The pervasive healthcare system focus towards achieving two specific goals: the availability of eHealth applications and medical information anywhere and anytime and the invisibility of computing. Furthermore, pervasive health system encompasses new types of sensing and communication of health information as well as new type of interactions among health providers and people, among patients, among patients and researchers and patients and corporations. This book aims at promoting the discussion on current trends in technologies and concepts that help integrate health monitoring and healthcare more seamlessly to our everyday lives, regardless of space and time, but also present cutting edge perspectives and visions to highlight future development. The book presents not only the state of the art technologies and solutions to tackle the critical challenges faced by the building and development of the pervasive health system but also potential impact on society at social, medical and technological level.

Virtual Reality has the potential to provide descriptive and practical information for medical training and therapy while relieving the patient or the physician. Multimodal interactions between the user and the virtual environment facilitate the generation of high-fidelity sensory impressions, by using not only visual and auditory, but also kinesthetic, tactile, and even olfactory feedback modalities. On the basis of the existing physiological constraints, Virtual Reality in Medicine derives the technical requirements and design principles of multimodal input devices, displays, and rendering techniques. Resulting from a course taught by the authors, Virtual Reality in Medicine presents examples for surgical training, intra-operative augmentation, and rehabilitation that are already in use as well as those currently in development. It is well suited as introductory material for engineering and computer science students, as well as researchers who want to learn more about basic technologies in the area of virtual reality applied to medicine. It also provides a broad overview to non-engineering students as well as clinical users, who desire to learn more about the current state of the art and future applications of this technology.

Roger M. Nocera, M.D., a world leader in stem cell therapy research, announces a breakthrough medical science discovery that will revolutionize health care as we know it. In his new book "Cells That Heal Us From Cradle To Grave: A Quantum Leap in Medical Science," Dr. Nocera reveals that a medical science discovery made in 2003 has been developed in medical clinics around the world and proven to be effective in the treatment of many heretofore incurable diseases. Cells That Heal Us From Cradle To Grave explains how this medical science discovery is on a par with Immunology discovered two centuries ago with the smallpox vaccine, and with the discovery of antibiotics a century later. Dr. Nocera's book is a primer on how this amazing new medical technology will completely nullify our current medical health care and pharmaceutical research systems. Cells That Heal Us From Cradle To Grave explains that there is a class of stem cells that are naturally created by the human body which heal every disease and injury that attack our bodies. These Healing Cells are naturally present in every body, and are fully transplantable from one person to another without any threat of rejection. Treatments with Healing Cells is as simple as receiving an injection, and the cells are naturally found in stored body fat or umbilical cord medical "waste." Healing Cells are NOT embryonic stem cells, which have turned out to be the very worst possible choice for stem cell research. To date, hundreds of patients have been successfully treated in offshore clinics - offshore due to an FDA moratorium on stem cell treatments in the U.S. In this book Dr. Nocera calls for a lift of this ban to make this phenomenal medical science available to all Americans who suffer with numerous diseases and conditions that can now be successfully treated with Healing Cells. Although Americans spend 18% of our GDP on health care, over twice that of most Western countries, we are ranked 72nd in overall health of our citizens by the World Health Organization. As this Healing Cell Quantum Leap in Medical Science becomes widely available Dr. Nocera predicts that the ever rising costs of medical care in this country will diminish significantly and treatments will often actually cure the underlying diseases rather than merely mask the symptoms. Partial list of diseases and conditions successfully treated with Healing Cells: multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes mellitus, autism, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury.

Translating Evidence-Based Recommendations into Practice is a significant contribution to the field of brain injury rehabilitation. Never before have research outcomes been so accessible for use in everyday clinical practice. The Manual -- all 150 pages, including clinical forms -- is a practical guide for the implementation of evidence-based interventions for impairments of executive functions, memory, attention, hemispatial neglect, and social communication.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the 4th International Conference, eHealth 2011, held in Malaga, Spain, in November 2011. The 20 revised full papers presented along with 8 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions in total and cover a wide range of topics including social media analysis, knowledge integration and EPR, personalisation and patient support systems, early warning systems and mobile monitoring, games and learning, security, privacy and prevention, online support for professionals and patients, agents in eHealth, online communities of practice, eHealth solutions, social media surveillance, and communication and data integration.

