acquisition systems for very long pulse machines such as ITER. This paper will give an overview of the various elements of this new system. In addition, first results from this system following the restart of JET operation will be presented.

Diagnostic reasoning strategies and diagnostic success.

Science.gov (United States)

Coderre, S; Mandin, H; Harasym, P H; Fick, G H

2003-08-01

Cognitive psychology research supports the notion that experts use mental frameworks or "schemes", both to organize knowledge in memory and to solve clinical problems. The central purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between problem-solving strategies and the likelihood of diagnostic success. Think-aloud protocols were collected to determine the diagnostic reasoning used by experts and non-experts when attempting to diagnose clinical presentations in gastroenterology. Using logistic regression analysis, the study found that there is a relationship between diagnostic reasoning strategy and the likelihood of diagnostic success. Compared to hypothetico-deductive reasoning, the odds of diagnostic success were significantly greater when subjects used the diagnostic strategies of pattern recognition and scheme-inductive reasoning. Two other factors emerged as independent determinants of diagnostic success: expertise and clinical presentation. Not surprisingly, experts outperformed novices, while the content area of the clinical cases in each of the four clinical presentations demonstrated varying degrees of difficulty and thus diagnostic success. These findings have significant implications for medical educators. It supports the introduction of "schemes" as a means of enhancing memory organization and improving diagnostic success.

Thioaptamer Diagnostic System (TDS)

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xianbin

2015-01-01

AM Biotechnologies, LLC, in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, has developed a diagnostic device that quickly detects sampled biomarkers. The TDS quickly quantifies clinically relevant biomarkers using only microliters of a single sample. The system combines ambient-stable, long shelf-life affinity assays with handheld, microfluidic gel electrophoresis affinity assay quantification technology. The TDS is easy to use, operates in microgravity, and permits simultaneous quantification of 32 biomarkers. In Phase I of the project, the partners demonstrated that a thioaptamer assay used in the microfluidic instrument could quantify a specific biomarker in serum in the low nanomolar range. The team also identified novel affinity agents to bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) and demonstrated their ability to detect BAP with the microfluidic instrument. In Phase II, AM Biotech expanded the number of ambient affinity agents and demonstrated a TDS prototype. In the long term, the clinical version of the TDS will provide a robust, flight-tested diagnostic capability for space exploration missions.

Evaluation of the Accelerate Pheno System: Results from Two Academic Medical Centers.

Science.gov (United States)

Lutgring, Joseph D; Bittencourt, Cassiana; McElvania TeKippe, Erin; Cavuoti, Dominick; Hollaway, Rita; Burd, Eileen M

2018-04-01

Rapid diagnostic tests are needed to improve patient care and to combat the problem of antimicrobial resistance. The Accelerate Pheno system (Accelerate Diagnostics, Tucson, AZ) is a new diagnostic device that can provide rapid bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) results directly from a positive blood culture. The device was compared to the standard of care at two academic medical centers. There were 298 blood cultures included in the study, and the Accelerate Pheno system provided a definitive identification result in 218 instances (73.2%). The Accelerate Pheno system provided a definitive and correct result for 173 runs (58.1%). The Accelerate Pheno system demonstrated an overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 94.7%, 98.9%, 83.7%, and 99.7%, respectively. An AST result was available for analysis in 146 instances. The overall category agreement was 94.1% with 12 very major errors, 5 major errors, and 55 minor errors. After a discrepancy analysis, there were 5 very major errors and 4 major errors. The Accelerate Pheno system provided an identification result in 1.4 h and an AST result in 6.6 h; the identification and AST results were 41.5 h and 48.4 h faster than those with the standard of care, respectively. This study demonstrated that the Accelerate Pheno system is able to provide fast and accurate organism identification and AST data. A limitation is the frequency with which cultures required the use of alternative identification and AST methods. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

Design and integration of lower ports for ITER diagnostic systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Casal, Natalia, E-mail: Natalia.casal@iter.org [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon – CS 90 046 – 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Bertalot, Luciano; Cheng, Hao; Drevon, Jean Marc; Duckworth, Philip; Giacomin, Thibaud; Guirao, Julio; Iglesias, Silvia [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon – CS 90 046 – 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Kochergin, Mikhail [IOFFE Institute, Saint Petersburg (Russian Federation); Martin, Alex [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon – CS 90 046 – 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); McCarron, Eddie [Oxford Technologies Ltd., Abingdon (United Kingdom); Mokeev, Alexander [Russian Federation Domestic Agency, Moscow (Russian Federation); Mota, Fernando [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Penot, Christophe; Portales, Mickael [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon – CS 90 046 – 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Kitazawa, Sin-iti [Japanese Domestic Agency, Naka (Japan); Sky, Jack [Oxford Technologies Ltd., Abingdon (United Kingdom); Suarez, Alejandro; Udintsev, Victor; Utin, Yuri [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon – CS 90 046 – 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); and others

2015-10-15

Highlights: • Lower port structures are in its conceptual design phase. • Electromagnetic and seismic loads, will dominate all other mechanical loads. • Design allows diagnostics support, neutron shielding while and signals transmission. • Installation and maintenance operations are fully remote handling compatible. - Abstract: All around the ITER vacuum vessel, forty-four ports will provide access to the vacuum vessel for remote handling operations, diagnostic systems, heating, and vacuum systems: 18 upper ports, 17 equatorial ports, and 9 lower ports. Among the lower ports, three of them will be used for the remote handling installation of the ITER divertor. Once the divertor is in place, these ports will host various diagnostic systems mounted in the so-called diagnostic racks. The diagnostic racks must allow the support and cooling of the diagnostics, extraction of the required diagnostic signals, and providing access and maintainability while minimizing the leakage of radiation toward the back of the port where the humans are allowed to enter. A fully integrated inner rack, carrying the near plasma diagnostic components, will be an stainless steel structure, 4.2 m long, with a maximum weight of 10 t. This structure brings water for cooling and baking at maximum temperature of 240 °C and provides connection with gas, vacuum and electric services. Additional racks (placed away from plasma and not requiring cooling) may be required for the support of some particular diagnostic components. The diagnostics racks and its associated ex vessel structures, which are in its conceptual design phase, are being designed to survive the lifetime of ITER of 20 years. This paper presents the current state of development including interfaces, diagnostic integration, operation and maintenance, shielding requirements, remote handling, loads cases and discussion of the main challenges coming from the severe environment and engineering requirements.

An overview of recent end-to-end wireless medical video telemedicine systems using 3G.

Science.gov (United States)

Panayides, A; Pattichis, M S; Pattichis, C S; Schizas, C N; Spanias, A; Kyriacou, E

2010-01-01

Advances in video compression, network technologies, and computer technologies have contributed to the rapid growth of mobile health (m-health) systems and services. Wide deployment of such systems and services is expected in the near future, and it's foreseen that they will soon be incorporated in daily clinical practice. This study focuses in describing the basic components of an end-to-end wireless medical video telemedicine system, providing a brief overview of the recent advances in the field, while it also highlights future trends in the design of telemedicine systems that are diagnostically driven.

Monitoring the Diagnostic Process on an Inpatient Neurology Service.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhand, Amar; Bucelli, Robert; Varadhachary, Arun; Tsiaklides, Michael; de Bruin, Gabriela; Dhaliwal, Gurpreet

2017-07-01

The Institute of Medicine report Improving Diagnosis in Health Care called for tools to monitor physicians' diagnostic process. We addressed this need by developing a tool for clinicians to record and analyze their diagnostic process. The tool was a secure web application in which clinicians used a structured grading system to assess the relative impact of clinical, laboratory, and neuroimaging data for every new diagnosis. Four neurohospitalists used the tool for 6.5 months on a general neurology ward service at a single tertiary-level teaching hospital. Process measures of tool use included number of diagnoses entered, time spent on each data entry, and concordance of diagnoses compared to the medical record. We also aggregated the data across clinicians to examine the average process scores across common inpatient disorders. The 4 clinicians entered 254 new diagnoses that took approximately 3 minutes per patient. In 50 randomly chosen cases, the neurohospitalists' diagnoses entered into the tool agreed with 92% of diagnoses in the medical record, which was better than the agreement between billing code and medical record diagnoses (74%). The diagnostic process varied across disease categories, showing a spectrum of clinical-dominant (eg, headache), laboratory-dominant (eg, encephalitis), and neuroimaging-dominant (eg, stroke) disorders. This study demonstrated the feasibility of a clinician-driven diagnostic process monitoring system, along with preliminary characterization of the process for common disorders. The tracking of diagnostic process has the potential to promote reflection on clinical practice, deconstruct neurologists' clinical decision-making, and improve health-care safety.

Performance of Physical Examination Skills in Medical Students during Diagnostic Medicine Course in a University Hospital of Northwest China

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yan; Li, Na; Han, Qunying; He, Shuixiang; Bae, Ricard S.; Liu, Zhengwen; Lv, Yi; Shi, Bingyin

2014-01-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of physical examination (PE) skills during our diagnostic medicine course and analyze the characteristics of the data collected to provide information for practical guidance to improve the quality of teaching. Seventy-two fourth-year medical students were enrolled in the study. All received an assessment of PE skills after receiving a 17-week formal training course and systematic teaching. Their performance was evaluated and recorded in detail using a checklist, which included 5 aspects of PE skills: examination techniques, communication and care skills, content items, appropriateness of examination sequence, and time taken. Error frequency and type were designated as the assessment parameters in the survey. The results showed that the distribution and the percentage in examination errors between male and female students and among the different body parts examined were significantly different (pexaminations was higher than in abdominal (0.867) and head, neck and nervous system examinations (0.917). Female students had a lower average error frequency than males in cardiac examinations (p = 0.041). Additionally, error in examination techniques was the highest type of error among the 5 aspects of PE skills irrespective of participant gender and assessment content (pexaminations and examination techniques may be included in the main focus of improving the teaching of diagnostics in these medical students. PMID:25329685

Online monitoring and diagnostic system on RA-6 nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Peyrano, O. A.; Marticorena, M.; Koch, R. G.; Martinez, J. S; Berruti, G. E.; Nunez, W. M.; Gonzales, L. A.; Tarquini, L. D.; Sotelo, J. P

2009-01-01

This paper presents the Online Automatic Monitoring and Diagnostic System for mechanical components, installed on RA-6 Nuclear Reactor (San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina). This system has been designed, installed and set-up by the Vibrations and Mechatronics Laboratory (Centro Atomico Bariloche, Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica) and Sitrack.com Argentina SA. This system provides an online mechanical diagnostic of the main reactor components, allowing incipient failures to be early detected and identified, avoiding unscheduled shut-downs and reducing maintenance times. The diagnostic is accomplished by an online analysis of the vibratory signature of the mechanical components, obtained by vibrations sensors on the main pump and the decay tank. The mechanical diagnostic and the main operational parameters are displayed on the reactor control room and published on the internet. [es

Dual Processing Model for Medical Decision-Making: An Extension to Diagnostic Testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsalatsanis, Athanasios; Hozo, Iztok; Kumar, Ambuj; Djulbegovic, Benjamin

2015-01-01

Dual Processing Theories (DPT) assume that human cognition is governed by two distinct types of processes typically referred to as type 1 (intuitive) and type 2 (deliberative). Based on DPT we have derived a Dual Processing Model (DPM) to describe and explain therapeutic medical decision-making. The DPM model indicates that doctors decide to treat when treatment benefits outweigh its harms, which occurs when the probability of the disease is greater than the so called "threshold probability" at which treatment benefits are equal to treatment harms. Here we extend our work to include a wider class of decision problems that involve diagnostic testing. We illustrate applicability of the proposed model in a typical clinical scenario considering the management of a patient with prostate cancer. To that end, we calculate and compare two types of decision-thresholds: one that adheres to expected utility theory (EUT) and the second according to DPM. Our results showed that the decisions to administer a diagnostic test could be better explained using the DPM threshold. This is because such decisions depend on objective evidence of test/treatment benefits and harms as well as type 1 cognition of benefits and harms, which are not considered under EUT. Given that type 1 processes are unique to each decision-maker, this means that the DPM threshold will vary among different individuals. We also showed that when type 1 processes exclusively dominate decisions, ordering a diagnostic test does not affect a decision; the decision is based on the assessment of benefits and harms of treatment. These findings could explain variations in the treatment and diagnostic patterns documented in today's clinical practice.

Dual Processing Model for Medical Decision-Making: An Extension to Diagnostic Testing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Athanasios Tsalatsanis

Full Text Available Dual Processing Theories (DPT assume that human cognition is governed by two distinct types of processes typically referred to as type 1 (intuitive and type 2 (deliberative. Based on DPT we have derived a Dual Processing Model (DPM to describe and explain therapeutic medical decision-making. The DPM model indicates that doctors decide to treat when treatment benefits outweigh its harms, which occurs when the probability of the disease is greater than the so called "threshold probability" at which treatment benefits are equal to treatment harms. Here we extend our work to include a wider class of decision problems that involve diagnostic testing. We illustrate applicability of the proposed model in a typical clinical scenario considering the management of a patient with prostate cancer. To that end, we calculate and compare two types of decision-thresholds: one that adheres to expected utility theory (EUT and the second according to DPM. Our results showed that the decisions to administer a diagnostic test could be better explained using the DPM threshold. This is because such decisions depend on objective evidence of test/treatment benefits and harms as well as type 1 cognition of benefits and harms, which are not considered under EUT. Given that type 1 processes are unique to each decision-maker, this means that the DPM threshold will vary among different individuals. We also showed that when type 1 processes exclusively dominate decisions, ordering a diagnostic test does not affect a decision; the decision is based on the assessment of benefits and harms of treatment. These findings could explain variations in the treatment and diagnostic patterns documented in today's clinical practice.

The Medical Exposure to Ionizing Radiation and Protection of the Patient in Medical Imaging Procedures for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Purposes (Excluding Radiotherapy) using X-Rays in Israel - Risk - Cost and Benefit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ben-Shlomo, A.

