Exploring the Use of Wearables to Enable Indoor Navigation for Blind Users

One of the challenges that people with visual impairments (VI) have to have to confront daily, is navigating independently through foreign or unfamiliar spaces.Navigating through unfamiliar spaces without assistance is very time consuming and leads to lower mobility. Especially in the case of indoor environments where the use of GPS is impossible, this task becomes even harder.However, advancements in mobile and wearable computing pave the path to new cheap assistive technologies that can make the lives of people with VI easier.Wearable devices have great potential for assistive applications for users who are blind as they typically feature a camera and support hands and eye free interaction. Smart watches and heads up displays (HUDs), in combination with smartphones, can provide a basis for development of advanced algorithms, capable of providing inexpensive solutions for navigation in indoor spaces. New interfaces are also introduced making the interaction between users who are blind and mo-bile devices more intuitive.This work presents a set of new systems and technologies created to help users with VI navigate indoor environments. The first system presented is an indoor navigation system for people with VI that operates by using sensors found in mo-bile devices and virtual maps of the environment. The second system presented helps users navigate large open spaces with minimum veering. Next a study is conducted to determine the accuracy of pedometry based on different body placements of the accelerometer sensors. Finally, a gesture detection system is introduced that helps communication between the user and mobile devices by using sensors in wearable devices

Skin rash associated with intravitreal bevacizumab in a patient with macular choroidal neovascularization

Ioannis D Ladas, Marilita M Moschos, Thanos D Papakostas, Athanasios I Kotsolis, Ilias Georgalas, Michail ApostolopoulosDepartment of Ophthalmology, “G. Gennimatas” Hospital of Athens, University of Athens, Athens, GreecePurpose: The purpose of this observational case report is to describe a case of skin rash after intravitreal use of bevacizumab.Methods: A 50-year-old man with choroidal neovascularization in the right eye due to age-related macular degeneration was treated with three intravitreal injections of bevacizumab.Results: Twelve days after the first injection, the patient developed a maculopapular rash on his forehead and on both temporal regions around his eyes. The rash disappeared eight days after treatment with topical corticosteroids. A skin rash with the same distribution reappeared 14 days after the second and 10 days after the third injection. Similarly, it disappeared five and seven days after the use of the same treatment. The follow-up period was 15 months after the third injection. During the follow-up period the rash did not reappear.Conclusion: This case report may initiate further investigation of similar cases to support this observation, as there are a lack of reports of skin rash after intravitreal administration of bevacizumab.Keywords: skin rash, bevacizumab, age-related macular degeneratio

Integrating Minimalistic Localization and Navigation for People with Visual Impairments

Indoor localization and navigation systems for individuals with visual impairments (VI) typically rely upon extensive augmentation of the physical space or expensive sensors; thus, few systems have been adopted. This work describes a system able to guide people with VI through buildings using inexpensive sensors, such as accelerometers, which are available in portable devices like smart phones. This approach introduces some challenges due to the limited computational power of the portable devices and the highly erroneous sensors. The method takes advantage of feedback from the human user, who confirms the presence of landmarks. The system calculates the location of the user in real time and uses it to provide audio instructions on how to reach the desired destination. A first set of experiments suggested that the accuracy of the localization depends on the type of directions provided and the availability of good transition and observation models that describe the user's behavior. During this initial set of experiments, the system was not executed in real time so the approach had to be improved. Towards an improved version of the method, a significant amount of computation was transferred offline in order to speed up the system's online execution. Inspired by results in multi-model estimation, this work employs multiple particle filters, where each one uses a different assumption for the user's average step length. This helps to adaptively estimate the value of this parameter on the fly. The system simultaneously estimates the step length of the user, as it varies between different people, from path to path, and during the execution of the path. Experiments are presented that evaluate the accuracy of the location estimation process and of the integrated direction provision method. Sighted people, that were blindfolded, participated in these experiments

Rural Healthcare Enterprises in the Vortex of COVID-19: The Impact of Public Policies on the Internal and External Environment

