MobiHealth-Innovative 2.5/3G mobile services and applications for health care

MobiHealth aims at introducing new mobile value added services in the area of healthcare, based on 2.5 (GPRS) and 3G (UMTS) technologies, thus promoting the use and deployment of GPRS and UMTS. This will be achieved by the integration of sensors and actuators to a Wireless Body Area Network (BAN). These sensors and actuators will continuously measure and transmit vital constants along with audio and video to health service providers and brokers, improving on one side the life of patients and allowing on the other side the introduction of new value-added services in the areas of disease prevention and diagnostic, remote assistance, para-health services, physical state monitoring (sports) and even clinical research. Furthermore, the MobiHealth BAN system will support the fast and reliable application of remote assistance in case of accidents by allowing the paramedics to send reliable vital constants data as well as audio and video directly from the accident site

Erzeugung von Cordierit-Keramikschäumen über die Zwischenstufe hochgefüllter Polyurethan-Schaumstoffe

Der Beitrag berichtet von der Entwicklung von leichten keramischen Massen mit speziellen Schaumstrukturen. Hierzu wurden geeignete Ausgangsstoffe ermittelt sowie ein Verfahren entwickelt, das seine Leistungsfähigkeit mit Keramikformkörpern demonstriert hat. Die Arbeiten beinhalteten im Kern die Entwicklung eines neuartigen Verfahrens der Herstellung keramischer Schaumstoffe mittels PUR-Systemen auf der Basis von Recyclatpolyolen, wobei die keramischen Pulver (u. a. aufbereitete Schlacken und Cordierit-Keramik aus dem Recycling von Abgas-Katalysatoren) in niedrigviskose Polyole eingebracht und anschließend mit Isocyanaten zu anorganisch-organischen Verbundschaumstoffen geschäumt wurden. Die organischen Bestandteile wurden anschließend ausgebrannt und zuletzt die Keramik gesintert. An den erhaltenen Formkörpern wurden mechanische Kennwerte bestimmt, die Strukturen mikroskopisch charakterisiert und Gebrauchswerteigenschaften erfasst. Die entwickelten keramischen Schaumstoffe können als in der Kälte formbeständige Körper für entsprechend belastete Bauteile herangezogen werden und eignen sich zudem als Trägermaterialien für Katalysatoren oder für Aufgaben im Bereich der Filtration.In this paper we report on the development of light ceramic foams of special structures. To this end, suitable raw materials and processing parameters were established to demonstrate the properties and performance of the products. The investigation incorporates the development of a new process to produce foamed ceramics by means of PUR systems based on recycling polyols. Thus, the ceramic powders (amongst others processed slag and cordierite originating from the recycling of car catalysts) were mixed with low viscosity polyols and foamed by the reaction with isocyanates forming structured inorganic-organic composites. In the following step, the organic component was burned out and the ceramic materials simultaneously sintered. Mechanical properties of the resulting ceramic bodies were determined, structures were investigated by microscopicy, and properties for technical use received. The ceramic foams produced are useful to serve as dimensionally stable bodies for low temperature use for special parts in cryogenics, as a substrate for biocatalysts, as precious metal free catalysts in Diesel engine exhaust, or for tasks in the fi eld of fi ltration

Mobile Health Care over 3G Networks: the MobiHealth Pilot System and Service

Health care is one of the most prominent areas for the application of wireless technologies. New services and applications are today under research and development targeting different areas of health care, from high risk and chronic patients’ remote monitoring to mobility tools for the medical personnel. In this direction the MobiHealth project developed and trailed a system and a service that is using UMTS for the continuous monitoring and transmission of vital signals, like Pulse Oximeter sensor , temperature, Marker, Respiratory band, motion/activity detector etc., to the hospital. The system, based on the concept of the Body Area Network, is highly customisable, allowing sensors to be seamlessly connected and transmit the monitored vital signal measurements. The system and service was trialed in 4 European countries and it is presently under market validation

Successful Booster Antibody Response up to 54 Months after Single Primary Vaccination with Virosome-Formulated, Aluminum-Free Hepatitis A Vaccine

