The Impact of a Mobile App on Participation in Cardiac Rehabilitation and Understanding Barriers to Success: Comparative Cohort Study.

Background: Poor patient uptake of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) remains a challenge for multiple reasons including geographic, time, cultural, cost, and psychological constraints.

Objective: We evaluated the impact on CR participation rates associated with the addition of the option of mobile app-based CR (Cardihab) for patients declining conventional CR.

Methods: A total of 204 consecutive patients were offered CR following angioplasty; of these, 99 were in cohort 1 (offered conventional CR only) and 105 were in cohort 2 (app-based CR offered to those declining conventional CR).

Computational simulation of bone fracture healing under inverse dynamisation.

Adaptive finite element models have allowed researchers to test hypothetical relationships between the local mechanical environment and the healing of bone fractures. However, their predictive power has not yet been demonstrated by testing hypotheses ahead of experimental testing. In this study, an established mechano-biological scheme was used in an iterative finite element simulation of sheep tibial osteotomy healing under a hypothetical fixation regime, "inverse dynamisation".

Ultrasound-assisted hip arthroscopy.

We describe the use of intraoperative ultrasound for the safe development of arthroscopic portals during hip arthroscopy without the requirement for fluoroscopy. We find this technique consistently accurate, allowing the safe introduction of arthroscopic instruments into the hip with a very low rate of iatrogenic injury. We have further developed the technique for application to both central- and peripheral-compartment procedures.

Ultrasonography-assisted arthroscopic proximal iliotibial band release and trochanteric bursectomy.

We describe arthroscopic iliotibial band release and trochanteric bursectomy assisted by intraoperative ultrasonography for accurate placement of arthroscopic portals and to ensure adequate decompression of the peritrochanteric space. We have found ultrasonography for endoscopic iliotibial band release a useful tool to assist with localizing the site and length of decompression.

The use of a ureteric stone basket for removing loose bodies at hip arthroscopy.

We present the use of a ureteric stone basket for arthroscopic removal of loose bodies from the hip joint. The technique is easy to perform and reduces the time required for loose body retrieval while minimizing the risk of iatrogenic damage to the cartilage surfaces of the joint.

Use of graphical statistical process control tools to monitor and improve outcomes in cardiac surgery.

Background: Graphical Statistical Process Control (SPC) tools have been shown to promptly identify significant variations in clinical outcomes in a range of health care settings. We explored the application of these techniques to qualitatively inform the routine cardiac surgical morbidity and mortality (M&M) review process at a single site.

Methods: Baseline clinical and procedural data relating to 4774 consecutive cardiac surgical procedures, performed between the 1st January 2003 and the 30th April 2011, were retrospectively evaluated.