Studies in health technology and informatics
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2007
Implementing virtual worlds for systematic training of prehospital CPR in medical school.
We report on a study that investigates the relationship between repeated training of teams managing medical emergencies in the Virtual World and affective learning outcomes in a group of 12 medical students. The focus of the training was on individual actions, but also on interaction and behaviour in the team. ⋯ We found an increase in flow experience and in self efficacy. This type of training could probably be expanded to other groups for a similar purpose because of its easiness to use, adaptability and interactivity.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2007
Assessing the impact of recording quality target data on the GP consultation using multi-channel video.
In the UK routinely collected computerized clinical data is used to assess progress towards financially incentivised quality targets for chronic disease management including hypertension. ⋯ We have successfully piloted a novel technique for observing the influence of the computer on the consultation. Despite increasing computer use to record quality target data the overwhelming proportion of the consultation remains doctor patient interaction.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2007
Obstacle crossing in a virtual environment with the rehabilitation gait robot LOKOMAT.
The rehabilitation robot LOKOMAT has been developed at the Balgrist University Hospital to automate treadmill training of spinal cord injury and stroke patients. A virtual environment setup was implemented to increase patient's motivation and provide biofeedback, consisting of visual, acoustic and haptic modalities. Based on the knee and hip angles of the orthosis, an animated figurine moves through a virtual environment. ⋯ We focused on delay times caused by the setup, stability of the haptic obstacle rendering and on the level of immersion as judged by four healthy subjects. Results show that subjects judged the system's performance well (questionnaire scores over 80%). Problems exist though for obstacle rendering (questionnaire scores of 55%).
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2007
A systems development life cycle approach to patient journey modeling projects.
Patient Journey Modeling, a relatively recent innovation in healthcare quality improvement, models the patient's movement through a Health Care Organisation (HCO) by viewing it from a patient centric perspective. A Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) provides a standard project management framework that can improve the quality of information systems. The concept of following a consistent project management framework to boost quality outcomes can be applied equally to healthcare improvement. ⋯ The key contribution of this paper is the introduction of a project management framework in the form of an SDLC that can be used by non-professional computer developers (ie: health care staff), to improve the consistency and quality of outcomes for patient journey redesign projects. Experiences of applying the SDLC in a midwife-led primary-care maternity services environment are discussed. The project team found the steps logical and easy to follow and produced demonstrable improvement results along with ongoing goal-focused action plans.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2007
Feasibility and usability of a home monitoring concept based on mobile phones and near field communication (NFC) technology.
Utilization of mobile information and communication technologies in home monitoring applications is becoming more and more common. The mobile phone, acting as a patient terminal for patients suffering from chronic diseases, provides an active link to the caregiver to transmit health status information and receive feedback. In such a concept the usability is still limited by the necessity of entering the values via the mobile phone's small keypad. ⋯ The focus of this paper is to describe the development of a prototype application based on this technology embedded in a home monitoring system. The feasibility and usability of this approach are evaluated and compared with concepts used in previous approaches. The high quantifier with respect to overall usability indicates that NFC may be the technology of choice for some tasks in home monitoring applications.