This study demonstrates that a booster dose of the virosome-formulated, aluminum-free hepatitis A vaccine Epaxal (Berna Biotech) is highly immunogenic in subjects who received a single primary dose of this vaccine 18-54 months earlier. There were no significant differences in geometric mean antibody titers (GMTs) among subjects who received the booster dose 18-29 months (GMT, 2330 mIU/mL), 30-41 months (GMT, 2395 mIU/mL), or 42-54 months (GMT, 2432 mIU/mL) after primary vaccination, indicating that delays in the administration of booster vaccination do not lead to a loss of immunogenicit

Validity and responsiveness of the EQ-5D in assessing and valuing health status in patients with somatoform disorders

Background: The EQ-5D is a generic questionnaire providing a preference-based index score applicable to cost-utility analysis. This is the first study to validate the EQ-5D in patients with somatoform disorders. Methods: Data of the EQ-5D descriptive system, the British and the German EQ-5D index and the EQ Visual Analogue Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire 15, the Patient Health Questionnaire 9, the Whiteley Index 7 and the Short Form 36 were collected from 294 patients at baseline, 244 at 6 months and 256 at 12 months after baseline. The discriminative ability of the EQ-5D was evaluated by comparison with a general population sample and by the ability to distinguish between different symptom severities. Convergent validity was analysed by assessing associations between the EQ-5D and the other instruments. Responsiveness was evaluated by analysing the effects on scores between two measurements in groups of patients reporting worse, same or better health. The Bonferroni correction was employed. Results: For all items of the EQ-5D except ‘self-care’, patients with somatoform disorders reported more problems than the general population. The EQ-5D showed discriminative ability in patients with different symptom severities. For nearly all reference instruments there were significant differences in mean scores between respondents with and without problems in the various EQ-5D items and strong correlations with the EQ Visual Analogue Scale and the EQ-5D index scores. Evidence for the responsiveness of the EQ-5D could only be found for patients with better health; effects were medium at the utmost. Conclusions: The EQ-5D showed a considerable validity and a limited responsiveness in patients with somatoform disorders. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN5528079

Moisture adsorption and desorption behavior of raw materials for the t-rtm process

The use of fiber reinforced plastics (FRPs) has significant potential to reduce the weight of components. As regards the sustainability of these components, thermoplastic matrices offer more potential for recycling than thermoset ones. A possible manufacturing process for the production of thermoplastic FRPs is thermoplastic resin transfer molding (T-RTM). In this very moisture-sensitive process, ε-caprolactam in addition to an activator and catalyst polymerizes anionically to polyamide 6 (aPA6). The anionic polymerization of aPA6 is slowed down or even completely blocked by the presence of water. This study analyses the sorption behavior of the matrix, fiber, binder and core materials for the production of anionic polyamide 6 composites, which are processed in the thermoplastic RTM process. Water vapor sorption measurements are used to determine the adsorption and desorption behavior of the materials. The maximum moisture loading of the materials provides information about the water adsorption capacity of the material. This knowledge is crucial for correct handling of the materials to achieve a fast process and good properties of the final product

Economics of medically unexplained symptoms: a systematic review of the literature

Objective: To review cost-of-illness studies (COI) and economic evaluations (EE) conducted for medically unexplained symptoms and to analyze their methods and results. Methods: We searched the databases PubMed, PsycINFO and National Health Service Economic Evaluations Database of the University of York. Cost data were inflated to 2006 using country-specific gross domestic product inflators and converted to 2006 USD purchasing power parities. Results: We identified 5 COI and 8 EE, of which 6 were cost-minimization analyses and 2 were cost-effectiveness analyses. All studies used patient level data collected between 1980 and 2004 and were predominantly conducted in the USA (n = 10). COI found annual excess health care costs of somatizing patients between 432 and 5,353 USD in 2006 values. Indirect costs were estimated by only one EE and added up to about 18,000 USD per year. In EE, educational interventions for physicians as well as cognitive-behavioral therapy approaches for patients were evaluated. For both types of interventions, effectiveness was either shown within EE or by previous studies