The way to data: opinions and recommendations for the provision of health data for secondary use.

Healthcare data held by state-run organisations is a valuable intangible asset for society. Its use should be a priority for its administrators and the state. A completely paternalistic approach by administrators and the state is undesirable, however much it aims to protect the privacy rights of persons registered in databases. In line with European policies and the global trend, these measures should not outweigh the social benefit that arises from the analysis of these data if the technical possibilities exist to sufficiently protect the privacy rights of individuals. Czech society is having an intense discussion on the topic, but according to the authors, it is insufficiently based on facts and lacks clearly articulated opinions of the expert public. The aim of this article is to fill these gaps. Data anonymization techniques provide a solution to protect individuals' privacy rights while preserving the scientific value of the data. The risk of identifying individuals in anonymised data sets is scalable and can be minimised depending on the type and content of the data and its use by the specific applicant. Finding the optimal form and scope of deidentified data requires competence and knowledge on the part of both the applicant and the administrator. It is in the interest of the applicant, the administrator, as well as the protected persons in the databases that both parties show willingness and have the ability and expertise to communicate during the application and its processing.

Performance and Robustness of Regional Image Segmentation Driven by Selected Evolutionary and Genetic Algorithms: Study on MR Articular Cartilage Images.

The analysis and segmentation of articular cartilage magnetic resonance (MR) images belongs to one of the most commonly routine tasks in diagnostics of the musculoskeletal system of the knee area. Conventional regional segmentation methods, which are based either on the histogram partitioning (e.g., Otsu method) or clustering methods (e.g., K-means), have been frequently used for the task of regional segmentation. Such methods are well known as fast and well working in the environment, where cartilage image features are reliably recognizable. The well-known fact is that the performance of these methods is prone to the image noise and artefacts. In this context, regional segmentation strategies, driven by either genetic algorithms or selected evolutionary computing strategies, have the potential to overcome these traditional methods such as Otsu thresholding or K-means in the context of their performance. These optimization strategies consecutively generate a pyramid of a possible set of histogram thresholds, of which the quality is evaluated by using the fitness function based on Kapur's entropy maximization to find the most optimal combination of thresholds for articular cartilage segmentation. On the other hand, such optimization strategies are often computationally demanding, which is a limitation of using such methods for a stack of MR images. In this study, we publish a comprehensive analysis of the optimization methods based on fuzzy soft segmentation, driven by artificial bee colony (ABC), particle swarm optimization (PSO), Darwinian particle swarm optimization (DPSO), and a genetic algorithm for an optimal thresholding selection against the routine segmentations Otsu and K-means for analysis and the features extraction of articular cartilage from MR images. This study objectively analyzes the performance of the segmentation strategies upon variable noise with dynamic intensities to report a segmentation's robustness in various image conditions for a various number of segmentation classes (4, 7, and 10), cartilage features (area, perimeter, and skeleton) extraction preciseness against the routine segmentation strategies, and lastly the computing time, which represents an important factor of segmentation performance. We use the same settings on individual optimization strategies: 100 iterations and 50 population. This study suggests that the combination of fuzzy thresholding with an ABC algorithm gives the best performance in the comparison with other methods as from the view of the segmentation influence of additive dynamic noise influence, also for cartilage features extraction. On the other hand, using genetic algorithms for cartilage segmentation in some cases does not give a good performance. In most cases, the analyzed optimization strategies significantly overcome the routine segmentation methods except for the computing time, which is normally lower for the routine algorithms. We also publish statistical tests of significance, showing differences in the performance of individual optimization strategies against Otsu and K-means method. Lastly, as a part of this study, we publish a software environment, integrating all the methods from this study.

Review of present method of glucose from human blood and body fluids assessment.

the work has been aimed to create an overview of available and used methods and ways to determine the concentration of glucose in body fluids, especially from a technical point of view. It also provides an overview of the clinical features of these methods. The survey found that today's market offers a large number of options and approaches to the issue. There are accurate reference laboratory methods, self-monitoring methods for measuring glucose levels using glucometers, or continuous methods for daily monitoring of blood glucose trends and for insulin pump control. However, it must not be forgotten that the development of full closure of feedback is still not complete today. Individual methods cannot always be compared with each other, precisely because of the focus and the use of these methods. Choosing the right method of blood glucose levels in the body measuring can help patients to manage their diabetes mellitus. The methods listed in the overview are divided in terms of measurement continuity and further according to the invasiveness of the method. Finally, the issues of accuracy in the detection of glycaemia variability and the possibility of further development of these methods are discussed, as it is clear from the survey that the development is focused mainly on continuous methods improving that get to the forefront and also on developing a biosensor that is purely non-invasive and continuous.

Thrombotic and Atherogenetic Predisposition in Polyglobulic Donors.

