Open versus laparoscopic liver resection for colorectal liver metastases (the Oslo-CoMet Study): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Laparoscopic liver resection is used in specialized centers all over the world. However, laparoscopic liver resection has never been compared with open liver resection in a prospective, randomized trial.

Methods/design: The Oslo-CoMet Study is a randomized trial into laparoscopic versus open liver resection for the surgical management of hepatic colorectal metastases.

Wireless vital signs from a life-supporting medical device exposed to electromagnetic disturbance.

Objectives: To evaluate the level of agreement of simulated wired and Wi-Fi vital signs output from an intra-aortic balloon pump during exposure to electromagnetic interference from frequency overlapping ZigBee sensors.

Material And Methods: A series of experiments with interference from single and multiple ZigBee sensors were benchmarked with wired and Wi-Fi output. Tests included single ZigBee sensor adjacent and co-channel interference, and multiple ZigBee interferences towards the Wi-Fi receiver and transmitter.

Clinical documentation as a source of information for patients - possibilities and limitations.

Recent legislation in many countries has given patients the right to access their own patient records. Making health-care professionals' assessments and decisions more transparent by giving patients access to their records is expected to provide patients with useful health information and reduce the power imbalance between patient and provider. We conducted both a mail survey and a face-to-face interview study, including patients who had requested a paper copy of their patient records (EPR), to explore their experiences.

Evaluation of a Hyperlinked Consumer Health Dictionary for reading EHR notes.

In this paper, we report on a pilot study conducted to test the usefulness and understandability of definitions in a Consumer Health Dictionary (IVS-CHD). Our two main goals for this study were to evaluate functionality of the dictionary when embedded in electronic health records (EHR) and determine the methodology for our larger-scale project to iteratively develop the IVS-CHD. The hyperlinked IVS-CHD was made available to thoracic surgery patients reading their own EHR.

Technology developments applied to healthcare/nursing.

Future technology developments as applied to healthcare and particularly nursing were discussed. Emerging technologies such as genetics, small unobtrusive monitoring devices, use of information and communication technologies are as tools to not only facilitate but also promote communication among all parties of the healthcare process. These emerging technologies can be used for ubiquitous healthcare (u-health).

Implementation of wireless technology in advanced clinical practice.

The Wireless Sensors in Healthcare Project focused on the implementation of wireless technology in healthcare. Wireless biomedical sensors for monitoring of continuous invasive arterial blood pressure were developed and evaluated under controlled conditions during laparoscopic surgery. The project has resulted in the first publication of clinical use of a wireless biomedical sensor for invasive measurement of arterial blood pressure in a pilot study.

Wireless continuous arterial blood pressure monitoring during surgery: a pilot study.

Patient monitoring devices supporting wireless transmission can facilitate transport and ambulation of patients in hospitals. To replace wired sensors with wireless sensors, the accuracy and resistance to interference of the wireless sensors have to be documented. We compared the performance of a wireless arterial blood pressure biomedical sensor prototype with standard wired sensors in a clinical setting.

Developing Online Communities with LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) - the IMIA OSNI and CHIRAD Experiences.

Many health informatics organisations do not seem to use, on a practical basis, for the benefit of their activities and interaction with their members, the very technologies that they often promote for use within healthcare environments. In particular, many organisations seem to be slow to take up the benefits of interactive web technologies. This paper presents an introduction to some of the many free/libre and open source (FLOSS) applications currently available and using the LAMP - Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP architecture - as a way of cheaply deploying reliable, scalable, and secure web applications.

osni.info-Using free/libre/open source software to build a virtual international community for open source nursing informatics.

Many health informatics organizations seem to be slow to take up the advantages of dynamic, web-based technologies for providing services to, and interaction with, their members; these are often the very technologies they promote for use within healthcare environments. This paper aims to introduce some of the many free/libre/open source (FLOSS) applications that are now available to develop interactive websites and dynamic online communities as part of the structure of health informatics organizations, and to show how the Open Source Nursing Informatics Working Group (OSNI) of the special interest group in nursing informatics of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA-NI) is using some of these tools to develop an online community of nurse informaticians through their website, at . Some background introduction to FLOSS applications is used for the benefit of those less familiar with such tools, and examples of some of the FLOSS content management systems (CMS) being used by OSNI are described.