Contents:
Introduction 1. Health and the Net - an Overview 2. Getting Online 3. The World Wide Web 4. Finding Health Information on the Internet 5. Communicating with Other Health Professionals by E-Mail 6. Joining Health Discussion Groups, Mailing Lists Etc. 7. The Gateway to Free Health and Medical Resources 8. Publishing on the World Wide Web 9. Online Help with your Health Studies and Job Search Questions and Answers Appendices Worksheets

A volume in the Principles and Applications in Engineering series, Clinical Engineering focuses on managing the deployment of medical technology and integrating it appropriately with desired clinical practices. It provides a description of the wide range of responsibilities clinical engineers encounter, describes technology management and assessment in detail, and reviews the standards and regulatory agencies of interest. Then the book details various biomedical sensors, considering both biologic and electronic factors in sensor performance. Finally, the book covers bioinstrumentation, addressing traditional topics and recently developed instruments and devices such as pulse oximeters and home-care monitoring devices.

Bringing together the concepts of design control and reliability engineering, this book is a must for medical device manufacturers. It helps them meet the challenge of designing and developing products that meet or exceed customer expectations and also meet regulatory requirements. Part One covers motivation for design control and validation, design control requirements, process validation and design transfer, quality system for design control, and measuring design control program effectiveness. Part Two discusses risk analysis and FMEA, designing-in reliability, reliability and design verification, and reliability and design validation.

Implants into the human body, such as hip joints, heart valves and dental crowns, have been increasingly used over the last 40 years or so, and many patients have benefited from their use. But how much is known about the metals, ceramics and polymers that are used in these repairs? This book provides a state-of-the-art account of the chemistry of the synthetic materials used in medicine and dentistry. It looks at the properties and interactions of these materials within the body at a molecular level, and includes discussion of bioengineering and cell biology. In addition, there is an account of the surgical procedures used, as well as extensive coverage of the possible biological reactions to the presence of foreign materials in the body. A brief look at the emerging field of tissue engineering completes the text. Fully referenced, with detailed reviews of the current literature, The Chemistry of Medical and Dental Materials will be an essential starting-point for all those in academia and industry who are involved in the development of new and improved repair materials.

Minimally invasive medicine has the goal of providing health care with minimal trauma. When minimally invasive surgery is utilized, it reduces the length of hospital stays, lowers costs, lowers pain, and reduces blood loss. Other minimally invasive techniques minimize radiation exposure, tissue damage, and drug side effects. Collecting contributions from workers in various fields within the sphere of minimally invasive medical technology, this book provides essential information for those involved with researching, designing, and using minimally invasive devices and systems. It emphasizes the technology required to accomplish minimally invasive medicine. The book will be of interest to biomedical engineers, medical physicists, and health care providers who want to know the technical workings of their devices and instruments.

Medical information science requires analytic tools. This is achieved by developing and assessing methods and systems for the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of patient data, aided by scientific discovery. Cancer Informatics in Post-Genomic Era provides both the necessary methodology and practical information tools. Key challenges include integrating research and clinical care, sharing data, and establishing partnerships within and across sectors of patient diagnosis and treatment. Addressing important clinical questions in cancer research will benefit from expanding computational biology. The advent of genomic and proteomic technologies has ushered forth the era of genuine medicine. The promise of these advances is true personalized medicine where treatment strategies can be individually tailored and advance to initiating intervention before visible symptoms appear.

Under managed care, health care has become a sometimes uneasy partnership between consumers, health care providers, and the communities they serve. Empowered by a broadly held understanding of medicine and an ability to collect and use performance information to improve health services, this alliance is reshaping our local health systems. In this constantly changing environment, competitive advantage will go to those physicians who are fast-and focused-in their ability to transform their practice into accountable, cooperative business units-reshaping society's expectations of medicine and ultimately improving the delivery of health care.

In The New Health Partners, physician Stephen Prather reveals how doctors can regain stewardship of their medical practices and strengthen their crucial role in the health care of their local communities. Prather?a nationally known physician consultant, educator, practitioner, and speaker--gives physicians effective techniques and practical advice needed to deliver bottom-line results.
Prather shows physicians, medical directors, and administrators how they can acquire the essential skills of leadership and team development for use in both office and community health settings. Step-by-step, Prather explains how to apply the transformative power of the "Six Dimensions of Health Systems" to integrate delivery of care, align economic and non-economic incentives, manage chronic illness, empower clinical groups, work with patients and their families, and redesign care for community benefit.

