Electronic Medical Records: Provotype visualisation maximises clinical usability

The Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is the essential tool of the clinical consultation, effectively replacing the paper medical record. Since its gradual adoption in the early 2000s there has been a failure to achieve even moderate levels of EMR usability in clinical settings, resulting in a negative impact on clinical care, time efficiency and patient safety. This research explores how deeper collaboration with clinical users through participatory design, drawing on the disciplines of visual design, user experience (UX) design and visual analytics, might offer a more effective approach to this important problem. The lead researcher for this project is both a practising doctor and design researcher. Usability of two commercial EMR interfaces in the field of sexual health is explored through a mixed method survey, with responses used to inform the design of an interface provotype. This in turn is evaluated through repeat survey and ‘test-drive’ talk-aloud workshops. Results from the survey on two commercial EMR interfaces (n=49) revealed deep dissatisfaction particularly around issues of navigation, flow of consultation, frustration, safety, time-dependent and time-independent data, data complexity and data salience. Comparative provotype evaluation (n=63) showed that clinically-relevant visualisation offers marked gains in clinical usability and performance. This research argues for a re-imagining of the way we look at medical data during the clinical consultation so that the affordances and benefits of the digital format can be exploited more fully. It highlights the value of combining participatory design with visualisation to embed explicit, experiential and even tacit clinical knowledge into the EMR interface

Modelling a Historic Oil-Tank Fire Allows an Estimation of the Sensitivity of the Infrared Receptors in Pyrophilous Melanophila Beetles

Pyrophilous jewel beetles of the genus Melanophila approach forest fires and there is considerable evidence that these beetles can detect fires from great distances of more than 60 km. Because Melanophila beetles are equipped with infrared receptors and are also attracted by hot surfaces it can be concluded that these infrared receptors are used for fire detection

Untersuchungen zum Mechanismus eines 'boil overs' und Entwicklung wirksamer Gegenmassnahmen bei Tankbraenden Abschlussbericht

Despite comprehensive safety precautions there is still the risks of fires wherever mineral oil and mineral oil products are stored. Due to the large quantities stored this represents a considerable danger for the environment of the storage tank concerned. Fuel ejection which may occur during evaporation of a second phase with low boiling point at the bottom of the tank are a special danger. The second phase usually consists of water. The most violent kind of which is combined with foaming and leakage of fuel and the formation of subsequent fire balls is called boil-over. This study describes the mechanisms that lead to a boil over, identifies material systems which are at risk, quantifies the impact and makes suggestions how these events may be counteracted. Experimental studies are conducted in test tanks with a diameter of 0.2 to 2 m. (orig./HS)Bei der Lagerung von Mineraloelen und Mineraloelprodukten kann es trotz umfangreicher Sicherheitsmassnahmen immer noch zu Schadenfeuern kommen, von denen aufgrund der grossen gelagerten Mengen eine erhebliche Gefahr fuer die Umgebung des betroffenen Lagertanks ausgeht. Eine besondere Gefaehrdung stellen dabei Brennstoffauswuerfe im Verlaufe des Brandes dar, die durch die Verdampfung einer zweiten, am Boden des Tanks vorliegenden Phase mit niedrigem Siedepunkt hervorgerufen werden. Diese zweite Phase besteht in der Regel aus Wasser. Die heftigste Form des Brennstoffauswurfs, die kombiniert ist mit dem Aufschaeumen und Auslaufen des Brennstoffs und der Ausbildung von aufeinanderfolgenden Feuerbaellen, bezeichnet man als 'boil over'. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, die zu einem 'boil over' fuehrenden Mechanismen zu beschreiben, gefaehrdete Stoffsysteme zu identifizieren, die Auswirkungen zu quantifizieren und Vorschlaege fuer Gegenmassnahmen zu unterbreiten. Dazu wurden experimentelle Untersuchungen in Versuchstanks von 0,2 bis ca. 2 m Durchmesser durchgefuehrt. (orig./HS)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F95B2406+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Forschung und Technologie (BMFT), Bonn (Germany)DEGerman