This book is a comprehensive guide to percutaneous mitral valvotomy (PMV). Beginning with an introduction and advice on appropriate patient selection based on echocardiographic evaluation, the text offers practical guidance on how to safely and efficiently perform the different procedures associated with PMV. Possible complications and their treatment are also discussed. The book is complemented by almost 300 images and illustrations and a DVD of 40 procedural videos.

The NATO workshop on Disordered Systems and Biological Organization was attended, in march 1985, by 65 scientists representing a large variety of fields: Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics and Biology. It was the purpose of this interdisciplinary workshop to shed light on the conceptual connections existing between fields of research apparently as different as: automata theory, combinatorial optimization, spin glasses and modeling of biological systems, all of them concerned with the global organization of complex systems, locally interconnected. Common to many contributions to this volume is the underlying analogy between biological systems and spin glasses: they share the same properties of stability and diversity. This is the case for instance of primary sequences of biopo Iymers I ike proteins and nucleic acids considered as the result of mutation-selection processes [P. W. Anderson, 1983] or of evolving biological species [G. Weisbuch, 1984]. Some of the most striking aspects of our cognitive apparatus, involved In learning and recognttlon [J. Hopfield, 19821, can also be described in terms of stability and diversity in a suitable configuration space. These interpretations and preoccupations merge with those of theoretical biologists like S. Kauffman [1969] (genetic networks) and of mathematicians of automata theory: the dynamics of networks of automata can be interpreted in terms of organization of a system in multiple possible attractors. The present introduction outlInes the relationships between the contributions presented at the workshop and brIefly discusses each paper in its particular scientific context.

This book examines the nesting of cognitive structures that links biological processes to embedding social, cultural, and historical phenomena, using statistical tools adapted from Shannon's communication theory. Such interaction generates complexities that challenge magic bullet interventions, leading to catastrophes like the inverse Moore's Law of drug research cost. Here we explore the formal basis for multiscale and multilevel strategies that might prove more fruitful.

Evidence-based medicine, the "gold standard" of medical decision making, is increasingly unpopular with clinicians. They are right to have reservations. EBM breaks the laws of so many disciplines that it cannot be considered scientific or even rational. Decision science and cybernetics show the disturbing consequences of such flaws. EBM fosters marginally effective treatments, based on population averages rather than individual need. Its mega-trials are theoretically incapable of finding the causes of disease, yet swallow up research funds. Ultimately, EBM cannot avoid risking patients' health. It is time for medical practitioners to discard EBM's tarnished gold standard, reclaim their clinical autonomy, and provide individualised treatments to patients. This book explains why and how.

Intended for nurses who would like to know more about the development of the computerized information systems on which they have become so dependent, Nursing and Computers: An Anthology is a wide-range introduction to the literature of this field. The editors have selected historical and contemporary papers to show both the systems at their inception and examples of how they have evolved. Of interest to both the generalist and the specialist, these articles examine the partnership between nurses and computers in the areas of administration, practice, research, and education.

Microcomputer-based labs, the use of real-time data capture and display in teaching, give the learner new ways to explore and understand the world. As this book shows, the international effort over a quarter-century to develop and understand microcomputer-based labs (MBL) has resulted in a rich array of innovative implementations and some convincing evidence for the value of computers for learning. The book is a sampler of MBL work by an outstanding international group of scientists and educators, based on papers they presented at a seminar held as part of the NATO Special Programme on Advanced Educational Technology. The story they tell of the development of MBL offers valuable policy lessons on how to promote educational innovation. The book will be of interest to a wide range of educators and to policy makers.

This book describes the latest advances in pulse signal analysis and their applications in classification and diagnosis. First, it provides a comprehensive introduction to useful techniques for pulse signal acquisition based on different kinds of pulse sensors together with the optimized acquisition scheme. It then presents a number of preprocessing and feature extraction methods, as well as case studies of the classification methods used. Lastly it discusses some promising directions for the future study and clinical applications of pulse signal analysis. The book is a valuable resource for researchers, professionals and postgraduate students working in the field of pulse diagnosis, signal processing, pattern recognition and biometrics. It is also useful for those involved in interdisciplinary research.

The Series
Nanotechnologies for the Life Sciences (NtLS) is the first comprehensive source Covering the Convergence of materials and life sciences on the nanoscale, a wide field of research which brings together the main technology drive of the 21st century and existing, multibillion dollar markets.

Written by international experts describing the various facets of nanofabrication, the ten volumes of NTLS provide the underlying nanotechnologies for the design, creation and characterization of medical, biological and cybernetic applications. Each volume addresses in detail one particular facet of the field.

