Gezondheidszorg voor tieners: trekken we samen op?

There are about 1.8 million children between 10 and 18 years of age in the Netherlands in 2016. These teenagers account for approximately 10% of the total population. Teenagers are relatively healthy and do not make much use of curative care. However, they are an important group in terms of public health, because a basis for good health in later life is created in the teenage years. Good health in teenagers is also important for education, relationships and employment, and their health has an influence on the health of the next generation. Child and adolescent healthcare plays an important part in preventive care for teenagers. Better cooperation and exchange of information between paediatricians, specialists in child and adolescent healthcare and general practitioners are important in order to optimise care for teenager

A computer-aided method to evaluate the function of implanted Bjork-Shiley prosthetic heart valves

Evaluation of the function of implanted prosthetic valves is important in early diagnosis of valve dysfunction. Björk-Shiley valves contain two radiopaque rings, which are projected as ellipses in cineradiography. From these ellipses the actual valve opening angle can be calculated. A computer-aided method was developed that enables measurement of ellipse characteristics reliably, independent of projection angle and valve opening. It is demonstrated that calculated and real opening angles differ less than 2° with this method. Using the same technique the tilting angle of the valve ring during the cardiac cycle is computed for evaluation of progression of valve dehiscense in case of a paravalvular leak. Application of the method to patient data is illustrated by three cases. The method is suitable for use by technicians. It can be implemented on a small microprocessor system. The method proved to be a powerful tool in the evaluation of patients with implanted Björk-Shiley valves