High Density Resistive Array Readout System for Wearable Electronics.

This work presents a wearable sensing system for high-density resistive array readout. The system comprising readout electronics for a high-density resistive sensor array and a rechargeable battery, was realized in a wristband. The analyzed data with the proposed system can be visualized using a custom graphical user interface (GUI) developed in a personal computer (PC) through a universal serial bus (USB) and using an Android app in smartphones via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), respectively. The readout electronics were implemented on a printed circuit board (PCB) and had a compact dimension of 3 cm × 3 cm. It was designed to measure the resistive sensor with a dynamic range of 1 KΩ-1 MΩ and detect a 0.1% change of the base resistance. The system operated at a 5 V supply voltage, and the overall system power consumption was 95 mW. The readout circuit employed a resistance-to-voltage (R-V) conversion topology using a 16-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC), integrated in the Cypress Programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC®) 5LP microcontroller. The device behaves as a universal-type sensing system that can be interfaced with a wide variety of resistive sensors, including chemiresistors, piezoresistors, and thermoelectric sensors, whose resistance variations fall in the target measurement range of 1 KΩ-1 MΩ. The system performance was tested with a 60-resistor array and showed a satisfactory accuracy, with a worst-case error rate up to 2.5%. The developed sensing system shows promising results for applications in the field of the Internet of things (IoT), point-of-care testing (PoCT), and low-cost wearable devices.

Challenges in Urology during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global health threat. This disease has brought about huge changes in the priorities of medical and surgical procedures. This short review article summarizes several test methods for COVID-19 that are currently being used or under development. This paper also introduces the corresponding changes in the diagnosis and treatment of urological diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic. We further discuss the potential impacts of the pandemic on urology, including the outpatient setting, clinical work, teaching, and research.

Quick overview of diagnostic kits and smartphone apps for urologists during the COVID-19 pandemic: a narrative review.

The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented event that has caused incredible challenges in all areas of society. However, unlike previous global pandemics, modern advancements in technology and medicine have made it possible to respond much more rapidly. Within months, countries around the world developed diagnostic kits and smartphone applications to tackle the virus. Many of these diagnostic kits vary in what they target and have different uses. Smartphone applications have been developed to provide real-time information to users regarding potential exposure, statistics, updated news, etc. Depending on the country, resources and government policies have created a wide range of products and applications. This narrative review paper focuses on providing a general overview of diagnostic kits and smartphone applications in three major countries, the U.S., South Korea, and China. Smartphone applications were used for tracing person-to-person contact and preventing the spread of COVID-19. These tools allowed public health officials to quickly identify people who may have had exposure to COVID-19 and allows them to act accordingly. In addition to discussing the mechanisms behind diagnostic kits, topics in legislation and policy for contact tracing will also be discussed. As nations enter into the next phase of the pandemic, there are serious considerations to be made about how technology can be integrated into handling future healthcare crises.