Collaborative Augmented Digital Twin: A Novel Open-Source Augmented Reality Solution for Training and Maintenance Processes in the Shipyard of the Future

Presented at the 4th XoveTIC Conference, A Coruña, Spain, 7–8 October 2021.[Abstract] Large companies use a lot of resources on workshop operator training and industrial machinery maintenance since the lack of this practice or its poor implementation increases the cost and risks of operating and handling sensitive and/or hazardous machinery. Industrial Augmented Reality (IAR), a major technology in the Industry 4.0 paradigm that may enhance worker performance, minimize hazards and improve manufacturing processes, could be beneficial in this situation. This paper presents an IAR solution that allows for visualizing and interacting with the digital twin of a critical system. Specifically, the augmented digital twin of an industrial cooler was developed. The proposed IAR system provides a dynamic way to perform operator training with a full-size model of the actual equipment and to provide step-by-step guidance so that maintenance processes can be performed more safely and efficiently. The proposed system also allows several users to use devices at the same time, creating a new type of collaborative interaction by viewing the model in the same place and state. Performance tests with many simultaneous users have been conducted, with response latency being measured as the number of connected users grows. Furthermore, the suggested IAR system has been thoroughly tested in a real-world industrial environment.This work was supported by the Plant Information and Augmented Reality research line of the Navantia-UDC Joint Research Unit (IN853B-2018/02). The authors would like to thank CITIC for its support. CITIC, a research center accredited by Galician University System, is funded by “Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidades from Xunta de Galicia”, with 80% of funds coming from ERDF Funds, ERDF Operational Programme Galicia 2014-2020, and the remaining 20% from “Secretaría Xeral de Universidades” (Grant ED431G 2019/01).Xunta de Galicia; IN853B-2018/02Xunta de Galicia; ED431G 2019/0

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

New Technologies for Internet of Things and Augmented Reality Applications for Domotic Environments and Industry 4.0

