Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 302-312.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 2005. / Title from t.p. of source document (viewed Apr. 2, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-194). Also available in print version.

Thesis(M.S.)--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references (p.85-100).

Thesis (MScIng)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Primary health care telemedicine services require the acquisition and transmission of patient data including high quality still and video images via telecommunication networks. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the implementation of a generalpurpose medical camera as an alternative to the complex and costly CCD based cameras generally in use at present. The design is based on FillFactory’s SXGA (1280 ×1024) CMOS image sensor. A low-cost Altera Cyclone FPGA is used for signal interfacing, filtering and colour processing to enhance image quality. A Cypress USB 2.0 interface chip is employed to isochronously transfer video data up to a maximum rate of 23.04 MBytes per second to the PC. A detailed design and video image results are presented and discussed; however the camera will need repackaging and an approval for medical application by medical specialists and concerned bodies before releasing it as full-fledged product. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Primêre gesondheidssorg telemedisyne dienste moet hoëkwaliteit televisiebeelde van hul pasiënte verkry deur van telekommunikasienetwerke gebruik te maak. Die doel van hierdie tesis is om die toepassing van n meerdoelige mediese kamera te ondersoek as n alternatief tot duur, komplekse CCD-gebaseerde kameras wat huidiglik gebruik word. Die ontwerp is gebaseer op n hoëkwaliteit CMOS beeldsensor. n Goedkoop Altera Cyclone FPGA word gebruik vir seinkoppelvlak, filtering en kleurprosessering om die kwaliteit van die beeld te verhoog. n Hoëspoed USB 2.0 poort word gebruik om die data teen die nodige spoed te versend. n Gedetailleerde ontwerp, en die beeldresultate word voorgelê en bespreek. Die kamera moet egter eers deur mediese spesialiste en relevante beheerliggame goedgekeur word voordat dit as n volledige produk vrygestel kan word.

Telehealth is needed urgently nationwide, given the COVID-19 pandemic. It isespecially urgent in rural and less populated areas where healthcare access is limited. Currently, because there are no pediatric handwriting assessments validated for telehealth use, the TeleWrite assessment would fill an unmet service need and expand the use of telehealth-based occupational therapy (OT) assessment in pediatric practice. This dissertation explored the preliminary psychometric properties of TeleWrite, a handwriting assessment tool designed to measure the legibility and fluency of handwriting for children in first through third grade administered via telehealth. A series of studies were completed to determine initial interrater reliability, content validity, and clinical utility using classical test theory. The Rasch model of measurement was used to determine the preliminary psychometric properties of TeleWrite using Winsteps® (v. 4.7.0). The quantitative Rasch analysis of TeleWrite included administration of the tool to 148 children from first to third grade. This study tested the initial construct validity (internal validity) and test reliability of TeleWrite using the Rasch model of measurement. The Partial Credit Model (PCM) was used for rating scale analysis because TeleWrite is composed of three distinct scales (handwriting rate, accuracy, and fluency) that differs per task (near point or far point) and per grade level. The Rasch analysis showed a generally good fit with the Rasch unidimensional model, indicating strong construct and internal validity and moderate ability to separate abilities of students reliably in terms of handwriting skills. However, following the Rasch model, a larger sample is necessary to obtain improved calibration, reliability, and validity measures. This study and supported by the literature described the need for a new handwriting evaluation tool validated for telehealth use. The findings of the current research contribute to the literature and OT practice as the first handwriting assessment specifically designed and validated for telehealth use that assesses all pertinent variables of handwriting associated with handwriting difficulties.

