A randomized controlled trial of a tablet-based intervention to address predonation fears among high school donors.

Background: Prior studies have shown donation-related fear to be associated with decreased donor confidence and an increased risk for vasovagal reactions. This study examined the effects of a predonation intervention that provided fearful donors with suggestions for coping.

Study Design And Methods: Using a tablet-based application, high school donors (49.

Predonation fears identify young donors at risk for vasovagal reactions.

Background: Extending existing research on the relationship between predonation fear of having blood drawn and risk for vasovagal reactions among young donors, this study assessed the predictive power of specific donation-related fears.

Study Design And Methods: After the health screening, high school whole blood donors (59.5% female) were randomly assigned into one of three groups.

Effects of respiratory and applied muscle tensing interventions on responses to a simulated blood draw among individuals with high needle fear.

Fear of blood and needles increases risk for presyncopal symptoms. Applied muscle tension can prevent or attenuate presyncopal symptoms; however, it is not universally effective. This study examined the effects of applied muscle tension, a respiratory intervention, and a no treatment control condition, on presyncopal symptoms and cerebral oxygenation, during a simulated blood draw with individuals highly fearful of needles.

Enhancing cerebral oxygenation during blood donation using biofeedback.

Biofeedback of cerebral oxygenation was used to guide application of applied muscle tension during whole blood donation, and resulted in attenuated reductions compared to donors who did not receive feedback.

A stiffness discrimination experiment including analysis of palpation forces and velocities.

Introduction: The incorporation of haptics, the sense of touch, into medical simulations increases their capabilities by enabling the users to "feel" the virtual environment. We are involved with haptics-augmented virtual reality training for palpatory diagnosis. We have developed a stiffness discrimination program to train and test users in finding subtle differences in human tissue stiffness for medical diagnoses.

Muscle functional magnetic resonance imaging and acute low back pain: a pilot study to characterize lumbar muscle activity asymmetries and examine the effects of osteopathic manipulative treatment.

Background: Muscle functional magnetic resonance imaging (mfMRI) measures transverse relaxation time (T2), and allows for determination of the spatial pattern of muscle activation. The purposes of this pilot study were to examine whether MRI-derived T2 or side-to-side differences in T2 (asymmetries) differ in low back muscles between subjects with acute low back pain (LBP) compared to asymptomatic controls, and to determine if a single osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) session alters these T2 properties immediately and 48-hours after treatment.

Methods: Subjects with non-specific acute LBP (mean score on 110 visual analog score = 3.

Palpatory diagnosis training on the virtual haptic back: performance improvement and user evaluations.

Context: Learning palpatory diagnosis is a challenge for many osteopathic medical students. The Virtual Haptic Back (VHB) is an aid in teaching and learning these skills. The device simulates the contours and surface compliances of the human back and allows these to be felt through haptic interfaces.

Characteristics of physicians disciplined by the State Medical Board of Ohio.

Although physicians have been disciplined for a variety of offenses by state medical boards across the United States, limited information is available about the characteristics of these physicians. To assess the characteristics of, offenses committed by, and resulting disciplinary actions taken against a consecutive series of disciplined physicians in the state of Ohio, the authors conducted a case-control study of all 308 physicians publicly disciplined by the State Medical Board of Ohio (SMBO) from January 1997 to June 1999. Subjects were matched with two groups of control physicians--one matched by location only, and the second matched for location, gender, practice type, and self-designated specialty.

The relationship between elbow flexor volume and angular stiffness at the elbow.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this experiment was to determine if a correlation exists between the volume of the elbow flexors and angular stiffness at the elbow, and to determine the contribution of the biceps brachii and the brachialis muscles to angular stiffness. DESIGN: This study is a descriptive, correlational study and presents a graphical model of the passive properties of muscle. BACKGROUND: The correlation between arm volume and angular stiffness has been shown, but the measurement of arm volume was not specific to the structures being strained.