Programa Oficial de Doutoramento en Tecnoloxías da Información e Comunicación en Redes Móbiles. 553V01[Abstract] In recent years, the technology related to the Internet of Things (IoT), has gained interest in several elds, from home automation to industry. IoT systems allow heterogeneous devices such as household appliances, machinery, or vehicles to communicate with each other through an interconnected network and to exchange data related to the physical environment in which they are located. However, the rapid evolution of the technology requires analyzing the architectures and platforms to support every scenario in which IoT is deployed to ensure that the performance is appropriate. The Industry 4.0 paradigm relies on IoT networks to exchange the vast amount of information generated by sensors and control systems with the goal of optimizing business processes through other technologies like robotics, big data, arti cial intelligence, among others. Speci cally, one of the key technologies for the Industry 4.0 is Augmented Reality (AR) which has demonstrated to be a good ally for displaying information from IoT networks in the context of the digital transformation of the industry. However, the implementation of such systems poses several challenges, especially if quality of experience considerations are taken into account. First, hardware restrictions of the end devices limit the available computing power, and the energy available can also be limited for devices using batteries. Next, the technology heterogeneity in IoT and AR systems makes it di cult to implement interactions between them, as AR frameworks use technologies that di er remarkably from those used for the development of IoT device software. This thesis provides an analysis of the current state-of-the-art technologies regarding AR and IoT systems with special attention to the industrial applications of those technologies under the umbrella of the Industry 4.0 paradigm. Due to its novelty and the lack of proper academic reviews, this thesis starts with an extensive analysis and review of current AR technologies followed by the description of a speci c use case of AR technologies for smart public buildings. Next, several use cases of IoT systems are presented, analyzing the state of the art of each of them. Finally, this thesis tackles the integration of IoT and AR systems, proposing several architectures and frameworks to make it possible, and several use cases for speci c industrial applications are presented making use of such an integration of IoT and AR. Throughout this thesis several commercial and academic solutions are evaluated, and some novel architectures and frameworks are proposed to improve the performance of these systems and provide an adequate user experience. Moreover, a hands-on approach was taken in every section of this thesis by designing, implementing, and testing several demonstrative applications that provide a real-world experimental setup for testing the proposed systems.[Resumen] En los últimos años, la tecnología relacionada con el Internet de las Cosas (IoT, Internet of Things) ha ido ganando interés en diferentes sectores que van desde la domótica en el hogar hasta la industria. Los sistemas IoT permiten a dispositivos heterogéneos como electrodomésticos, maquinaria industrial o vehículos comunicarse entre ellos a través de una red de interconexión e intercambiar información relacionada con el mundo físico a su alrededor. Sin embargo, la rápida evolución de la tecnología requiere que las arquitecturas y plataformas sean reanalizadas para soportar todos los escenarios en los que los sistemas IoT están desplegados con el objetivo de asegurar un rendimiento adecuado de los mismos. El paradigma de la Industria 4.0 depende de redes IoT para intercambiar las grandes cantidades de información generada por sensores y sistemas de control con el objetivo de optimizar los procesos de negocio gracias a tecnologías como robótica, big data, inteligencia arti cial, entre otros. En concreto, una de las tecnologías clave para la Industria 4.0 es la Realidad Aumentada (RA) la cual ha demostrado ser un aliado perfecto para presentar la información generada en las redes IoT en el contexto de la transformación digital de la industria. Sin embargo, la implementación de estos sistemas supone diferentes retos, sobre todo si tenemos en cuenta cuestiones relacionadas con la Calidad de la Experiencia (QoE, Quality of Experience). En primer lugar, las restricciones hardware de los dispositivos finales, limitan la capacidad computacional disponible, y la energía también puede estar limitada en los dispositivos que dependen del uso de baterías. En segundo lugar, la disparidad de tecnologías utilizadas en sistemas IoT y sistemas de RA di culta la implementaci on de interacciones entre ellos debido a que los entornos de desarrollo de RA usan tecnologías considerablemente diferentes a las usadas en el software de los dispositivos IoT. Esta tesis contiene un análisis del estado del arte actual de la tecnología relacionado con sistemas de RA e IoT prestando especial atención a las aplicaciones comerciales de estas tecnologías bajo el paraguas del paradigma de la Industria 4.0. Debido a su novedad y a la falta de revisiones académicas, esta tesis comienza con una revisión y análisis exhaustivo de las tecnologías de RA actuales, seguido de la descripción de un caso de uso específi co de RA para edi cios públicos inteligentes. Después, se describen diferentes casos de uso de sistemas IoT analizando el estado del arte relacionado con cada uno de ellos. Para analizar, esta tesis aborda la integración de sistemas de IoT y sistemas de RA proponiendo diferentes arquitecturas y frameworks para llevarla a cabo y se presentan diferentes casos de uso de aplicaciones industriales específi cas que hacen uso de dicha integración entre IoT y RA. A lo largo de esta tesis se validan distintas soluciones académicas y comerciales y se proponen nuevas arquitecturas y frameworks para mejorar el rendimiento de estos sistemas y proporcionar una experiencia de usuario adecuada. Además, en cada sección de esta tesis, se adopta una aproximación práctica, diseñando, implementando y evaluando diferentes aplicaciones demostrativas que proporcionan un entorno real de pruebas para veri car los sistemas propuestos.[Resumo] Nos últimos anos, a tecnoloxía vinculada co Internet das Cousas (IoT, Internet of Things) ven gañando interese en diferentes sectores que van dende a domótica no fogar ata a industria. Os sistemas IoT permiten a dispositivos heteroxéneos como electrodomésticos, maquinaria industrial ou vehículos comunicarse entre eles por medio dunha rede de interconexión e intercambiar información relacionada co mundo físico ao seu redor. Sen embargo, a rápida evolución da tecnoloxía require que as arquitecturas e plataformas sexan reanalizadas para soportar todos os escenarios nos que os sistemas IoT están despregados co obxectivo de asegurar un rendemento axeitado dos mesmos. O paradigma da Industria 4.0 depende de redes de IoT para intercambiar as grandes cantidades de información xerada por sensores e sistemas de control co obxectivo de optimizar os procesos de negocio gracias a tecnoloxías como robótica, big data, intelixencia arti cial, entre outros. En concreto, unha das tecnoloxías clave para a Industria 4.0 é a Realidade Aumentada (RA) a cal demostrou ser un aliado perfecto para presentar a información xerada polas redes IoT no contexto da transformación dixital da industria. Sen embargo, a implementación destes sistemas supón diferentes retos, sobre todo se temos en conta as cuestions relacionadas coa Calidade da Experiencia (QoE, Quality of Experience). En primeiro lugar, a disparidade de tecnoloxías utilizadas en sistemas IoT e sistemas de RA di culta a implementación de interaccións entre eles debido a que as contornas de desenvolvemento de RA usan tecnoloxías considerablemente diferentes ás usadas no software dos dispositivos IoT. Esta tese contén unha anáalise do estado da arte actual das tecnoloxías relacionadas con sistemas de RA e IoT prestando especial atención ás aplicacións comerciais destas tecnoloxías baixo o paraugas do paradigma da Industria 4.0. Debido á súa novidade e a falta de revisións académicas, esta tese comeza cunha revisión e análise exhaustivo das tecnoloxías de RA actuais, seguido da descripción dun caso de uso específi co de RA para edi cios públicos intelixentes. Despois, descríbense diferentes casos de uso de sistemas IoT analizando o estado da arte relacionado con cada un deles. Para a nalizar, esta tese aborda a integración de sistemas IoT e sistemas de RA propoñendo diferentes arquitecturas e frameworks para levala a cabo e presentando diferentes casos de uso de aplicacións industriais específi cas que fan uso de dita integración entre IoT e RA. Ó largo desta tese valídanse diferentes solucións académicas e comerciais e propóñense novas arquitecturas e frameworks para mellorar o rendemento destes sistemas e proporcionar unha experiencia de usuario axeitada. Ademais, en cada sección desta tese, adóptase unha aproximación práctica, deseñando, implementando e avaliando diferentes aplicacións demostrativas que proporcionan unha contorna real de probas para veri car os sistemas propostos

