Tracking human face features in thermal images for respiration monitoring

A method has been developed to track a region related to respiration process in thermal images. The respiration region of interest (ROI) consisted of the skin area around the tip of the nose. The method was then used as part of a non-contact respiration rate monitoring that determined the skin temperature changes caused by respiration. The ROI was located by the first determining the relevant salient features of the human face physiology. These features were the warmest and coldest facial points. The tracking method was tested on thermal video images containing no head movements, small random and regular head movements. The method proved valuable for tracking the ROI in all these head movement types. It was also possible to use this tracking method to monitor respiration rate involving a number of head movement types. Currently, more investigations are underway to improve the tracking method so that it can track the ROI in cases larger head movements

Anchor Free IP Mobility

Efficient mobility management techniques are critical in providing seamless connectivity and session continuity between a mobile node and the network during its movement. However, current mobility management solutions generally require a central entity in the network core, tracking IP address movement, and anchoring traffic from source to destination through point-to-point tunnels. Intuitively, this approach suffers from scalability limitations as it creates bottlenecks in the network, due to sub-optimal routing via the anchor point. This is often termed 'dog-leg' routing. Meanwhile, alternative anchorless, solutions are not feasible due to the current limitations of the IP semantics, which strongly tie addressing information to location. In contrast, this paper introduces a novel anchorless mobility solution that overcomes these limitations by exploiting a new path-based forwarding fabric together with emerging mechanisms from information-centric networking. These mechanisms decouple the end-system IP address from the path based data forwarding to eliminate the need for anchoring traffic through the network core; thereby, allowing flexible path calculation and service provisioning. Furthermore, by eliminating the limitation of routing via the anchor point, our approach reduces the network cost compared to anchored solutions through bandwidth saving while maintaining comparable handover delay. The proposed solution is applicable to both cellular and large-scale wireless LAN networks that aim to support seamless handover in a single operator domain scenario. The solution is modeled as a Markov-chain which applies a topological basis to describe mobility. The validity of the proposed Markovian model was verified through simulation of both random walk mobility on random geometric networks and trace information from a large-scale, city wide data set. Evaluation results illustrate a significant reduction in the total network traffic cost by 45 percent or more when using the proposed solution, compared to Proxy Mobile IPv6

Seamless handover in IP over ICN networks: A coding approach

Seamless connectivity plays a key role in realizing QoS-based delivery in mobile networks. However, current handover mechanisms hinder the ability to meet this target, due to the high ratio of handover failures, packet loss and service interruption. These challenges are further magnified in Heterogeneous Cellular Networks (HCN) such as Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-Advanced) and LTE in unlicensed spectrum (LTE-LAA), due to the variation in handover requirements. Although mechanisms, such as Fast Handover for Proxy Mobile IPv6 (PFMIPv6), attempt to tackle these issues; they come at a high cost with sub-optimal outcomes. This primarily stems from various limitations of existing IP core networks. In this paper we propose a novel handover solution for mobile networks, exploiting the advantages of a revolutionary IP over Information-Centric Networking (IP-over-ICN) architecture in supporting flexible service provisioning through anycast and multicast, combined with the advantages of random linear coding techniques in eliminating the need for retransmissions. Our solution allows coded traffic to be disseminated in a multicast fashion during handover phase from source directly to the destination(s), without the need for an intermediate anchor as in exiting solutions; thereby, overcoming packet loss and handover failures, while reducing overall delivery cost. We evaluate our approach with an analytical and simulation model showing significant cost reduction compared to PFMIPv6

Six-minute walk distance after coronary artery bypass grafting compared with medical therapy in ischaemic cardiomyopathy

Background: In patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction, coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) may decrease mortality, but it is not known whether CABG improves functional capacity. Objective: To determine whether CABG compared with medical therapy alone (MED) increases 6 min walk distance in patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction and coronary artery disease amenable to revascularisation. Methods: The Surgical Treatment in Ischemic Heart disease trial randomised 1212 patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction to CABG or MED. A 6 min walk distance test was performed both at baseline and at least one follow-up assessment at 4, 12, 24 and/or 36 months in 409 patients randomised to CABG and 466 to MED. Change in 6 min walk distance between baseline and follow-up were compared by treatment allocation. Results: 6 min walk distance at baseline for CABG was mean 340±117 m and for MED 339±118 m. Change in walk distance from baseline was similar for CABG and MED groups at 4 months (mean +38 vs +28 m), 12 months (+47 vs +36 m), 24 months (+31 vs +34 m) and 36 months (−7 vs +7 m), P>0.10 for all. Change in walk distance between CABG and MED groups over all assessments was also similar after adjusting for covariates and imputation for missing values (+8 m, 95% CI −7 to 23 m, P=0.29). Results were consistent for subgroups defined by angina, New York Heart Association class ≥3, left ventricular ejection fraction, baseline walk distance and geographic region. Conclusion: In patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction CABG compared with MED alone is known to reduce mortality but is unlikely to result in a clinically significant improvement in functional capacity