This groundbreaking book explores how to
A- Put in place successful methods for creating economic incentives to motivate physician change
A- Map outproven approaches for achieving clinical quality improvement and efficient office practices
A- Gain insight into a proven strategy for engaging the community in a rewarding partnership
A- Combine effective management principles, time-honored values, and useful guidelines for the most skillful use of performance data

The New Health Partners is based on the information gathered from in-depth organizational and marketplace assessments and surveys of physician-leaders from across the country. This vital resource also includes numerous examples of best practices that have proven to be easily reproducible, cost-effective, and beneficial to patients. This hands-on volume will prove to be an invaluable aid for any physician-leader who wants to work smarter and direct a health care organization to be ethically, clinically, and fiscally sound.

Discover t-he Six Dimensions of Health Systems That Can Transform Your Medical Practice

The New Health Partners is an essential handbook for physicians who want to reshape their practices to prosper within the managed care environment. This key resource offers a blueprint for helping physicians, medical directors, and administrators create the needed partnerships and cooperative business alliances, put in place the best practices that will maximize accountability, and, ultimately, achieve success in disease management.

"Steve Prather's book encapsulates the key forces in health care today. If followed, his practical solutions will dramatically change the way we organize and deliver care."--Henry G. Walker, president and CEO, Providence/Health System

"Prather has written a book full of helpful insights, tips, and examples for thosetrying to make sense of the leadership opportunity facing doctors today and tomorrow. His strategies and stories can help those who lead physician practice today and guide those who teach tomorrow's doctors."-Paul Batalden, professor and director, Health Care Improvement Leadership Development Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Dartmouth Medical School

"Using his vast experience and keen insight, Steve Prather presents exciting concepts and practices that will contribute greatly to the improvement of the delivery and quality of clinical care into the next millennium-a major concern for all health care leaders."-Dan S. Wilford, president, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System

"I urge the leaders of health care systems to read and study this enlightening book together. And, since integration, alignment, improvement, teamwork, and partnering are relevant activities at all levels of an organization, it would be wise for leaders to encourage and enable the many natural work groups in their organization to similarly study, digest, and adapt the rich knowledge available in [this book]. Doing so will produce a much more effective and competitive health care system."-From the foreword by James S. Roberts, senior vice president, physician leadership, VHA, Inc.

Summarizing state-of-the-art developments in long-term mechanical ventilation use, this comprehensive treatise reviews the applications, complications, and care of breathing disorders affecting the growing population of ventilation-assisted individuals-including neuromuscular and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) and chest wall deformities.
Qualitatively considers reimbursement options for management outside of acute care settings
Covering both noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and invasive ventilation techniques and procedures, Long-Term Mechanical Ventilation
provides an epidemiology of long-term mechanical ventilation with a review of recent trends
examines the pathophysiological mechanisms contributing to chronic respiratory failure, including the pathogenesis and treatment of restrictive thoracic and central hypoventilatory disorders
investigates the controversy over conflicting results for NIV management of patients with chronic respiratory failure due to severe stable COPD
details critical care for children with severe ventilatory defects such as congenital neuromuscular diseases, cystic fibrosis, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia
chronicles new insights into the role of the upper airway and glottis in determining the effectiveness of NIV
considers weaning dependent patients off ventilation and methods of care for different sites using the least complicated and most economical means
explores tools for measuring the impact and outcomes of long-term mechanical ventilation and determining patients' quality of life
and more
Containing over 1400 literature references, tables, drawings, and photographs, Long-Term Mechanical Ventilation is a necessary reference for pulmonary and thoracic specialists, chest physicians, anesthesiologists, physiologists, physiatrists and rehabilitation physicians, respiratory therapists, intensive care specialists, and medical school and graduate school students in these disciplines.

There is a wealth of health information on the internet. Today's students of health studies and all health care professionals must be able to use this valuable resource and extract from it what is most relevant and useful. In order for them to do this purposefully and skilfully, they need to have a thorough understanding of how the system works and have the ability to navigate their way around it with ease.
The Essential Guide to the Internet for Health Professionals is a superb photocopiable resource for lecturers. It shows students:
*how to get online
*how to navigate the worldwide web
*how to find health information on the internet
*how to communicate with other health professionals
*how to access free health and medical resources
*how to publish on the web
*how to use online help with health studies assignments
*how to search for jobs
Each chapter contains easy-to-follow activities and photocopiable worksheets.

eBook available with sample pages: EB:0203465644

Through the use of new technologies, researchers, and practitioners in health education and health communication can now provide health information and behavior change strategies that are customized based on the unique needs, interests, and concerns of different individuals. These tailored health messages can be highly effective in assisting individuals in understanding and responding to health concerns.
In this volume, Matthew Kreuter, David Farrell, and their colleagues define the process of tailoring and describe its uses in health communication programs. They present a theoretical and public health rationale for tailoring and support their position with empirical evidence. They also lay out the steps involved in creating and delivering tailored health communication programs, which can then be applied in practice. Practitioners, researchers, and students in health communication, health psychology, public health, and related areas will find this book to be a vital and invaluable resource for improving communication about health issues.