1998-10-01

Diagnostic and therapeutic radiology is playing a major role in modern medicine. The utilization of devices emitting ionizing radiation for medical diagnostic and therapeutic purposes is classified into three categories: a. Radiotherapy procedures for the treatment of malignant and benign tumors. b. Nuclear medicine procedures using radiopharmaceuticals that are introduced into the patient's body for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. c. Diagnostic and therapeutic x-ray imaging procedures. This group includes conventional radiography, conventional fluoroscopy, cardiac catheterization, angiography, CT, mammography, dental, and fluoroscopy operation procedures. A survey was carried out on a sample of three major Israeli hospitals in order to: 1. Determine the status of radiation protection of patients in Israel with regard to the use of x-rays in medical imaging and interventional radiology. 2. Assess the extent of exposure of the population to medical x-rays, and assess the collective risk in Israel in this relation (based on Icr-60). 3. Carry out a cost-benefit optimization procedure related to the means that should be used to reduce the exposure of Israeli patients under x-ray procedures. 4. Establish a of practical recommendations to reduce the x-ray radiation exposure of patients and to increase the image quality. 5. Establish a number of basic rules to be utilized by health policy makers in Israel

The Medical Exposure to Ionizing Radiation and Protection of the Patient in Medical Imaging Procedures for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Purposes (Excluding Radiotherapy) using X-Rays in Israel - Risk - Cost and Benefit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ben-Shlomo, A

1998-10-01

Diagnostic and therapeutic radiology is playing a major role in modern medicine. The utilization of devices emitting ionizing radiation for medical diagnostic and therapeutic purposes is classified into three categories: a. Radiotherapy procedures for the treatment of malignant and benign tumors. b. Nuclear medicine procedures using radiopharmaceuticals that are introduced into the patient's body for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. c. Diagnostic and therapeutic x-ray imaging procedures. This group includes conventional radiography, conventional fluoroscopy, cardiac catheterization, angiography, CT, mammography, dental, and fluoroscopy operation procedures. A survey was carried out on a sample of three major Israeli hospitals in order to: 1. Determine the status of radiation protection of patients in Israel with regard to the use of x-rays in medical imaging and interventional radiology. 2. Assess the extent of exposure of the population to medical x-rays, and assess the collective risk in Israel in this relation (based on Icr-60). 3. Carry out a cost-benefit optimization procedure related to the means that should be used to reduce the exposure of Israeli patients under x-ray procedures. 4. Establish a of practical recommendations to reduce the x-ray radiation exposure of patients and to increase the image quality. 5. Establish a number of basic rules to be utilized by health policy makers in Israel.

Decision based on big data research for non-small cell lung cancer in medical artificial system in developing country.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jia; Tan, Yanlin; Chen, Zhigang; Zhao, Ming

2018-06-01

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a high risk cancer and is usually scanned by PET-CT for testing, predicting and then give the treatment methods. However, in the actual hospital system, at least 640 images must be generated for each patient through PET-CT scanning. Especially in developing countries, a huge number of patients in NSCLC are attended by doctors. Artificial system can predict and make decision rapidly. According to explore and research artificial medical system, the selection of artificial observations also can result in low work efficiency for doctors. In this study, data information of 2,789,675 patients in three hospitals in China are collected, compiled, and used as the research basis; these data are obtained through image acquisition and diagnostic parameter machine decision-making method on the basis of the machine diagnosis and medical system design model of adjuvant therapy. By combining image and diagnostic parameters, the machine decision diagnosis auxiliary algorithm is established. Experimental result shows that the accuracy has reached 77% in NSCLC. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Course of radiological protection and safety in the medical diagnostic with X-rays; Curso de proteccion y seguridad radiologica en el diagnostico medico con rayos X

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dominguez A, C.E. [Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, A.P. 18-1027, 11801 Mexico D.F. (Mexico)

1997-07-01

The obtention of images of human body to the medical diagnostic is one of the more old and generalized applications for X-ray. Therefore the design and performance of equipment and installations as well as the operation procedures must be oriented toward safety with the purpose to guarantee this radiological practice will bring a net positive benefit to the society. Given that in Mexico only exists the standardization related to source and equipment generators of ionizing radiation in the industrial area and medical therapy, but not so to the medical diagnostic area it is the purpose of this work to present those standards related with this application branch. Also it is presented the preparation of a manual for the course named Formation of teachers in radiological protection and safety in the X-ray medical diagnostic in 1997 which was imparted at ININ. (Author)

Automated collection of medical images for research from heterogeneous systems: trials and tribulations

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, M. N.; Looney, P.; Young, K.; Halling-Brown, M. D.

2014-03-01

Radiological imaging is fundamental within the healthcare industry and has become routinely adopted for diagnosis, disease monitoring and treatment planning. Over the past two decades both diagnostic and therapeutic imaging have undergone a rapid growth, the ability to be able to harness this large influx of medical images can provide an essential resource for research and training. Traditionally, the systematic collection of medical images for research from heterogeneous sites has not been commonplace within the NHS and is fraught with challenges including; data acquisition, storage, secure transfer and correct anonymisation. Here, we describe a semi-automated system, which comprehensively oversees the collection of both unprocessed and processed medical images from acquisition to a centralised database. The provision of unprocessed images within our repository enables a multitude of potential research possibilities that utilise the images. Furthermore, we have developed systems and software to integrate these data with their associated clinical data and annotations providing a centralised dataset for research. Currently we regularly collect digital mammography images from two sites and partially collect from a further three, with efforts to expand into other modalities and sites currently ongoing. At present we have collected 34,014 2D images from 2623 individuals. In this paper we describe our medical image collection system for research and discuss the wide spectrum of challenges faced during the design and implementation of such systems.

Application of nanotechnology in miniaturized systems and its use for advanced analytics and diagnostics - an updated review.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandetskaya, Natalia; Allelein, Susann; Kuhlmeier, Dirk

2013-12-01

A combination of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems and nanoscale structures allows for the creation of novel miniaturized devices, which broaden the boundaries of the diagnostic approaches. Some materials possess unique properties at the nanolevel, which are different from those in bulk materials. In the last few years these properties became a focus of interest for many researchers, as well as methods of production, design and operation of the nanoobjects. Intensive research and development work resulted in numerous inventions exploiting nanotechnology in miniaturized systems. Modern technical and laboratory equipment allows for the precise control of such devices, making them suitable for sensitive and accurate detection of the analytes. The current review highlights recent patents in the field of nanotechnology in microdevices, applicable for medical, environmental or food analysis. The paper covers the structural and functional basis of such systems and describes specific embodiments in three principal branches: application of nanoparticles, nanofluidics, and nanosensors in the miniaturized systems for advanced analytics and diagnostics. This overview is an update of an earlier review article.

The local area network for the plasma Diagnostics System of MFTF-B

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lau, N.H.; Minor, E.G.

1983-01-01

The MFTF-B Plasma Diagnostics System will be implemented in stages, beginning with a start-up set of diagnostics and evolving toward a basic set. The start-up set contains 12 diagnostics which will acquire a total of about 800 Kbytes of data per machine pulse; the basic set contains 23 diagnostics which will acquire a total of about 8 Mbytes of data per pulse. Each diagnostic is controlled by a ''Foundation System'' consisting of a DEC LSI-11/23 microcomputer connected to CAMAC via a 5 Mbits/second serial fiber-optic link and connected to a supervisory computer (Perkin-Elmer 3250) via a 9600 baud RS232 link. The Foundation System is a building block used throughout MFTF-B for control and status monitoring. However, its 9600 baud link to the supervisor presents a bottleneck for the large data transfers required by diagnostics. To overcome this bottleneck the diagnostics Foundation Systems will be connected together with an additional LSI-11/23 called the ''master'' to form a Local Area Network (LAN) for data acquisition. The Diagnostics LAN has a ring architecture with token passing arbitration

Diagnostic imaging capabilities of the Ocelot -Optical Coherence Tomography System, ex-vivo evaluation and clinical relevance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dohad, Suhail; Shao, John; Cawich, Ian; Kankaria, Manish; Desai, Arjun

2015-01-01

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a high-resolution sub-surface imaging modality using near-infrared light to provide accurate and high contrast intra-vascular images. This enables accurate assessment of diseased arteries before and after intravascular intervention. This study was designed to corroborate diagnostic imaging equivalence between the Ocelot and the Dragonfly OCT systems with regards to the intravascular features that are most important in clinical management of patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease. These intravascular features were then corroborated in vivo during treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) pathology using the Ocelot catheter. In order to compare the diagnostic information obtained by Ocelot (Avinger Inc., Redwood City, CA) and Dragonfly (St. Jude Medical, Minneapolis, MN) OCT systems, we utilized ex-vivo preparations of arterial segments. Ocelot and Dragonfly catheters were inserted into identical cadaveric femoral peripheral arteries for image acquisition and interpretation. Three independent physician interpreters assessed the images to establish accuracy and sensitivity of the diagnostic information. Histologic evaluation of the corresponding arterial segments provided the gold standard for image interpretation. In vivo clinical images were obtained during therapeutic interventions that included crossing of peripheral chronic total occlusions (CTOs) using the Ocelot catheter. Strong concordance was demonstrated when matching image characteristics between both OCT systems and histology. The Dragonfly and Ocelot system’s vessel features were interpreted with high sensitivity (91.1–100 %) and specificity (86.7–100 %). Inter-observer concordance was documented with excellent correlation across all vessel features. The clinical benefit that the Ocelot OCT system provided was demonstrated by comparable procedural images acquired at the point of therapy. The study demonstrates equivalence of image acquisition and

Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy- emerging trends in medical diagnostics and therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deshmukh, Sudha

1997-01-01

A dramatic acceleration in the application of magnetic resonance techniques in the field of medical sciences has been witnessed over the past decade. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has been called the most significant development since the discovery of x-rays. As a method of visualizing cross-sectional anatomy, MRI is without peer. MRI images can now provide in-vivo anatomical details that were earlier available only with invasive procedures. Yet, despite its extraordinary potential, MRI has had limited success, if any, in tissue characterization using the three image parameters T 1 , T 2 and proton density ρ. MR spectroscopy has however bridged this gap to a large extent and opened up the possibility of studying in vivo chemistry. In the present article an attempt has been made to give a brief account of the application of magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy in medical diagnostics and therapy. The basic principles pertaining to MRI and MRS are also discussed in brief. (author)

Application of diagnostic system for diesel engines in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshinaga, Takeshi

2004-01-01

The diagnostic system for diesel engines makes a diagnosis of secular change and abnormal indications of diesel engines (DG) by combination of characteristic analysis of engine, lubricating oil, fuel oil, and cooling water. The principles of diagnostic system for DG, results of confirmation of the efficiency and the maintenance plan for DG in the Japan Atomic Power Company are described. DG in the company is classified to a safety device in order to supply the power source to the Emergency Core Cooling System etc., when the power source in the plant is lost, for example, at lightning struck. Characteristics of DG, outline of the diagnostic system for DG, diagnostic technologies such as engine signature analysis, chemical analysis of samples, temperature measurement, degradation mode of DG, and training in the company are stated. (S.Y.)

Beam Diagnostics Systems for the National Ignition Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demaret, R D; Boyd, R D; Bliss, E S; Gates, A J; Severyn, J R

2001-01-01

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser focuses 1.8 megajoules of ultraviolet light (wavelength 351 nanometers) from 192 beams into a 600-micrometer-diameter volume. Effective use of this output in target experiments requires that the power output from all of the beams match within 8% over their entire 20-nanosecond waveform. The scope of NIF beam diagnostics systems necessary to accomplish this task is unprecedented for laser facilities. Each beamline contains 110 major optical components distributed over a 510-meter path, and diagnostic tolerances for beam measurement are demanding. Total laser pulse energy is measured with 2.8% precision, and the interbeam temporal variation of pulse power is measured with 4% precision. These measurement goals are achieved through use of approximately 160 sensor packages that measure the energy at five locations and power at three locations along each beamline using 335 photodiodes, 215 calorimeters, and 36 digitizers. Successful operation of such a system requires a high level of automation of the widely distributed sensors. Computer control systems provide the basis for operating the shot diagnostics with repeatable accuracy, assisted by operators who oversee system activities and setup, respond to performance exceptions, and complete calibration and maintenance tasks

Video integrated measurement system. [Diagnostic display devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spector, B.; Eilbert, L.; Finando, S.; Fukuda, F.

1982-06-01

A Video Integrated Measurement (VIM) System is described which incorporates the use of various noninvasive diagnostic procedures (moire contourography, electromyography, posturometry, infrared thermography, etc.), used individually or in combination, for the evaluation of neuromusculoskeletal and other disorders and their management with biofeedback and other therapeutic procedures. The system provides for measuring individual diagnostic and therapeutic modes, or multiple modes by split screen superimposition, of real time (actual) images of the patient and idealized (ideal-normal) models on a video monitor, along with analog and digital data, graphics, color, and other transduced symbolic information. It is concluded that this system provides an innovative and efficient method by which the therapist and patient can interact in biofeedback training/learning processes and holds considerable promise for more effective measurement and treatment of a wide variety of physical and behavioral disorders.

Diagnostic x-ray in use in federal medical centre, case study Makurdi metropolis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onoja, R.A.; Fiase, J.O.