With the increasing demands of rising medical costs in combination with a boom in elderly patients in need of quality patient care medical practices are being stressed. Patient to nurse ratios are increasing and government spending in the medical domain is at an all-time high threatening the futures of government medical programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. In this thesis we propose a framework for the monitoring of a patient's vital statistics in a home-based setting using a mobile smart device. We believe that in taking advantage of the wireless sensor technology which is readily available today we can provide a solution that is both economically and socially viable offering a solid quality of healthcare in a comfortable and familiar environment. Our framework exposes both 802.11 and Bluetooth wireless protocol transmitting medical sensor devices using an Android platform device as a monitoring hub. / by Mark Conaster. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

A psychological experiment based on a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) sequence auditory interface was conducted initially to examine the rationale of using acoustic information in teleoperation. The experiment was designed to separately test subjects' perceptions of obstacle location and proximities of obstacles. The results revealed the potential use of audio stimuli in teleoperation tasks as well as several drawbacks about this interface. The interface translates information into a single audio stream, as a result, fails to exploit the spatial ability of the ear. Therefore, it was considered to represent the information acquired from the robotic communication sensors---microphones pair and one camera---by means of spatial audio in an ecological way. Firstly, a monitoring method based on the two microphones has been developed to supplement the narrow view of the camera, so that a better understanding of the environment can be formed. The developed bio-mimetic algorithm based on a new Aibo's head model is able to locate the sound event with 10° resolution. Afterwards, a new strategy for vision to audio sensory substitution has been proposed in which the task is concentrated on the spatial motion perception for mobile robot operation. After tracking a moving target from monocular image sequence by an active contour model, the spatial positions of the moving were determined by a pinhole camera model and camera calibration. Accordingly, the corresponding relations of the two modalities, e.g., spatial direction and scaled depth, were built for translation. / A scientific way of using auditory feedback as the substitute for visual feedback is proposed in the thesis to guarantee that the E-healthcare robotic system still functions under the conditions of image losses, visual fails and low-bandwidth communication links. This study is an experimental exploration into a relatively new topic about real-time robotic control. / Conclusions and recommendations for further research about the successful and extended usage of auditory display in teleoperation are also included. / Finally, an experimental e-healthcare robotic system has been developed with which high-frequency interactive contacts between patients and physicians or/and family members can be realized. Specifically, a new network protocol, Trinomial Protocol, has been implemented to facilitate data communication between client and server. Using two protocols: TCP and Trinomial Protocol, we have conducted experiments over a local network and the trans-pacific Internet. The experimental results about roundtrip time (RTT) and sending rate showed that there were large spikes corresponding to severe delay jitters when TCP was used and much less variance in RTTs when Trinomial protocol was used. To sum up, the Trinomial Protocol achieves better performance than the TCP. With this system, we also carried out some psychological experiments to compare the teleoperation performance under different sensory feedback conditions. The time it took to finish the task and the distance away to the target when the robot was controlled to stop were recorded for all the experiments. In addition, subjective workload assessments based on a set of NASA Task Load Index were collected. For the completion time of the task, the difference between the different modalities was not large. Even for vision only feedback, the average completion time was slightly larger than the auditory feedback. After pair t-test analysis, it was found there was no significant difference. Results of distance perception showed that the target was perceived more correctly using bimodal audiovisual integration than vision only condition, but less precise when compared with auditory only condition. As to the workload assessments, the average workload was 9.5973 for the auditory condition and 8.6147 for the visual one. There was no significant difference between them. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed auditory display approaches in navigating a robot remotely. / Liu Rong. / "September 2006." / Adviser: Max O. H. Meng. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-03, Section: B, page: 1765. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 128-140). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

