Adaptation and application of the IEEE 2413-2019 standard security mechanisms to IoMT systems

Healthcare information systems are evolving from traditional centralised architectures towards highly-mobile distributed environments within the connected health context. The IoMT paradigm is at the forefront of this technological revolution underlying the development of communication infrastructures connecting smart medical devices, healthcare information systems and services. The IEEE 2413 standard, a promising general architectural framework for the design and implementation of IoT systems, has recently been announced. This standard proposes a general description for different types of domains, including healthcare, but it does not contain an extension developed for the IoMT systems domain. This paper presents a first approach to adapt the IEEE 2413 standard to the design of IoMT systems from a security perspective, considering the most relevant aspects of the standard for the construction of this type of systems. The application to an IoMT system for monitoring patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is presented as a use case.Fundación Mutua MadrileñaSociedad Española de Diabete

Smart vest for respiratory rate monitoring of COPD patients based on non-contact capacitive sensing

In this paper, a first approach to the design of a portable device for non-contact monitoring of respiratory rate by capacitive sensing is presented. The sensing system is integrated into a smart vest for an untethered, low-cost and comfortable breathing monitoring of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients during the rest period between respiratory rehabilitation exercises at home. To provide an extensible solution to the remote monitoring using this sensor and other devices, the design and preliminary development of an e-Health platform based on the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) paradigm is also presented. In order to validate the proposed solution, two quasi-experimental studies have been developed, comparing the estimations with respect to the golden standard. In a first study with healthy subjects, the mean value of the respiratory rate error, the standard deviation of the error and the correlation coefficient were 0.01 breaths per minute (bpm), 0.97 bpm and 0.995 (p < 0.00001), respectively. In a second study with COPD patients, the values were -0.14 bpm, 0.28 bpm and 0.9988 (p < 0.0000001), respectively. The results for the rest period show the technical and functional feasibility of the prototype and serve as a preliminary validation of the device for respiratory rate monitoring of patients with COPD.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PI15/00306Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación DTS15/00195Junta de Andalucía PI-0010-2013Junta de Andalucía PI-0041-2014Junta de Andalucía PIN-0394-201

A Sensor-Based mHealth Platform for Remote Monitoring and Intervention of Frailty Patients at Home

Frailty syndrome is an independent risk factor for serious health episodes, disability, hospitalization, falls, loss of mobility, and cardiovascular disease. Its high reversibility demands personalized interventions among which exercise programs are highly efficient to contribute to its delay. Information technology-based solutions to support frailty have been recently approached, but most of them are focused on assessment and not on intervention. This paper describes a sensor-based mHealth platform integrated in a service-based architecture inside the FRAIL project towards the remote monitoring and intervention of pre-frail and frail patients at home. The aim of this platform is constituting an efficient and scalable system for reducing both the impact of aging and the advance of frailty syndrome. Among the results of this work are: (1) the development of elderly-focused sensors and platform; (2) a technical validation process of the sensor devices and the mHealth platform with young adults; and (3) an assessment of usability and acceptability of the devices with a set of pre-frail and frail patients. After the promising results obtained, future steps of this work involve performing a clinical validation in order to quantify the impact of the platform on health outcomes of frail patients.Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidad P18-TPJ-307

Aplicación de la especificación Data Distribution Service (DDS) al control de glucosa en pacientes diabéticos

En este trabajo se ha investigado la posibilidad de utilizar el estándar DDS (Data Distribution Service) desarrollado por el OMG (Object Management Group) para la monitorización en tiempo real del nivel de glucosa en pacientes diabéticos. Dicho estándar sigue el patrón publicador/suscriptor de modo que, en la prueba de concepto desarrollada, los sensores del punto de cuidado son publicadores de los valores de glucosa de los pacientes y diferentes supervisores se suscriben a esa información. Estos supervisores reaccionan de la forma más adecuada a los valores y la evolución del nivel de glucosa en el paciente, por ejemplo, registrando el valor de la muestra o generando una alarma. El software de intermediación que soporta la comunicación de datos sigue el estándar DDS. Esto facilita por un lado la escalabilidad e interoperatividad de la solución desarrollada y por otro la monitorización de niveles de glucosa y la activación de protocolos predefinidos en tiempo real. La investigación se enmarca dentro del proyecto intramural PERSONA del CIBER-BBN, cuyo objetivo es el diseño de herramientas de soporte a la decisión para la monitorización continua de pacientes personalizadas e integradas en una plataforma tecnológica para diabetes