This work analyses the results of research regarding the predisposition of genetic hematological risks associated with secondary polyglobulia. The subjects of the study were selected based on shared laboratory markers and basic clinical symptoms. JAK2 (Janus Kinase 2) mutation negativity represented the common genetic marker of the subjects in the sample of interest. A negative JAK2 mutation hypothetically excluded the presence of an autonomous myeloproliferative disease at the time of detection. The parameters studied in this work focused mainly on thrombotic, immunological, metabolic, and cardiovascular risks. The final goal of the work was to discover the most significant key markers for the diagnosis of high-risk patients and to exclude the less important or only complementary markers, which often represent a superfluous economic burden for healthcare institutions. These research results are applicable as a clinical guideline for the effective diagnosis of selected parameters that demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity. According to the results obtained in the present research, groups with a high incidence of mutations were evaluated as being at higher risk for polycythemia vera disease. It was not possible to clearly determine which of the patients examined had a higher risk of developing the disease as different combinations of mutations could manifest different symptoms of the disease. In general, the entire study group was at risk for manifestations of polycythemia vera disease without a clear diagnosis. The group with less than 20% incidence appeared to be clinically insignificant for polycythemia vera testing and thus there is a potential for saving money in mutation testing. On the other hand, the JAK V617F (somatic mutation of JAK2) parameter from this group should be investigated as it is a clear exclusion or confirmation of polycythemia vera as the primary disease.

Review: Development and Technical Design of Tangible User Interfaces in Wide-Field Areas of Application.

A tangible user interface or TUI connects physical objects and digital interfaces. It is more interactive and interesting for users than a classic graphic user interface. This article presents a descriptive overview of TUI's real-world applications sorted into ten main application areas-teaching of traditional subjects, medicine and psychology, programming, database development, music and arts, modeling of 3D objects, modeling in architecture, literature and storytelling, adjustable TUI solutions, and commercial TUI smart toys. The paper focuses on TUI's technical solutions and a description of technical constructions that influences the applicability of TUIs in the real world. Based on the review, the technical concept was divided into two main approaches: the sensory technical concept and technology based on a computer vision algorithm. The sensory technical concept is processed to use wireless technology, sensors, and feedback possibilities in TUI applications. The image processing approach is processed to a marker and markerless approach for object recognition, the use of cameras, and the use of computer vision platforms for TUI applications.

Towards to Optimal Wavelet Denoising Scheme-A Novel Spatial and Volumetric Mapping of Wavelet-Based Biomedical Data Smoothing.

Wavelet transformation is one of the most frequent procedures for data denoising, smoothing, decomposition, features extraction, and further related tasks. In order to perform such tasks, we need to select appropriate wavelet settings, including particular wavelet, decomposition level and other parameters, which form the wavelet transformation outputs. Selection of such parameters is a challenging area due to absence of versatile recommendation tools for suitable wavelet settings. In this paper, we propose a versatile recommendation system for prediction of suitable wavelet selection for data smoothing. The proposed system is aimed to generate spatial response matrix for selected wavelets and the decomposition levels. Such response enables the mapping of selected evaluation parameters, determining the efficacy of wavelet settings. The proposed system also enables tracking the dynamical noise influence in the context of Wavelet efficacy by using volumetric response. We provide testing on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) image data and EMG signals mostly of musculoskeletal system to objectivise system usability for clinical data processing. The experimental testing is done by using evaluation parameters such is MSE (Mean Squared Error), ED (Euclidean distance) and Corr (Correlation index). We also provide the statistical analysis of the results based on Mann-Whitney test, which points out on statistically significant differences for individual Wavelets for the data corrupted with Salt and Pepper and Gaussian noise.

Analysis and Testing of a Suitable Compatible Electrode's Material for Continuous Measurement of Glucose Concentration.

The subject of the submitted work is the proposal of electrodes for the continual measurement of the glucose concentration for the purpose of specifying further hemodynamic parameters. The proposal includes the design of the electronic measuring system, the construction of the electrodes themselves and the functionality of the entire system, verified experimentally using various electrode materials. The proposed circuit works on the basis of micro-ammeter measuring the size of the flowing electric current and the electrochemical measurement method is used for specifying the glucose concentration. The electrode system is comprised of two electrodes embedded in a silicon tube. The solution consists of the measurement with three types of materials, which are verified by using three solutions with a precisely given concentration of glucose in the form of a mixed solution and enzyme glucose oxidase. For the testing of the proposed circuit and the selection of a suitable material, the testing did not take place on measurements in whole blood. For the construction of the electrodes, the three most frequently used materials for the construction of electrodes used in clinical practice for sensing biopotentials, specifically the materials Ag/AgCl, Cu and Au, were used. The performed experiments showed that the material Ag/AgCl, which had the greatest sensitivity for the measurement even without the enzyme, was the most suitable material for the electrode. This conclusion is supported by the performed statistical analysis. On the basis of the testing, we can come to the conclusion that even if the Ag/AgCl electrode appears to be the most suitable, showing high stability, gold-plated electrodes showed stability throughout the measurement similarly to Ag/AgCl electrodes, but did not achieve the same qualities in sensitivity and readability of the measured results.

A New Approach for Testing Fetal Heart Rate Monitors.