2009-01-01

Every year more than two thousand patients go for routine medical check-up at the Federal Medical Centre using diagnostic x-rays. This paper is based on a study to determine the entrance surface doses per radiograph of 108 patients that had diagnostic examinations at the Federal Medical Centre Makurdi. The examinations considered in this study are chest x-ray examinations, abdomen, skull and other extremities, for both adults and children. The results show that the mean entrance surface doses of PA chest x-ray for female range between 237-275μGy, for male is between 1183-297μGy, and for children range between 47-237μGy. The AP chest x-ray for female range between 1943-3440μGy, for male is between 1583-3484μGy and for children it ranges between 177-451μGy. The PA examination of the skull for adult female ranged between 117-787μGy, for male it ranged between 117-532μGy and children from 472-948μGy. Also for the AP examination for skull the adult female mean entrance surface doses range from 129-798μGy, for the male it range from 145-178μGy and for children 138-650μGy. The AP abdomen for adult female produces a mean entrance surface doses range between 620-682μGy, for the male is between 105-930μGy, and children it range between 144-398μGy. In the case of extremities AP examination are between the range of 173-468μGy for adult female, 300-595μGy for adult male and between 254-887μGy for the children. In the case of extremities PA examination mean entrance surface doses are between the range of 145-517μGy for adult female, 363-517μGy for adult male and between 130-566μGy for the children. The data shows that the entrance surface doses due to the x-ray examination for adult and children are within the ICRP guidance levels. These guidance levels of dose for diagnostic radiography for a typical adult patient are 10 mGy for AP abdomen, 0.4 mGy PA chest, 7 mGy for AP chest and 5 mGy for PA skull

Clinical Approach to the Standardization of Oriental Medical Diagnostic Pattern Identification in Stroke Patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Han Jung Kim

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In Korea, many stroke patients receive oriental medical care, in which pattern-identification plays a major role. Pattern-identification is Oriental Medicine's unique diagnostic system. This study attempted to standardize oriental medical pattern-identification for stroke patients. This was a community-based multicenter study that enrolled stroke patients within 30 days after their ictus. We assessed the patients' general characteristics and symptoms related to pattern-identification. Each patient's pattern was determined when two doctors had the same opinion. To determine which variables affect the pattern-identification, binary logistic regression analysis was used with the backward method. A total of 806 stroke patients were enrolled. Among 480 patients who were identified as having a certain pattern, 100 patients exhibited the Fire Heat Pattern, 210 patients the Phlegm Dampness Pattern, nine patients the Blood Stasis Pattern, 110 patients the Qi Deficiency Pattern, and 51 patients the Yin Deficiency Pattern. After the regression analysis, the predictive logistic equations for the Fire Heat, Phlegm Dampness, Qi Deficiency, and Yin Deficiency patterns were determined. The Blood Stasis Pattern was omitted because the sample size was too small. Predictive logistic equations were suggested for four of the patterns. These criteria would be useful in determining each stroke patient's pattern in clinics. However, further studies with large samples are necessary to validate and confirm these criteria.

Shiva and Argus target diagnostics vacuum systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glaros, S.S.; Mayo, S.E.; Campbell, D.; Holeman, D.

1978-09-01

The normal operation of LLL's Argus and Shiva laser irradiation facilities demand a main vacuum system for the target chamber and a separate local vacuum system for each of the larger appendage dianostics. This paper will describe the Argus and Shiva main vacuum systems, their respective auxiliary vacuum systems and the individual diagnostics with their respective special vacuum requirements and subsequent vacuum systems. Our latest approach to automatic computer-controlled vacuum systems will be presented

Vacuum system design and tritium inventory for the TFTR charge exchange diagnostic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Medley, S.S.

1979-05-01

The charge exchange diagnostic for the TFTR is comprised of two analyzer systems which contain a total of twenty independent mass/energy analyzers and one diagnostic neutral beam tentatively rated at 80 keV, 15 A. The associated vacuum systems were analyzed using the Vacuum System Transient Simulator (VSTS) computer program which models the transient transport of multi-gas species through complex networks of ducts, valves, traps, vacuum pumps, and other related vacuum system components. In addition to providing improved design performance at reduced cost, the analysis yields estimates for the exchange of tritium from the torus to the diagnostic components and of the diagnostic working gases to the torus

An Advanced Diagnostic Display for Core Protection Calculator System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Ji-Hyeon; Jeong, See-Chae; Sohn, Se-Do [Korea Power Engineering Company, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2008-10-15

The main purpose of a Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation and Control (I and C) Display System is to provide operator's interface for I and C systems. The CPCS display(Shin-Kori 1 and 2) provides operators with 1) plant monitoring values of field input and algorithm variables that reflect the reactor core conditions, 2) operation values that operators can change and 3) CPCS status. It will be an optimal case if operators can understand the plant (including CPCS itself) condition intuitively with the displayed values but it is not easy in CPCS. For example, if the CPCS Channel Trouble light is lit, operators need some amount of time to investigate what caused the trouble light because there are more than hundred causes that can generate the channel trouble. If a Display supports diagnostic information that shows what cause the displayed alarms, it will greatly help operators in easy understanding the CPCS status. To provide these diagnostic information, this paper suggests an active self-explanatory display mechanism. This self-explanatory diagnostic display mechanism utilizes an ontology in XML that describes parent child, sibling relationships of display variables, through which in-depth, in-breadth diagnostic tracking is possible. This paper consists of two parts. First, the key features of CPCS Flat Panel Display System (FPDS) are described. Second, the features of active self explanatory diagnostic display are discussed.

An Advanced Diagnostic Display for Core Protection Calculator System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ji-Hyeon; Jeong, See-Chae; Sohn, Se-Do

2008-01-01

The main purpose of a Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation and Control (I and C) Display System is to provide operator's interface for I and C systems. The CPCS display(Shin-Kori 1 and 2) provides operators with 1) plant monitoring values of field input and algorithm variables that reflect the reactor core conditions, 2) operation values that operators can change and 3) CPCS status. It will be an optimal case if operators can understand the plant (including CPCS itself) condition intuitively with the displayed values but it is not easy in CPCS. For example, if the CPCS Channel Trouble light is lit, operators need some amount of time to investigate what caused the trouble light because there are more than hundred causes that can generate the channel trouble. If a Display supports diagnostic information that shows what cause the displayed alarms, it will greatly help operators in easy understanding the CPCS status. To provide these diagnostic information, this paper suggests an active self-explanatory display mechanism. This self-explanatory diagnostic display mechanism utilizes an ontology in XML that describes parent child, sibling relationships of display variables, through which in-depth, in-breadth diagnostic tracking is possible. This paper consists of two parts. First, the key features of CPCS Flat Panel Display System (FPDS) are described. Second, the features of active self explanatory diagnostic display are discussed

Current Trends in Developing Medical Students' Critical Thinking Abilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter H. Harasym

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Health care is fallible and prone to diagnostic and management errors. The major categories of diagnostic errors include: (1 no-fault errors—the disease is present but not detected; (2 system errors—a diagnosis is delayed or missed because of the imperfection in the health care system; and (3 cognitive errors—a misdiagnosis from faulty data collection or interpretation, flawed reasoning, or incomplete knowledge. Approximately one third of patient problems are mismanaged because of diagnostic errors. Part of the solution lies in improving the diagnostic skills and critical thinking abilities of physicians as they progress through medical school and residency training. However, this task is challenging since both medical problem-solving and the learning environments are complex and not easily understood. There are many interacting variables including the motivation of the medical student (e.g. deep versus surface learning, the acquisition and evolution of declarative and conditional knowledge (e.g. reduced, dispersed, elaborated, scheme, and scripted, problem-solving strategies (e.g. procedural knowledge—guessing, hypothetical deductive, scheme inductive, and pattern recognition, curricular models (e.g. apprenticeship, discipline-based, body system-based, case-based, clinical presentation-based, teaching strategies (e.g. teaching general to specific or specific to general, the presented learning opportunities (PBL versus scheme inductive PBL, and the nature of the learning environment (e.g. modeling critical thinking and expert problem-solving. This paper elaborates on how novices differ from experts and how novices can be educated in a manner that enhances their level of expertise and diagnostic abilities as they progress through several years of medical training.

The evaluation of the irradiation of medical team in critical X-ray diagnostic techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Markovic, S; Pavlovic, R [Inst. of Nuclear Science Vinca, Belgrade (Yugoslavia). Radiation and Environmental Protection Lab.; Boreli, F [Fac. of Electrical Engineering, Belgrade (Yugoslavia)

1996-12-31

A good realized assessment of the irradiation for any exposed group of population serves as the base for the radiation protection measures (emergency radiation preparedness, radiation protection optimization etc.). This is especially important, by the radiation protection point of view, in contrast X-ray diagnostic techniques - angiographies. This paper presents the way for the realization of the medical team irradiation assessment, based on originally derived simple equations for the scattered radiation field around patient. (author) 1 fig., 3 figs.

Target diagnostic control system implementation for the National Ignition Facility (invited)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shelton, R. T.; Kamperschroer, J. H.; Lagin, L. J.; Nelson, J. R.; O' Brien, D. W. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)

2010-10-15

The extreme physics of targets shocked by NIF's 192-beam laser is observed by a diverse suite of diagnostics. Many diagnostics are being developed by collaborators at other sites, but ad hoc controls could lead to unreliable and costly operations. A diagnostic control system (DCS) framework for both hardware and software facilitates development and eases integration. Each complex diagnostic typically uses an ensemble of electronic instruments attached to sensors, digitizers, cameras, and other devices. In the DCS architecture each instrument is interfaced to a low-cost WINDOWS XP processor and JAVA application. Each instrument is aggregated with others as needed in the supervisory system to form an integrated diagnostic. The JAVA framework provides data management, control services, and operator graphical user interface generation. DCS instruments are reusable by replication with reconfiguration for specific diagnostics in extensible markup language. Advantages include minimal application code, easy testing, and high reliability. Collaborators save costs by assembling diagnostics with existing DCS instruments. This talk discusses target diagnostic instrumentation used on NIF and presents the DCS architecture and framework.

Target diagnostic control system implementation for the National Ignition Facility (invited)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shelton, R. T.; Kamperschroer, J. H.; Lagin, L. J.; Nelson, J. R.; O'Brien, D. W.

2010-01-01

The extreme physics of targets shocked by NIF's 192-beam laser is observed by a diverse suite of diagnostics. Many diagnostics are being developed by collaborators at other sites, but ad hoc controls could lead to unreliable and costly operations. A diagnostic control system (DCS) framework for both hardware and software facilitates development and eases integration. Each complex diagnostic typically uses an ensemble of electronic instruments attached to sensors, digitizers, cameras, and other devices. In the DCS architecture each instrument is interfaced to a low-cost WINDOWS XP processor and JAVA application. Each instrument is aggregated with others as needed in the supervisory system to form an integrated diagnostic. The JAVA framework provides data management, control services, and operator graphical user interface generation. DCS instruments are reusable by replication with reconfiguration for specific diagnostics in extensible markup language. Advantages include minimal application code, easy testing, and high reliability. Collaborators save costs by assembling diagnostics with existing DCS instruments. This talk discusses target diagnostic instrumentation used on NIF and presents the DCS architecture and framework.

Comparative guide to emerging diagnostic tools for large commercial HVAC systems; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friedman, Hannah; Piette, Mary Ann

2001-01-01

This guide compares emerging diagnostic software tools that aid detection and diagnosis of operational problems for large HVAC systems. We have evaluated six tools for use with energy management control system (EMCS) or other monitoring data. The diagnostic tools summarize relevant performance metrics, display plots for manual analysis, and perform automated diagnostic procedures. Our comparative analysis presents nine summary tables with supporting explanatory text and includes sample diagnostic screens for each tool

Nike Facility Diagnostics and Data Acquisition System

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Yung; Aglitskiy, Yefim; Karasik, Max; Kehne, David; Obenschain, Steve; Oh, Jaechul; Serlin, Victor; Weaver, Jim

2013-10-01

The Nike laser-target facility is a 56-beam krypton fluoride system that can deliver 2 to 3 kJ of laser energy at 248 nm onto targets inside a two meter diameter vacuum chamber. Nike is used to study physics and technology issues related to laser direct-drive ICF fusion, including hydrodynamic and laser-plasma instabilities, material behavior at extreme pressures, and optical and x-ray diagnostics for laser-heated targets. A suite of laser and target diagnostics are fielded on the Nike facility, including high-speed, high-resolution x-ray and visible imaging cameras, spectrometers and photo-detectors. A centrally-controlled, distributed computerized data acquisition system provides robust data management and near real-time analysis feedback capability during target shots. Work supported by DOE/NNSA.

Applications of 'edge-on' illuminated porous plate detectors for diagnostic X-ray imaging

CERN Document Server

Shikhaliev, P M

2002-01-01

Scanning X-ray imaging systems for non-invasive diagnostics have several advantages over conventional imaging systems using area detectors. They significantly reduce the detected scatter radiation, cover large areas and potentially provide high spatial resolution. Applications of one-dimensional gaseous detectors and 'edge-on' illuminated silicon strip detectors for scanning imaging systems are currently under intensive investigation. The purpose of this work is to investigate 'edge-on' illuminated Porous Plate (PP) detectors for applications in diagnostic X-ray imaging. MicroChannel Plate (MCP), which is a common type of PP, has previously been investigated as a detector in surface-on illumination mode for medical X-ray imaging. However, its detection efficiency was too low for medical imaging applications. In the present study, the PP are used in the 'edge-on' illumination mode. Furthermore, the structural parameters of different PP types are optimized to improve the detection efficiency in the diagnostic X...

