Healthcare Monitoring Using Low-Cost Sensors to Supplement and Replace Human Sensation: Does It Have Potential to Increase Independent Living and Prevent Disease?

Continuous monitoring of health status has the potential to enhance the quality of life and life expectancy of people suffering from chronic illness and of the elderly. However, such systems can only come into widespread use if the cost of manufacturing is low. Advancements in material science and engineering technology have led to a significant decrease in the expense of developing healthcare monitoring devices. This review aims to investigate the progress of the use of low-cost sensors in healthcare monitoring and discusses the challenges faced when accomplishing continuous and real-time monitoring tasks. The major findings include (1) only a small number of publications (N = 50) have addressed the issue of healthcare monitoring applications using low-cost sensors over the past two decades; (2) the top three algorithms used to process sensor data include SA (Statistical Analysis, 30%), SVM (Support Vector Machine, 18%), and KNN (K-Nearest Neighbour, 12%); and (3) wireless communication techniques (Zigbee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and RF) serve as the major data transmission tools (77%) followed by cable connection (13%) and SD card data storage (10%). Due to the small fraction (N = 50) of low-cost sensor-based studies among thousands of published articles about healthcare monitoring, this review not only summarises the progress of related research but calls for researchers to devote more effort to the consideration of cost reduction as well as the size of these components.

Assessment of the workload and financial burden of Bosniak IIF renal cyst surveillance in a tertiary referral hospital.

BACKGROUND: The Bosniak classification is a CT classification which stratifies renal cysts based on imaging appearances and therefore associated risk of malignancy. Bosniak IIf cysts are renal which have complex features and therefore require surveillance. AIMS: The aim of this study is to assess the economic and workload burden of diagnosing and following up Bosniak IIf cysts on the urology service in a tertiary hospital in the West of Ireland. METHODS: All patients with a diagnosis of Bosniak IIf renal cysts attending our urology service between 1st of January 2012 and 31st December 2020 were analysed. The following data were collected: number and modality of follow up scans, number of MDT discussions, number and type of outpatient appointments, surgical intervention, and length of follow up. Financial data were provided by the hospital finance department. RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-two patients were included. Total cost of follow up was €164,056, costing €1,012.7 per patient. Cost of outpatient visits was €77,850. Follow-up length ranged from 1 to 109 months, median follow up time 17.5 months. Overall cost of imaging was €74,518. There were a total of 80 MDT discussions at an overall cost of €11,688. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that surveillance of patients with Bosniak IIf renal cysts represents a significant burden upon both radiology and urology services. Surveillance for these patients could be streamlined in the future through a number of initiatives such as virtual OPDs and dedicated MDTs.

Performance Assessment of a Humidity Measurement System and Its Use to Evaluate Moisture Characteristics of Wheelchair Cushions at the User-Seat Interface.

Little is known about the changes in moisture that occur at the body-seat interface during sitting. However, as increased moisture can add to the risk of skin damage, we have developed an array of MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) humidity sensors to measure at this interface. Sensors were first evaluated against traceable standards, followed by use in a cross-over field test (n = 11; 20 min duration) using different wheelchair cushions (foam and gel). Relative humidity (RH) was measured at the left mid-thigh, right mid-thigh and coccyx. Sensors were shown to be unaffected by loading and showed highly reliable responses to measured changes in humidity, varying little from the traceable standard (<5%). Field-test data, smoothed through a moving average filter, revealed significant differences between the three chosen locations and between the gel and foam cushions. Maximum RH was attained in less than five minutes regardless of cushion material (foam or gel). Importantly, RH does not appear to distribute uniformly over the body-seat interface; suggesting multiple sensor positions would appear essential for effectively monitoring moisture in this interface. Material properties of the cushions appear to have a significant effect on RH characteristics (profile) at the body-seat interface, but not necessarily the time to peak moisture.

An in vitro assessment of the cerebral hemodynamics through three patient specific circle of Willis geometries.

The Circle of Willis (CoW) is a complex pentagonal network comprised of fourteen cerebral vessels located at the base of the brain. The collateral flow feature within the circle of Willis allows the ability to maintain cerebral perfusion of the brain. Unfortunately, this collateral flow feature can create undesirable flow impact locations due to anatomical variations within the CoW. The interaction between hemodynamic forces and the arterial wall are believed to be involved in the formation of cerebral aneurysms, especially at irregular geometries such as tortuous segments, bends, and bifurcations. The highest propensity of aneurysm formation is known to form at the anterior communicating artery (AcoA) and at the junctions of the internal carotid and posterior communicating arteries (PcoAs). Controversy still remains as to the existence of blood flow paths through the communicating arteries for a normal CoW. This paper experimentally describes the hemodynamic conditions through three thin walled patient specific models of a complete CoW based on medical images. These models were manufactured by a horizontal dip spin coating method and positioned within a custom made cerebral testing system that simulated symmetrical physiological afferent flow conditions through the internal carotid and vertebral arteries. The dip spin coating procedure produced excellent dimensional accuracy. There was an average of less than 4% variation in diameters and wall thicknesses throughout all manufactured CoW models. Our cerebral test facility demonstrated excellent cycle to cycle repeatability, with variations of less than 2% and 1% for the time and cycle averaged flow rates, respectively. The peak systolic flow rates had less than a 4% variation. Our flow visualizations showed four independent flow sources originating from all four inlet arteries impacting at and crossing the AcoA with bidirectional cross flows. The flow paths entering the left and right vertebral arteries dissipated throughout the CoW vasculature from the posterior to anterior sides, exiting through all efferent vessels. Two of the models had five flow impact locations, while the third model had an additional two impact locations within the posterior circulation caused by an additional bidirectional cross flows along the PcoAs during the accelerating and part of the decelerating phases. For a complete CoW, bidirectional cross flows exist within the AcoA and geometrical variations within the CoW geometry can either promote uni- or bidirectional cross flows along the PcoAs.