Design and experimental validation of an augmented reality system with wireless integration for context aware enhanced show experience in auditoriums

The development of multiple cultural and social related activities, such as shows related with the performing arts, conferences or presentations rely on facilities such as auditoriums, theatres and conference sites, which are progressively including multiple technological features in order to enhance user experience. There are still however situations in which user experience is limited owing to lack of environment adaption, such as people with disabilities. In this sense, the adoption of Context Aware paradigms within auditoriums can provide adequate functionalities in order to comply with specific needs. This work is aimed at demonstrating the feasibility in enhancing user experience (e.g., improving the autonomy of disabled people) within auditorium and theatre environments, by means of an Augmented Reality (AR) device (HoloLens smart glasses) with wireless system integration. To carry out the demonstration, different elements to build AR applications are described and tested. First, an intensive measurement campaign was performed in a real auditorium in the city of Pamplona (Baluarte Congress Center) in order to evaluate the feasibility of using Wi-Fi enabled AR devices in a complex wireless propagation scenario. The results show that these environments exhibit high levels of interference, owing to the co-existence and non-coordinated operation of multiple wireless communication systems, such as on site and temporary Wi-Fi access points, wireless microphones or communications systems used by performers, staff and users. Deterministic wireless channel estimation based in volumetric 3D Ray Launching have been obtained for the complete scenario volume, in order to assess quality of service metrics. For illustration purposes, a user-friendly application to help hearing impaired people was developed and its main features were tested in the auditorium. Such an application provides users with a 3D virtual space to visualize useful multimedia content like subtitles or additional information about the show, as well as an integrated call button. © 2013 IEEE.This work was supported in part by the Article Processing Charges (APC) from the Xunta de Galicia under Grant ED431G 2019/01; in part by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación of Spain under Grant TEC2016-75067-C4-1-R, Grant RED2018-102668-T, and Grant PID2019-104958RB-C42; in part by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union (EU) [Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI)/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), UE]; and in part by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Gobierno de España (MCIU/AEI/FEDER,UE) under Project RTI2018-095499-B-C31

Discovering HIV related information by means of association rules and machine learning

