12 research outputs found

    The culture of the project in view of new synergies for the (r)evolution of the healthcare sector

    Get PDF
    The contemporary era, defined by Schwad (2015) as the "Fourth Industrial Revolution '' is the era that is outlined on the theme of major innovations and a growth of technologies of exponential type. At the social level, we are witnessing a progressive aging of the population, aging or rejuvenation, as some would argue (OECD, 2020). Technological growth and innovation is evolving the standards of health in which the population falls, is reshaping life expectancy and with it, also the age of seniority. Technological growth and population increase bring with them clear concerns about health management: we will face an increasing number of chronic diseases, and the demand for higher standards of personalized care, precision medicine, regenerative medicine, all of which will increase demands and put great stress on our health systems. The two years marked by the Covid-19 pandemic have already provided us with a demonstration of the consequences associated with extremes of demand for care. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, which holds the advent of Information Technologies and Artificial Intelligence, tells us of a future that will see an increasing interaction between humans, machines and computational intelligences, to alleviate us and empower our existence. This era will also speak about the increasingly imperative need to assert in the design treatment the component of acceptance and exaltation of human values in order to mitigate the possible outcomes of human alienation in the face of indefinable technological availability. Also in this case we can refer to the examples of degenerations resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, with generalizing crisis phenomena and dismissive visions from the surrounding reality, such as the No-Vax, movements or other phenomena of technological alienation as in the case of the increase in the percentage of adolescents now in a cycle of self-induced isolation. Considering the areas of light and shadow of the challenges of our future, it is clear how we will need the increasingly synergistic action of the various disciplines of human knowledge, in order to arrive at the delineation of a correct exploitation of human values. With regard to this, the discipline of design, understood as that discipline useful to generate with efficiency, a bridge between technological innovation and human interaction, will be fundamental as able to bring positive and empathic elements to the design, to derive a generalized improvement in the quality of life, and in the case of healthcare, of care. Our research highlights the etymologically new figure of the "Medical Designer" and asserts in the design process new functions on the theme of medical devices: among them, the theme of autonomy and automation. In full response to the "trend" and aimed at assimilating to the already established potential of industries, they will be crucial elements of designs and investments of new devices. The research that derives from it has had practical implications arriving at the definition of forms of care that subjugate in a single device both the function of reading parameters, and the function of administration of care

    Italian consensus conference on guidelines for conservative treatment on lower limb muscle injuries in athlete.

    Get PDF
    Provide the state of the art concerning (1) biology and aetiology, (2) classification, (3) clinical assessment and (4) conservative treatment of lower limb muscle injuries (MI) in athletes. Seventy international experts with different medical backgrounds participated in the consensus conference. They discussed and approved a consensus composed of four sections which are presented in these documents. This paper represents a synthesis of the consensus conference, the following four sections are discussed: (i) The biology and aetiology of MIs. A definition of MI was formulated and some key points concerning physiology and pathogenesis of MIs were discussed. (ii) The MI classification. A classification of MIs was proposed. (iii) The MI clinical assessment, in which were discussed anamnesis, inspection and clinical examination and are provided the relative guidelines. (iv) The MI conservative treatment, in which are provided the guidelines for conservative treatment based on the severity of the lesion. Furthermore, instrumental therapy and pharmacological treatment were discussed. Knowledge of the aetiology and biology of MIs is an essential prerequisite in order to plan and conduct a rehabilitation plan. Another important aspect is the use of a rational MI classification on prognostic values. We propose a classification based on radiological investigations performed by ultrasonography and MRI strongly linked to prognostic factors. Furthermore, the consensus conference results will able to provide fundamental guidelines for diagnostic and rehabilitation practice, also considering instrumental therapy and pharmacological treatment of MI. Expert opinion, level IV

    Italian consensus conference on guidelines for conservative treatment on lower limb muscle injuries in athlete

    Get PDF
    Provide the state of the art concerning (1) biology and aetiology, (2) classification, (3) clinical assessment and (4) conservative treatment of lower limb muscle injuries (MI) in athletes. Seventy international experts with different medical backgrounds participated in the consensus conference. They discussed and approved a consensus composed of four sections which are presented in these documents. This paper represents a synthesis of the consensus conference, the following four sections are discussed: (i) The biology and aetiology of MIs. A definition of MI was formulated and some key points concerning physiology and pathogenesis of MIs were discussed. (ii) The MI classification. A classification of MIs was proposed. (iii) The MI clinical assessment, in which were discussed anamnesis, inspection and clinical examination and are provided the relative guidelines. (iv) The MI conservative treatment, in which are provided the guidelines for conservative treatment based on the severity of the lesion. Furthermore, instrumental therapy and pharmacological treatment were discussed. Knowledge of the aetiology and biology of MIs is an essential prerequisite in order to plan and conduct a rehabilitation plan. Another important aspect is the use of a rational MI classification on prognostic values. We propose a classification based on radiological investigations performed by ultrasonography and MRI strongly linked to prognostic factors. Furthermore, the consensus conference results will able to provide fundamental guidelines for diagnostic and rehabilitation practice, also considering instrumental therapy and pharmacological treatment of MI. Expert opinion, level IV