In this paper, a new approach for the periodical testing and the functionality evaluation of a fetal heart rate monitor device based on ultrasound principle is proposed. The design and realization of the device are presented, together with the description of its features and functioning tests. In the designed device, a relay element, driven by an electric signal that allows switching at two specific frequencies, is used to simulate the fetus and the mother's heartbeat. The simulator was designed to be compliant with the standard requirements for accurate assessment and measurement of medical devices. The accuracy of the simulated signals was evaluated, and it resulted to be stable and reliable. The generated frequencies show an error of about 0.5% with respect to the nominal one while the accuracy of the test equipment was within ±3% of the test signal set frequency. This value complies with the technical standard for the accuracy of fetal heart rate monitor devices. Moreover, the performed tests and measurements show the correct functionality of the developed simulator. The proposed equipment and testing respect the technical requirements for medical devices. The features of the proposed device make it simple and quick in testing a fetal heart rate monitor, thus providing an efficient way to evaluate and test the correlation capabilities of commercial apparatuses.

Wavelet-Based Filtration Procedure for Denoising the Predicted CO2 Waveforms in Smart Home within the Internet of Things.

The operating cost minimization of smart homes can be achieved with the optimization of the management of the building's technical functions by determination of the current occupancy status of the individual monitored spaces of a smart home. To respect the privacy of the smart home residents, indirect methods (without using cameras and microphones) are possible for occupancy recognition of space in smart homes. This article describes a newly proposed indirect method to increase the accuracy of the occupancy recognition of monitored spaces of smart homes. The proposed procedure uses the prediction of the course of CO2 concentration from operationally measured quantities (temperature indoor and relative humidity indoor) using artificial neural networks with a multilayer perceptron algorithm. The mathematical wavelet transformation method is used for additive noise canceling from the predicted course of the CO2 concentration signal with an objective increase accuracy of the prediction. The calculated accuracy of CO2 concentration waveform prediction in the additive noise-canceling application was higher than 98% in selected experiments.

Use Effectiveness of Medical Devices: A Case Study on the Deployment of Ultrasonographic Devices.

BACKGROUND: In the sense of Act No. 123/2000 Coll., as amended (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), a medical device is understood to be a wide range of resources, especially medical equipment. To implement innovative technologies in practice, it is becoming extremely important to be cost-conscious and effective. The aim of the article is to use an ultrasonographic device case study in a selected hospital to show the possibility of solving the use effectiveness of medical devices. METHODS: Within the first step, a summary of the use of ultrasonographic devices is developed in terms of performance number and time. Also, a summary of all costs for the last 5 years has been created. The analyzed ultrasonographic device set is evaluated in terms of activity indicators, profitability, and Du Pont decomposition. Revenues from the operation of individual instruments and payroll productivity are taken into account. All of this is evaluated in the context of the requirements of the department and the spectrum of ultrasonographic devices. RESULTS: The results show that the economic evaluation of device use efficiency, comparing the requirements of the department and spectrum of the devices, suggests a major revision in use of these devices and savings. CONCLUSION: The new design of the most profitable system differs significantly in the arrangement of individual ultrasonographic devices. The benefit of the study is not just a newly designed organization-specific arrangement, but it can be perceived as a modeling approach that can be used to analyze other sets of medical technology.

Monitoring of CRT-D devices during radiation therapy in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Using of active cardiac medical devices increases steadily. In Europe, there were 183 implants of ICD and 944 implants of PM, 119 of biventricular ICD and 41 of biventricular PM, all per million inhabitants in 2014. Healthcare environments, including radiotherapy treatment rooms, are considered challenging for these implantable devices. Exposure to radiation may cause the device to experience premature elective replacement indicator, decreased pacing amplitude or pacing inhibition, inappropriate shocks or inhibition of tachyarrhythmia therapy and loss of device function. These impacts may be temporary or permanent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of linear accelerator ionizing radiation dose of 10 Gy on the activity of the biventricular cardioverter-defibrillator in different position in radiation beam. METHODS: Two identical wireless communication devices with all three leads were used for the measurement. Both systems were soused into solution saline and exposed in different position in the beam of linear accelerator per 10 Gy fractions. In comparison of usually used maximum recommended dose of 2 Gy, the radiation doses used in test were five times higher. Using the simultaneous monitoring wireless communication between device and its programmer allowed watching of the devices activities, noise occurrence or drop of biventricular pacing on the programmer screen, observed by local television loop camera. RESULTS: At any device position in radiation beam, there were no influences of the device activity at dose of 10 Gy neither a significant increase of a solution saline temperature in any of the measured positions of CRT-D systems in linear accelerator. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study indicated, that the recommendation dose for treating the patients with implantable devices are too conservative and the risk of device failure is not so high. The systems can easily withstand the dose fractions of tens Gy, which would allow current single-dose-procedure treatment in radiation therapy. Even though the process of the random alteration of device memory and electrical components by scatter particles not allowed to specify a safe dose during ionizing radiation, this study showed that the safe limit are above the today used dose fractions.