What happens when the tasks dry up? Exploring the impact of medical technology on workforce planning.

Increasing evidence suggests that new technologies tend to substitute for low skilled labour and complement highly skilled labour. This paper considers the manner in which new technology impacts on two distinct groups of highly skilled health care labour, cardiologists and cardiac surgeons. We consider the diffusion impact of PCI as it replaces CABG in the treatment of cardiovascular disease in the English NHS, and explicitly estimate the degree to which the cardiac surgical workforce reacts to this newer technology. Using administrative data we trace the complementarity between CABG and PCI during the mature phase of technology adoption, mapped against an increasing employment of cardiologists as they replace cardiothoracic surgeons. Our findings show evidence of growing employment of cardiologists, as PCI is increasingly expanded to older and sicker patients. While in cardiothoracic surgery, surgeons compensate falling CABG rates in a manner consistent with undertaking replacement activity and redeployment. While for cardiologists this reflects the general findings in the literature, that new technology enhances rather than substitutes for skilled labour, for the surgeons the new technology leads to redeployment rather than a downsizing of their labour.

Implications of technological advancement of surgery in low and middle-income countries' a narrative review.

Countries that are striving to keep pace with emerging technologies in surgical practices and still not able to cope with exemplary international standards are in dire need of resources to build and strengthen their healthcare system. This review focusses on the impeding factors that hinder in adaptation of advanced technology and machinery in the health care industry. Considering the immense potential for current surgical technologies to transform the delivery of healthcare, their implementation in LMICs confronts considerable challenges due to lack of infrastructure, human capital and inadequate resources. To address these difficulties, various entities, including healthcare institutions, government and non-governmental organisations, and foreign partners, must work together. Building capacity through intended education and training initiatives, building infrastructure, and collaborative partnerships are critical for overcoming hurdles to effective deployment of surgical technology in low-income communities of the world.

Healthcare personnel's perspectives on health technology in home-based pediatric palliative care: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: In the context of pediatric palliative care, where the quality of life of children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions is of utmost importance, the integration of health technology must support the provision of care. Research has highlighted the role of healthcare personnel when utilizing health technology in home-based pediatric palliative care, but specific knowledge of healthcare personnel's views on the technological relevance remains limited. Therefore, our study has explored potentials and limitations of health technology in home-based pediatric palliative care from the perspectives of healthcare personnel. METHODS: Our study utilized a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory design, including five focus groups with a total of 22 healthcare personnel. The participants were selected from various health regions in Norway and were experienced in providing home-based pediatric palliative care. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we interpreted data obtained from focus groups, identified patterns, and developed themes. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in the development of three intersecting themes: balancing in-person interaction and time in home-based pediatric palliative care; exchange of information can improve timely and appropriate care; and the power of visual documentation in pediatric palliative care. The healthcare personnel acknowledged difficulties in fully replacing in-person interaction with health technology. However, they also emphasized potentials of health technology to facilitate information sharing and the ability to access a child's health record within interdisciplinary teams. CONCLUSION: The results underscored that technology can support pediatric palliative care but must be thoughtfully integrated to ensure an individualized patient-centered approach. To maximize the benefits of health technology in enhancing home-based pediatric palliative care, future research should address the limitations of current health technology and consider the opinions for information sharing between relevant healthcare team members, the child, and their family.

The Diaspora Human Genomics Institute Launches the Together for Change Initiative: A Transformative, Historic Partnership to Ensure Health Equity in a Time of Unprecedented Technological Advancements.

Human subjects research and drug and device development currently base their findings largely on the genetic data of the non-Hispanic White population, excluding People of Color. This practice puts People of Color at a distinct and potentially deadly disadvantage in being treated for sickness, disability, and disease, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Major disparities exist in all chronic health conditions, including cancer. Data show that less than 2% of genetic information being studied today originates from people of African ancestry. If genomic datasets do not adequately represent People of Color, new drugs and genetic therapies may not work as well as for people of European descent. Addressing the urgent concern that historically marginalized people may again be excluded from the next technological leap affecting human health and the benefits it will bring will requires a paradigm shift. Thus, on behalf of underserved and marginalized people, we developed the Together for CHANGE (T4C) initiative as a unique collaborative public-private partnership to address the concern. The comprehensive programs designed in the T4C initiative, governed by the Diaspora Human Genomics Institute founded by Meharry Medical College, will transform the landscape of education and health care and positively affect global Black communities for decades to come.

Aplicativos como ferramenta de educação em saúde para portadores de diabetes mellitus: o que está disponível na língua portuguesa? / Apps as a health education tool for people with diabetes mellitus: what is available in Portuguese?

