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

A Comprehensive gait data acquisition system: An integrated pedobarograph and imaging system

Gait-related problems can be addressed with the use of qualitative and quantitative data. In the current Philippines\u27 setting, doctors rely only on their skills and experience on analyzing their patients\u27 gait patterns. Gait-analyzing systems are already available abroad but are very expensive. The proponents created a low cost system that integrated a pedobarograph and gait-imaging system which can be locally available. The imaging system is composed of an image capturing device (i.e web camera), a desktop computer, and reflective markers. The cameras capture the walking pattern, then save the images which can be reloadable. The gait analysis system measures the degree of angle displaced by the joints of the limbs during walking. After processing 269 images captured by the imaging system, the results show that the system has an average of 2.2% error and is 97% reliable in having an error of less than 5.0% for its angle measurements. The pedobarograph part is composed of a force plate, a signal conditioning circuit and a data acquisition system. The pressure readings are voltage signals processed by the motherboard. On the GUI of the program, colors were used to display relative pressure readings - black for off and no contact, blue for low pressure, and red for high pressure. It was found out that in order to capture the five complete stance phase events of a walk, the patient must walk along the platform at least three times per session. Overall, the system prototype proved to be able to provide reliable joint measurements and display relative foot pressure distribution simultaneously