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is still one of the main health problems worldwide. It is therefore essential to keep making progress in improving the prognosis and quality of life of affected patients. One way to advance along this pathway is to uncover connections between other disorders associated with HIV/AIDS-so that they can be anticipated and possibly mitigated. We propose to achieve this by using Association Rules (ARs). They allow us to represent the dependencies between a number of diseases and other specific diseases. However, classical techniques systematically generate every AR meeting some minimal conditions on data frequency, hence generating a vast amount of uninteresting ARs, which need to be filtered out. The lack of manually annotated ARs has favored unsupervised filtering, even though they produce limited results. In this paper, we propose a semi-supervised system, able to identify relevant ARs among HIV-related diseases with a minimal amount of annotated training data. Our system has been able to extract a good number of relationships between HIV-related diseases that have been previously detected in the literature but are scattered and are often little known. Furthermore, a number of plausible new relationships have shown up which deserve further investigation by qualified medical experts

Reduction of cardiac imaging tests during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Italy. Findings from the IAEA Non-invasive Cardiology Protocol Survey on COVID-19 (INCAPS COVID)

Background: In early 2020, COVID-19 massively hit Italy, earlier and harder than any other European country. This caused a series of strict containment measures, aimed at blocking the spread of the pandemic. Healthcare delivery was also affected when resources were diverted towards care of COVID-19 patients, including intensive care wards. Aim of the study: The aim is assessing the impact of COVID-19 on cardiac imaging in Italy, compare to the Rest of Europe (RoE) and the World (RoW). Methods: A global survey was conducted in May–June 2020 worldwide, through a questionnaire distributed online. The survey covered three periods: March and April 2020, and March 2019. Data from 52 Italian centres, a subset of the 909 participating centres from 108 countries, were analyzed. Results: In Italy, volumes decreased by 67% in March 2020, compared to March 2019, as opposed to a significantly lower decrease (p &lt; 0.001) in RoE and RoW (41% and 40%, respectively). A further decrease from March 2020 to April 2020 summed up to 76% for the North, 77% for the Centre and 86% for the South. When compared to the RoE and RoW, this further decrease from March 2020 to April 2020 in Italy was significantly less (p = 0.005), most likely reflecting the earlier effects of the containment measures in Italy, taken earlier than anywhere else in the West. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic massively hit Italy and caused a disruption of healthcare services, including cardiac imaging studies. This raises concern about the medium- and long-term consequences for the high number of patients who were denied timely diagnoses and the subsequent lifesaving therapies and procedures

International Impact of COVID-19 on the Diagnosis of Heart Disease

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has adversely affected diagnosis and treatment of noncommunicable diseases. Its effects on delivery of diagnostic care for cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death worldwide, have not been quantified. Objectives: The study sought to assess COVID-19's impact on global cardiovascular diagnostic procedural volumes and safety practices. Methods: The International Atomic Energy Agency conducted a worldwide survey assessing alterations in cardiovascular procedure volumes and safety practices resulting from COVID-19. Noninvasive and invasive cardiac testing volumes were obtained from participating sites for March and April 2020 and compared with those from March 2019. Availability of personal protective equipment and pandemic-related testing practice changes were ascertained. Results: Surveys were submitted from 909 inpatient and outpatient centers performing cardiac diagnostic procedures, in 108 countries. Procedure volumes decreased 42% from March 2019 to March 2020, and 64% from March 2019 to April 2020. Transthoracic echocardiography decreased by 59%, transesophageal echocardiography 76%, and stress tests 78%, which varied between stress modalities. Coronary angiography (invasive or computed tomography) decreased 55% (p &lt; 0.001 for each procedure). In multivariable regression, significantly greater reduction in procedures occurred for centers in countries with lower gross domestic product. Location in a low-income and lower–middle-income country was associated with an additional 22% reduction in cardiac procedures and less availability of personal protective equipment and telehealth. Conclusions: COVID-19 was associated with a significant and abrupt reduction in cardiovascular diagnostic testing across the globe, especially affecting the world's economically challenged. Further study of cardiovascular outcomes and COVID-19–related changes in care delivery is warranted