The new edition of this established text has been thoroughly revised and updated. It is divided into six parts. The first two parts cover the X--ray tube and X--ray generators. Part three looks at general, multipurpose radiographic equipment. Part four considers fluroscopic equipment, and the remaining two parts provide accounts of more specialized radiographic equipment and computer--based imaging modalities.

This definitive source provides practicing professionals and students in the occupational, environmental, and public health and safety fields with the functional basics of biological monitoring. The author examines how environmental exposures to particular chemicals are related to concentrations of markers in body tissues and fluids. Biological Monitoring integrates the applied sciences of industrial/environmental hygiene, epidemiology, public health, occupational medicine, toxicology, biochemistry, and analytical chemistry with the basic sciences to interpret the connections between exposures and lifestyle/environmental influences, and their effects on humans. This comprehensive introduction provides dependable, detailed coverage of:

• monitoring for harmful substances in the workplace
• the benefits and limitations of testing for critical levels of toxic materials in bodily tissues and fluids
• state-of-the-art developments in biological monitoring
• a wide variety of toxic chemicals and selected physical agents
• immunoassays
• monitoring for HIV and AIDS
• importance of exposure routes
• the most up-to-date methods of health and medical surveillance
• the interpretation of adduct concentrations
• biological exposure indices
• biological monitoring of pesticides
• biological monitoring in the home and around hazardous waste sites
• and much more

This is a practical book for health and IT professionals who need to ensure that patient safety is prioritized in the design and implementation of clinical information technology. Healthcare professionals are increasingly reliant on information technology to deliver care and inform their clinical decision making. Health IT provides enormous benefits in efficiency, communication and decision making. However a number of high-profile UK and US studies have concluded that when Health IT is poorly designed or sub-optimally implemented then patient safety can be compromised. Manufacturers and healthcare organizations are increasingly required to demonstrate that their Health IT solutions are proactively assured. Surprisingly the majority of systems are not subject to regulation so there is little in the way of practical guidance as to how risk management can be achieved. The book fills that gap. The author, a doctor and IT professional, harnesses his two decades of experience to characterize the hazards that health technology can introduce. Risk can never be eliminated but by drawing on lessons from other safety-critical industries the book systematically sets out how clinical risk can be strategically controlled. The book proposes the employment of a Safety Case to articulate and justify residual risk so that not only is risk proactively managed but it is seen to be managed. These simple techniques drive product quality and allow a technology's benefits to be realized without compromising patient safety.

Thoroughly authoritative with contributions from experts in the field, this completely updated and expanded Second Edition details state-of-the-art developments in industry practices and standards relating to medical device packaging in a readily accessible format. Helps beginning and seasoned practitioners comply with recent and pending FDA Quality Systems Good Manufacturing Practices, European Medical Device Directives, ISO 14000, and other international standards and requirements The Medical Device Packaging Handbook, Second Edition offers entirely new as well as revised chapters on packaging materials sterilization techniques, such as vapor phase processes, shelf-life testing, and expriation dating package validation methods and integrity testing bar coding technology environmentally sound packaging and disposal procedures storage autoclave case systems international standards and compliance customer needs regulatory aspects and more Elucidating discussions with an extensive glossary and index as well as many novel references, tables, drawings and photographs, this timely Second Edition furnishes instructional, practical information for packaging, validation, process, and materials engineers; packaging designers; microbiologists, toxicologists; pharmacologists; pharmacists; drug manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers; quality assurance and food and drug regulatory personnel; and graduate-level students in these disciplines.

This essential reference acquaints developers of medical devices with the basic concepts and major issues of medical quality assurance and regulatory documents, describes the requirements listed in these documents, and provides strategies for compliance with these requirements. Medical Device Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance summarizes regulation activities of the FDA, the European Economic Community, and the Global Harmonization Task Force shows how to choose a standard from the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 series teaches how to prepare your company for auditing, how to choose a notified body, and how to survive the audit reviews standards dealing specifically with medical devices such as EN 46000, ISO 13485, and ISO 13488 discusses the requirements for product submittals prior to product introduction addresses current issues such as third party approvals and more Including numerous key references, tables, and drawings, Medical Device Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance is ideal for biomedical, quality assurance, reliability, software, product design, manufacturing, research and development, and industrial engineers; project managers; biomedical technicians; medical device purchasing personnel; and upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in these disciplines.

