Studies in health technology and informatics
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialInteractive and passive virtual reality distraction: effects on presence and pain intensity.
The current study explores the effects of interactive versus passive Virtual Reality (VR) distraction on the sense of presence and pain intensity. Sixty-eight healthy students (mean age 21.8, SD = 4.3) underwent two consecutive cold-pressor trials (subject's hand immersed into 6 °C water as long as possible, with a time limit of five minutes), one without VR and another providing a VR distraction "Surreal World." Participants were randomly assigned to an interactive VR distraction condition, where a number of interactions with the environment were possible, or to a passive VR distraction condition, where they were also exposed to the surreal world, but instead of interacting with the virtual environment, they watched the navigation generated by another participant assigned to the interactive condition. ⋯ However, in the passive VR condition, only 5.9% of participants showed a decreased level of pain intensity relative to the no-VR trial. Also, the amount of presence reported was significantly higher during the interactive VR distraction and correlated negatively with pain intensity scores.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2011
Reality graded exposure therapy with physiological monitoring for the treatment of combat related post traumatic stress disorder: a pilot study.
A high percentage of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) combat veterans have been diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during and following their respective combat tours. Virtual Reality (VR) treatment has been documented as an exceptional treatment for anxiety disorders and specifically for PTSD. ⋯ A significant reduction in PTSD symptoms severity was noted. Implications for treatment with VR-GET and future research areas of investigation, including the use of VR-GET with smart phones and the internet, are suggested.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2011
Comparative StudyA comparison of videolaryngoscopic technologies.
Difficulty in managing the airway is a major contributor to the morbidity and mortality of the trauma patient. The video laryngoscope, with its camera at the distal tip of the intubation blade, allows the practitioner an improved view of the glottic opening during intubation. ⋯ The purpose of the present study was to assess and compare the video quality of commercially available video laryngoscopy systems. It was found that between the STORZ C-MAC and the Verathon GlideScope® there was little difference between the video quality; the difference came down to user preference.
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Mobile eyetracking is a recent method enabling research on attention during real-life behavior. With the EyeSeeCam, we have recently presented a mobile eye-tracking device, whose camera-motion device (gazecam) records movies orientated in user's direction of gaze. ⋯ Such information is vital, if gaze-tracking shall be combined with tasks requiring 3D information in the peri-personal space, such as grasping. Hence our method substantially extends the application range for mobile gaze-tracking devices and makes a decisive step towards their routine application in standardized clinical settings.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2011
The SignOut Discharge Summary System: using workflow byproducts to pre-populate and assemble discharge summaries.
At the time of hospital discharge, communication between inpatient and outpatient physicians is poor. Multiple studies demonstrate that discharge summaries, a means of improving information exchange between inpatient and outpatient providers, are frequently not available to the outpatient provider at the time of the post discharge visit. ⋯ The system has generated 78740 D/C summaries for 17 specialties since going live July 2005. Overall SDSS is responsible for 69% of all hospital discharge summaries and SDSS discharge summaries on average are available 1.91 days after discharge.