Factores que afectan a la función pulmonar: una revisión bibliográfica

[EN] Lung function reference values are traditionally based on anthropometric factors, such as weight, height, sex, and age. FVC and FEV1 decline with age, while volumes and capacities, such as RV and FRC, increase. TLC, VC, RV, FVC and FEV1 are affected by height, since they are proportional to body size. This means that a tall individual will experience greater decrease in lung volumes as they get older. Some variables, such as FRC and ERV, decline exponentially with an increase in weight, to the extent that tidal volume in morbidly obese patients can be close to that of RV. Men have longer airways than women, causing greater specific resistance in the respiratory tract. The increased work of breathing to increase ventilation among women means that their consumption of oxygen is higher than men under similar conditions of physical intensity. Lung volumes are higher when the subject is standing than in other positions. DLCO is significantly higher in supine positions than in sitting or standing positions, but the difference between sitting and standing positions is not significant. Anthropometric characteristics are insufficient to explain differences in lung function between different ethnic groups, underlining the importance of considering other factors in addition to the conventional anthropometric measurements.[ES] Los valores de referencia de las pruebas de función pulmonar están basados históricamente en factores antropométricos como el peso, la altura, el género y la edad. La FVC y el FEV1 disminuyen con la edad y, en contraposición, volúmenes y capacidades como el RV y la FRC se incrementan. La TLC, CV, RV, FVC y FEV1 se ven afectados por la altura, puesto que son proporcionales al tamaño corporal. Esto significa que un individuo alto sufrirá un mayor decremento de sus volúmenes pulmonares a medida que aumente su edad. Algunas variables decrecen exponencialmente con el incremento del peso, como la FRC y el ERV, de tal forma que los sujetos con obesidad mórbida pueden llegar a alcanzar un volumen corriente cercano al RV. Los hombres poseen vías aéreas de conducción más largas que las mujeres, dando lugar a una mayor resistencia específica de las vías respiratorias. El mayor trabajo respiratorio en mujeres para aumentar la ventilación provoca que, en condiciones con la misma intensidad física, el consumo de oxígeno sea más alto que en hombres. En posición vertical los volúmenes pulmonares son más altos que en el resto de las posturas. La DLCO es significativamente mayor en posiciones supinas que en posición sentada y vertical, no existiendo diferencias significativas en posición sentada y de pie. Las características antropométricas no son suficientes para explicar las diferencias existentes en la función pulmonar entre diferentes etnias y ponen de manifiesto la importancia de considerar otros factores adicionales a los clásicos antropométricos para su medición.Peer reviewe

Effects of genetics and altitude on lung function

[Objectives]: The aim of this work is to present a review on the impact of genetics and altitude on lung function from classic and recent studies.[Data source]: A systematic search has been carried out in different databases of scientific studies, using keywords related to lung volumes, spirometry, altitude and genetics.[Results]: The results of this work have been structured into three parts. First, the relationship between genes and lung function. Next, a review of the genetic predispositions related to respiratory adaptation of people who inhabit high‐altitude regions for millennia. Finally, temporary effects and long‐term acclimatisation on respiratory physiology at high altitude are presented.[Conclusions]: The works focused on the influence of genetics and altitude on lung function are currently of interest in terms of studying the interactions between genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors in the configuration of the pathophysiological adaptation patterns.This work was supported in part by the “Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias” (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain) under Grants PI15/00306 and DTS15/00195, in part by the “Fundación Progreso y Salud” (Government of Andalucía, Spain) under Grants PI‐0010‐2013, PI‐0041‐2014 and PIN‐0394‐2017, in part by “Fundación Mutua Madrileña” under grant VÍA‐RENAL, in part by Estonian Research Council (Grant IUT1911) and European Regional Development Fund in frames of Estonian ICT Center EXCITE, and in part by the projects H2020‐2014‐2‐668995‐Cognitive Electronics and H2020‐FLAG‐ERA‐JTC2016‐CONVERGENCE

Modelling the epidemiology of Escherichia coli ST131 and the impact of interventions on the community and healthcare centres