Use of antihypertensive medications and diagnostic tests among privately insured adolescents and young adults with primary versus secondary hypertension.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Esther Y; Cohn, Lisa; Freed, Gary; Rocchini, Albert; Kershaw, David; Ascione, Frank; Clark, Sarah

2014-07-01

To compare the use of antihypertensive medications and diagnostic tests among adolescents and young adults with primary versus secondary hypertension. We conducted retrospective cohort analysis of claims data for adolescents and young adults (12-21 years of age) with ≥3 years of insurance coverage (≥11 months/year) in a large private managed care plan during 2003-2009 with diagnosis of primary hypertension or secondary hypertension. We examined their use of antihypertensive medications and identified demographic characteristics and the presence of obesity-related comorbidities. For the subset receiving antihypertensive medications, we examined their diagnostic test use (echocardiograms, renal ultrasounds, and electrocardiograms). The study sample included 1,232 adolescents and young adults; 84% had primary hypertension and 16% had secondary hypertension. The overall prevalence rate of hypertension was 2.6%. One quarter (28%) with primary hypertension had one or more antihypertensive medications, whereas 65% with secondary hypertension had one or more antihypertensive medications. Leading prescribers of antihypertensives for subjects with primary hypertension were primary care physicians (80%), whereas antihypertensive medications were equally prescribed by primary care physicians (43%) and sub-specialists (37%) for subjects with secondary hypertension. The predominant hypertension diagnosis among adolescents and young adults is primary hypertension. Antihypertensive medication use was higher among those with secondary hypertension compared with those with primary hypertension. Further study is needed to determine treatment effectiveness and patient outcomes associated with differential treatment patterns used for adolescents and young adults with primary versus secondary hypertension. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Strategies for adding adaptive learning mechanisms to rule-based diagnostic expert systems

Science.gov (United States)

Stclair, D. C.; Sabharwal, C. L.; Bond, W. E.; Hacke, Keith

1988-01-01

Rule-based diagnostic expert systems can be used to perform many of the diagnostic chores necessary in today's complex space systems. These expert systems typically take a set of symptoms as input and produce diagnostic advice as output. The primary objective of such expert systems is to provide accurate and comprehensive advice which can be used to help return the space system in question to nominal operation. The development and maintenance of diagnostic expert systems is time and labor intensive since the services of both knowledge engineer(s) and domain expert(s) are required. The use of adaptive learning mechanisms to increment evaluate and refine rules promises to reduce both time and labor costs associated with such systems. This paper describes the basic adaptive learning mechanisms of strengthening, weakening, generalization, discrimination, and discovery. Next basic strategies are discussed for adding these learning mechanisms to rule-based diagnostic expert systems. These strategies support the incremental evaluation and refinement of rules in the knowledge base by comparing the set of advice given by the expert system (A) with the correct diagnosis (C). Techniques are described for selecting those rules in the in the knowledge base which should participate in adaptive learning. The strategies presented may be used with a wide variety of learning algorithms. Further, these strategies are applicable to a large number of rule-based diagnostic expert systems. They may be used to provide either immediate or deferred updating of the knowledge base.

Electron beam diagnostic system using computed tomography and an annular sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Elmer, John W.; Teruya, Alan T.

2014-07-29

A system for analyzing an electron beam including a circular electron beam diagnostic sensor adapted to receive the electron beam, the circular electron beam diagnostic sensor having a central axis; an annular sensor structure operatively connected to the circular electron beam diagnostic sensor, wherein the sensor structure receives the electron beam; a system for sweeping the electron beam radially outward from the central axis of the circular electron beam diagnostic sensor to the annular sensor structure wherein the electron beam is intercepted by the annular sensor structure; and a device for measuring the electron beam that is intercepted by the annular sensor structure.

A modern diagnostic approach for automobile systems condition monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Selig, M.; Shi, Z.; Ball, A.; Schmidt, K.

2012-05-01

An important topic in automotive research and development is the area of active and passive safety systems. In general, it is grouped in active safety systems to prevent accidents and passive systems to reduce the impact of a crash. An example for an active system is ABS while a seat belt tensioner represents the group of passive systems. Current developments in the automotive industry try to link active with passive system components to enable a complete event sequence, beginning with the warning of the driver about a critical situation till the automatic emergency call after an accident. The cross-linking has an impact on the current diagnostic approach, which is described in this paper. Therefore, this contribution introduces a new diagnostic approach for automotive mechatronic systems. The concept is based on monitoring the messages which are exchanged via the automotive communication systems, e.g. the CAN bus. According to the authors' assumption, the messages on the bus are changing between faultless and faulty vehicle condition. The transmitted messages of the sensors and control units are different depending on the condition of the car. First experiments are carried and in addition, the hardware design of a suitable diagnostic interface is presented. Finally, first results will be presented and discussed.

A modern diagnostic approach for automobile systems condition monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Selig, M; Ball, A; Shi, Z; Schmidt, K

2012-01-01

An important topic in automotive research and development is the area of active and passive safety systems. In general, it is grouped in active safety systems to prevent accidents and passive systems to reduce the impact of a crash. An example for an active system is ABS while a seat belt tensioner represents the group of passive systems. Current developments in the automotive industry try to link active with passive system components to enable a complete event sequence, beginning with the warning of the driver about a critical situation till the automatic emergency call after an accident. The cross-linking has an impact on the current diagnostic approach, which is described in this paper. Therefore, this contribution introduces a new diagnostic approach for automotive mechatronic systems. The concept is based on monitoring the messages which are exchanged via the automotive communication systems, e.g. the CAN bus. According to the authors' assumption, the messages on the bus are changing between faultless and faulty vehicle condition. The transmitted messages of the sensors and control units are different depending on the condition of the car. First experiments are carried and in addition, the hardware design of a suitable diagnostic interface is presented. Finally, first results will be presented and discussed.

A beam diagnostic system for ELSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schillo, M.; Althoff, K.H.; Drachenfels, W.; Goetz, T.; Husmann, D.; Neckenig, M.; Picard, M.; Schittko, F.J.; Schauerte, W.; Wenzel, J.

1991-01-01

A beam diagnostic system, which is based on capacitive beam-position monitors combined with fast electronics, has been developed for the Bonn ELectron Stretcher Accelerator ELSA. The position signal of each monitor is digitized at an adjustable sampling rate (max.: 10 MHz) and the most recent 8192 position and intensity values are buffered. This allows a wide range of different beam diagnostic measurements. The main purpose is the closed-orbit correction, which can be carried out on various time scales. To optimize the duty factor of the extracted beam, the system can also be used as a fast relative intensity monitor resolving the intensity distribution of the bunches or of the injected beam. It is designed to support betatron tune and phase measurements with very high accuracy, offering the choice to select any of the beam position monitors. This enables the measuring of many optical parameters. Furthermore any pair of suitable monitors can be used for experimental particle tracking or phase space measurements

BIOTECHNICAL SYSTEM FOR INTEGRATED OLFACTOMETRY DIAGNOSTICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yana Nosova

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The subject matter of the article is the process of olfactometric research of a human olfactory function. The object of the study is a biotechnical system which includes a method for increasing the objectivity of olfactometric diagnostics. The goal is to develop a biotechnical system for complex olfactometry, which enables increasing the objectivity of olfactometric studies and connecting breathing parameters with olfactory function by placing an odorant carrier in the airway of the rhinomanometer, as well as by using procedures for determining the energy characteristics of respiration. The methods used are: methods of digital signal processing, the theory of biotechnical systems. The following results are obtained. A structural diagram of a biotechnical system for olfactometric diagnostics of a human olfactory analyser was developed. As a result of the analysis of the cyclogram of nasal breathing, it is found that by changing the frequency and nature of breathing upon reaching the sensitivity threshold, it is possible to objectify the method of assessing respiratory and olfactory disorders according to the energy criterion of pneumatic power when inhaling appropriate odorivectors, and also to study the olfactory and respiratory function with the capability of estimating respiratory cycles in a dynamic mode. The studies were carried out on the basis of typical inspiration cycles: with a quiet breathing in the normal conditions, in the forceful breathing mode with a stiff nasal valve, with a nasal valve with natural functional mobility which restricts the flow of air, and also a stepped inspiration – a short “sipping” of air, which can be characterized as a kind of “sniffing”. Conclusions. Computer olfactometry is one of the most promising methods for diagnosing olfactory disorders of respiratory genesis. The developed biotechnical system is based on the use of a fundamentally new design, combining a rhinomanometer and an olfactometric

Exploration Medical System Technical Architecture Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Cerro, J.; Rubin, D.; Mindock, J.; Middour, C.; McGuire, K.; Hanson, A.; Reilly, J.; Burba, T.; Urbina, M.

2018-01-01

The Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) Element Systems Engineering (SE) goals include defining the technical system needed to support medical capabilities for a Mars exploration mission. A draft medical system architecture was developed based on stakeholder needs, system goals, and system behaviors, as captured in an ExMC concept of operations document and a system model. This talk will discuss a high-level view of the medical system, as part of a larger crew health and performance system, both of which will support crew during Deep Space Transport missions. Other mission components, such as the flight system, ground system, caregiver, and patient, will be discussed as aspects of the context because the medical system will have important interactions with each. Additionally, important interactions with other aspects of the crew health and performance system are anticipated, such as health & wellness, mission task performance support, and environmental protection. This talk will highlight areas in which we are working with other disciplines to understand these interactions.

Development of an equipment diagnostic system that evaluates sensor drift

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanada, Masaki; Arita, Setsuo; Tada, Nobuo; Yokota, Katsuo

2011-01-01

The importance of condition monitoring technology for equipment has increased with the introduction of condition-based maintenance in nuclear power plants. We are developing a diagnostic system using process signals for plant equipment, such as pumps and motors. It is important to enable the diagnostic system to distinguish sensor drift and equipment failure. We have developed a sensor drift diagnostic method that combines some highly correlative sensor signals by using the MT (Mahalanobis-Taguchi) method. Furthermore, we have developed an equipment failure diagnostic method that measures the Mahalanobis distance from the normal state of equipment by the MT method. These methods can respectively detect sensor drift and equipment failure, but there are the following problems. In the sensor drift diagnosis, there is a possibility of misjudging the sensor drift when the equipment failure occurs and the process signal changes because the behavior of the process signal is the same as that of the sensor drift. Oppositely, in the equipment failure diagnosis, there is a possibility of misjudging the equipment failure when the sensor drift occurs because the sensor drift influences the change of process signal. To solve these problems, we propose a diagnostic method combining the sensor drift diagnosis and the equipment failure diagnosis by the MT method. Firstly, the sensor drift values are estimated by the sensor drift diagnosis, and the sensor drift is removed from the process signal. It is necessary to judge the validity of the estimated sensor drift values before removing the sensor drift from the process signal. We developed a method for judging the validity of the estimated sensor drift values by using the drift distribution based on the sensor calibration data. And then, the equipment failure is diagnosed by using the process signals after removal of the sensor drifts. To verify the developed diagnostic system, several sets of simulation data based on abnormal cases

Structure of the medical digital image

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baltadzhiev, D.

1997-01-01

In up-to-date medical practice diagnostic imaging techniques are the most powerful tools available to clinicians. The modern medical equipment is entirely based on digital technology. In this article the principle of generating medical images is presented. The concept for gray scale where medical images are commonly presented is described. The patterns of gray images transformation into colour scale are likewise outlined. Basic notions from medical imaging terminology such as image matrix, pixel, spatial and contrast resolution power, bit, byte and the like are explained. Also an example is given of how the binary system treats images. On the basis of digital technology the obtained medical images lend themselves readily to additional processing, reconstruction (including 3D) and storage for subsequent utilization. The ceaseless progress of computerized communications promote easy and prompt access for clinicians to the diagnostic images needed as well as realization of expert consultations by teleconference contact (author)

Investigation of radiation protection of medical staff performing medical diagnostic examinations by using PET/CT technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wrzesień, Małgorzata; Napolska, Katarzyna

2015-01-01

Positron emission tomography (PET) is now one of the most important methods in the diagnosis of cancer diseases. Due to the rapid growth of PET/CT centres in Poland in less than a decade, radiation protection and, consequently, the assessment of worker exposure to ionising radiation, emitted mainly by the isotope 18 F, have become essential issues. The main aim of the study was to analyse the doses received by workers employed in the Medical Diagnostic Centre. The analysis comprises a physicist, three nurses, three physicians, three technicians, as well as two administrative staff employees. High-sensitivity thermoluminescent detectors (TLDs) were used to measure the doses for medical staff. The personnel was classified into categories, among them employees having direct contact with the ‘source of radiation’— 18 FDG. The TLDs were placed on the fingertips of both hands and they were also attached at the level of eye lenses, thyroid and gonads depending on the assigned category. The highest dose of radiation was observed during the administration of the 18 FDG to the patients. In the case of the physicist, the highest dose was recorded during preparation of the radiopharmaceutical— 18 FDG. The body parts most exposed to ionizing radiation are the fingertips of the thumb, index and middle finger. (paper)

Investigation of radiation protection of medical staff performing medical diagnostic examinations by using PET/CT technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Wrzesień, Małgorzata; Napolska, Katarzyna

2015-03-01

Positron emission tomography (PET) is now one of the most important methods in the diagnosis of cancer diseases. Due to the rapid growth of PET/CT centres in Poland in less than a decade, radiation protection and, consequently, the assessment of worker exposure to ionising radiation, emitted mainly by the isotope (18)F, have become essential issues. The main aim of the study was to analyse the doses received by workers employed in the Medical Diagnostic Centre. The analysis comprises a physicist, three nurses, three physicians, three technicians, as well as two administrative staff employees. High-sensitivity thermoluminescent detectors (TLDs) were used to measure the doses for medical staff. The personnel was classified into categories, among them employees having direct contact with the 'source of radiation'-(18)FDG. The TLDs were placed on the fingertips of both hands and they were also attached at the level of eye lenses, thyroid and gonads depending on the assigned category. The highest dose of radiation was observed during the administration of the (18)FDG to the patients. In the case of the physicist, the highest dose was recorded during preparation of the radiopharmaceutical-(18)FDG. The body parts most exposed to ionizing radiation are the fingertips of the thumb, index and middle finger.

Prototyping low-cost and flexible vehicle diagnostic systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marisol GARCÍA-VALLS

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Diagnostic systems are software and hardware-based equipment that interoperate with an external monitored system. Traditionally, they have been expensive equipment running test algorithms to monitor physical properties of, e.g., vehicles, or civil infrastructure equipment, among others. As computer hardware is increasingly powerful (whereas its cost and size is decreasing and communication software becomes easier to program and more run-time efficient, new scenarios are enabled that yield to lower cost monitoring solutions. This paper presents a low cost approach towards the development of a diagnostic systems relying on a modular component-based approach and running on a resource limited embedded computer. Results on a prototype implementation are shown that validate the presented design, its flexibility, performance, and communication latency.

Cost Benefit Optimization of the Israeli Medical Diagnostic X-Ray Exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ben-Shlomo, A.; Shlesinger, T.; Shani, G.; Kushilevsky, A.

