No abstract available.
Telephone*

We developed the Tele-PACS of radiology, which uses the communication network as asymmetric satellite data communication system. The asymmetric satellite data communication system uses receive-only satellite links for data delivery and PSTN(Public Switched Telephone Network) modem or N-ISDN(Narrow-band Integrate Services Digital Network) for communication. The satellite communication linking we implemented showed the very high-speed performance compared to the terrestrial linking such as 28.8 kbps modem linking or 56Kbps linking. The satellite linking was 5-10 times faster than the terrestrial linking on the average. We developed the down-link system of satellite and the medical collaborative tools and the Web-based Image-viewer. We concluded that 1) Satellite networking is currently the cheapest and fastest solution for internet access. 2) Web-based Image-Viewer enables small size hospitals in rural area to connect to the central PACS easily and to retrieve the image data reliably. 3) The suggested teleradiology system using satellite networking could be adequate to the fast telemedicine and telecare for rural hospitals especially located in geographically isolated areas such as islands.
Hospitals, Rural ; Internet ; Islands ; Modems ; Satellite Communications ; Telemedicine ; Telephone ; Teleradiology

We developed the Tele-PACS of radiology, which uses the communication network as asymmetric satellite data communication system. The asymmetric satellite data communication system uses receive-only satellite links for data delivery and PSTN(Public Switched Telephone Network) modem or N-ISDN(Narrow-band Integrate Services Digital Network) for communication. The satellite communication linking we implemented showed the very high-speed performance compared to the terrestrial linking such as 28.8 kbps modem linking or 56Kbps linking. The satellite linking was 5-10 times faster than the terrestrial linking on the average. We developed the down-link system of satellite and the medical collaborative tools and the Web-based Image-viewer. We concluded that 1) Satellite networking is currently the cheapest and fastest solution for internet access. 2) Web-based Image-Viewer enables small size hospitals in rural area to connect to the central PACS easily and to retrieve the image data reliably. 3) The suggested teleradiology system using satellite networking could be adequate to the fast telemedicine and telecare for rural hospitals especially located in geographically isolated areas such as islands.
Hospitals, Rural ; Internet ; Islands ; Modems ; Satellite Communications ; Telemedicine ; Telephone ; Teleradiology

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Adenotonsillectomy is a highly effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea symptoms in children. In this study, to investigate the effects of adenotonsillectomy on snoring in children, we analyzed and compared snoring sounds recorded using a smartphone before and after adenotonsillectomy. We also determined whether it is possible to use acoustic analysis to monitor snoring in children. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: A total of 20 children diagnosed with snoring and had undergone adenotonsillectomy performed by the same surgeon were enrolled for the study. Snoring was recorded by patients' caregivers using smartphones before and after the surgery (mean of 8.5 days) and analyzed. Questionnaires were conducted by telephone survey at 3 months and 12 months after the surgery to determine snoring status. RESULTS: Snoring completely ceased in 25% of patients and decreased in the remaining 75% during the immediate follow-up period (mean of 8.5 days; from 58.07±9.35 dB to 42.59±7.89 dB, p<0.001), and disappeared in all of the patients by 3 months after adenotonsillectomy. Snoring recurred only in one patient after 1 year. A frequency analysis offered no evident statistically significant changes during the immediate follow-up period, indicating that although snoring volume had decreased, no anatomical change had developed in the patient. Spectrography was useful in investigating the snoring patterns before and after adenotonsillectomy. CONCLUSION: The results showed that acoustic analysis of snoring sounds obtained using a smartphone may be useful for monitoring snoring during follow-up after adenotonsillectomy in pediatric snoring patients.
Acoustics* ; Caregivers ; Child* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Methods ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; Smartphone* ; Snoring* ; Telephone ; Tonsillectomy

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to develop a smartphone application to encourage breast self-examination (BSE), and to evaluate the effects of this application in terms of modifying BSE behavior. METHODS: A smartphone application, based on the Android OS, was developed with functions including a BSE date alarm, a reminder to encourage mother and daughter to practice BSE together, record keeping, and educational content with video clips. Females aged 19 and over were enrolled to evaluate the effectiveness of the application. Two series of questionnaires were carried out (before and after use of the application) by e-mail, telephone, and face-to-face interviews between July and September 2012. RESULTS: Forty-five subjects were enrolled in the study (age 29.5-5.9 years). Of the participants, only 28 (62.2%) had ever practiced BSE and only one of these (2.2%) was carried out at the appropriate time, based on the results of the baseline survey. After using the application, the number of participants practicing BSE increased from 28 to 32 (62.2% to 71.1%, p = 0.503). In subgroup analysis (age < 30 years), the number of participants using BSE increased from 8 to 18 (36.4% to 81.8%, p = 0.002), and the number of those using it at the appropriate time rose from 1 to 15 (2.2% to 33.3%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The use of the developed smartphone application increased BSE in females younger than 30 years. To confirm the long-term benefits of the mobile application, additional studies must be carried out.
Breast Neoplasms ; Breast Self-Examination* ; Breast* ; Electronic Mail ; Feasibility Studies* ; Female ; Humans ; Mothers ; Nuclear Family ; Smartphone ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Telephone