Presence of mechanical dyssynchrony in duchenne muscular dystrophy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cardiac dysfunction in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a leading cause of death. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been shown to dramatically decrease mortality in eligible adult population with congestive heart failure. We hypothesized that mechanical dyssynchrony is present in DMD patients and that cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) may predict CRT efficacy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>DMD patients (n = 236) were stratified into 4 groups based on age, diagnosis of DMD, left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF), and presence of myocardial fibrosis defined as positive late gadolinum enhancement (LGE) compared to normal controls (n = 77). Dyssynchrony indices were calculated based on timing of CMR derived circumferential strain (e_cc). The calculated indices included cross-correlation delay (XCD), uniformity of strain (US), regional vector of variance (RVV), time to maximum strain (TTMS) and standard deviation (SD) of TTMS. Abnormal XCD value was defined as > normal + 2SD. US, RVV, TTMS and SD were calculated for patients with abnormal XCD.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was overall low prevalence of circumferential dyssynchrony in the entire DMD population; it increased to 17.1% for patients with abnormal EF and to 31.2% in the most advanced stage (abnormal EF with fibrosis). All but one DMD patient with mechanical dyssynchrony exhibited normal QRS duration suggesting absence of electrical dyssynchrony. The calculated US and RVV values (0.91 ± 0.09, 1.34 ± 0.48) indicate disperse rather than clustered dyssynchrony.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Mechanical dyssynchrony is frequent in boys with end stage DMD-associated cardiac dysfunction. It is associated with normal QRS complex as well as extensive lateral fibrosis. Based on these findings, it is unlikely that this patient population will benefit from CRT.</p

Comparison of Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking for Strain Calculation With Harmonic Phase Imaging Analysis

ObjectivesTo compare a steady-state free precession cine sequence–based technique (feature tracking [FT]) to tagged harmonic phase (HARP) analysis for peak average circumferential myocardial strain (εcc) analysis in a large and heterogeneous population of boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).BackgroundCurrent εcc assessment techniques require cardiac magnetic resonance–tagged imaging sequences, and their analysis is complex. The FT method can readily be performed on standard cine (steady-state free precession) sequences.MethodsWe compared mid-left ventricular whole-slice εcc by the 2 techniques in 191 DMD patients grouped according to age and severity of cardiac dysfunction: group B: DMD patients 10 years and younger with normal ejection fraction (EF); group C: DMD patients older than 10 years with normal EF; group D: DMD patients older than 10 years with reduced EF but negative myocardial delayed enhancement (MDE); group E: DMD patients older than 10 years with reduced EF and positive MDE; and group A: 42 control subjects. Retrospective, offline analysis was performed on matched tagged and steady-state free precession slices.ResultsFor the entire study population (N = 233), mean FT εcc values (−13.3 ± 3.8%) were highly correlated with HARP εcc values (−13.6 ± 3.4%), with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.899. The mean εcc of DMD patients determined by HARP (−12.52 ± 2.69%) and FT (−12.16 ± 3.12%) was not significantly different (p = NS). Similarly, the mean εcc of the control subjects by determined HARP (−18.85 ± 1.86) and FT (−18.81 ± 1.83) was not significantly different (p = NS). Excellent correlation between the 2 methods was found among subgroups A through E, except there was no significant difference in strain between groups B and C with FT analysis.ConclusionsFT-based assessment of εcc correlates highly with εcc derived from tagged images in a large DMD patient population with a wide range of cardiac dysfunction and can be performed without additional imaging

Quality of life impact and recovery after ureteroscopy and stent insertion: Insights from daily surveys in STENTS

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to describe day-to-day evolution and variations in patient-reported stent-associated symptoms (SAS) in the STudy to Enhance uNderstanding of sTent-associated Symptoms (STENTS), a prospective multicenter observational cohort study, using multiple instruments with conceptual overlap in various domains. METHODS: In a nested cohort of the STENTS study, the initial 40 participants having unilateral ureteroscopy (URS) and stent placement underwent daily assessment of self-reported measures using the Brief Pain Inventory short form, Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System measures for pain severity and pain interference, the Urinary Score of the Ureteral Stent Symptom Questionnaire, and Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network Symptom Index. Pain intensity, pain interference, urinary symptoms, and bother were obtained preoperatively, daily until stent removal, and at postoperative day (POD) 30. RESULTS: The median age was 44 years (IQR 29,58), and 53% were female. The size of the dominant stone was 7.5 mm (IQR 5,11), and 50% were located in the kidney. There was consistency among instruments assessing similar concepts. Pain intensity and urinary symptoms increased from baseline to POD 1 with apparent peaks in the first 2 days, remained elevated with stent in situ, and varied widely among individuals. Interference due to pain, and bother due to urinary symptoms, likewise demonstrated high individual variability. CONCLUSIONS: This first study investigating daily SAS allows for a more in-depth look at the lived experience after URS and the impact on quality of life. Different instruments measuring pain intensity, pain interference, and urinary symptoms produced consistent assessments of patients\u27 experiences. The overall daily stability of pain and urinary symptoms after URS was also marked by high patient-level variation, suggesting an opportunity to identify characteristics associated with severe SAS after URS