1999-01-01

Diagnostic and therapeutic radiology is playing a major role in modern medicine. A preliminary survey was carried out during 1997 on 3 major Israeli hospitals in order to assess the extent of exposure of the population to medical x-rays (1). The survey has found that the annual collective dose of the Israeli population to x-ray medical imaging procedures (excluding radio-therapy) is about 7,500 Man-Sv. The results of the survey were analyzed in order to. 1. Carry out a cost-benefit optimization procedure related to the means that should be used to reduce the exposure of the Israeli patients under x-ray procedures. 2. Establish a set of practical recommendations to reduce the x-ray radiation exposure of patients and to increase the image quality. . Establish a number of basic rules to be utilized by health policy makers in Israel. Based on the ICRP-60 linear model risk assessments (2), the extent of the annual risk arising A.om the 7,500 Man-Sv medical x-ray collective dose in Israel has been found to be the potential addition of 567 cancer cases per year, 244 of which to be fatal, and a potential additional birth of 3-4 children with severe genetic damage per year. This assessment take into account the differential risk and the collective dose according to the age distribution in the Israeli exposed population, and excludes patients with chronic diseases

Diagnostic technology and an expert system for photovoltaic systems using the learning method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yagi, Yasuhiro; Kishi, Hitoshi; Hagihara, Ryuzou; Tanaka, Toshiya; Kozuma, Shinichi; Ishida, Takeo; Waki, Masahiro; Tanaka, Makoto; Kiyama, Seiichi [SANYO Electric Co. Ltd., New Materials Research Center, Moriguchi City, Osaka (Japan)

2003-02-01

Diagnostic technology for photovoltaic (PV) systems was developed, using the learning method to take each site's conditions into account. This technology employs diagnostic criteria databases to analyze data acquired from the PV systems. These criteria are updated monthly for each site using analyzed data. To check the shadows on the PV modules and pyranometer, the sophisticated verification method was also applied to this technology. After the diagnosis, a basket method provides maintenance advice for the PV systems. Based on the results of precise diagnoses, this expert system offers quick and proper maintenance advice within a few minutes. This technology is highly useful, because it greatly simplifies the servicing and maintenance of PV systems. (Author)

Real time PV manufacturing diagnostic system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kochergin, Vladimir [MicroXact Inc., Blacksburg, VA (United States); Crawford, Michael A. [MicroXact Inc., Blacksburg, VA (United States)

2015-09-01

The main obstacle Photovoltaic (PV) industry is facing at present is the higher cost of PV energy compared to that of fossil energy. While solar cell efficiencies continue to make incremental gains these improvements are so far insufficient to drive PV costs down to match that of fossil energy. Improved in-line diagnostics however, has the potential to significantly increase the productivity and reduce cost by improving the yield of the process. On this Phase I/Phase II SBIR project MicroXact developed and demonstrated at CIGS pilot manufacturing line a high-throughput in-line PV manufacturing diagnostic system, which was verified to provide fast and accurate data on the spatial uniformity of thickness, an composition of the thin films comprising the solar cell as the solar cell is processed reel-to-reel. In Phase II project MicroXact developed a stand-alone system prototype and demonstrated the following technical characteristics: 1) ability of real time defect/composition inconsistency detection over 60cm wide web at web speeds up to 3m/minute; 2) Better than 1mm spatial resolution on 60cm wide web; 3) an average better than 20nm spectral resolution resulting in more than sufficient sensitivity to composition imperfections (copper-rich and copper-poor regions were detected). The system was verified to be high vacuum compatible. Phase II results completely validated both technical and economic feasibility of the proposed concept. MicroXact’s solution is an enabling technique for in-line PV manufacturing diagnostics to increase the productivity of PV manufacturing lines and reduce the cost of solar energy, thus reducing the US dependency on foreign oil while simultaneously reducing emission of greenhouse gasses.

Climate Model Diagnostic Analyzer Web Service System

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, S.; Pan, L.; Zhai, C.; Tang, B.; Kubar, T. L.; Li, J.; Zhang, J.; Wang, W.

2015-12-01

Both the National Research Council Decadal Survey and the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report stressed the need for the comprehensive and innovative evaluation of climate models with the synergistic use of global satellite observations in order to improve our weather and climate simulation and prediction capabilities. The abundance of satellite observations for fundamental climate parameters and the availability of coordinated model outputs from CMIP5 for the same parameters offer a great opportunity to understand and diagnose model biases in climate models. In addition, the Obs4MIPs efforts have created several key global observational datasets that are readily usable for model evaluations. However, a model diagnostic evaluation process requires physics-based multi-variable comparisons that typically involve large-volume and heterogeneous datasets, making them both computationally- and data-intensive. In response, we have developed a novel methodology to diagnose model biases in contemporary climate models and implementing the methodology as a web-service based, cloud-enabled, provenance-supported climate-model evaluation system. The evaluation system is named Climate Model Diagnostic Analyzer (CMDA), which is the product of the research and technology development investments of several current and past NASA ROSES programs. The current technologies and infrastructure of CMDA are designed and selected to address several technical challenges that the Earth science modeling and model analysis community faces in evaluating and diagnosing climate models. In particular, we have three key technology components: (1) diagnostic analysis methodology; (2) web-service based, cloud-enabled technology; (3) provenance-supported technology. The diagnostic analysis methodology includes random forest feature importance ranking, conditional probability distribution function, conditional sampling, and time-lagged correlation map. We have implemented the

New method of leak detecting in diagnostic of gas pipeline system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalinowski, K.; Dabrowski, A.; Sobkiewicz, D.; Oracz, H.

2007-01-01

This report describes new directions in gas transmission pipelines diagnostics as well as new methods and equipment used to detect leaks. It was also shown that efficient and functional diagnostics system is the necessary condition to keep the exploitation of transmission systems safe. (author)

Filterscope diagnostic system on EAST tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Z.; Wu, Z.W.; Gao, W.; Zhang, L.; Huang, J.; Chen, Y.J.; Wu, C.R.; Zhang, P.F.

2015-01-01

Filterscope diagnostic system, which is designed for monitoring the line emission in fusion plasma has been widely used on fusion devices such as DIII-D, NSTX, CDX-U, KSTAR etc. On EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak), a filterscope diagnostic system has been mounted to observe the line emission and visible bremsstrahlung emission in plasma from discharge campaign of 2014. It plays a crucial role in studying Edge Localized Modes (ELM) and H-mode, thanks to its high temporal resolution (0.005ms) and good spatial resolution (∼2cm). Furthermore, multi-channel signals at up to 200kHz sampling rates can be digitized simultaneously. The wavelength covers He II (468.5nm), Li I (670.8nm), Li II (548.3nm), C III (465.0nm), O II (441.5nm), Mo I (386.4nm), W I (400.9nm) and visible bremsstrahlung radiation at 538nm besides Dα (656.1nm) and Dγ (433.9nm) with the corresponding wavelength filters. The new developed filterscope system was operating during the EAST 2014 fall experimental campaign and several types ELMs has been observed. (author)

Radiological safety status and quality assurance audit of medical X-ray diagnostic installations in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Sonawane, A U; Singh, Meghraj; Sunil Kumar, J V K; Kulkarni, Arti; Shirva, V K; Pradhan, A S

2010-10-01

We conducted a radiological safety and quality assurance (QA) audit of 118 medical X-ray diagnostic machines installed in 45 major hospitals in India. The main objective of the audit was to verify compliance with the regulatory requirements stipulated by the national regulatory body. The audit mainly covered accuracy check of accelerating potential (kVp), linearity of tube current (mA station) and timer, congruence of radiation and optical field, and total filtration; in addition, we also reviewed medical X-ray diagnostic installations with reference to room layout of X-ray machines and conduct of radiological protection survey. A QA kit consisting of a kVp Test-O-Meter (ToM) (Model RAD/FLU-9001), dose Test-O-Meter (ToM) (Model 6001), ionization chamber-based radiation survey meter model Gun Monitor and other standard accessories were used for the required measurements. The important areas where there was noncompliance with the national safety code were: inaccuracy of kVp calibration (23%), lack of congruence of radiation and optical field (23%), nonlinearity of mA station (16%) and timer (9%), improper collimator/diaphragm (19.6%), faulty adjustor knob for alignment of field size (4%), nonavailability of warning light (red light) at the entrance of the X-ray room (29%), and use of mobile protective barriers without lead glass viewing window (14%). The present study on the radiological safety status of diagnostic X-ray installations may be a reasonably good representation of the situation in the country as a whole. The study contributes significantly to the improvement of radiological safety by the way of the steps already taken and by providing a vital feed back to the national regulatory body.

Raman spectroscopy for medical diagnostics--From in-vitro biofluid assays to in-vivo cancer detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Kenny; Kendall, Catherine; Stone, Nicholas; Notingher, Ioan

2015-07-15

Raman spectroscopy is an optical technique based on inelastic scattering of light by vibrating molecules and can provide chemical fingerprints of cells, tissues or biofluids. The high chemical specificity, minimal or lack of sample preparation and the ability to use advanced optical technologies in the visible or near-infrared spectral range (lasers, microscopes, fibre-optics) have recently led to an increase in medical diagnostic applications of Raman spectroscopy. The key hypothesis underpinning this field is that molecular changes in cells, tissues or biofluids, that are either the cause or the effect of diseases, can be detected and quantified by Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, multivariate calibration and classification models based on Raman spectra can be developed on large "training" datasets and used subsequently on samples from new patients to obtain quantitative and objective diagnosis. Historically, spontaneous Raman spectroscopy has been known as a low signal technique requiring relatively long acquisition times. Nevertheless, new strategies have been developed recently to overcome these issues: non-linear optical effects and metallic nanoparticles can be used to enhance the Raman signals, optimised fibre-optic Raman probes can be used for real-time in-vivo single-point measurements, while multimodal integration with other optical techniques can guide the Raman measurements to increase the acquisition speed and spatial accuracy of diagnosis. These recent efforts have advanced Raman spectroscopy to the point where the diagnostic accuracy and speed are compatible with clinical use. This paper reviews the main Raman spectroscopy techniques used in medical diagnostics and provides an overview of various applications. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Radiological safety status and quality assurance audit of medical X-ray diagnostic installations in India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sonawane, A.U.; Singh, Meghraj; Sunil Kumar, J.V.K.; Kulkarni, Arti; Shirva, V.K.; Pradhan, A.S.

2010-01-01

We conducted a radiological safety and quality assurance (QA) audit of 118 medical X-ray diagnostic machines installed in 45 major hospitals in India. The main objective of the audit was to verify compliance with the regulatory requirements stipulated by the national regulatory body. The audit mainly covered accuracy check of accelerating potential (kVp), linearity of tube current (mA station) and timer, congruence of radiation and optical field, and total filtration; in addition, we also reviewed medical X-ray diagnostic installations with reference to room layout of X-ray machines and conduct of radiological protection survey. A QA kit consisting of a kVp Test-O-Meter (ToM) (Model RAD/FLU-9001), dose Test-O-Meter (ToM) (Model 6001), ionization chamber-based radiation survey meter model Gun Monitor and other standard accessories were used for the required measurements. The important areas where there was noncompliance with the national safety code were: inaccuracy of kVp calibration (23%), lack of congruence of radiation and optical field (23%), nonlinearity of mA station (16%) and timer (9%), improper collimator/diaphragm (19.6%), faulty adjustor knob for alignment of field size (4%), nonavailability of warning light (red light) at the entrance of the X-ray room (29%), and use of mobile protective barriers without lead glass viewing window (14%). The present study on the radiological safety status of diagnostic X-ray installations may be a reasonably good representation of the situation in the country as a whole. The study contributes significantly to the improvement of radiological safety by the way of the steps already taken and by providing a vital feed back to the national regulatory body. (author)

Systems 1 and 2 thinking processes and cognitive reflection testing in medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Tay, Shu Wen; Ryan, Paul; Ryan, C Anthony

2016-10-01

Diagnostic decision-making is made through a combination of Systems 1 (intuition or pattern-recognition) and Systems 2 (analytic) thinking. The purpose of this study was to use the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) to evaluate and compare the level of Systems 1 and 2 thinking among medical students in pre-clinical and clinical programs. The CRT is a three-question test designed to measure the ability of respondents to activate metacognitive processes and switch to System 2 (analytic) thinking where System 1 (intuitive) thinking would lead them astray. Each CRT question has a correct analytical (System 2) answer and an incorrect intuitive (System 1) answer. A group of medical students in Years 2 & 3 (pre-clinical) and Years 4 (in clinical practice) of a 5-year medical degree were studied. Ten percent (13/128) of students had the intuitive answers to the three questions (suggesting they generally relied on System 1 thinking) while almost half (44%) answered all three correctly (indicating full analytical, System 2 thinking). Only 3-13% had incorrect answers (i.e. that were neither the analytical nor the intuitive responses). Non-native English speaking students (n = 11) had a lower mean number of correct answers compared to native English speakers (n = 117: 1.0 s 2.12 respectfully: p System 2 answers increased and the percentage of intuitive answers decreased in both the pre-clinical and clinical students. Up to half of the medical students demonstrated full or partial reliance on System 1 (intuitive) thinking in response to these analytical questions. While their CRT performance has no claims to make as to their future expertise as clinicians, the test may be used in helping students to understand the importance of awareness and regulation of their thinking processes in clinical practice.

[The characteristics of medical technologies in emergency medical care hospital].

Science.gov (United States)

Murakhovskiĭ, A G; Babenko, A I; Bravve, Iu I; Tataurova, E A

2013-01-01

The article analyzes the implementation of major 12 diagnostic and 17 treatment technologies applied during medical care of patients with 12 key nosology forms of diseases in departments of the emergency medical care hospital No 2 of Omsk. It is established that key groups of technologies in the implementation of diagnostic process are the laboratory clinical diagnostic analyses and common diagnostic activities at reception into hospital and corresponding departments. The percentage of this kind of activities is about 78.3% of all diagnostic technologies. During the realization of treatment process the priority technologies are common curative and rehabilitation activities, intensive therapy activities and clinical diagnostic monitoring activities. All of them consist 80.1% of all curative technologies.

Diagnostics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Donné, A.J.H.; Costley, A.E.; Barnsley, R.