    RESISTENZA ALLA FLESSIONE DI PROTESI PARZIALI FISSE REALIZZATE CON TARGIS/VECTRIS DOPO INVECCHIAMENTO ARTIFICIALE: INDAGINE PRELIMINARE

    No full text
    lo scopo di questo studio e' di valutare l'effetto dell'invecchiamento artificiale sulla resistenza alla flessione di protesi realizzate con il sistema Targis/Vectris, al fine di valutare sia la resistenza della travata in Vectris sia la resistenza dell'adesione del materiale estetico Targi

    Bringing innovation to the medical sector through the role of the medical designer: a study on the error factor of pump-syringe devices and a UX/UI design proposal

    No full text
    The elements examined in the research concern the theme of the error factor of medical devices, the theme of usability and the theme of the user experience. The results of the research concerns a project proposal that directly addresses the configuration and functionality of the actual device in use by proposing an innovation of the device itself, in terms of functionality, use and interaction, with the ambition to enhance its User Experience, as well as to participate in the discussion regarding the proposal of an improved perception of this device. Furthermore, the present contribution starts by considering and analizing the elements that compose the sanitary scenario, today and in its evolutionary tendencies, evidencing the elements that should be implemented to tackle the construction of an integrated and spendable model. This should be able to bridge both the world of the research and of the technological progress, and the actual design of the innovations in the medical field, formalizing and proposing the verticalization of such elements in the so renamed figure of the “Medical Designer”

    Band offset and gap tuning of tetragonal CuO-SrTiO3 heterojunctions

    No full text
    In this work we analyze the electronic structure at the junction between a SrTiO3 (001) single crystal and a thin tetragonal CuO layer, grown by off-axis rf sputtering. A detailed characterization of the film growth, based on atomic force microscopy and x-ray photoelectron diffraction measurements, demonstrates the epitaxial growth. We report several markers of a thickness-dependent modification of the film gap, found on both Cu2p and valence band spectra; through spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis, we provide direct proof of a band gap increase in the tetragonal CuO layer (1.57 eV) with respect to the thicker monoclinic CuO layer (1.35 eV). This phenomenon is further discussed in light of cluster calculations and density functional theory +U simulations. Finally, we report the full experimental band junction diagram, showing a staggered configuration suitable for charge-separation applications, such as photovoltaics and photocatalysis; this configuration is observed up to very low (<3 nm) film thickness due to the gap broadening effect

    Evaluation of Stress Corrosion Cracking, Sulfide Stress Cracking, Galvanic-Induced Hydrogen Stress Cracking, and Hydrogen Embrittlement Resistance of Aged UNS N06625 Forged Bars

    No full text
    UNS N06625 is a nickel-based superalloy used for oil and gas applications and commonly produced according to NACE MR0175 in the annealed/solution annealed condition. The annealing/solution annealing treatment makes the material corrosion resistant in the most challenging environments, in the presence of sulfides and chlorides at high pressure and temperature. However, thanks to its chemical composition, UNS N06625 can also be considered as an age-hardenable material whose mechanical strength can be improved by promoting the metastable second phase gamma'' precipitation into the gamma matrix. However, the corrosion behavior of the aged alloy has never been investigated in NACE environments. This paper aims to understand the suitability of the age-hardened condition of UNS N06625 for oil and gas applications through the evaluation of the material corrosion performance in NACE level VII environments by using NACE TM0177 tests. Three heats of UNS N06625 have been produced and forged in different bar diameters: 152 mm (6 in), 203.2 mm (8 in), and 254 mm (10 in). Afterward, the bars have been annealed and age-hardened according to optimized time-temperature parameters and finally tested to assess their mechanical properties and resistance to stress corrosion cracking, sulfide stress cracking, galvanic-induced hydrogen stress cracking, and hydrogen embrittlement

    \ua0Corrosion and mechanical properties of age-hardened UNS N06625 forged bars for oil and gas applications

    No full text
    UNS N06625 is a well-known nickel-base superalloy generally used in annealed condition due to its excellent corrosion resistance in the most severe environments containing sulfides and chlorides at high pressure and temperature. In general, the most efficient way to increase the alloy strength is by cold working, but obviously, this cannot be applied in case of large forgings. Actually, looking at its chemical composition, UNS N06625 can be considered an age-hardenable material, whose mechanical strength can be improved by promoting the second phase \u3b3\u2033 precipitation in the matrix. The aim of this paper was to assess the achievable mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of UNS N06625 forged bars in age-hardened condition with respect to the annealed one, to understand the feasibility of this not conventional heat treatment for the industrial application
    corecore