The public policies implemented in order to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the community have created issues both in the internal and the external environments of the Greek rural healthcare enterprises. This study aimed to investigate the full extent of the issues (internal and external) caused by the public policies. Regarding the external factors, we examined the state, the local authorities, the financial institutions, the social stakeholders and the citizens. Regarding the internal factors, we focused on turnover, liquidity, working conditions, internal changes related to patient care and the implementation of protective measures. A qualitative research was conducted among twelve rural healthcare business owners in the form of semi-structured interviews. The research was conducted in the fall of 2020 during the second phase of COVID-19. The research showed that these enterprises were severely impacted by the government’s public policies. Local authorities were not involved due to lack of competence. The business owners were unwilling to support their enterprises via bank lending. During the first phase of COVID-19, citizens postponed nonessential medical examinations, causing a reduction in these enterprises’ turnover. As a result, in the following periods, these enterprises faced liquidity problems. However, they developed social objectives and implemented protective measures for their employees and patients. The present study contributes to the mapping of the factors affecting the internal and external environments of rural healthcare enterprises along with the public policies developed in times of prolonged crisis. These kinds of data are crucial to the business world and government officials voting on social policies. One cannot rule out the possibility of a new financial or health crisis; the findings of this study can prove to be a useful tool in the process of decision making

Designing and Implementing an Electronic Health Record for Personal Digital Assistants

This paper describes the design and implementation of a mobile Electronic Health Record (EHR), accessible by PDA's. After a short state of the art review the paper discusses the details of the implementation and provides information about the potential capabilities of the emerging mobile networks and devices in the health sector. The software and hardware components of the system and its architecture are presented. The software application created is presented and a first evaluation of the system in practice is provided

Hospitals’ Energy Efficiency in the Perspective of Saving Resources and Providing Quality Services through Technological Options: A Systematic Literature Review

The effects of climate change, in combination with the recent energy crisis, have brought the energy efficiency issues of hospitals markedly to the fore. Hospitals are considered among the most energy-intensive buildings, which is why they have become a top priority for governments wishing to upgrade their energy efficiency. Given the critical nature of the work of hospitals and the model of healthcare provision (nursing cover 24 h per day, 7 days a week) it is very hard to achieve energy cuts. The international literature shows that the energy efficiency of hospitals is a complex process that requires further research. This need is covered by the present systematic literature review, which captures the existing knowledge on energy monitoring strategies, assessment, and upgrading through technology, resources-saving strategies, and the relationship between energy efficiency and the quality of the service provision, while also identifying future research considerations and the potential for supporting researchers’ work. Additionally, this study adds aggregated data to the literature, as far as the energy performance of buildings is concerned, and allows investors to have data exported from energy surveys at their disposal. At the same time, it suggests the further exploration of alternative energy technologies, based on all renewable energy sources rather than only solar power systems. This highlights the need for a comparative examination of hospitals with different climatic and socio-economic environments, to better determine what technologies effectively serve the energy needs of each region. Finally, this survey considers it necessary to connect the energy efficiency of hospital units with the awareness of the management and workforce in the saving of energy resources. Due to the fact that most studies are oriented toward the energy performance of very large-sized hospitals, it is suggested that in the future, the research lens should also be focused on the smaller private and public sectors’ health units

Sustaining Rural Areas, Rural Tourism Enterprises and EU Development Policies: A Multi-Layer Conceptualisation of the Obstacles in Greece

The main lever for the development and promotion of rural tourism in Greece has been, and continues to be, through specific EU programmes. Rural tourism in Greece began with a long delay compared to other European countries. The development philosophy was (and still is) to increase rural incomes as a complement to agricultural and livestock production, not by degrading them. This theoretical paper presents previous research studies in rural tourism and EU development programmes and it describes how European financial tools intended for rural tourism were implemented in Greece. Furthermore, it describes the challenges faced by rural people involved in the development of rural tourism in seeking European funding through a multi-layer approach on the obstacles in the EU funds absorption capacity. The analysis shows that the legislation, design of the programmes, processes from local governments, bureaucracy and malpractices create constraints in the absorption of EU funds and the results in the rural tourism development are not the expected ones. It concludes that there is a need for reforms in the national institutional framework and structures along with a different philosophy in approaching the EU funding initiatives in rural areas