ST131 Escherichia coli is an emergent clonal group that has achieved successful worldwide spread through a combination of virulence and antimicrobial resistance. Our aim was to develop a mathematical model, based on current knowledge of the epidemiology of ESBL-producing and non-ESBL-producing ST131 E. coli, to provide a framework enabling a better understanding of its spread within the community, in hospitals and long-term care facilities, and the potential impact of specific interventions on the rates of infection. A model belonging to the SEIS (Susceptible–Exposed–Infected–Susceptible) class of compartmental models, with specific modifications, was developed. Quantification of the model is based on the law of mass preservation, which helps determine the relationships between flows of individuals and different compartments. Quantification is deterministic or probabilistic depending on subpopulation size. The assumptions for the model are based on several developed epidemiological studies. Based on the assumptions of the model, an intervention capable of sustaining a 25% reduction in personto- person transmission shows a significant reduction in the rate of infections caused by ST131; the impact is higher for non-ESBL-producing ST131 isolates than for ESBL producers. On the other hand, an isolated intervention reducing exposure to antimicrobial agents has much more limited impact on the rate of ST131 infection. Our results suggest that interventions achieving a continuous reduction in the transmission of ST131 in households, nursing homes and hospitals offer the best chance of reducing the burden of the infections caused by these isolates.Red Española de Investigación en Enfermedades Infecciosas REIPI RD12 / 0015Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria 070190Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria 10/02021Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria 10/01955Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria 10/00795Junta de Andalucía 0048/2008Junta de Andalucía CTS-5259Junta de Andalucía CTS21

Smart Vest for Respiratory Rate Monitoring of COPD Patients Based on Non-Contact Capacitive Sensing

In this paper, a first approach to the design of a portable device for non-contact monitoring of respiratory rate by capacitive sensing is presented. The sensing system is integrated into a smart vest for an untethered, low-cost and comfortable breathing monitoring of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients during the rest period between respiratory rehabilitation exercises at home. To provide an extensible solution to the remote monitoring using this sensor and other devices, the design and preliminary development of an e-Health platform based on the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) paradigm is also presented. In order to validate the proposed solution, two quasi-experimental studies have been developed, comparing the estimations with respect to the golden standard. In a first study with healthy subjects, the mean value of the respiratory rate error, the standard deviation of the error and the correlation coefficient were 0.01 breaths per minute (bpm), 0.97 bpm and 0.995 (p &lt; 0.00001), respectively. In a second study with COPD patients, the values were &minus;0.14 bpm, 0.28 bpm and 0.9988 (p &lt; 0.0000001), respectively. The results for the rest period show the technical and functional feasibility of the prototype and serve as a preliminary validation of the device for respiratory rate monitoring of patients with COPD

Comparative Study of the Impact of Human Leukocyte Antigens on Renal Transplant Survival in Andalusia and the United States

Renal transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients suffering from chronic renal disease, one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Among the biological barriers that may increase the risk of acute renal graft rejection is the presence of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) incompatibilities between donor and recipient. This work presents a comparative study of the influence of HLA incompatibilities on renal transplantation survival in the Andalusian (South of Spain) and United States (US) population. The main objective is to analyse the extent to which results about the influence of different factors on renal graft survival can be generalised to different populations. The Kaplan&ndash;Meier estimator and the Cox model have been used to identify and quantify the impact on the survival probability of HLA incompatibilities, both in isolation and in conjunction with other factors associated with the donor and recipient. According to the results obtained, HLA incompatibilities considered in isolation have negligible impact on renal survival in the Andalusian population and a moderate impact in the US population. Grouping by HLA score presents some similarities for both populations, while the sum of all HLA scores (aHLA) only has an impact on the US population. Finally, the graft survival probability of the two populations differs when aHLA is considered in conjunction with blood type. The results suggest that the disparities in the renal graft survival probability between the two populations under study are due not only to biological and transplantation-associated factors, but also to social&ndash;health factors and ethnic heterogeneity between populations

Comparative Study of the Impact of Human Leukocyte Antigens on Renal Transplant Survival in Andalusia and the United States

Renal transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients suffering from chronic renal disease, one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Among the biological barriers that may increase the risk of acute renal graft rejection is the presence of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) incompatibilities between donor and recipient. This work presents a comparative study of the influence of HLA incompatibilities on renal transplantation survival in the Andalusian (South of Spain) and United States (US) population. The main objective is to analyse the extent to which results about the influence of different factors on renal graft survival can be generalised to different populations. The Kaplan–Meier estimator and the Cox model have been used to identify and quantify the impact on the survival probability of HLA incompatibilities, both in isolation and in conjunction with other factors associated with the donor and recipient. According to the results obtained, HLA incompatibilities considered in isolation have negligible impact on renal survival in the Andalusian population and a moderate impact in the US population. Grouping by HLA score presents some similarities for both populations, while the sum of all HLA scores (aHLA) only has an impact on the US population. Finally, the graft survival probability of the two populations differs when aHLA is considered in conjunction with blood type. The results suggest that the disparities in the renal graft survival probability between the two populations under study are due not only to biological and transplantation-associated factors, but also to social–health factors and ethnic heterogeneity between populations