Building standardized and secure mobile health services based on social media

Mobile devices and social media have been used to create empowering healthcare services. However, privacy and security concerns remain. Furthermore, the integration of interoperability biomedical standards is a strategic feature. Thus, the objective of this paper is to build enhanced healthcare services by merging all these components. Methodologically, the current mobile health telemonitoring architectures and their limitations are described, leading to the identification of new potentialities for a novel architecture. As a result, a standardized, secure/private, social-media-based mobile health architecture has been proposed and discussed. Additionally, a technical proof-of-concept (two Android applications) has been developed by selecting a social media (Twitter), a security envelope (open Pretty Good Privacy (openPGP)), a standard (Health Level 7 (HL7)) and an information-embedding algorithm (modifying the transparency channel, with two versions). The tests performed included a small-scale and a boundary scenario. For the former, two sizes of images were tested; for the latter, the two versions of the embedding algorithm were tested. The results show that the system is fast enough (less than 1 s) for most mHealth telemonitoring services. The architecture provides users with friendly (images shared via social media), straightforward (fast and inexpensive), secure/private and interoperable mHealth services

Implementation experience of a patient monitoring solution based on end-to-end standards

Proceeding of: 29th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS), Cité Internationale, Lyon, France, August 23-26, 2007.This paper presents a proof-of-concept design of a patient monitoring solution for Intensive Care Unit (ICU). It is end-to-end standards-based, using ISO/IEEE 11073 (X73) in the bedside environment and EN13606 to communicate the information to an Electronic Healthcare Record (EHR) server. At the bedside end a plug-and-play sensor network is implemented, which communicates with a gateway that collects the medical information and sends it to a monitoring server. At this point the server transforms the data frame into an EN13606 extract, to be stored on the EHR server. The presented system has been tested in a laboratory environment to demonstrate the feasibility of this end-to-end standardsbased solution.This research work has been partially supported by projects TSI2005-07068-C02-01 and TSI2004-04940-C02-01 from Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (Spanish Government), and a personal grant to both M.Galarraga and M. Martínez-Espronceda from Navarre Regional Government

Proposal of an ISO/IEEE11073 platform for healthcare telemonitoring: plug-and-play solution with new use cases

Proceeding of: 29th Annual International Conference of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, (EMBS 2007), Lyon, France, 23-26th august 2007.Remote patient monitoring in e-Health is everyday closer to be a mature technology / service. However, there is still a lack of development in areas such as standardization of the sensor’s communication interface, integration into Electronic Healthcare Record systems or incorporation in ambient-intelligent scenarios. This work identifies a set of use cases involved in the personal monitoring scenario and highlights the related features and functionalities, as well as the integration and implementation difficulties found when these are to be implemented in a system based on the ISO/IEEE11073 (X73) standard. It is part of a cooperative research effort devoted to the development of an end-to-end standards-based telemonitoring solution. Standardization committees are working towards adapting the X73 standard to this emerging personal health devices market and use case identification is essential to direct these revisions.This research work has been partially supported by projects TSI2005-07068-C02-01 and TSI2004-04940-C02-01 from Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (Spanish Government), and a personal grant to both M.Galarraga and M. Martinez-Espronceda from Navarre Regional Governmen

Palynostratigraphical review of the K–Pg boundary from the Ibero-Armorican Island: New data from the Maastrichtian dinosaur outcrop Veracruz 1 (Pyrenees, NE Iberian Peninsula)

The palynostratigraphy of the K-Pg boundary interval in SW Europe has been a subject of ongoing debate, despite numerous palynological studies in the region. To address this, we review previous publications and conduct analysis of new deposits to establish a palynostratigraphical chart. A total of 40 palynological studies within the Normapolles palynological province were reexamined to elucidate key taxa restricted to the Cretaceous (K-taxa), to the Maastrichtian-Danian interval (KPg-taxa) and those restricted to the Paleogene (Pg-taxa). Eventually, we propose 18 key taxa to differentiate a Maastrichtian from a Danian palynological assemblage within the Normapolles Province. Afterward, a palynostratigraphical analysis was carried out in Veracruz 1 (Aragonese Pyrenees), one of the more modern dinosaurbearing sites of Europe. The palynological assemblage corresponded to an upper Maastrichtian age and was composed by pteridophyte spores, gymnosperms, angiosperms, dinoflagellate cysts, algae, and fungal spores. It was predominated by angiosperm pollen (Liliaceae, post-Normapolles, and triporate pollen). The plant communities in Veracruz 1 seem to be characterized by plants from an open coastal forest prevailed by Liliaceae flowering herbs and Juglandaceae/Myricaceae dicotyledonous trees and shrubs thriving in temperate-warm paleoclimate. The Gondwanan botanical influence was also supported by the presence of Bacumorphomonocolpites sp., as this taxon was previously recorded in other upper Maastrichtian deposits from Europe.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2021-122612OB-I00Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C-2019/28Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A-2020/175Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México | Ref. UNAM-DGAPA 2023–2024Swedish Research Council | Ref. VR 2022-03920Universidade de Vigo/CISU

Itching eyes after itching around the head

Objective: To report the occurrence and management of an eyelashes infestation by Phthirus pubis.Methods: A 27-year-old female presented with itching in her right eye and head after she had been traveling in southern Italy five days earlier. Visual acuity (VA) was 20/20 in both eyes.Slit-lamp examination showed bilateral blepharitis. Moreover, mobile insects and eggs attached to the eyelashes were observed. A microbiological study was performed with a Phthirus pubis result. The patient was treated with mechanical dislodging.Results: The resolution of the infection was carried out removing every insect and egg. A vaseline application twice daily for 7 days was necessary to stifle any nits that could remain.Conclusions: The eyelashes pediculosis is frequently caused by Phthirus pubis. Only a minor percentage of the cases are due to Phthirus capitis, but the differential diagnosis is essential: there are Phthirus pubis pediculosis cases due to sexual abuse. A sexual history and screening for other sexually transmitted diseases is warranted