False-positive troponin I elevation in a newborn with neonatal encephalopathy.

Serum biomarkers of myocardial damage are commonly used in babies after perinatal asphyxia. We present a case report of a persistently troponin I elevation without evidence of clinical or instrumental signs of myocardial ischaemia in a baby with perinatal asphyxia. When the blood was mixed with polyethylene glycol we found that the troponin I levels were falsely elevated due to interfering antibodies.

Electrocardiographic and echocardiographic changes during therapeutic hypothermia in encephalopathic infants with long-term adverse outcome.

Aim: To assess the electrocardiography and echocardiography changes during therapeutic hypothermia and rewarming period in encephalopathic infants with long-term adverse neurological outcome.

Methods: Prospective multicentre longitudinal study. We included 64 consecutive infants with moderate or severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy undergoing therapeutic hypothermia who had 18-24 month-outcome data.

Telemonitoring in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (CHROMED). A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Rationale: Early detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations using telemonitoring of physiological variables might reduce the frequency of hospitalization.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of home monitoring of lung mechanics by the forced oscillation technique and cardiac parameters in older patients with COPD and comorbidities.

Methods: This multicenter, randomized clinical trial recruited 312 patients with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease grades II to IV COPD (median age, 71 yr [interquartile range, 66-76 yr]; 49.

A Robotic Solution for Assisting People with MCI at Home: Preliminary Tests of the ENRICHME System.

Robots have the potential to support care and independence of older adults. The ENRICHME project is developing an integrated system composed of a robot, sensors and a networking care platform, aiming at assisting older adults with MCI in their home environment. This paper reports findings of the tests performed on a sample of MCI users and their caregivers, with the first version of the ENRICHME system, in a controlled environment.

Reducing Fall Risk with Combined Motor and Cognitive Training in Elderly Fallers.

Background: Falling is a major clinical problem in elderly people, demanding effective solutions. At present, the only effective intervention is motor training of balance and strength. Executive function-based training (EFt) might be effective at preventing falls according to evidence showing a relationship between executive functions and gait abnormalities.

Presepsin for the detection of early-onset sepsis in preterm newborns.

Background: Early-onset sepsis (EOS) is responsible for an important fraction of neonatal morbidity and mortality all over the world. The aim of this study was to assess whether presepsin (P-SEP) can be a more accurate biomarker of EOS compared with pro-calcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP).

Study Design: Consecutive preterm neonates (<34 wk gestational age, admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit by 6 h of age and undergoing sepsis evaluation) were recruited as part of a case-matched control study.

Identification of COPD patients' health status using an intelligent system in the CHRONIOUS wearable platform.

The CHRONIOUS system offers an integrated platform aiming at the effective management and real-time assessment of the health status of the patient suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). An intelligent system is developed for the analysis and the real-time evaluation of patient's condition. A hybrid classifier has been implemented on a personal digital assistant, combining a support vector machine, a random forest, and a rule-based system to provide a more advanced categorization scheme for the early and in real-time characterization of a COPD episode.

Clinical validation of the CHRONIOUS wearable system in patients with chronic disease.

The CHRONIOUS system defines a powerful and easy to use framework which has been designed to provide services to clinicians and their patients suffering from chronic diseases. The system is composed of a wearable shirt that integrate several body sensors, a portable smart device and a central sub-system that is responsible for the long term storage of the collected patient's data. A multi-parametric expert system is developed for the analysis of the collected data using intelligent algorithms and complex techniques.

Pediatric reference values for urine particle quantification by using automated flow cytometer: results of a multicenter study of Italian urinalysis group.

Objectives: The purpose of this Italian multicenter study was to define pediatric upper reference values for urine particle quantification by using automated flow cytometry.

Design And Methods: Four hospital-based clinical laboratories participated in this multicenter investigation, which included a total study population of 161 Italian children aged from 1 to 12years. Two laboratories used Sysmex UF-100 and analyzed 86 children, whereas the other two used Sysmex UF-1000i and analyzed 75 subjects.

Categorization of COPD patient's health level through the use of the CHRONIOUS wearable platform.

The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a chronic disease that causes airflow blockage and breathing-related problems. As a Chronic disease it requires specific treatment plan and patient management for a long period of time. Critical factor in the process is the realization of frequent and precise diagnostic tests that describes the health status of the patient.

Heterogeneous data fusion and intelligent techniques embedded in a mobile application for real-time chronic disease management.

CHRONIOUS system is an integrated platform aiming at the management of chronic disease patients. One of the most important components of the system is a Decision Support System (DSS) that has been developed in a Smart Device (SD). This component decides on patient's current health status by combining several data, which are acquired either by wearable sensors or manually inputted by the patient or retrieved from the specific database.

CHRONIOUS: a wearable platform for monitoring and management of patients with chronic disease.

The CHRONIOUS system has been developed based on an open architecture design that consists of a set of subsystems which interact in order to provide all the needed services to the chronic disease patients. An advanced multi-parametric expert system is being implemented that fuses information effectively from various sources using intelligent techniques. Data are collected by sensors of a body network controlling vital signals while additional tools record dietary habits and plans, drug intake, environmental and biochemical parameters and activity data.

An intelligent system for classification of patients suffering from chronic diseases.

The CHRONIOUS system addresses a smart wearable platform, based on multi-parametric sensor data processing, for monitoring people suffering from chronic diseases in long-stay setting. Several signals are being recorded through wearable sensors and are stored together with additional information, entered by the patient. An Intelligent System, placed at a Smart Assistant Device, analyzes incoming data and facilitates data mining techniques resulting upon the severity of a health episode.