Resumo Os aplicativos de saúde para dispositivos móveis se revelam como uma ferramenta importante para a educação em saúde para apoiar o tratamento de diferentes doenças, como o diabetes mellitus (DM). Nesse sentido, esta pesquisa analisa as funcionalidades dos aplicativos existentes na língua portuguesa destinados a auxiliar pessoas com DM. Foi realizada uma busca sistemática para identificação dos aplicativos por meio dos indexadores "Controle de diabetes", "Diabetes", "Glicose" e "Insulina" nos sistemas operacionais Android e iOS. Foram encontrados 576 aplicativos, porém, apenas 63 (10,9%) atenderam aos critérios de inclusão. De acordo com sua funcionalidade, os aplicativos apresentaram as seguintes possibilidades de uso: 13 educativos; 12 monitoram atividade física; 18 contêm diário alimentar; 28 contam carboidratos; 34 monitoram a insulina; 49 monitoram a glicemia; 33 apresentam gráficos; 9 alertam sobre a presença de hipo ou hiperglicemia; 17 lembram coleta de glicemia; e 5 apresentaram receitas culinárias. As funcionalidades que auxiliam na mudança de comportamento e individualizam estratégias de tratamento ainda são incipientes. Sugere-se o desenvolvimento de ferramentas auxiliares para interação dos aplicativos com seus usuários e a comprovação da sua eficácia.

Abstract Health applications for mobile devices are an important tool for a health education to support the treatment of different diseases, such as diabetes mellitus (DM). In this sense, this research analyzes the functionalities of existing applications in Portuguese aimed at helping people with DM. A systematic search was performed to identify the applications by the descriptors "Diabetes control," "Diabetes," "Glucose," and "Insulin" in Android and iOS operating systems. A total of 576 applications were found, but only 63 (10.9%) met the inclusion criteria. According to their functionality, the apps presented the following possibilities of use: 13 are educational; 12 monitor physical activity; 18 contain a food diary; 28 count carbohydrates; 34 monitor insulin; 49 monitor blood glucose; 33 present graphs; 9 warn about the presence of hypo or hyperglycemia; 17 recall blood glucose collection; and 5 present culinary recipes. Functionalities that assist in behavior change and that individualize treatment strategies are still incipient. We suggest the development of auxiliary tools for interaction of applications with their users and the proof of their effectiveness.

Neurodegeneration & imperfect ageing: Technological limitations and challenges?

Cellular homeostasis is regulated by the protein quality control (PQC) machinery, comprising multiple chaperones and enzymes. Studies suggest that the loss of the PQC mechanisms in neurons may lead to the formation of abnormal inclusions that may lead to neurological disorders and defective aging. The questions could be raised how protein aggregate formation precisely engenders multifactorial molecular pathomechanism in neuronal cells and affects different brain regions? Such questions await thorough investigation that may help us understand how aberrant proteinaceous bodies lead to neurodegeneration and imperfect aging. However, these studies face multiple technological challenges in utilizing available tools for detailed characterizations of the protein aggregates or amyloids and developing new techniques to understand the biology and pathology of proteopathies. The lack of detection and analysis methods has decelerated the pace of the research in amyloid biology. Here, we address the significance of aggregation and inclusion formation, followed by exploring the evolutionary contribution of these structures. We also provide a detailed overview of current state-of-the-art techniques and advances in studying amyloids in the diseased brain. A comprehensive understanding of the structural, pathological, and clinical characteristics of different types of aggregates (inclusions, fibrils, plaques, etc.) will aid in developing future therapies.

Exosomes Engineering and Their Roles as Therapy Delivery Tools, Therapeutic Targets, and Biomarkers.

Exosomes are becoming increasingly important therapeutic biomaterials for use in a variety of therapeutic applications due to their unique characteristics, especially due to the ineffectiveness and cytotoxicity of some existing therapies and synthetic therapeutic nanocarriers. They are highly promising as carriers of drugs, genes, and other therapeutic agents that can be incorporated into their interior or onto their surface through various modification techniques to improve their targeting abilities. In addition, they are biocompatible, safe, and stable. The review focuses on different types of exosomes and methods of their preparation, including the incorporation of different kinds of cargo, especially for drug delivery purposes. In particular, their importance and effectiveness as delivery vehicles of various therapeutic agents for a variety of therapeutic applications, including different diseases and disorders such as cancer treatment, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, are emphasized. Administration routes of exosomes into the body are also included. A novelty in the article is the emphasis on global companies that are already successfully developing and testing such therapeutic biomaterials, with a focus on the most influential ones. Moreover, a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods of exosome production is summarized for the first time.