In clinical surgery, there are frequent needs for communication between the house staff and the attending physician in an emergency situation. It's often insufficient for the house staff to make a decision through the information which is delivered in the form of only voice through the telephone line. To overcome the limitation of voice communication, we have designed an emergency teleradiology system which can be used for emergency surgical and medical decision making. The system can transmit the high quality images of CT, MRI, and other X-ray data using a PC attached to a modem through the conventional telephone line. Progressive transmission adopted in the system enables us to efficiently utilize the band-width of telephone line which is typically very low. The iterative residual coding/decoding algorithm compresses various medical images effectively, and thus fast-transmission of images date helps the house staff to perceive the status of emergent patient and make a fast and correct decision about the patient. The system also satisfies design requirements such as low-cost, ease of operation and interactive image communication including voice. 'Teleradiology system' proposed in this paper has been installed and operated in the emergency care unit of Severance Hospital, and as a result, it is effective in the emergency situations.
Decision Making ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medical Services ; Humans ; Internship and Residency ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Modems ; Telephone ; Teleradiology* ; Voice

BACKGROUND: Smoking is one of the most serious health problems worldwide. The aim of this systematic review was to demonstrate the effect of text messaging-based interventions on smoking cessation.METHODS: Electronic databases were searched using specific key terms. The inclusion criteria were (1) articles that employed a randomized controlled trial and (2) articles that examined the effect of text messaging interventions on smoking cessation. However, studies employing multimedia messaging service and smartphone apps were excluded.RESULTS: In total, six randomized controlled trial studies with seven interventions were included in this systematic review. Of these six studies, almost all concluded that text-messaging interventions had no significant effect on smoking cessation. However, one study conducted in England revealed that text messaging intervention groups had a higher rate of six-month prolonged abstinence from smoking than did the control group.CONCLUSION: Text messaging interventions could be effective for those who want to quit smoking. We aimed to determine the effectiveness of using text messaging interventions for smoking cessation. However, there were only six studies that employed randomized controlled trials to determine such effectiveness. More studies on the effect of text messaging interventions for smoking cessation using subjects from various age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds are needed in the future.
England ; Humans ; Multimedia ; Smartphone ; Smoke ; Smoking Cessation ; Smoking ; Text Messaging

PURPOSE: To identify the effects of a smart program for the patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (SP-PCI) on coronary disease-related knowledge, health behaviors, and quality of life. METHODS: A nonequivalent control group with a non-synchronized design was utilized and 48 participants (experimental=22, control=26) were recruited from a university hospital in Gyeongsang area from May to December, 2016. The 12-week SP-PCI consisted of self-study of health information using smart phone applications (1/week), walking exercise (>5/week) using smart band, feedback using Kakao talk (2/week), and telephone counseling (1/week). Patients in the control group received usual care from their primary health care providers and a brief health education with basic self-management brochure after the PCI. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 21.0 program through descriptive statistics, χ2 test, and t-test. RESULTS: After the 12-week SP-PCI, the experimental group showed higher levels of coronary disease-related knowledge (t=2.43, p=.019), heart-related health behaviors (t=5.96, p < .001), regular exercise (Z=-4.47, p < .001), and quality of life-MCS (t=3.04, p=.004) and showed lower levels of stress (Z=-3.53, p < .001) and sodium intake (t=-4.43, p < .001) than those in the control group. There were no significant group differences in medication adherence and food intake in total energy, lipids, and cholesterol. CONCLUSION: The suggested SP-PCI provided easy access and cost-effective intervention for patients after PCI and improved their knowledge of the disease, performance of health behaviors, and quality of life. Further study with a wider population is needed to evaluate the effects of SP-PCI on disease recurrence and quality of life for patients after PCI.
Cholesterol ; Counseling ; Eating ; Health Behavior* ; Health Education ; Humans ; Medication Adherence ; Pamphlets ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention* ; Primary Health Care ; Quality of Life* ; Recurrence ; Self Care ; Smartphone ; Sodium ; Telephone ; Walking

BACKGROUNDNowadays, social media tools such as short message service, Twitter, video, and web-based systems are more and more used in clinical follow-up, making clinical follow-up much more time- and cost-effective than ever before. However, as the most popular social media in China, little is known about the utility of smartphone WeChat application in follow-up. In this study, we aimed to investigate the feasibility and superiority of WeChat application in clinical follow-up.

METHODSA total of 108 patients diagnosed with head and neck tumor were randomized to WeChat follow-up (WFU) group or telephone follow-up (TFU) group for 6-month follow-up. The follow-ups were delivered by WeChat or telephone at 2 weeks, 1, 2, 3, and 6 months to the patients after being discharged. The study measurements were time consumption for follow-up delivery, total economic cost, lost-to-follow-up rate, and overall satisfaction for the follow-up method.

RESULTSTime consumption in WFU group for each patient (23.36 ± 6.16 min) was significantly shorter than that in TFU group (42.89 ± 7.15 min) (P < 0.001); total economic cost in WFU group (RMB 90 Yuan) was much lower than that in TFU group (RMB 196 Yuan). Lost-to-follow-up rate in the WFU group was 7.02% (4/57) compared with TFU group, 9.80% (5/51), while no significance was observed (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.176-2.740; P = 0.732). The overall satisfaction rate in WFU group was 94.34% (50/53) compared with 80.43% (37/46) in TFU group (95% CI: 0.057-0.067; P = 0.034).

CONCLUSIONSThe smartphone WeChat application was found to be a viable option for follow-up in discharged patients with head and neck tumors. WFU was time-effective, cost-effective, and convenient in communication. This doctor-led follow-up model has the potential to establish a good physician-patient relationship by enhancing dynamic communications and providing individual health instructions.

TRIAL REGISTRATIONChinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR-IOR-15007498; http://www.chictr.org.cn/ showproj.aspx?proj=12613.

Adult ; Aftercare ; economics ; methods ; Aged ; Female ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Patient Discharge ; economics ; statistics & numerical data ; Smartphone ; Social Media ; Telephone ; Young Adult

No abstract available.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation* ; Telephone*