Tailor-made nanomaterials find widespread new opportunities in diagnostic and monitoring microdevices, microsurgery tools and instruments, tissue engineering, drug delivery artificial organs and any more. Making information available from all kinds of specialized sources through the disciplines involved, NtLS is essential reading for all scientists working in this field from medicine and biology through chemistry, materials science and physics to engineering.

This Volume
Volume 1 brings together the synthetic methods and materials aspects of instilling biocompatibility and desirable properties into nanomaterials, covering numerous types and methods.

From the Contents Biofunctionalization of Fluorescent, magnetic, phospholipid polymeric, metallic, and gelatin nanoparticles as well as of carbon nanotubes Nanomaterial-protein conjugation Folate-linked lipid-based nanoparticles in tumor-targeted gene therapy DNA attachment and hybridization on core-shell nanocomposites

Forthcoming Volumes
Biological and Pharmaceutical Nanomaterials

NanosystemCharacterization Tools in the Life Sciences

Nanodevices for the Life Sciences

Nanomaterials - Toxicity, health and Environmental Issues

The biomaterials technology industry is already well established in the western world and is growing rapidly within Asian Pacific nations. It is often described as the 'next electronics industry', whilst the laser is described as a 'solution looking for a problem'. This book describes the use of the laser to solve a troublesome and costly problem in a rapidly growing global industry. The authors have spent many years conducting research using laser materials processing and wettability characteristics and have perfected a technique to improve the bio-compatibility of various bone-implant materials using laser irradiation. They have made pioneering discoveries on the subject and established some generic theories and principals that will have a wide range of applications in the biomaterials field.This book: introduces inter-disciplinary research work covering laser materials processing and surface modification of biomaterials for enhanced compatibility; includes highly scientific and novel research material; serves both as a practitioner guide and a reference book; and, covers an exciting and rapidly developing area of technology that is of keen interest to engineers and clinicians alike. "Laser Surface Treatment of Bio-Implant Materials" is rare in providing a reference source that describes specifically a mechanical engineering solution to a biotechnology problem. It serves as both a practitioner guide and a medium to high-level reference text book, and as such is a reference source for the engineer practising or looking to move into the biomaterials field, undergraduate and post graduate students and those conducting bio-related research in either academia or industry. It will prove useful to mechanical engineers, biotechnologists, biomechanical engineers, metallurgists, clinicians and even surgeons.

Ziel des Workshops "Bildverarbeitung fur die Medizin" ist die Prasentation aktueller Forschungsergebnisse und die Vertiefung des Gesprachs zwischen Wissenschaftlern, Industrie und Anwendern. Die Beitrage dieses Bandes behandeln alle Bereiche der medizinischen Bildverarbeitung, darunter insbesondere die Themen molekulare Bildgebung, Animation, patientenindividuelle Simulation und Planung, computerunterstutzte Diagnose, biomechanische Modellierung, Bildverarbeitung in der Telemedizin, bildgestutzte Roboter und chirurgische Simulatoren.

This book contains a comprehensive collection of experimental and computational strategies and techniques for microbial genome-scale essentiality studies, developed and presented by the leading groups in the field. It contains detailed description of the procedures, discussion of potential difficulties and failures. All protocols follow the successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format.

Arguably medicine is either an arts-based science or a science-based art. In medieval times, clinical decisions were based on simple measures, such as the temperature of the body, the rhythm of the pulse, the consistency of the stool and the colour of the urine. Nowadays, thanks partly to modern technology, medical science has improved in many ways, as has healthcare. In particular, approaches which have their origins in Artificial Intelligence and Operational Research have a significant contribution to make in terms of improving not only diagnosis and treatment of patients, but also providing ways of managing patients in a more effective, more efficient, and more patient-friendly manner. This book focuses on the use of such Intelligent Patient Management to the benefit of clinicians, other healthcare and community practitioners and managers, patients and carers.

Probabilistic Modelling in Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics has been written for researchers and students in statistics, machine learning, and the biological sciences. The first part of this book provides a self-contained introduction to the methodology of Bayesian networks. The following parts demonstrate how these methods are applied in bioinformatics and medical informatics. All three fields - the methodology of probabilistic modeling, bioinformatics, and medical informatics - are evolving very quickly. The text should therefore be seen as an introduction, offering both elementary tutorials as well as more advanced applications and case studies.