Technological Advances in Charged-Particle Therapy.

Charted-particle therapy (CPT) benefits cancer patients by localizing doses in the tumor volume while minimizing the doses delivered to normal tissue through its unique physical and biological characteristics. The world's first CPT applied on humans was proton beam therapy (PBT), which was performed in the mid-1950s. Among heavy ions, carbon ions showed the most favorable biological characteristics for the treatment of cancer patients. Carbon ions show coincidence between the Bragg peak and maximum value of relative biological effectiveness. In addition, they show low oxygen enhancement ratios. Therefore, carbon-ion radiotherapy (CIRT) has become mainstream in the treatment of cancer patients using heavy ions. CIRT was first performed in 1977 at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. The CPT technology has advanced in the intervening decades, enabling the use of rotating gantry, beam delivery with fast pencil-beam scanning, image-guided particle therapy, and intensity-modulated particle therapy. As a result, as of 2019, a total of 222,425 and 34,138 patients with cancer had been treated globally with PBT and CIRT, respectively. For more effective and efficient CPT, many groups are currently conducting further studies worldwide. This review summarizes recent technological advances that facilitate clinical use of CPT.

Research and application of hydrostatic high pressure in tumor vaccines (Review).

It is well known that hydrostatic pressure (HP) is a physical parameter that is now regarded as an important variable for life. High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) technology has influenced biological systems for more than 100 years. Food and bioscience researchers have shown great interest in HHP technology over the past few decades. The development of knowledge related to this area can better facilitate the application of HHP in the life sciences. Furthermore, new applications for HHP may come from these current studies, particularly in tumor vaccines. Currently, cancer recurrence and metastasis continue to pose a serious threat to human health. The limited efficacy of conventional treatments has led to the need for breakthroughs in immunotherapy and other related areas. Research into tumor vaccines is providing new insights for cancer treatment. The purpose of this review is to present the main findings reported thus far in the relevant scientific literature, focusing on knowledge related to HHP technology and tumor vaccines, and to demonstrate the potential of applying HHP technology to tumor vaccine development.

Home Monitoring for Glaucoma: Current Applications and Future Directions.

Technological advances provide a number of options for glaucoma monitoring outside the office setting, including home-based tonometry and perimetry. This has the potential to revolutionize management of this chronic disease, improve access to care, and enhance patient engagement. Here, we provide an overview of existing technologies for home-based glaucoma monitoring. We also discuss areas for future research and the potential applications of these technologies to telemedicine, which has been brought to the forefront during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Avanços e desafios das políticas públicas de gestão das tecnologias em saúde nas américas: scoping review / Avances y desafíos de las políticas públicas de gestión de las tecnologías en salud en las américas: scoping review / Advances and challenges of public policies for the management of health technologies in the americas: scoping review

RESUMO Objetivo: mapear evidências científicas sobre os avanços e desafios das políticas públicas de gestão das tecnologias em saúde nas Américas. Método: trata-se de uma scoping reviewrealizada em junho de 2021, nos portais e base de dados: National Library of Medicine (PubMed), Biblioteca Virtual da Saúde (BVS) e ScientificElectronic Library Online (SciELO). Resultados: ao final, 16 estudos foram selecionados. A discussão sobre as políticas públicas de gestão das tecnologias em saúde estava pautada principalmente na Avaliação de Tecnologias em Saúde (ATS). Como desafios apresentados destacaram-se: falta de investimentos e de recursos humanos; alinhamento da inovação em saúde com demandas de saúde pública; baixa contextualização do papel das tecnologias em saúde; metodologias que permitem avaliação de tecnologias leves. Em relação aos avanços, ressalta-se aumento de pesquisas com ênfase no componente tecnológico e busca de inovação, bem como avanços relacionados à ATS nos países identificados. Conclusão: a maioria dos avanços revelados são referentes ao processo de avaliação dessas tecnologias em saúde, mas existem oportunidades de melhorias, principalmente no investimento, expansão das áreas de conhecimento e no reconhecimento das tecnologias leves e leve-duras.

