Search and Evaluation of Coevolving Problem and Solution Spaces in a Complex Healthcare Design Science Research Project.

Unlabelled: This research employs design ethnography to study the design process of a design science research (DSR) project conducted over eight years. The DSR project focuses on chronic wounds and how Information Technology (IT) might support the management of those wounds. Since this is a new and complex problem not previously addressed by IT, it requires an exploration and discovery process.

Boundary determination of foot ulcer images by applying the associative hierarchical random field framework.

As traditional visual-examination-based methods provide neither reliable nor consistent wound assessment, several computer-based approaches for quantitative wound image analysis have been proposed in recent years. However, these methods require either some level of human interaction for proper image processing or that images be captured under controlled conditions. However, to become a practical tool of diabetic patients for wound management, the wound image algorithm needs to be able to correctly locate and detect the wound boundary of images acquired under less-constrained conditions, where the illumination and camera angle can vary within reasonable bounds.

Area Determination of Diabetic Foot Ulcer Images Using a Cascaded Two-Stage SVM-Based Classification.

The standard chronic wound assessment method based on visual examination is potentially inaccurate and also represents a significant clinical workload. Hence, computer-based systems providing quantitative wound assessment may be valuable for accurately monitoring wound healing status, with the wound area the best suited for automated analysis. Here, we present a novel approach, using support vector machines (SVM) to determine the wound boundaries on foot ulcer images captured with an image capture box, which provides controlled lighting and range.

An Automatic Assessment System of Diabetic Foot Ulcers Based on Wound Area Determination, Color Segmentation, and Healing Score Evaluation.

Background: For individuals with type 2 diabetes, foot ulcers represent a significant health issue. The aim of this study is to design and evaluate a wound assessment system to help wound clinics assess patients with foot ulcers in a way that complements their current visual examination and manual measurements of their foot ulcers.

Methods: The physical components of the system consist of an image capture box, a smartphone for wound image capture and a laptop for analyzing the wound image.

Obstetric Ultrasound Simulator With Task-Based Training and Assessment.

The increasing use of point-of-care (POC) ultrasound presents a challenge in providing efficient training to POC ultrasound users for whom formal training is not readily available. In response to this need, we developed an affordable compact laptop-based obstetric ultrasound training simulator. It offers a realistic scanning experience, task-based training, and performance assessment.

Analytical phase-tracking-based strain estimation for ultrasound elasticity.

A new strain estimator for quasi-static elastography is presented, based on tracking of the analytical signal phase as a function of the external force. Two implementations are introduced: zero-phase search with moving window (SMW) and zero-phase band tracking using connected component labeling (CCL). Low analytical signal amplitude caused by local destructive interference is associated with large error in the phase trajectories, and amplitude thresholding can thus be used to terminate the phase tracking along a particular path.

Smartphone-based wound assessment system for patients with diabetes.

Diabetic foot ulcers represent a significant health issue. Currently, clinicians and nurses mainly base their wound assessment on visual examination of wound size and healing status, while the patients themselves seldom have an opportunity to play an active role. Hence, a more quantitative and cost-effective examination method that enables the patients and their caregivers to take a more active role in daily wound care potentially can accelerate wound healing, save travel cost and reduce healthcare expenses.

Personal training simulator for asynchronous learning of obstetric ultrasound.

To meet the challenges of providing affordable, efficient ultrasound training, a low-cost, portable personal ultrasound training simulator with structured curriculums and integrated assessment methods has been developed. By using extended image volumes for training, the realistic experience of scanning over a larger body surface is emulated.

Personal low-cost ultrasound training system.

To meet the challenge of making realistic training opportunities in medical ultrasound readily available, a PC based low cost personal ultrasound training system has been developed. The training experience is provided by scanning a generic, curved and compliant scan surface with a sham transducer, containing position and orientation sensors, while the PC displays both a virtual subject and a virtual transducer, along with an ultrasound image.

Generation of 3D ultrasound training volumes from freehand acquired data.

We are developing a low cost ultrasound training system running on a laptop in which the user scans a generic 3D curved surface representing the patient using a 5 DoF sensor. A critical component of this system is the generation of ultrasound training image volumes, which need to cover a complete body region in order to provide a realistic scanning experience. This research attempts to develop stitching techniques to generate large global volumes from smaller overlapping volumes acquired using freehand techniques.

Wireless image streaming in mobile ultrasound.

This work evaluates the feasibility of using 802.11 g ad hoc and 3G cellular broadband networks to wirelessly stream ultrasound video in real-time. Telemedicine ultrasound applications in events such as disaster relief and first-response triage can incorporate these technologies, enabling onsite medical personnel to receive assistance with diagnostic decisions by remote medical experts.

Modeling of received signals from annular array ultrasound transducers due to extended reflectors.

This paper describes a computationally efficient numerical technique for calculating the received signal from a broadband annular array transducer operating in pulse-echo mode, due to a specified reflector. The technique is referred to as the Diffraction Response from Extended Area Method (DREAM) and operates by tessellating the reflector into planar tiles with a dimension of several wavelengths (at the highest frequency of interest) and finding the contribution from a given tile by a temporal low-pass filtering rather than spatial integration. In particular, this paper formulates the theory for the DREAM for tessellation into triangular tiles and demonstrates the improved performance with triangular tiles relative to square tiles.

Acoustic attenuation properties of the lung: an open question.

Between 1961 and 1986, a number of investigators studied the propagation properties of ultrasound (US) in the lungs. These studies revealed high attenuation levels in the lung tissue at all levels of lung inflation. In contrast, some clinical investigators have, in the past decade, used US at 5 to 7.