2007-01-01

of the measurements—time and spatial resolutions, etc—will in some cases be more stringent. Many of the measurements will be used in the real time control of the plasma driving a requirement for very high reliability in the systems (diagnostics) that provide the measurements. The implementation of diagnostic systems...... on ITER is a substantial challenge. Because of the harsh environment (high levels of neutron and gamma fluxes, neutron heating, particle bombardment) diagnostic system selection and design has to cope with a range of phenomena not previously encountered in diagnostic design. Extensive design and R......&D is needed to prepare the systems. In some cases the environmental difficulties are so severe that new diagnostic techniques are required. The starting point in the development of diagnostics for ITER is to define the measurement requirements and develop their justification. It is necessary to include all...

The diagnostic accuracy of three rapid diagnostic tests for typhoid fever at Chittagong Medical College Hospital, Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Maude, Rapeephan R; de Jong, Hanna K; Wijedoru, Lalith; Fukushima, Masako; Ghose, Aniruddha; Samad, Rasheda; Hossain, Mohammed Amir; Karim, Mohammed Rezaul; Faiz, Mohammed Abul; Parry, Christopher M

2015-10-01

To determine the diagnostic accuracy of three rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for typhoid fever in febrile hospitalised patients in Bangladesh. Febrile adults and children admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh, were investigated with Bact/Alert(®) blood cultures and real-time PCR to detect Salmonella enterica Typhi and Paratyphi A and assays for Rickettsia, leptospirosis and dengue fever. Acute serum samples were examined with the LifeAssay (LA) Test-it™ Typhoid IgM lateral flow assay detecting IgM antibodies against S. Typhi O antigen, CTKBiotech Onsite Typhoid IgG/IgM Combo Rapid-test cassette lateral flow assay detecting IgG and IgM antibodies against S. Typhi O and H antigens and SD Bioline line assay for IgG and IgM antibodies against S. Typhi proteins. In 300 malaria smear-negative febrile patients [median (IQR) age of 13.5 (5-31) years], 34 (11.3%) had confirmed typhoid fever: 19 positive by blood culture for S. Typhi (three blood PCR positive) and 15 blood culture negative but PCR positive for S. Typhi in blood. The respective sensitivity and specificity of the three RDTs in patients using a composite reference standard of blood culture and/or PCR-confirmed typhoid fever were 59% and 61% for LifeAssay, 59% and 74% for the CTK IgM and/or IgG, and 24% and 96% for the SD Bioline RDT IgM and/or IgG. The LifeAssay RDT had a sensitivity of 63% and a specificity of 91% when modified with a positive cut-off of ≥2+ and analysed using a Bayesian latent class model. These typhoid RDTs demonstrated moderate diagnostic accuracies, and better tests are needed. © 2015 The Authors. Tropical Medicine & International Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Injuries of deciduous and permanent teeth in children (diagnostic measures, medical tactics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yakovenko L.N.

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A retrospective analysis of 1147 patients’ records from the clinic of the department of surgical dentistry and maxillofacial surgery of childhood of NMU Bogomolets and 944 case histories of patients with traumatic injuries of maxillofacial region in the clinic of the department of pediatric dentistry of SE «Dnepropetrovsk medical academy of Health Ministry of Ukraine» has shown that traumatic damages to teeth make up 18.8% of all injuries in maxillofacial region. It was found that in most cases the cause of injury is fall of a child - 60%, punching on the face - 19%, other causes – 21%. Most often maxillary central incisors are affected - about 70-80%, lateral - 10-20% both in temporary and in shift bite. Lower incisors are injured only in 1-6% of cases. Injuries of the temporary teeth were observed in 30-45% of cases. The aim of the study was to determine the major diagnostic methods and therapeutic measures that have been used in trauma of permanent and temporary teeth in children of different ages. Diagnostic measures included clinical and instrumental studies. Of the additional survey methods of dental trauma in 90% of cases back-side X-ray, in 7-8% – orthopanto­mography, in 1-2% - CT were performed. In dislocations of temporary teeth X-ray examination was carried out only in impacted dislocation. Algorithm of treatment tactics for almost all kinds of temporary teeth dislocations was to remove it, not taking into account the degree of formation of the tooth root and functional ability of the tooth, that involves the development of the indications for their preservation. Most often, for the immobilization of the injured permanent teeth a smooth splin-clamp (85% was used, it is cheap, easy to manufacture, reliable for fixing, individual as for adaptation, but when applied it leads to injury of periodontal tissues, the development of inflammatory processes in them. Alternative methods of fixation were splint systems, splint-caps and

Shift Work and Related Health Problems among Medical and Diagnostic Staff of the General Teaching Hospitals Affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, 2012

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Zahra Sajjadnia

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction:Today, shift work is considered as a necessity in many jobs and for some 24-hour services the use of shift-work is growing. However, shift work can lead to physiological and psycho-social problems for shift workers. This study aimed to determine the effects of shift work on the associated health problems, together with the demographic and job characteristics underlying the problems, among the medical and diagnostic staff of the general teaching hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2012. Method:This study was an applied, cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical one. The study employed a sample of 205 employees from the medical and diagnostic staff using stratified sampling proportional to the size and simple random sampling methods. Data were collected using the Survey of Shift workers (SOS questionnaire, validity and reliability of which have already been confirmed. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using SPSS 16.0 software through ANOVA, Chi-square, Independent-Samples T-Test, as well as Pearson Correlation Coefficient. A P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The results showed that among the demographic and job characteristics studied, the individual, family and social problems had significant associations with work schedules, shift work and job satisfaction. In addition, there were significant associations between musculoskeletal disorders and the satisfaction of shift work; cardiovascular disorders and marital status and occupation; digestive disorders and the work schedules; sleep disorders and the satisfaction of shift work; musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular disorders and sleep disorders and age, job experience and shift work experience. And finally, there were significant associations among sleep disorders and age, job experience and the shift work experience. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, demographic characteristics such as age, marital

Optimal Sequential Diagnostic Strategy Generation Considering Test Placement Cost for Multimode Systems

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Shigang Zhang

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Sequential fault diagnosis is an approach that realizes fault isolation by executing the optimal test step by step. The strategy used, i.e., the sequential diagnostic strategy, has great influence on diagnostic accuracy and cost. Optimal sequential diagnostic strategy generation is an important step in the process of diagnosis system construction, which has been studied extensively in the literature. However, previous algorithms either are designed for single mode systems or do not consider test placement cost. They are not suitable to solve the sequential diagnostic strategy generation problem considering test placement cost for multimode systems. Therefore, this problem is studied in this paper. A formulation is presented. Two algorithms are proposed, one of which is realized by system transformation and the other is newly designed. Extensive simulations are carried out to test the effectiveness of the algorithms. A real-world system is also presented. All the results show that both of them have the ability to solve the diagnostic strategy generation problem, and they have different characteristics.

Optimal Sequential Diagnostic Strategy Generation Considering Test Placement Cost for Multimode Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shigang; Song, Lijun; Zhang, Wei; Hu, Zheng; Yang, Yongmin

2015-01-01

Sequential fault diagnosis is an approach that realizes fault isolation by executing the optimal test step by step. The strategy used, i.e., the sequential diagnostic strategy, has great influence on diagnostic accuracy and cost. Optimal sequential diagnostic strategy generation is an important step in the process of diagnosis system construction, which has been studied extensively in the literature. However, previous algorithms either are designed for single mode systems or do not consider test placement cost. They are not suitable to solve the sequential diagnostic strategy generation problem considering test placement cost for multimode systems. Therefore, this problem is studied in this paper. A formulation is presented. Two algorithms are proposed, one of which is realized by system transformation and the other is newly designed. Extensive simulations are carried out to test the effectiveness of the algorithms. A real-world system is also presented. All the results show that both of them have the ability to solve the diagnostic strategy generation problem, and they have different characteristics. PMID:26457709

Multi-probe ionization chamber system for nuclear-generated plasma diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, W.Y.; Ellis, W.H.

1990-01-01

This paper reports on the pulsed ionization chamber (PIC) plasma diagnostic system used in studies of nuclear seeded plasma kinetics upgraded to increase the capabilities and extend the range of plasma parameter measurements to higher densities and temperatures. The PIC plasma diagnostic chamber has been provided with additional measurement features in the form of conductivity and Langmuir probes, while the overall experimental system has been fully automated, with computerized control, measurement, data acquisition and analysis by means of IEEE-488 (GPIB) bus control and data transfer protocols using a Macintosh series microcomputer. The design and use of a simple TTL switching system enables remote switching among the various GPIB instruments comprising the multi-probe plasma diagnostic system using software, without the need for a microprocessor. The new system will be used to extend the present study of nuclear generated plasma in He, Ar, Xe, fissionable UF 6 and other fluorine containing gases

University of Saskatchewan Radiology Courseware (USRC): an assessment of its utility for teaching diagnostic imaging in the medical school curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Burbridge, Brent; Kalra, Neil; Malin, Greg; Trinder, Krista; Pinelle, David

2015-01-01

We have found it very challenging to integrate images from our radiology digital imaging repository into the curriculum of our local medical school. Thus, it has been difficult to convey important knowledge related to viewing and interpreting diagnostic radiology images. We sought to determine if we could create a solution for this problem and evaluate whether students exposed to this solution were able to learn imaging concepts pertinent to medical practice. We developed University of Saskatchewan Radiology Courseware (USRC), a novel interactive web application that enables preclinical medical students to acquire image interpretation skills fundamental to clinical practice. This web application reformats content stored in Medical Imaging Resource Center teaching cases for BlackBoard Learn™, a popular learning management system. We have deployed this solution for 2 successive years in a 1st-year basic sciences medical school course at the College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan. The "courseware" content covers both normal anatomy and common clinical pathologies in five distinct modules. We created two cohorts of learners consisting of an intervention cohort of students who had used USRC for their 1st academic year, whereas the nonintervention cohort was students who had not been exposed to this learning opportunity. To assess the learning experience of the users we designed an online questionnaire and image review quiz delivered to both of the student groups. Comparisons between the groups revealed statistically significant differences in both confidence with image interpretation and the ability to answer knowledge-based questions. Students were satisfied with the overall usability, functions, and capabilities of USRC. USRC is an innovative technology that provides integration between Medical Imaging Resource Center, a teaching solution used in radiology, and a Learning Management System.

Medical cyber-physical systems: A survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Dey, Nilanjan; Ashour, Amira S; Shi, Fuqian; Fong, Simon James; Tavares, João Manuel R S

2018-03-10

Medical cyber-physical systems (MCPS) are healthcare critical integration of a network of medical devices. These systems are progressively used in hospitals to achieve a continuous high-quality healthcare. The MCPS design faces numerous challenges, including inoperability, security/privacy, and high assurance in the system software. In the current work, the infrastructure of the cyber-physical systems (CPS) are reviewed and discussed. This article enriched the researches of the networked Medical Device (MD) systems to increase the efficiency and safety of the healthcare. It also can assist the specialists of medical device to overcome crucial issues related to medical devices, and the challenges facing the design of the medical device's network. The concept of the social networking and its security along with the concept of the wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are addressed. Afterward, the CPS systems and platforms have been established, where more focus was directed toward CPS-based healthcare. The big data framework of CPSs is also included.

Rapid detection of chromosome rearrangement in medical diagnostic X-ray workers by using fluorescence in situ hybridization and study on dose estimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhiquan; Sun Yuanming; Li Jin

1998-01-01

Objective: Biological doses were estimated for medical diagnostic X-ray workers. Methods: Chromosome rearrangements in X-ray workers were analysed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with composite whole chromosome paintings number 4 and number 7. Results: The frequency of translocation in medical diagnostic X-ray workers was much higher than that in control group (P<0.01). The biological doses to individual X-ray workers were calculated by their translocation frequency. The translocation frequencies of both FISH and G-banding were in good agreement. Conclusion: The biological doses to X-ray workers are estimated by FISH first when their dosimetry records are not documented

Medical-Information-Management System

Science.gov (United States)

Alterescu, Sidney; Friedman, Carl A.; Frankowski, James W.

1989-01-01

Medical Information Management System (MIMS) computer program interactive, general-purpose software system for storage and retrieval of information. Offers immediate assistance where manipulation of large data bases required. User quickly and efficiently extracts, displays, and analyzes data. Used in management of medical data and handling all aspects of data related to care of patients. Other applications include management of data on occupational safety in public and private sectors, handling judicial information, systemizing purchasing and procurement systems, and analyses of cost structures of organizations. Written in Microsoft FORTRAN 77.

Are the ICD-10 or DSM-5 diagnostic systems able to define those who will benefit from treatment for depression?

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery, Stuart

2016-08-01

Two widely used diagnostic systems, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), are reviewed for their ability to define those who will benefit from active treatment rather than placebo. Both systems suffer from a weakness in defining symptoms sufficiently clearly to separate depression from normal mood variations in the general population. Consequently, normal individuals may be medicalized and defined as suffering from and treated for depression. Also, in mild depression, unlike moderate depression, a lack of significant separation of active treatment from placebo has been shown in individual double-blind, placebo-controlled studies and in meta-analyses of these treatment studies. Both systems would be more useful for treatment purposes if they provided a clearer symptomatic definition of moderate depression, as is widely used in pivotal regulatory standard efficacy studies.

PC based diagnostic system for nitrogen production unit of HWP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamba, D.S.; Rao, V.C.; Krishnan, S.; Kamaraj, T.; Krishnaswamy, C.