This new text provides a practical guide to hydrophilic polymer coatings technology for applications in a wide range of medical materials and devices. It concisely provides both the scientific basics of this class of polymers and the up-to-date information needed for product development and evaluation, processing, manufacturing, and regulatory compliance. More than fifty schematics illustrate materials, processes, and equipment. The entire presentation is oriented to the practical needs of personnel involved in product development and evaluation, process engineering, and manufacturing management.

.".". this book was written from start to finish by one extremely dedicated and erudite individual. The author has done an excellent job of covering the many topics that fall under the umbrella of computational biology for vaccine design, demonstrating an admirable command of subject matter in fields as disparate as object-oriented databases and regulation of T cell response. Simply put, it has just the right breadth and depth, and it reads well. In fact, readability is one of its virtues--making the book enticing and useful, all at once..."" Human Vaccines, 2010

.".". This book has several strong points. Although there are many textbooks that deal with vaccinology, few attempts have been made to bring together descriptions of vaccines in history, basic bioinformatics, various computational solutions and challenges in vaccinology, detailed experimental methodologies, and cutting-edge technologies... This book may well serve as a first line of reference for all biologists and computer scientists..."" -Virology Journal, 2009

Vaccines have probably saved more lives and reduced suffering in a greater number of people than any other medical intervention in human history, succeeding in eradicating smallpox and significantly reducing the mortality and incidence of other diseases. However, with the emergence of diseases such as SARS and the threat of biological warfare, vaccination has once again become a topic of major interest in public health.

Vaccinology now has at its disposal an array of post-genomic approaches of great power. None has a more persuasive potential impact than the application of computational informatics to vaccine discovery; the recent expansion in genome data and the parallel increase in cheap computing power have placed the bioinformatics exploration of pathogen genomes centre stage for vaccine researchers.

This is the first book to address the area of bioinformatics as applied to rational vaccine design, discussing the ways in which bioinformatics can contribute to improved vaccine development byintroducing the subject of harnessing the mathematical and computing power inherent in bioinformatics to the study of vaccinologyputting it into a historical and societal context, and exploring the scope of its methods and applications.

"Bioinformatics for Vaccinology" is a one-stop introduction to computational vaccinology. It will be of particular interest to bioinformaticians with an interest in immunology, as well as to immunologists, and other biologists who need to understand how advances in theoretical and computational immunobiology can transform their working practices.

The new edition of this widely-used sourcebook details the startlingly array of diagnostic equipment available in the medical laboratory of the nineties, and also covers maintenance and quality assurance for each type of instrument. This book includes 17 completely rewritten chapters and 7 new ones, on nephelometry and turbidimetry, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, automated immunoassay systems, automated blood bank systems, and physician's office laboratory instrumentation.

Contents:
Electromyography in ergonomics; physiological basis and concepts of electromyography; noise and artefacts; EMG interpretation; muscle energetics and electromyography; EMG alterations at sustained contractions with special emphasis on application in ergonomics; electromyography of upper extremity muscles and ergonomic applications; EMG of neck and shoulder muscles - the relationship between muscle activity and muscle pain in occupational settings; surface electromyography assessment of lower back pain; application of EMG in ergonomics - a clinical perspective.

This unique book draws on research that constituted the first major nationwide evaluation of the use and impact of key digital health information platforms which were provided to thousands of health consumers in the UK. The authors offer the first comprehensive and detailed comparison of usage and impact of the three major ICT platforms delivering health information - the internet, touch-screen kiosks and digital interactive television. It provides an extensive reference source on how health consumers behave when online, whether this differs according to digital platform or type of user, how users perceive digital health services and what health benefits these services deliver. The book will be invaluable reading for all those interested in digital health information - students, academics, health policy-makers and information managers.

In Reproduction, Technology, and Rights, philosophers and ethicists debate the central moral issues and problems raised by today's revolution in reproductive technology. Leading issues discussed include the ethics of paternal obligations to children, the place of in vitro fertilization in the allocation of health care resources, and the ethical implications of such new technologies as blastomere separation and cloning. Also considered are how parents and society should respond to knowledge gained from prenatal testing and whether or not the right to abort should relieve men of the duty to support unwanted children.
Reproduction, Technology, and Rights illuminates the moral and ethical choices that our society faces because of advances in reproductive technology and helps to make those decisions better informed.