Thesis (DPhil (Informatics))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / As in many parts of the world, the need for healthcare services is increasing rapidly in South Africa. Owing to many official languages in the country, health service delivery is continuously challenged by spoken language and semantics. The challenges result to poor health services in many areas of the country. Thus, this study was undertaken with the aim: to develop a framework which can be used to guide the selection and implementation of mobile systems in the translation of language semantics for improved healthcare service delivery in South Africa. For this purpose, the study was based on one significant research question: How can the challenge(s) of semantics and language translation in South African healthcare delivery be addressed using mobile systems? In achieving the aim of the study, a qualitative study was conducted using the semi-strtructured interviews to collect the data. The analysis of the data was carried out using the hermeneutic approach within the interpretative paradigm, which was guided by two theories, actor network theory (ANT) and diffusion of innovation (DOI). The ANT was used to focus on the interaction and relationship between human and non-human actors within a heterogeneous networks, in the activities of healthcare. The DOI was employed to examine how mobiles systems can be diffused, in addressing the challenges and barriers which the health facilities encounter from language perspective. The case study approach was followed, based on three cases, two healthcare organisations, and a community in the northern part of South Africa were used in the study. Based on the analysis of the data, the influencing factors were found, and interpreted. The interpretation helps gain deeper understanding of the challenges, from which a framework (see Figure 6.5 in Chapter 6) was developed. From an understanding of the factors that influence language semantics, and its translaton by using mobile systems, challenges in the South African healthcare can be reduced, and quality improved. The way in which the theories were used brought a fresh perspective to the study. In practice, the framework can be used by both healthcare practitioners and ICT specialists to guide the selection, use and support of mobile systems for the translation of language semantics in South Africa. The complementary use of ANT and DOI in the study contributes methodologically.

Study methods: Mixed-method study design was used to investigate feasibility of implementing a mobile-phone based behavioural intervention to reduce CVD risk factors among the Chinese population. Patients, who were 45-79 years old, fair English literacy, had access to a JAVA enabled mobile phone and had no mental health problems, cognitive impairment or severe illness, were eligible to the study. Intervention: Patients recruited from three settings (1 GP, 1 specialist and 1 public clinics) had the study software installed to their phone. The software enabled patients to access their CVD risk profiles (including weight, BP, HbA1c, and lipoprotein profile), 10-year CVD risk prediction (based on Framingham Cardiac Risk Score), and pre-set behavioural recommendations. Patients’ CVD risk profiles were updated at 1-month and 3-month follow-up when their test results were available. Patients were alerted with healthy behaviours recommendations. Outcomes: Outcomes were measured at baseline and 3-month follow-up. Clinical outcomes included Cardiac Risk Factor Score and its components (BMI, Systolic & Diastolic BP, total cholesterol, HDL and HbA1c). Two sets of questionnaires were used to measure knowledge, risk reduction behaviour and attitude toward usefulness of medical records (pre-intervention) and perceived ease of use, usefulness, satisfaction and utilisation of the software (post-intervention). Results and Discussion: 19 patients were recruited at baseline. 75% (14) aged 45-55 years, 58% (11) were male, 79% (15) had secondary or lower education, 63% (12) were married, and 95% (18) never smoked. Patients’ understanding about CVD risk factors and risk reduction behaviour was moderate. Patients’ attitude toward electronic medical record was positive. Overall patients’ perception of usefulness, ease of use and satisfaction with the software was satisfactory. Post-intervention, a decreasing trend was observed in patients’ CVD risk profiles i.e. weight, BMI, SBP&DBP, HbA1c and Lipoprotein profile. Focus group discussions revealed that there was a mismatch between physicians and patients perspectives about the use of mobile phone in a behavioural intervention. Physicians tended to express their concern about the quality of records, security of technology, and patients’ actual benefit, while patients showed little concern about security and great excitement about further use of mobile phone technology in assisting their disease self-management. The public sector physicians admitted that their patients were passive in term of seeking information about their health. Patients were willing to use this software for future care if it could provide more real-time data, tailored recommendations for behavioural change, and an interactive communication tool with their physicians. Physicians would like to try the software if it could ease patient-management process, especially enhance patient-physician communication, and be a decision support system to help them keep track with changes that their patients made. Conclusion: This pilot study has provided preliminary evidence of the feasibility, acceptability, and utility of an e-platform in primary interventions for CVD in Hong Kong. / published_or_final_version / Community Medicine / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (Ph. D.)--School of Nursing. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2006. / "A dissertation in nursing." Advisor: Peggy Ward-Smith. Typescript. Vita. Description based on contents viewed Nov. 13, 2007; title from "catalog record" of the print edition. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-119). Online version of the print edition.