RESUMEN Objetivo: mapear evidencias científicas sobre los avances y desafíos de las políticas públicas de gestión de las tecnologías en saluden las Américas. Método: se trata de una scopingreviewrealizada en junio de 2021, en los enlaces y base de datos: National Library of Medicine (PubMed), Biblioteca Virtual da Saúde (BVS) yScientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). Resultados: al final, 16 estudios fueron seleccionados. La discusión sobre las políticas públicas de gestión de las tecnologías en salud estaba basada principalmente en la Evaluación de Tecnologías en Salud (ATS). Como desafíos presentados se destacaron: falta de inversiones y de recursos humanos; organización de la innovación en salud con demandas de salud pública; baja contextualización delrol de las tecnologías en salud; metodologías que permiten evaluación de tecnologías blandas. Respecto a los avances, se destaca el aumento de investigaciones con énfasis en el componente tecnológico y búsqueda de innovación, así como avances relacionados a la ATS en los países identificados. Conclusión: la mayoría de los avances revelados son referentes al proceso de evaluación de estas tecnologías en salud, pero existen oportunidades de mejorías, principalmente en la inversión, expansión de las áreas de conocimiento yen el reconocimiento de las tecnologías blandas y blandas-duras.

ABSTRACT Objective: to outline scientific evidence on the advances and challenges of public policies for the management of health technologies in the Americas. Method: this is a scoping review conducted in June 2021, in portals and databases: National Library of Medicine (PubMed), Virtual Health Library (VHL), and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). Results: in the end, 16 studies were selected. The discussion on public policies for the management of health technologies was mostly based on the Health Technology Assessment (HTA). As challenges, the following were highlighted: a shortage of investments and human resources; matching health innovation with public health demands; poor contextualization of the health technologies' roles; methodologies that allow evaluation of light technologies. As for advances, there was an increase in research with an emphasis on technology and the search for innovation, as well as advances related to HTA in the identified countries. Conclusion: most of the advances are related to the evaluation process of these health technologies, but there are opportunities for improvement, especially regarding investment, expansion of areas of knowledge, and acknowledgment of light and light-hard technologies.

Construção e validação do sistema informatizado de notificação voluntária de incidentes (SINVI): uma tecnologia para vigilância de incidentes relacionados à prestação do cuidado / Construction and validation of the computerized system of voluntary notification of incidents (SINVI): a technology for surveillance of incidents related to provision of care

Introdução: a gestão de risco nos serviços de saúde tem o papel de aplicar, de forma sistemática e contínua, as políticas, os procedimentos, as condutas e os recursos na identificação, análise, avaliação, comunicação e controle de riscos e eventos adversos que afetam a segurança, a saúde humana, a integridade profissional, o meio ambiente e a imagem institucional. A identificação dos eventos adversos que acontecem nos serviços de saúde é de extrema importância para o planejamento de ações de mitigação das falhas durante a assistência à saúde. Os sistemas de notificações voluntárias são o alicerce para um programa de segurança do paciente, ajudando a identificar melhorias no desenvolvimento de uma cultura de segurança, e funcionam como uma estratégia para garantir a qualidade. Objetivos: construir um protótipo de Sistema Informatizado de Notificação Voluntária de Incidentes Informatizado (SINVI); identificar os principais incidentes relacionados à prestação dos cuidados em banco de dados e discuti-los frente à literatura; validar um protótipo de um sistema informatizado de notificação voluntária de incidentes. Método: estudo metodológico desenvolvido em três etapas: identificação dos principais incidentes relacionados à prestação de cuidados; construção do protótipo de um Sistema Informatizado de Notificação Voluntária de Incidentes (SINVI); validação de conteúdo e usabilidade do protótipo do Sistema Informatizado de Notificação Voluntária de Incidentes (SINVI). Para a validação de conteúdo, foram utilizados o Coeficiente de Validação de Conteúdo (CVC), a Taxa de Concordância (TC) e o coeficiente de Kappa. Para a validação de usabilidade, foi utilizado o escore de System Usability Scale (SUS). Este estudo foi aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa (CEP) com o número do Parecer: 3.674.180. Resultados: foram produzidos três produtos: dois estruturados em forma de artigo e o terceiro, em produto acadêmico. O primeiro identificou os principais eventos adversos notificados no país no período de 2014 a 2018; o segundo produto consiste na construção e validação do protótipo do SINVI e o terceiro é a apresentação do produto acadêmico, a produção técnica do protótipo do software do SINVI, localizado no estrado T1 na categorização da CAPES. Conclusão: os três produtos deste relatório de dissertação contribuem para a segurança do paciente nos serviços de saúde na medida em que fornecem subsídios para a gestão de risco e o núcleo de segurança do paciente na captação de dados agregados das notificações a partir do uso de um Sistema Informatizado de Notificação Voluntária de Incidentes (SINVI)

