OBJECTIVE: As the rapid progress of aged society, there must be solutions of preparation against unpredicted accidents for aged solitary people. The most important thing that we must consider is the unconstraint of daily life. So, we are to develop a system and algorithm which meet our objectives. METHODS: We have monitored the degree of activity of the aged solitary person. The CCD camera was used not to disturb the daily activity and we evaluated the degree of activity using image processing on personal computer. The activity monitoring during night was assumed by sleeping on the bed, so the major method was breath monitoring during sleeping. On the other hand, daily activity was monitored by wide viewing camera in the living room. To prevent the privacy trouble, the acquired image was converted to binary form and the degree of breath and moving factor was estimated. RESULTS: In this paper we propose a new processing algorithm to accurately measure breathing characteristics in sleep apnea sufferers. We improved the conventional center-of-mass method and further applied the projection-profile method. As a result, we have improved breath measurement accuracy. In a comparison with conventional polysomnography, our method was 92% effective in detecting apnea cases. CONCLUSION: As a result of this study, we can monitor sleep apnea more simply and with no sleep interference. In measuring the activity of daily life, these improved algorithms were applied. So, we established a monitoring method of no-constrained, quantitative measurement for the aged solitary people during the whole day.
Apnea ; Hand ; Humans ; Microcomputers ; Polysomnography ; Privacy ; Respiration ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes*

No abstract available.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast*

Infant Incubator is the most important equipment in a infant ICU. This maintain adequate temperature and humidity for survival of infants. The final object of this research is Web-based monitoring of several infant incubators in ICU. To realize these objects, we developed a temperature/humidity sensing module which is interfaced to Web server board via RS485 port. We used a small micro controller in each sensing module. So the size of this module is small enough to be attached to incubator. We can access each sensing module with RS485 port on Web server board via network. As a first trial, we networked 4 infant incubators. The operator can send alarms to each incubator and these alarms are indicated with sounds and lights on measurement module. Our system can increase the convenience by a intensive central monitoring, so instant handling to some kinds of accident is possible.
Humans ; Humidity ; Incubators ; Incubators, Infant* ; Infant*

OBJECTIVE: A sleep apnea is the most frequent symptom among sleep disorders. As the number of aged people are increasing, research activities are also increasing to monitor sleeping disorders of the elderly who lives alone. We proposed a new processing algorithm to measure the quantity of breaths accurately. METHODS: We improved the conventional center-of-mass method and further apply the projection profile method. RESULTS: In this study a system that can monitors respiration non-invasively and automatically, by identifying the movement of the chest and abdomen using image processing technique during sleep, was implemented. We can see breathing status in real time based on the acquired breathing waves. To verify the designed system, the values from the polysomnography were compared and analyzed to validate the system accuracy. As a result, the mean accuracy is 96%. CONCLUSION: We can simply monitor the sleep apnea with no sleep interferences.
Abdomen ; Aged ; Humans ; Polysomnography ; Respiration ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes* ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; Thorax

As wireless network technology and various mobile communication equipments have widely used and rapidly developed, many research workers are studying about a measurable system for several medical data or bio-signals, such as electrocardiogram, pulse-oximetry and so forth, by wireless. And, even generic people who are in a good state of health as well as patients in the hospital, whose concern and care about healthcare has increased greatly, so many research workers are studying about Ubiquitous Healthcare of new technology. This technology will offer natural medical services freely in anywhere and in a quiet way, even if people can not go to hospital. Our research made a possibility to measure environment data in each infant incubator by using temperature and humidity sensor, prior to measure directly bio-signals of patients. Each sensor was composed of wireless network based on TinyOS, and that wireless network connected to Personal Digital Assistants(PDA). So we were studied about telemetry system by using wireless sensor network. It was researches about telemetry system to measure environment data in infant incubator before, by web-based RF modules. But they has problems that incubator's movement restriction by wire, wire net's limitation. We solved these problems by organizing wireless sensor network that connected together sensors and measurement devices. This wireless sensor network organization, based on TinyOS, is possible to receive sensor's data of long distance by a relay station and to save power. In future, this network will be basic of Ubiquitous Healthcare as well as medical information system in hospital.
Delivery of Health Care ; Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Humidity ; Incubators, Infant* ; Infant* ; Information Systems ; Telemetry*

