Spine Surgery Database: Spine Disease Analytical Evaluation Module.

AIM: To demonstrate a custom spine disease analytical evaluation module that can instantly, accurately, and effectively analyze the widely accepted outcome measurements. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data input and analysis processes were evaluated on a timely basis to compare the traditional paper-based manual data entry method with the spine surgery database (SSD) platform data entry method. The data of 116 patients in the cervical degenerative patient group were analyzed using the upgraded version of the SSD. The subjects were analyzed with respect to the SF-36 Quality of Life Index, Nurick classification, and Japanese Orthopedic Association score. The manual and computerized patient information analyses were then compared. RESULTS: The developed analysis module enables the instantaneous access and analysis of patient data. More importantly, the paperless evaluation module improves the post-surgery patient status evaluation time by 45.64%. For 116 patients, a physician gains up to 401 min of evaluation time in each preoperative and follow-up period without being subjected to the human errors encountered in paper records. CONCLUSION: It is apparent that customized software solutions are absolutely necessary in patient registration and follow-up processes. The experimental results showed that using the proposed module, patient follow-up and progress analyses can be performed in a fast, effective, and accurate manner.

A robotic system to prepare IV solutions.

Drugs need to be used regularly and correctly in order to be effective. When medicines are used correctly, negativities that threaten human health and life can be avoided, but they can cause unwanted situations that can occur until the end of life when they are used incorrectly. The most common drug administration errors in hospitals are: The wrong dosage of the drug given to the patient, the timing and / or the method of administration, the wrong drug given to the patient, the drug given to the wrong patient, or even not given. Furthermore, the information about the drug that is administered to the patient may not be registered at all. In this research, a robotic drug preparation system and a communication server accepting prescription orders have been developed. Component engineering methodology is further utilized in the design of the Drug Preparation System to maximize reuse, increase product reliability, reduce design, code and test efforts. The IV Robotic Drug Preparation Robot is composed of a robotic work station and a Cartesian carrier to carry the work station to the desired location. The robotic work station has several grippers to handle syringes, to pull the piston of the syringe and to lock the closed system connector to the vial. The IV Robotic Drug Preparation System and communication server are developed and being used in the hospitals. Due to this system, medicines left unused in vials can be used and a great amount of savings is obtained from the drug purchases.

Spine surgery database: a Turkish registry for spinal disorders.

AIM: This study presents a Turkish academic database application platform which is specialized for spinal surgery clinics. The application provides a userfriendly interface and easy access to the patients' data due to a hierarchical structure. Patient diagnosis, treatment and follow-up process data are recorded regularly and systematically. Another ambitious goal is to register the treatment outcomes to also provide an environment for analyzing patients' data. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Spine Surgery Database (SSD) application was designed as incorporating all content that can be used in the field of spine surgery expertise. The system has different tools for different purposes; main application, database creation, analysis and data merge tool. Widely accepted standards, Oswestry Disability Index, Prolo Scale, SF-36, etc., are used to assess outcome analysis. RESULTS: Diagnosis, treatment and follow-up processes were monitored in a standard structure. Distributions of general patient profile over pathological and anatomical information are represented using the SSD analysis tool. Over 22.000 patients' medical data were successfully recorded and the patient registration problem was resolved by using software applications. CONCLUSION: This specialized application presents a user-friendly interface which supplies all needs of spinal surgery. Questionnaires and scales which are very important for clinicians and researchers can be generated through the SSD tool.