From the Author's Preface
There is a growing demand for ultrapure organic compounds such as fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and basic materials for use in the polymer industry. . . . In quite a number of cases, it is difficult or impossible to manufacture ultrapure organics efficiently using conventional separation techniques such as distillation. Moreover, conventional techniques usually require large amounts of energy.
To improve the purification efficiency of organics, special techniques based on crystallization from the melt have been developed. Melt crystallization meets industry's need for a highly selective separation process for organic compounds which operates at low enough temperatures to prevent thermal degradation. Melt crystallization processes have the added advantage that they are energy-efficient and ecologically sound.
Melt crystallization techniques appear to be particularly promising for upgrading organic materials and are one of the few routes that appear to be feasible for purifying starter materials for high-tech polymers. The aim of this book is to provide basic information on melt crystallization technology. . . . This monograph consists of three parts: 1. basic principles, 2. process options, and 3. technical equipment and applicability.
This new book is the first unified guide and reference to an important chemical process technology. It is comprehensive and organized for easy reference. More than 150 diagrammatic representations, flow charts and photographs illustrate equipment and processes. More than 40 tables provide useful reference data.
The Author
Dr. Arkenbout studied chemistry at the University of Utrecht, and joined TNO, the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research. He has specialized in research on new separation processes and has had thirty of his articles on this subject published. He recently retired from the position of manager of physical separation research, but has remained active in this field through affiliations with the Laboratory of Solid State Chemistry at the University of Nijmegen, the Laboratory for Process Equipment, Delft University of Technology, and TNO.

Arguably the first book of its kind, Computational Bioengineering explores the power of multidisciplinary computer modeling in bioengineering. Written by experts, the book examines the interplay of multiple governing principles underlying common biomedical devices and problems, bolstered by case studies. It shows you how to take advantage of the latest computational capabilities to deal with biomedical problems using an integrative approach. This approach fosters an integrative problem-solving mentality for the generation of new and novel solutions to future biomedical problems. Each chapter begins with a brief review of the advances in computational efforts in the selected topic area and ends with case studies with detailed technical information. The approach provides a relevant overview of the selected topic area and demonstrates, with case studies, the power of computational modeling in offering predictive capabilities to assess new surgical concepts and medical devices and post-operative surgical outcomes. The book illustrates the expanded capabilities of computational bioengineering through discussions of bioengineering problems and discusses an image-based bioengineering modeling technique. Although computer modeling has been used to tackle bioengineering problems for decades, a systematic study of computational bioengineering not only addresses many critical challenges facing bioengineering but also sets a new direction for advancing the field. In a long run, this book is expected to foster an integrative problem-solving mentality that will help you generate new and novel solutions to future biomedical problems.

Japan is suffering from a "device gap." Compared to its American and European counterparts, Japan lags in adopting innovative medical devices and making new treatments and procedures available to its patients. Many blame its government and bureaucracy for Japan's delayed access to modern medicine and new medical devices. Christa Altenstetter examines the contextual social, historical, and political conditions of Japan's medical field to make sense of the state of the country's medical profession and its regulatory framework. She explores the development of regulatory frameworks and considers possibilities for eventual reform and modernization. More specifically, Altenstetter looks into how physicians and device companies connect to the government and bureaucracy, the relationships connecting Japanese patients to their medical system and governmental bureaucracy, and how the relationships between policymakers and the medical profession are changing. The issues addressed here are becoming increasingly relevant as numerous countries in Asia, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe are only now beginning to regulate medical technology, following the lead of the US and the European Union. Those interested in global medicine and Asian studies will find this book both informative and compelling.

The discipline of rehabilitation engineering draws on a wide range of specialist knowledge, from the biomedical sciences to materials technology. Rehabilitation Engineering Applied to Mobility and Manipulation provides broad background and motivational material to ease readers' introduction to the subject. The book begins with a wide-ranging yet concise introduction to the legislative, technological, testing, and design basis of rehabilitation engineering, followed by the fundamentals of design and materials and a full account of the biomechanics of rehabilitation. Major sections of the book are devoted to various aspects of mobility, including detailed discussion of wheelchair design. Valuable additional material deals with seating, prosthetic devices, robotics, and the often-neglected subject of recreational devices and vehicles. More than a thousand references to the research and review literature put readers in touch with the leading edge of a rapidly growing field.