No abstract available.
Phlebography*

BACKGROUND: Zinc is one of the most widely studied metals in childhood diseases and dermatological conditions, and low serum zinc levels have been reported in children with atopic dermatitis (AD). As a recent experiment has shown that a zinc deficient diet results in AD-like eruptions in mice, there is a positive relationship between AD and decreased zinc level. OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to investigate the prevalence of zinc deficiency in patients with AD and to compare the levels with those in non-AD patients. We also compared the prevalence of zinc deficiency in each patient with AD who had acute and chronic lesions. Furthermore, we investigated the relationship between low serum zinc levels and skin Staphylococcus aureus colonization rate. METHODS: We collected blood samples to check serum zinc level and performed skin swabs for bacterial cultures from 388 patients with AD and 234 control patients with urticaria who visited Samsung Medical Center, Department of Dermatology from February 2010 to November 2010. RESULTS: Approximately 52% of the patients with AD had low serum zinc levels. In patients older than 20 years old, the prevalence of zinc deficiency was 42.5% in patients with AD and 52.6% in patients with urticaria (p=0.084). The percentages of patients with a low serum zinc level were 42.9% and 42.4% respectively in patients with AD and acute lesions and in patients with AD and chronic lesions. However, we found no significant significance in the skin S. aureus colonization rates between the low serum zinc level group and the normal serum zinc level group. CONCLUSION: It was confirmed that >50% of patients with AD had low serum zinc levels. However, no significant differences in serum zinc levels were found between the AD and urticaria groups >20 years old or between the acute skin lesion and chronic skin lesion groups. Furthermore, serum zinc level did not affect S. aureus colonization in the skin in patients with AD or non-AD patients.
Affect ; Animals ; Child ; Colon ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Dermatology ; Diet ; Humans ; Metals ; Mice ; Prevalence ; Skin ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Urticaria ; Zinc

PURPOSE: To analysis of the clinical aspects of axillofemoral (AXFBG) and aortofemoral bypass (AOFBG) for aortoiliac occlusive disease. METHODS: Between June 1996 and May 2001, 23 patients underwent AXFBG or AOFBG for lower extremity ischemia caused by aortoiliac occlusive disease at Samsung Medical Center. The decision to perform AXFBG or AOFBG was based on an assessment of surgical risk and the patient's preference. We retrospectively analyzed the preoperative clinical status, risk factors and distal runoff scores affecting the patency rate as well as the clinical outcome following surgery. RESULTS: We performed 10 AXFBGs and 13 AOFBGs. The mean age was 67.8 years in AXFBG patients and 57.4 years in AOFBG patients. Limb salvage as an indication for surgery included 8 (80%) cases with AXFBG, as compared to 13(100%) cases with AOFBG. The mean follow-up period was 20.7 months in AXFBG and 21.8 months in AOFBG. The clinical improvement following surgery was statistically higher with AOFBG. The one-year and 2-year primary patency rates in AXFBG were 100% and 82% retrospectively. All of the grafts of AOFBG were patent during this follow-up period. CONCLUSION: The clinical improvement was higher with AOFBG as compared to AXFBG. However AXFBG is a safe practice in high-risk patients.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Limb Salvage ; Lower Extremity ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Transplants

OBJECTIVES: Several researchers have shown that three dimensional (3D) distribution analysis of prostate cancer is helpful when initiating needle biopsy procedures. Knowledge regarding the distribution of prostate cancer could enhance understanding of the pathophysiology involved and improve detection of these malignancies. We propose utilizing digital processing techniques to analyze prostate cancer distribution in a 3D setting. METHODS: Pre-made radical prostatectomy sample slices were digitized with a resolution of 76 dpi. Slices of each sample were aligned and registered by deformation algorithm and interpolated for analysis of relative distribution statistics. We analyzed 80 samples saved in electronic medical record and compared the detection rate of preoperative needle biopsies and radical prostatectomies using our 3D analysis technique. RESULTS: The statistical 3D distribution of prostate cancer was evaluated using a 36-sector process. Results were represented in the following two ways: distribution of a single patient, and statistical distribution of prostate cancers of multiple patients. The overall concordance rate was 62.7% between the two methods; therefore a technique is needed which can raise this percentage. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest using the normalization method to develop a software tool which permits reconstruction of the 3D distribution of prostate cancer from 2D legacy images and reduces the loss of image quality as well. This application will facilitate detection of prostate cancer by aiding in the determination of the most effective clinical position via partial sampling with decreased patient inconvenience.
Biopsy, Needle ; Electronic Health Records ; Humans ; Prostate ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Software

Thrombosis of deep cerebral veins including internal cerebral vein, great vein of Galen and straight sinus is frequently associated with thalamic and other deep cerebral infarctions or hemorrhages, which leading to severe nourologic deficits or death. Although the diagnosis might be dependent on cerebral angiogram in selected cases, the brain CT scan has been proved to have a great diagnostic value. The present report describes a 29 year-old unmarried female with abruptly developed deep cerebral vein thrombosis followed by secondary bithalamic hemorrhagic infarcts. Despite of prolonged periods of impaired consciousness after extraventricular drainage, the overall recovery was good with mild neurologic sequale.
Adult* ; Brain ; Cerebral Infarction ; Cerebral Veins* ; Consciousness ; Diagnosis ; Drainage ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Single Person ; Thrombosis* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed