Design, Development and Initial Validation of a Wearable Particulate Matter Monitoring Solution

Air pollution in one of the main problems that big cities have nowadays. Traffic congestion, heaters, industrial activities, among others produce large quantities of Particulate Matter (PM) that have harmful effects on citizens health. This paper presents the design, development and initial validation of a wearable device for the detection of PM concentration, with communication capacity via WiFi and Bluetooth Low Energy and an end user interface. The results are promising due to the high accuracy of measurements collected by the developed device. This solution is a step forward in empowering citizens to prevent being exposed to high levels of air pollution and is the beginning of what could be a macro-network of air quality sensors within a Smart City. Document type: Part of book or chapter of boo

A succinct overview of virtual reality technology use in Alzheimer’s disease

We provide a brief review and appraisal of recent and current virtual reality (VR) technology for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) applications. We categorize them according to their intended purpose (e.g. diagnosis, patient cognitive training, caregivers’ education, etc.), focus feature (e.g. spatial impairment, memory deficit, etc.), methodology employed (e.g. tasks, games, etc), immersion level, and passive or active interaction. Critical assessment indicates that most of them do not yet take full advantage of virtual environments with high levels of immersion and interaction. Many still rely on conventional 2D graphic displays to create non-immersive or semi-immersive VR scenarios. Important improvements are needed to make VR a better and more versatile assessment and training tool for AD. The use of the latest display technologies available, such as emerging head-mounted displays and 3D smart TV technologies, together with realistic multi-sensorial interaction devices, and neuro-physiological feedback capacity, are some of the most beneficial improvements this mini-review suggests. Additionally, it would be desirable that such VR applications for AD be easily and affordably transferable to in-Home and nursing home environments

Usability engineering in patients follow-up medical information systems

This paper tries to show that the key quality attribute to introduce information systems in health environments at present is the usability obtained with human-computer interaction techniques (HCI). A neonathology management system was selected to show the application of a usability engineering process. In order to achieve high usability levels, a specific methodology was followed and specialized medical users periodically took part in the design process. The methodology is essentially an effective mixture of HCI techniques with minimum cost. This system provides medical professionals with all the information required to check and follow up patients periodically. The results show that not only the users accepted the system in their work environment, but they spontaneously increased their participation in the design as they benefited from the system. They even proposed new system features and capabilities that allow to improve the health care

A computerized decision support system for head and neck cancer

Head and Neck Cancer (H&NC) is one of the most complex and difficult cancers in terms of treatment and prognosis. Decision Support Systems (DSS) are currently used in several aspects of the clinical practice, however in few cases they have been used to improve decision making process of H&NC. In this paper we propose a DSS conceptual architecture, which allow to use both traditional methods (e.g. clinical guidelines and survival analyses) and sophisticated techniques (e.g. computer models for prediction and knowledge discovery)

A computerized decision support system for head and neck cancer

Head and Neck Cancer (H&NC) is one of the most complex and difficult cancers in terms of treatment and prognosis. Decision Support Systems (DSS) are currently used in several aspects of the clinical practice, however in few cases they have been used to improve decision making process of H&NC. In this paper we propose a DSS conceptual architecture, which allow to use both traditional methods (e.g. clinical guidelines and survival analyses) and sophisticated techniques (e.g. computer models for prediction and knowledge discovery)

Evaluating IoT-Based Services to Support Patient Empowerment in Digital Home Hospitalization Services

Hospitals need to optimize patient care, as, among other factors, life expectancy has increased due to improvements in sanitation, nutrition, and medicines. Hospitalization-at-home (HaH) could increase admission efficiency, moderate costs, and reduce the demand for beds. This study aimed to provide data on the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of the integration of IoT-based technology to support the remote monitoring and follow-up of patients admitted to HaH units, as well as the acceptability of IoT-based solutions in healthcare processes. The need for a reduction in the number of admission days, the percentage of admissions after discharge, and the actions of the emergency services during admission were the most relevant findings of this study. Furthermore, in terms of patient safety and trust perception, 98% of patients preferred this type of digitally-supported hospitalization model and up to 95% were very satisfied. On the professional side, the results showed a reduction in work overload and an increase in trust when the system was adopted

Empowering citizens through perceptual sensing of urban environmental and health data following a participative citizen science approach

The growth of the urban population together with a high concentration of air pollution have important health impacts on citizens who are exposed to them, causing serious risks of the development and evolution of different chronic diseases. This paper presents the design and development of a novel participatory citizen science-based application and data ecosystem model. These developments are imperative and scientifically designed to gather and process perceptual sensing of urban, environmental, and health data. This data acquisition approach allows citizens to gather and generate environment- and health-related data through mobile devices. The sum of all citizens’ data will continuously enrich and increase the volumes of data coming from the city sensors and sources across geographical locations. These scientifically generated data, coupled with data from the city sensors and sources, will enable specialized predictive analytic solutions to empower citizens with urban, environmental, and health recommendations, while enabling new data-driven policies. Although it is difficult for citizens to relate their personal behaviour to large-scale problems such as climate change, pollution, or public health, the developed ecosystem provides the necessary tools to enable a greener and healthier lifestyle, improve quality of life, and contribute towards a more sustainable local environment

Integration of radiomics information in a computerized decision support system for research on head and neck Cancer

The main goal of this work is to understand and design a workflow on the way to integrate radiomics, a promising technique that extract clinical images features, in computerized Decision Support Systems, with meaningful representation of this information to healthcare professionals