1992-01-01

The plant diagnostic system monitors the input data from local processing unit and tries to diagnose the cause of the failure. The system is a rule based application program that can perform tasks itself using fault tree model which displays the logical relationships between critical events and their possible ways occurrence, i.e. hardware failure, process faults and human error etc. Unit 37 Nitrogen Plant is taken as a prototype model for trying the plant diagnostics system. (author). 3 refs., 2 figs

Fast infectious diseases diagnostics based on microfluidic biochip system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qin Huang

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Molecular diagnostics is one of the most important tools currently in use for clinical pathogen detection due to its high sensitivity, specificity, and low consume of sample and reagent is keyword to low cost molecular diagnostics. In this paper, a sensitive DNA isothermal amplification method for fast clinical infectious diseases diagnostics at aM concentrations of DNA was developed using a polycarbonate (PC microfluidic chip. A portable confocal optical fluorescence detector was specifically developed for the microfluidic chip that was capable of highly sensitive real-time detection of amplified products for sequence-specific molecular identification near the optical diffraction limit with low background. The molecular diagnostics of Listeria monocytogenes with nucleic acid extracted from stool samples was performed at a minimum DNA template concentration of 3.65aM, and a detection limit of less than five copies of genomic DNA. Contrast to the general polymerase chain reaction (PCR at eppendorf (EP tube, the detection time in our developed method was reduced from 1.5h to 45min for multi-target parallel detection, the consume of sample and reagent was dropped from 25μL to 1.45μL. This novel microfluidic chip system and method can be used to develop a micro total analysis system as a clinically relevant pathogen molecular diagnostics method via the amplification of targets, with potential applications in biotechnology, medicine, and clinical molecular diagnostics.

DEVELOPMENT OF DIAGNOSTIC REFERENCE LEVELS (DRL OF PATIENTS X-RAY EXPOSURE IN DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY

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A. V. Vodovatov

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We introduce a system of Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRLs for patients medical exposure for national health care practice implementation. DRLs are an effective way of the patient radiation protection through the optimization of the medical exposure. The paper discusses and compares different methods of determining the DRLs based on measured and/or calculated quantities of patient’s dose: dose area product (DAP, entrance surface dose (ESD and an effective dose. Distributions of different dose quantities in different Saint-Petersburg clinics are shown on the example of chest PA examinations. The results are compared with the data from other sources. Regional DRLs for Saint-Petersburg are proposed.

Optimization of working conditions of medical staff of isotopic diagnostic departments. Optimizatsiya uslovij truda meditsinskogo personala radiodiagnosticheskikh otdelenij

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ovsyannikov, A S [Akademiya Meditsinskikh Nauk SSSR, Moscow (USSR). Inst. Gigieny Truda i Professional' nykh Zabolevanij

1989-01-01

The study was undertaken to analyze the characteristics of the work of medical staff of isotopic diagnostic departments during use of {sup 99m}Tc isotope generators. The data on the functional load of physicians and paramedical staff were given along with the description of radiation doses and dose rates at various stages of work. The measures on optimization of labour conditions by means of the appropriate department's design, improvement of the regime of nurses' work and adequate allocation and utilization of medical equipment were developed.

DIAGNOSTIC OF CNC LATHE WITH QC 20 BALLBAR SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jerzy Józwik

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the evaluation of the influence of the feedmotion speed on the value of selected geometric errors of CNC lathe CTX 310 eco by DMG, indentified by QC 20 Ballbar system. Diagnostically evaluated were: the deviation of the axis squareness, reversal spike, and backlash. These errors determine the forming of the dimensional and shape accuracy of a machine tool. The article discusses the process of the CNC diagnostic test, the diagnostic evaluation and formulates guidelines on further CNC operation. The results of measurements were presented in tables and diagrams.

Methodology, models and algorithms in thermographic diagnostics

CERN Document Server

Živčák, Jozef; Madarász, Ladislav; Rudas, Imre J

2013-01-01

This book presents  the methodology and techniques of  thermographic applications with focus primarily on medical thermography implemented for parametrizing the diagnostics of the human body. The first part of the book describes the basics of infrared thermography, the possibilities of thermographic diagnostics and the physical nature of thermography. The second half includes tools of intelligent engineering applied for the solving of selected applications and projects. Thermographic diagnostics was applied to problematics of paraplegia and tetraplegia and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The results of the research activities were created with the cooperation of the four projects within the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic entitled Digital control of complex systems with two degrees of freedom, Progressive methods of education in the area of control and modeling of complex object oriented systems on aircraft turbocompressor engines, Center for research of control of te...

Exploration Medical System Demonstration

Science.gov (United States)

Rubin, D. A.; Watkins, S. D.

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Exploration class missions will present significant new challenges and hazards to the health of the astronauts. Regardless of the intended destination, beyond low Earth orbit a greater degree of crew autonomy will be required to diagnose medical conditions, develop treatment plans, and implement procedures due to limited communications with ground-based personnel. SCOPE: The Exploration Medical System Demonstration (EMSD) project will act as a test bed on the International Space Station (ISS) to demonstrate to crew and ground personnel that an end-to-end medical system can assist clinician and non-clinician crew members in optimizing medical care delivery and data management during an exploration mission. Challenges facing exploration mission medical care include limited resources, inability to evacuate to Earth during many mission phases, and potential rendering of medical care by non-clinicians. This system demonstrates the integration of medical devices and informatics tools for managing evidence and decision making and can be designed to assist crewmembers in nominal, non-emergent situations and in emergent situations when they may be suffering from performance decrements due to environmental, physiological or other factors. PROJECT OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the EMSD project are to: a. Reduce or eliminate the time required of an on-orbit crew and ground personnel to access, transfer, and manipulate medical data. b. Demonstrate that the on-orbit crew has the ability to access medical data/information via an intuitive and crew-friendly solution to aid in the treatment of a medical condition. c. Develop a common data management framework that can be ubiquitously used to automate repetitive data collection, management, and communications tasks for all activities pertaining to crew health and life sciences. d. Ensure crew access to medical data during periods of restricted ground communication. e. Develop a common data management framework that

Autonomous power expert fault diagnostic system for Space Station Freedom electrical power system testbed

Science.gov (United States)

Truong, Long V.; Walters, Jerry L.; Roth, Mary Ellen; Quinn, Todd M.; Krawczonek, Walter M.

1990-01-01

The goal of the Autonomous Power System (APS) program is to develop and apply intelligent problem solving and control to the Space Station Freedom Electrical Power System (SSF/EPS) testbed being developed and demonstrated at NASA Lewis Research Center. The objectives of the program are to establish artificial intelligence technology paths, to craft knowledge-based tools with advanced human-operator interfaces for power systems, and to interface and integrate knowledge-based systems with conventional controllers. The Autonomous Power EXpert (APEX) portion of the APS program will integrate a knowledge-based fault diagnostic system and a power resource planner-scheduler. Then APEX will interface on-line with the SSF/EPS testbed and its Power Management Controller (PMC). The key tasks include establishing knowledge bases for system diagnostics, fault detection and isolation analysis, on-line information accessing through PMC, enhanced data management, and multiple-level, object-oriented operator displays. The first prototype of the diagnostic expert system for fault detection and isolation has been developed. The knowledge bases and the rule-based model that were developed for the Power Distribution Control Unit subsystem of the SSF/EPS testbed are described. A corresponding troubleshooting technique is also described.

Exploration Medical System Demonstration Project

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, D. A.; McGrath, T. L.; Reyna, B.; Watkins, S. D.

2011-01-01

A near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) mission will present significant new challenges including hazards to crew health created by exploring a beyond low earth orbit destination, traversing the terrain of asteroid surfaces, and the effects of variable gravity environments. Limited communications with ground-based personnel for diagnosis and consultation of medical events require increased crew autonomy when diagnosing conditions, creating treatment plans, and executing procedures. Scope: The Exploration Medical System Demonstration (EMSD) project will be a test bed on the International Space Station (ISS) to show an end-to-end medical system assisting the Crew Medical Officers (CMO) in optimizing medical care delivery and medical data management during a mission. NEA medical care challenges include resource and resupply constraints limiting the extent to which medical conditions can be treated, inability to evacuate to Earth during many mission phases, and rendering of medical care by a non-clinician. The system demonstrates the integration of medical technologies and medical informatics tools for managing evidence and decision making. Project Objectives: The objectives of the EMSD project are to: a) Reduce and possibly eliminate the time required for a crewmember and ground personnel to manage medical data from one application to another. b) Demonstrate crewmember's ability to access medical data/information via a software solution to assist/aid in the treatment of a medical condition. c) Develop a common data management architecture that can be ubiquitously used to automate repetitive data collection, management, and communications tasks for all crew health and life sciences activities. d) Develop a common data management architecture that allows for scalability, extensibility, and interoperability of data sources and data users. e) Lower total cost of ownership for development and sustainment of peripheral hardware and software that use EMSD for data management f) Provide

Design considerations for on-line vibration diagnostic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Branagan, L.A.; Schjeibel, J.R.

1989-01-01

The decisions made in the design of a data system for on-line vibration diagnostic system in power plants define how well the system will meet its intended goals. Direct use of the data for performing troubleshooting or developing operating correlations requires an understanding of the subtle impact of the design decisions incorporated in the data system. A data system includes data acquisition, data storage, and data retrieval. Data acquisition includes the selection of sensors, of vibration measurement modes, and of the time stamping format, and the arrangement of data collection cycles. Data storage requires the evaluation of data compression options and of data segregation. Data retrieval design requires an understanding of the data storage and acquisition techniques. Each of these options and design decisions involves compromises, many of which are discussed in this paper. Actual and synthetic data are presented to illustrate these points. The authors' experience with multiple data collection cycles, with frequent monitoring, and with storage by exception suggests that these techniques can be developed into an effective diagnostic system

Lithium beam diagnostic system on the COMPASS tokamak

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anda, G.; Bencze, A. [Wigner – RCP, HAS, Budapest (Hungary); Berta, M., E-mail: bertam@sze.hu [Institute of Plasma Physics AS CR, Prague (Czech Republic); Széchenyi István University, Győr (Hungary); Dunai, D. [Wigner – RCP, HAS, Budapest (Hungary); Hacek, P. [Institute of Plasma Physics AS CR, Prague (Czech Republic); Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague, Prague (Czech Republic); Krbec, J. [Institute of Plasma Physics AS CR, Prague (Czech Republic); Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague (Czech Republic); Réfy, D.; Krizsanóczi, T.; Bató, S.; Ilkei, T.; Kiss, I.G.; Veres, G.; Zoletnik, S. [Wigner – RCP, HAS, Budapest (Hungary)

2016-10-15

Highlights: • Li-beam diagnostic system on the COMPASS tokamak is an improved and compact system to allow testing of Atomic Beam Probe. • The possibility to measure background corrected density profiles on the few microseconds time scale. • First Li-beam diagnostic system with recirculating neutralizer. • The system includes the redesigned ion source with longer lifetime. - Abstract: An improved lithium beam based beam emission spectroscopy system – installed on COMPASS tokamak – is described. The beam energy enhanced up to 120 keV for Atomic Beam Probe measurement. The size of the ion source is doubled, using a newly developed thermionic heater instead of the conventionally used heating (tungsten or molybdenum) filament. The neutralizer is also improved. It produces the same sodium vapor in a cell but minimize the loss condensing the vapor on a cold surface which is led back (in fluid state) into the sodium oven. This way we call it recirculating neutralizer. The observation system consists of a CCD camera and an avalanche photodiode array.

Accuracy of abdominal lymph node scintigraphy in tumor diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kucharczyk, D.

1978-01-01

In view of the diagnostical correspondence between lymph node scintigraphy and X-ray lymphograpy, this dissertation, which is based on 110 systematic comparative evaluations, examines the diagnostical weight of the scintigraphic criteria for tumor growth, discusses diagnostical discrepancies and confirms the efficacy of lymph node scintigraphy in detecting malignomas. In discussing the diagnostical results in the light of previous experience, the shortcomings of the nuclear medical method in tumor diagnostics are shown to be attributable to the uncertainty of the individual scintigraphic criteria. Owing to the variability of the lymph node system as to topography, anatomy and retention rate and the fact that it cannot morphologically be well differentiated in the scintigram, X-ray lymphography to verify the scintigraphic result and preclude misinterpretation remains an indispensable measure. (orig.) [de

Radiological safety status and quality assurance audit of medical X-ray diagnostic installations in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sonawane A

2010-01-01

Full Text Available We conducted a radiological safety and quality assurance (QA audit of 118 medical X-ray diagnostic machines installed in 45 major hospitals in India. The main objective of the audit was to verify compliance with the regulatory requirements stipulated by the national regulatory body. The audit mainly covered accuracy check of accelerating potential (kVp, linearity of tube current (mA station and timer, congruence of radiation and optical field, and total filtration; in addition, we also reviewed medical X-ray diagnostic installations with reference to room layout of X-ray machines and conduct of radiological protection survey. A QA kit consisting of a kVp Test-O-Meter (ToM (Model RAD/FLU-9001, dose Test-O-Meter (ToM (Model 6001, ionization chamber-based radiation survey meter model Gun Monitor and other standard accessories were used for the required measurements. The important areas where there was noncompliance with the national safety code were: inaccuracy of kVp calibration (23%, lack of congruence of radiation and optical field (23%, nonlinearity of mA station (16% and timer (9%, improper collimator/diaphragm (19.6%, faulty adjustor knob for alignment of field size (4%, nonavailability of warning light (red light at the entrance of the X-ray room (29%, and use of mobile protective barriers without lead glass viewing window (14%. The present study on the radiological safety status of diagnostic X-ray installations may be a reasonably good representation of the situation in the country as a whole. The study contributes significantly to the improvement of radiological safety by the way of the steps already taken and by providing a vital feed back to the national regulatory body.

Differential diagnostics of the musculoskeletal system in sports medicine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nehrer, S.

