Fully Integrated Biochip Platforms for Advanced Healthcare

Recent advances in microelectronics and biosensors are enabling developments of innovative biochips for advanced healthcare by providing fully integrated platforms for continuous monitoring of a large set of human disease biomarkers. Continuous monitoring of several human metabolites can be addressed by using fully integrated and minimally invasive devices located in the sub-cutis, typically in the peritoneal region. This extends the techniques of continuous monitoring of glucose currently being pursued with diabetic patients. However, several issues have to be considered in order to succeed in developing fully integrated and minimally invasive implantable devices. These innovative devices require a high-degree of integration, minimal invasive surgery, long-term biocompatibility, security and privacy in data transmission, high reliability, high reproducibility, high specificity, low detection limit and high sensitivity. Recent advances in the field have already proposed possible solutions for several of these issues. The aim of the present paper is to present a broad spectrum of recent results and to propose future directions of development in order to obtain fully implantable systems for the continuous monitoring of the human metabolism in advanced healthcare applications

Strong causality from weak via continuous monitoring

Repeated unbiased measurements cause a continual application of the weak causality principle, leading to an apparent arrow of time for continuously-monitored quantum systems

Stark effect spectrophone for continuous absorption spectra monitoring

A Stark effect spectrophone using a pulsed or continuous wave laser having a beam with one or more absorption lines of a constituent of an unknown gas is described. The laser beam is directed through windows of a closed cell while the unknown gas to be modified flows continuously through the cell between electric field plates disposed in the cell on opposite sides of the beam path through the cell. When the beam is pulsed, energy absorbed by the gas increases at each point along the beam path according to the spectral lines of the constituents of the gas for the particular field strengths at those points. The pressure measurement at each point during each pulse of energy yields a plot of absorption as a function of electric field for simultaneous detection of the gas constituents. Provision for signal averaging and modulation is included

Continuous Monitoring: Look before You Leap

We present a model for pricing credit risk protection for a limited liability non-life insurance company. The protection is typically provided by a guaranty fund. In the case of continuous monitoring, i.e., where the market values of the company's assets and liabilities are continuously observable, and where the market values of assets and liabilities follow continuous processes, the regulators can liquidate the insurance company at the instant the market value of its assets equals the market value of its liabilities, implying that the credit protection is worthless. When jumps are included in the claims process, the protection provided by the guaranty fund has a strictly positive market value. We argue that the ability to continuously monitor the equity value of a company can be a new explanation for why jump processes may be important in models of credit risk.Credit risk for non-life insurers; guarantee fund; continuous monitoring; barrier options

Monitoring muscle fatigue following continuous load changes

Department of Human Factors EngineeringPrevious studies related to monitoring muscle fatigue during dynamic motion have focused on detecting the accumulation of muscle fatigue. However, it is necessary to detect both accumulation and recovery of muscle fatigue in dynamic muscle contraction while muscle load changes continuously. This study aims to investigate the development and recovery of muscle fatigue in dynamic muscle contraction conditions following continuous load changes. Twenty healthy males conducted repetitive elbow flexion and extension using 2kg and 1kg dumbbell, by turns. They performed the two tasks of different intensity (2kg intensity task, 1kg intensity task) alternately until they felt they could no longer achieve the required movement range or until they experienced unacceptable biceps muscle discomfort. Meanwhile, using EMG signal of biceps brachii muscle, fatigue detections were performed from both dynamic measurements during each dynamic muscle contraction task and isometric measurements during isometric muscle contraction right before and after each task. In each of 2kg and 1kg intensity tasks, pre, post and change value of EMG amplitude (AEMG) and center frequency were computed respectively. They were compared to check the validity of the muscle fatigue monitoring method using Wavelet transform with EMG signal from dynamic measurements. As a result, a decrease of center frequency in 2kg intensity tasks and an increase of center frequency in 1kg intensity tasks were detected. It shows that development and recovery of muscle fatigue were detected in 2kg and 1kg intensity tasks, respectively. Also, the tendency of change value of center frequency from dynamic measurements were corresponded with that from isometric measurements. It suggests that monitoring muscle fatigue in dynamic muscle contraction conditions using wavelet transform was valid to detect the development and recovery of muscle fatigue continuously. The result also shows the possibility of monitoring muscle fatigue in real-time in industry and it could propose a guideline in designing a human-robot interaction system based on monitoring user's muscle fatigue.clos

Online monitoring system and data management for KamLAND

In January 22, 2002, KamLAND started the data-taking. The KamLAND detector is a complicated system which consists of liquid scintillator, buffer oil, spherical balloon and so on. In order to maintain the detector safety, we constructed monitoring system which collect detector status information such as balloon weight, liquid scintillator oil level and so on. In addition, we constructed continuous Rn monitoring system for the $^7$Be solar neutrino detection. The KamLAND monitoring system consists of various network, LON, 1-Wire, and TCP/IP, and these are indispensable for continuous experimental data acquisition.Comment: Submitted to Nucl.Instrum.Meth.

The Use of Telemetry Monitoring Among General Medicine Patients

Objective: To determine why and when general medicine non-ICU patients are upgraded from a non-telemetry level of care to telemetry monitoring at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH). Comparison of the reasons for initiation of continuous ECG monitoring with the AHA and ACC guidelines would provide a greater understanding of the applicability of these recommendations to non-ICU general medicine patients. This information can provide guidance to identify areas of intervention to decrease inappropriate and/or overutilization of telemetry. The ultimate goal is to identify general medicine patients who are likely to benefit from continuous ECG monitoring, without negatively affecting clinical outcomes for those who do not receive cardiac monitoring.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/patientsafetyposters/1025/thumbnail.jp

Deep space monitor communication satellite system Patent

Elimination of tracking occultation problems occurring during continuous monitoring of interplanetary missions by using Earth orbiting communications satellit