Normal values of regional left ventricular endocardial motion: multicenter color kinesis study. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 279: H2464– H2476

. Normal values of regional left ventricular endocardial motion: multicenter color kinesis study. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 279: H2464-H2476, 2000.-Our goal was to establish normal values for quantitative color kinesis indexes of left ventricular (LV) wall motion over a wide range of ages, which are required for objective diagnosis of regional systolic and diastolic dysfunction. Color-encoded images were obtained in 194 normal subjects (95 males, 99 females, age 2 mo to 79 yr) in four standard views. Quantitative indexes of magnitude and timing of systolic and diastolic function were studied for age-and genderrelated differences. Normal limits of all ejection and filling indexes were in a narrow range (Յ25% of the mean), with no major gender-related differences. Despite invariable ejection fractions, both peak filling and ejection rates decreased with age (30 and 20%, correspondingly) with a concomitant increase in mean filling and ejection times, resulting in fiveand twofold increases in the late to early filling and ejection ratios, correspondingly. Diastolic asynchrony increased with age (from 4.7 Ϯ 2.0 to 6.4 Ϯ 3.2 from the 2nd to 7th decade). The normal values of color kinesis indexes should allow objective detection of regional LV systolic and diastolic dysfunction. echocardiography; ultrasound imaging; ventricular function; wall motion COLOR KINESIS IS AN EMERGING echocardiographic technique based on acoustic quantification, which uses color-encoding to depict left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic endocardial motion However, a new technique, which detects abnormalities by comparing individual patient's data with normal values, relies on having these normal values established in a large sample of the normal population. Accordingly, normal values of different indexes of magnitude and timing of global and regional LV function derived from color kinesis images need to be established to allow objective detection of abnormalities with a high level of confidence. We also hypothesized that these indexes may be age and gender dependent, in which case normal values would need to be established for different demographic groups. Accordingly, the purpose of this collaborative multicenter effort was to establish normal values for magnitude and timing indexes of wall motion by acquiring and analyzing systolic and diastolic color kinesis images in a large group of normal subjects of both sexes over a wide range of ages. METHODS Study population. The protocol for this study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Chicago (protocol #9171). This protocol was initially designed to include eight age groups (8 decades between 0 and 80 yr) with a minimum of 20 normal subjects each (50% males and 50% Address for reprint requests and othe

The Impact of Behavioral Monitoring Technology on the Provision of Health Care in the Home

The lack of appropriate and accurate information on the ability of a frail individual to accomplish specific task oriented activities can place the individual at risk or result in the allocation of costly and unnecessary care. Although there have been previous attempts to use computer technology to obtain this information, they have proved to be costly and complex and therefore not widely used. However, a behavioral monitoring technology, based on smart-home and telemedicine applications, has been developed that obtains more accurate and timely information on the ability of frail individuals to accomplish specific tasks in their own residences than any other existing method. During a twelve month pilot study, this system has been used by care providers to assess the status of their clients, respond to immediate needs and alter overall care plans, thus resulting in better care and greater peace of mind for the individual

The capital use of social capital or how social capital is used to keep capital concentrated

This paper addresses the role of social capital networks in the accumulation of large sums of money for investment. In particular, the study undertakes an analysis at the micro level of individual actions involved in the actual process by which social capital is converted into capital, i.e. money. This analysis highlights the socialfacilitating functions and processes of social capital networks, while focusing attention on the essential relationship between social capital and money. Our analysis clearly indicates that social capital is the means of production in a type of venture capitalism and is the real means by which the accumulation of capital itself is controlled. Perhaps even more importantly, our findings show that these networks exist to ensure that any profit made by the members of the network remains within the network and does not flow to other networks of financially elite individuals nor trickle down to individuals who are not financially elite

The Impact of Behavioral Monitoring Technology on the Provision of Health Care in the Home

Abstract: The lack of appropriate and accurate information on the ability of a frail individual to accomplish specific task oriented activities can place the individual at risk or result in the allocation of costly and unnecessary care. Although there have been previous attempts to use computer technology to obtain this information, they have proved to be costly and complex and therefore not widely used. However, a behavioral monitoring technology, based on smart-home and telemedicine applications, has been developed that obtains more accurate and timely information on the ability of frail individuals to accomplish specific tasks in their own residences than any other existing method. During a twelve month pilot study, this system has been used by care providers to assess the status of their clients, respond to immediate needs and alter overall care plans, thus resulting in better care and greater peace of mind for the individual. Keywords: Smart-home technology, Telemedicine, Behavioral monitoring, Care provision, Web-based service