Introduction: risk management in health services has the role of applying, in a systematic and continuous manner, the policies, procedures, conducts and resources in the identification, analysis, evaluation, communication and control of risks and adverse events that affect safety, human health, professional integrity, the environment and the institutional image. The identification of adverse events that occur in health services is extremely important for the planning of actions to mitigate failures during health care. Voluntary reporting systems are the foundation of a patient safety program, helping to identify improvements in the development of a safety culture, and serve as a strategy to ensure quality. Objectives: build a prototype of a Computerized Voluntary Incident Notification System (SINVI); identify the main care-related incidents in a database and discuss them against the literature; validate a prototype of a computerized voluntary incident reporting system. Method: methodological study developed in three stages: identification of the main care-related incidents; construction of the prototype of a Computerized Voluntary Incident Notification System (SINVI); content and usability validation of the prototype of the Computerized Voluntary Incident Notification System (SINVI). For content validation, the Content Validation Coefficient (CVC), the Concordance Rate (CR), and the Kappa coefficient were used. For usability validation, the System Usability Scale (UHS) score was used. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee (REC) with Opinion number: 3.674.180. Results: Three products were produced: two structured as articles and the third as an academic product. The first identified the main adverse events reported in the country from 2014 to 2018; the second product consists of the construction and validation of the SINVI prototype and the third is the presentation of the academic product, the technical production of the SINVI software prototype, located on the T1 platform in the CAPES categorization. Conclusion: the three products of this dissertation report contribute to patient safety in health services in that they provide subsidies for risk management and the patient safety nucleus in capturing aggregate data from the notifications using a Computerized Voluntary Incident Notification System (SINVI)

Water-Splitting Based and Related Therapeutic Effects: Evolving Concepts, Progress, and Perspectives.

Water-splitting has been extensively studied especially for energy applications. It is often not paid with enough attention for biomedical applications. In fact, several innovative breakthroughs have been achieved in the past few years by employing water-splitting for treating cancer and other diseases. Interestingly, among these important works, only two reports have mentioned the term "water-splitting." For this reason, the importance of water-splitting for biomedical applications is significantly underestimated. This progress work is written with the aims to explain and summarize how the principle of water-splitting is employed to achieve therapeutic results not offered by conventional approaches. It is expected that this progress report will not only explain the importance of water-splitting to scientists in the biomedical fields, it should also draw attention from scientists working on energy applications of water-splitting.

An Approach to Technology Development and Current Medical Practice

Abstract Background An approach to technology development and the current medical practice. Objective To consider the many stages of medical-applied technological developments and its main consequences related to the current medical practice and speculate on future developments. Methods Assessment of historical publications and individual and metanalysis of comparative evaluation of old versus new techniques. Results Documentation of progressive improvement in diagnostic skill and therapeutics toward less invasive procedures along the last decades, since the introduction of the scientific medicine. Conclusion Progress has been unequivocally documented albeit an effort to maintain time-proven established previous technique is advised, especially in favor of stimulating a personal patient-physician relationship. (International Journal of Cardiovascular Sciences. 2020; [online].ahead print, PP.0-0)

[Development and achievements regarding the prevention and control of cervical cancer in the last 20 years in China].

Cervical cancer is the fourth common cancer in women globally, with the number of new cases accounted for 18.6% among all the cancer patients, in China. It is well known that the situation of prevention and control programs are quite challenging. Based on the efforts being made in the last 20 years, the etiology and carcinogenesis on cervical cancer had been clearly understood. Breakthroughs had been achieved in the development of prophylactic human papillomovirus vaccine and the technology of in screening. Various screening strategies are already available in areas with different economic status. Nevertheless, the capacity of health care services at the primary care clinics needs to be improved to narrow the gap between the reality and the demands.

Tissue engineering to better understand senescence: Organotypics come of age.

The recent advent of 'organs in a dish' has revolutionised the research landscape. These 3D culture systems have paved the way for translational, post genomics research by enabling scientists to model diseases in the laboratory, grow patient-derived organoids, and unite this technology with other cutting-edge methodologies such as drug discovery. Fields such as dermatology and neuroscience have revolutionised the development of robust 3D models, which faithfully recapitulate native physiology in vivo to provide important functional and mechanistic insights. These models have underpinned a rapid growth in the number of organs and myriad of human diseases that can be modelled in 3D, which currently includes breast, cerebral cortex, heart, intestine, kidney, liver, lung, neural tube, pancreas, prostate, skin and stomach, as well as patient derived tumours. However, so far, they have not yet been employed extensively in the study of fundamental cellular programmes such as senescence. Thus, tissue engineering and 3D culture offer an exciting opportunity to further understand the bright and dark sides of senescence in a more complex and physiologically relevant environment. Below, we will discuss previous approaches to investigating senescence and ageing using organotypic models, and some potential opportunities for future research.