2010-01-01

The positive effects of sports on the cardiovascular and musculoskeleal systems are widely accepted. Nevertheless, sports also can cause injury and overuse leading to sport-specific problems, which are often a challenge in diagnosing and treatment. The history of the sport-related injury is crucial for further differential diagnosis. Careful inspection, palpation and functional testing can reveal the possible pathology and lead to an effective strategy in the diagnostic assessment using radiographic tools such as sonography, X-ray and MR imaging (MRI). In muscle and tendon injuries sonography can provide ready to use information concerning muscle tears and tendon ruptures or degenerative lesions. Plain X-rays give a good overview on joint conditions regarding the bone and sometimes have to be completed by focused enlargement of the critical structure, especially in stress fractures and small bone lesions. MRT is the gold standard in the evaluation of interarticular and extra-articular sport-related pathologies, however, an exact clinical diagnosis allows a more effective investigation protocol. Profound knowledge of possible sport-specific injury and overuse patterns is necessary to detect lesions of the musculoskeletal system in active athletes and to use the fitting radiographic strategy for confirmation. The exact diagnosis is the prerequisite for initiating the appropriate treatment and a fast sports medical rehabilitation process. (orig.) [de

The development of the intelligent diagnostic expert system for high power dye-laser MOPA system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Lianhua; Yang Wenxi; Zhang Xiaowei; Dan Yongjun

2014-01-01

A intelligent diagnostic expert system was required to simulate the expert thinking process of solving problem in experiment and to real-time judge the running state of the experiment system. The intelligent diagnostic expert system for dye-laser MOPA system was build with the modular design of separated knowledge base and inference engine, the RETE algorithm rules match, the asynchronous operation, and multithreading technology. The experiment result indicated that the system could real-time analysis and diagnose the running state of dye-laser MOPA system with advantages of high diagnosis efficiency, good instantaneity and strong expansibility. (authors)

Role of theoretical dynamics in vibration diagnostics of pipe systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rejent, B.

1992-01-01

The importance of vibration diagnostics of pipe systems and the relevance of theoretical dynamics are shown using examples. The problems are discussed of vibration diagnostics of the primary circuit of a nuclear power plant with viscous seismic dampers installed. (M.D.) 7 figs., 5 refs

GPIB based instrumentation and control system for ADITYA Thomson Scattering Diagnostic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patel, Kiran, E-mail: kkpatel@ipr.res.in; Pillai, Vishal; Singh, Neha; Chaudhary, Vishnu; Thomas, Jinto; Kumar, Ajai

2016-11-15

The ADITYA Thomson Scattering Diagnostic is a single point Ruby laser based system with a spectrometer for spectral dispersion and photomultiplier tubes for the detection of scattered light. The system uses CAMAC (Computer Automated Measurement And Control) based control and data acquisition system, which synchronizes the Ruby laser, detectors and the digitizer. Previously used serial based CAMAC controller is upgraded to GPIB (General Purpose Interface Bus) based CAMAC controller for configuration and data transfer. The communication protocols for different instruments are converted to a single GPIB based for better interface. The entire control and data acquisition program is developed on LabVIEW platform for versatile operation of diagnostics with improved user friendly GUI (Graphical User Interfaces) and allows user to remotely update the laser firing time with respect to the plasma shot. The software is in handshake with the Tokamak main control program through network to minimize manual interventions for the operation of the diagnostics. The upgraded system improved the performance of the diagnostics in comparison to earlier in terms of better data transmission rate, easy to maintain and program is upgradable.

GPIB based instrumentation and control system for ADITYA Thomson Scattering Diagnostic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patel, Kiran; Pillai, Vishal; Singh, Neha; Chaudhary, Vishnu; Thomas, Jinto; Kumar, Ajai

2016-01-01

The ADITYA Thomson Scattering Diagnostic is a single point Ruby laser based system with a spectrometer for spectral dispersion and photomultiplier tubes for the detection of scattered light. The system uses CAMAC (Computer Automated Measurement And Control) based control and data acquisition system, which synchronizes the Ruby laser, detectors and the digitizer. Previously used serial based CAMAC controller is upgraded to GPIB (General Purpose Interface Bus) based CAMAC controller for configuration and data transfer. The communication protocols for different instruments are converted to a single GPIB based for better interface. The entire control and data acquisition program is developed on LabVIEW platform for versatile operation of diagnostics with improved user friendly GUI (Graphical User Interfaces) and allows user to remotely update the laser firing time with respect to the plasma shot. The software is in handshake with the Tokamak main control program through network to minimize manual interventions for the operation of the diagnostics. The upgraded system improved the performance of the diagnostics in comparison to earlier in terms of better data transmission rate, easy to maintain and program is upgradable.

The future of medical diagnostics: review paper

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Jerjes, Waseem K

2011-08-23

Abstract While histopathology of excised tissue remains the gold standard for diagnosis, several new, non-invasive diagnostic techniques are being developed. They rely on physical and biochemical changes that precede and mirror malignant change within tissue. The basic principle involves simple optical techniques of tissue interrogation. Their accuracy, expressed as sensitivity and specificity, are reported in a number of studies suggests that they have a potential for cost effective, real-time, in situ diagnosis. We review the Third Scientific Meeting of the Head and Neck Optical Diagnostics Society held in Congress Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria on the 11th May 2011. For the first time the HNODS Annual Scientific Meeting was held in association with the International Photodynamic Association (IPA) and the European Platform for Photodynamic Medicine (EPPM). The aim was to enhance the interdisciplinary aspects of optical diagnostics and other photodynamic applications. The meeting included 2 sections: oral communication sessions running in parallel to the IPA programme and poster presentation sessions combined with the IPA and EPPM posters sessions.

Medical Optimization Network for Space Telemedicine Resources

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, R. V.; Mulcahy, R.; Rubin, D.; Antonsen, E. L.; Kerstman, E. L.; Reyes, D.

2017-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Long-duration missions beyond low Earth orbit introduce new constraints to the space medical system such as the inability to evacuate to Earth, communication delays, and limitations in clinical skillsets. NASA recognizes the need to improve capabilities for autonomous care on such missions. As the medical system is developed, it is important to have an ability to evaluate the trade space of what resources will be most important. The Medical Optimization Network for Space Telemedicine Resources was developed for this reason, and is now a system to gauge the relative importance of medical resources in addressing medical conditions. METHODS: A list of medical conditions of potential concern for an exploration mission was referenced from the Integrated Medical Model, a probabilistic model designed to quantify in-flight medical risk. The diagnostic and treatment modalities required to address best and worst-case scenarios of each medical condition, at the terrestrial standard of care, were entered into a database. This list included tangible assets (e.g. medications) and intangible assets (e.g. clinical skills to perform a procedure). A team of physicians working within the Exploration Medical Capability Element of NASA's Human Research Program ranked each of the items listed according to its criticality. Data was then obtained from the IMM for the probability of occurrence of the medical conditions, including a breakdown of best case and worst case, during a Mars reference mission. The probability of occurrence information and criticality for each resource were taken into account during analytics performed using Tableau software. RESULTS: A database and weighting system to evaluate all the diagnostic and treatment modalities was created by combining the probability of condition occurrence data with the criticalities assigned by the physician team. DISCUSSION: Exploration Medical Capabilities research at NASA is focused on providing a medical system to

Diagnostics of the vibrations of complex rotor systems

Science.gov (United States)

Yugraytis, I. Y.; Ragulskis, K. M.; Ionushas, R. A.; Karuzhene, I. P.

1973-01-01

The parameters of the imbalance of a complex rotor system, having n parallel rotors and having six degrees of freedom, can be determined from the parameters of the vibrations of two appropriate degrees of freedom. This considerably simplifies diagnostics of the vibrations of complex rotor systems.

Improving diagnostic accuracy using agent-based distributed data mining system.

Science.gov (United States)

Sridhar, S

2013-09-01

The use of data mining techniques to improve the diagnostic system accuracy is investigated in this paper. The data mining algorithms aim to discover patterns and extract useful knowledge from facts recorded in databases. Generally, the expert systems are constructed for automating diagnostic procedures. The learning component uses the data mining algorithms to extract the expert system rules from the database automatically. Learning algorithms can assist the clinicians in extracting knowledge automatically. As the number and variety of data sources is dramatically increasing, another way to acquire knowledge from databases is to apply various data mining algorithms that extract knowledge from data. As data sets are inherently distributed, the distributed system uses agents to transport the trained classifiers and uses meta learning to combine the knowledge. Commonsense reasoning is also used in association with distributed data mining to obtain better results. Combining human expert knowledge and data mining knowledge improves the performance of the diagnostic system. This work suggests a framework of combining the human knowledge and knowledge gained by better data mining algorithms on a renal and gallstone data set.

The Application of Whole Cell-Based Biosensors for Use in Environmental Analysis and in Medical Diagnostics

Science.gov (United States)

Gui, Qingyuan; Lawson, Tom; Shan, Suyan; Yan, Lu; Liu, Yong

2017-01-01

Various whole cell-based biosensors have been reported in the literature for the last 20 years and these reports have shown great potential for their use in the areas of pollution detection in environmental and in biomedical diagnostics. Unlike other reviews of this growing field, this mini-review argues that: (1) the selection of reporter genes and their regulatory proteins are directly linked to the performance of celllular biosensors; (2) broad enhancements in microelectronics and information technologies have also led to improvements in the performance of these sensors; (3) their future potential is most apparent in their use in the areas of medical diagnostics and in environmental monitoring; and (4) currently the most promising work is focused on the better integration of cellular sensors with nano and micro scaled integrated chips. With better integration it may become practical to see these cells used as (5) real-time portable devices for diagnostics at the bedside and for remote environmental toxin detection and this in situ application will make the technology commonplace and thus as unremarkable as other ubiquitous technologies. PMID:28703749

Exploration Medical Cap Ability System Engineering Overview

Science.gov (United States)

McGuire, K.; Mindock, J.

2018-01-01

Deep Space Gateway and Transport missions will change the way NASA currently practices medicine. The missions will require more autonomous capability compared to current low Earth orbit operations. For the medical system, lack of consumable resupply, evacuation opportunities, and real-time ground support are key drivers toward greater autonomy. Recognition of the limited mission and vehicle resources available to carry out exploration missions motivates the Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) Element's approach to enabling the necessary autonomy. The ExMC Systems Engineering team's mission is to "Define, develop, validate, and manage the technical system design needed to implement exploration medical capabilities for Mars and test the design in a progression of proving grounds." The Element's work must integrate with the overall exploration mission and vehicle design efforts to successfully provide exploration medical capabilities. ExMC is using Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE) to accomplish its integrative goals. The MBSE approach to medical system design offers a paradigm shift toward greater integration between vehicle and the medical system, and directly supports the transition of Earth-reliant ISS operations to the Earth-independent operations envisioned for Mars. This talk will discuss how ExMC is using MBSE to define operational needs, decompose requirements and architecture, and identify medical capabilities needed to support human exploration. How MBSE is being used to integrate across disciplines and NASA Centers will also be described. The medical system being discussed in this talk is one system within larger habitat systems. Data generated within the medical system will be inputs to other systems and vice versa. This talk will also describe the next steps in model development that include: modeling the different systems that comprise the larger system and interact with the medical system, understanding how the various systems work together, and

The Diagnostic System of A – 604 Automatic Transmission

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Czaban Jaroslaw

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Automatic gearbox gains increasing popularity in Europe. Little interest in diagnosis of such type of transmission in Poland results from the fact of small share in the whole market of operated cars, so there is a lack of availability of special diagnostic devices. These factors cause issues of expensive repairs, often involving a replacement of subassembly to new or aftermarket one. To a small extent some prophylactic diagnostic tests are conducted, which can eliminate future gearbox system failures. In the paper, the proposition of diagnostic system of popular A - 604 gearbox was presented. The authors are seeking for the possibility of using such type of devices to functional elaboration of gearboxes after renovation. The built system pursues the drive of the researched object, connected with simulated load, where special controller, replacing the original one, is responsible for controlling gearbox operation. This way is used to evaluate the mechanic and hydraulic parts' state. Analysis of signal runs, registered during measurements lets conclude about operation correctness, where as comparison with stock data verifies the technical state of an automatic gearbox.

Symptom based diagnostic system using artificial neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santosh; Vinod, Gopika; Saraf, R.K.

2003-01-01

Nuclear power plant experiences a number of transients during its operations. In case of such an undesired plant condition generally known as an initiating event, the operator has to carry out diagnostic and corrective actions. The operator's response may be too late to mitigate or minimize the negative consequences in such scenarios. The objective of this work is to develop an operator support system based on artificial neural networks that will assist the operator to identify the initiating events at the earliest stages of their developments. A symptom based diagnostic system has been developed to investigate the initiating events. Neutral networks are utilized for carrying out the event identification by continuously monitoring process parameters. Whenever an event is detected, the system will display the necessary operator actions along with the initiating event. The system will also show the graphical trend of process parameters that are relevant to the event. This paper describes the features of the software that is used to monitor the reactor. (author)

The Diagnostic Value of Brain Scanning in the Diseases of the Central Nervous System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kwang Won; Lee, Myung Chul; Koh, Chang Soon; Lee, Mun Ho; Chang, Kee Hyun; Han, Man Chung; Choi, Kil Su; Son, Hyo Chung; Cho, Byung Kyu [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1974-03-15

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic value of the brain scanning and compare the diagnostic accuracy between the scan and carotid angiography. 109 cases which are proved by specific method to each disease, are analyzed to evaluate the diagnostic value of the brain scanning. The 70 cases among the proven 109 case are performed both the scanning and the arteriography and analyzed to compare the accuracy between the scanning and the arteriography. The results are as follows; 1) The diagnostic accuracy of the brain scanning in the diseases of the central nervous system is 64.2%. 2) The diagnostic accuracy of the brain scanning in the brain tumor is 88%, especially brain abscess, glioma, glioblastoma multiforme, meningioma and metastic tumor show high positive rate. 3) The diagnostic accuracy in the disease of the brain vessels is 54%. The comparison of the diagnostic value between the scanning and the arteriography is as follows;1) The diagnostic value in all diseases of the central nervous system is nearly equal. 2) The diagnostic accuracy in the intracranial tumor is slightly higher in the brain scanning (90. 9%) than in the arteriography (81.8%). 3) The diagnostic accuracy in the disease of the brain vessel is higher in the arteriography (77.3%) than in the scanning (54.5%). 5) The diagnostic value when combining the scanning and the arteriography, is 83% in the all central nervous system-lesions, 97% in the cranial tumor and 81.8% in the disease of the central nervous system-vessel. The brain scanning is simple and safe procedure, and moreover has excellent diagnostic value in the diagnosis of the central nervous system lesion.