Master the building blocks of medical devices with this hands-on guide

This book provides a uniquely practical approach that enables readers to learn the design of medical electronic devices through the analysis of specific projects. Walking you through the building blocks of implementing medical devices, Design and Development of Medical Electronic Instrumentation addresses the practical aspects of amplifying, processing, simulating, and evoking biopotentials. It provides real-world projects that range from simple biopotential amplifiers all the way to a computer-controlled defibrillator. Anyone with a basic understanding of circuit design and electrical engineering mathematics and experience in electronic prototype construction will find these projects accessible. Chapters discuss:

• Biopotential amplifiers, including a refresher on the origin and acquisition of physiological electrical signals
• Spectral content of biosignals, filter design, and the selection of frequency ranges for biopotential amplifiers
• Design of safe medical device prototypes
• International regulations and design practices for electromagnetic compatibility of medical devices
• Data acquisition, smart sensors, analog-to-digital conversion, and high-resolution spectral analysis of physiological signals
• Artificial signal sources for simulating physiological events
• Principles, clinical applications, and design of excitable tissue stimulators
• Design of cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators, including a refresher on the electrophysiology of the heart, its conduction deficiencies, and arrhythmias

With access to an ftp site that contains thesoftware and information needed to successfully complete the projects outlined, plus a special epilogue on how to bring a medical device to market, this book will help one quickly master the essentials of medical device design and build sophisticated instrumentation for a broad range of purposes.

Hospital information systems (HIS) have become integral tools in the management of a hospital's medical and administrative information. With illustrated case studies, this book emphasizes clinical information systems (CIS) and their use in the direct management of the patient. Topics include the medical record, security, resource amangement, and imopaging integration.

This book is designed to be a unified reference source for the U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration's Good Laboratory Practice regulations, guidance, and associated documents for pharmaceutical, biologics and medical device products nonclinical trials. Good Laboratory Practice Regulations and Guidance: * FDA Overview and Orientation * Overview of GCP and Introduction to GLP * Part I: Federal Regulations Relating to Good Laboratory Practice o Parts 58: Good Laboratory Practice for Nonclinical Laboratory Studies o 1987 Final Rule - Good Laboratory Practice Regulations * Part II: Guidance Documents o Bioresearch Monitoring Good Laboratory Practice o Good Laboratory Practices Questions and Answers * Part III: Redbook 2000 o IV.B.1 General Guidelines for Designing and Conducting Toxicity Studies o IV.B.2 Guidelines for Reporting the Results of Toxicity Studies Reference Tools * Part IV: Combined Glossary and Index

Like the previous editions, this book is a primer for those new to nursing informatics. It provides a thorough introduction to basic terms and concepts, as well as an in-depth exploration of the most prevalent applications in nursing practice, education, administration, and research. Expanded and updated to reflect the remarkable technical advances achieved in health care in recent years, this new edition offers the reader illustrative examples and valuable information resources. Topics include: Telecommunications and Informatics; Nursing Aspects of Health Information Systems; Clinical Practice Applications of Nursing Informatics; Infrastructure Elements of the Health Informatics Environment; and Future Opportunities for Nurses in Health Informatics. This primer guides reader who want basic information on how to select and use information systems and information management in all aspects of nursing practice, education, management, and research.

This is a resource book on clinical decision support systems for informatics specialists, a textbook for teachers or students in health informatics and a comprehensive introduction for clinicians. It has become obvious that, in addition to physicians, other health professionals have need of decision support. Therefore, the issues raised in this book apply to a broad range of clinicians. The book includes chapters written by internationally recognized experts on the design, evaluation and application of these systems, who examine the impact of computer-based diagnostic tools both from the practitioner 's perspective and that of the patient.

Previously published as Strategic Information Management in Hospitals; An Introduction to Hospital Information Systems, Health Information Systems Architectures and Strategies is a definitive volume written by four authoritative voices in medical informatics. Illustrating the importance of hospital information management in delivering high quality health care at the lowest possible cost, this book provides the essential resources needed by the medical informatics specialist to understand and successfully manage the complex nature of hospital information systems. Author of the first edition's Foreword, Reed M. Gardner, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Medical Informatics, University of Utah and LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, applauded the text's focus on the underlying administrative systems that are in place in hospitals throughout the world. He wrote, "These challenging systems that acquire, process and manage the patient's clinical information. Hospital information systems provide a major part of the information needed by those paying for health care." their components; health information systems; architectures of hospital information systems; and organizational structures for information management.