Healthcare Equipment Research Articles

Development of a Low-cost Arduino-based Patient Monitoring System for Heartrate, Oxygen Saturation and Body Temperature Parameters

The implementation of Patient Monitor (PM) in ICU, ICCU, PICU and NICU currently imposes a significantly high cost of investment. According to studies conducted, there are three main parameters required to be measured, which are heartrate (BPM), oxygen saturation (SPO2) and body temperature (T). These are highly needed by the medical personnel to monitor in order to determine patient’s vital state. The low-cost patient monitor prototype (named Patient Monitor 3 Parameters or PM3P) was developed using Arduino platform. In order to measure the parameters, two types of sensor modules were chosen, namely MAX30100 for gathering heartrate and oxygen saturation data and DS18B20 for gathering the body temperature data. The prototyping process also included fixation and finalization of electrical circuit on a printed circuit board (PCB). The PM3P underwent extensive validation process by comparing it to the real industrial PM made by healthcare equipment industry. The comparison was done over data gathered by both system that were conducting the same measurement runs in parallel. Results of validation indicates that the low-cost patient monitor prototype has a slight error of 0,31% for heartrate and 1,59% for oxygen saturation compared to the industrial one. Further improvements for the Arduino based PM3P are also proposed in this paper in order to enhance its reading accuracy, namely calibration.

Analysis of DC motor driven laparoscopic device for oncology

In every hospitals Patient handling equipment Laparoscopic, high-quality pumps, centrifuges, infusion pumps, insulin pumps, hemodialysis machines, compressors, respirators, scanners, dental drills, precision surgical hand pieces, surgical robot grippers, prosthesis and implantable devices (ventricular assist devices, pacemakers, defibrillators, nerve stimulators, and so on) are needed small electric motors. Electric motors are also very essential in healthcare equipment, such as exercisers, wheelchairs, massage machines, treatment machines, and so on. This research work focuses on Laparoscopic device, in this device very compact DC motor is used. In this research work the electrical and mechanical characteristics of Compact DC motors are analyzed. The simulation work was done in MATLAB simulation and results are discussed.

IoT snoring sound detector prototype as a model of future participatory healthcare.

Traditional healthcare is centred around providing in-hospital services using hospital owned medical instruments. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that this approach lacks flexibility to insure follow-up and treatment of common medical problems. In an alternative setting adapted to this problem, participatory healthcare can be considered centred around data provided by patients owning and operating medical data collection equipment in their homes. In order to trigger such a shift reliable and price attractive devices need to become available. Snoring, as a human sound production during sleep, can reflect sleeping behaviour and indicate sleep problems as an element of the overall health condition of a person. The use of off-the-shelf hardware from Internet of Things platforms and standard audio components allows the development of such devices. A prototype of a snoring sound detector with this purpose is developed. The device, controlled by the patient and with specific snoring recording and analysing functions is demonstrated as a model for future participatory healthcare. Design of monitoring devices following this model could allow market introduction of new equipment for participatory healthcare, bringing a care complementary to traditional healthcare to the reach of patients, and could result in benefits from enhanced patient participation.

Protective Masks Utilizing Nonendangered Components.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when traditional N95 respirators were in short supply in the United States, there was a need for alternative products that did not rely on traditional avenues of sourcing and manufacturing. The purpose of this research was to develop and test alternatives to N95 respirators that could be produced locally without specialized materials and processes. Through an interdisciplinary team of experts, new mask designs that use repurposed filtration media and commercially available components were developed and tested for filtration and fit against current N95 standards. Filtration efficiency test results showed that the filtration media can be used for high-quality facemasks and quantitative fit testing demonstrated that the new mask designs could be viable alternatives to traditional N95 facemasks when those masks are in short supply. Manufacturing viability was tested utilizing a workforce to create 6000 masks over 10 days. The ability to quickly produce masks at scale using a workforce without specialized skills demonstrated the feasibility of the mask designs and manufacturing approach to address shortages of critical healthcare equipment, mitigate risk for healthcare and essential workers, and minimize the transmission and spread of disease.

Exploiting Photoelectric Activities and Piezoelectric Properties of NaNbO3 Semiconductors for Point-of-Care Immunoassay.

Point-of-care testing (POCT) technology has made major breakthroughs in community medicine and physician office situations, in tandem with the more ubiquitous and intensive usage of highly integrated quick detection equipment for illness diagnosis, personal care, and mobile healthcare. Although the photoelectrochemical (PEC)-based POCT platform offers the benefits of cheap cost and good user engagement, its commercialization is still limited by the photodetection components' downsizing and mobility, among other factors. In this work, a novel highly integrated PEC biosensor aided by piezophototronics to enhance the efficiency of PEC testing was reported for flexible detection of cancer-associated antigens in biological fluids (prostate-specific antigen, PSA, used as an example). Multiple signal enhancement strategies, including a magnetic bead-linked enzyme-linked immune system catalyzing the production of ascorbic acid from the substrate and a piezoelectric-assisted enhancement strategy, were used for sensitive detection of the analyte to be tested in human body fluids. Unlike the electron transfer mechanism in heterojunctions, piezoelectric semiconductors promote the transfer of electrons and holes by generating piezoelectric potentials in the ultrasonic field, thus contributing to the performance of the PEC testbed. Under optimized conditions, the test platform achieves good correspondence for PSA at 0.02-40 ng mL-1. Impressively, the test devices are comparable to or even superior to gold standard ELISA kits in terms of cost approval and batch testing. This research demonstrates the potential of piezoelectric semiconductors for POC applications in revolutionary PECs and offers innovative thoughts for the development of new PEC bioanalytical components.

The Reduction of Credit Risk in the Health Care Industry in China: Are We Returning to the Pre-COVID-19 Era?

This study aims to evaluate the changes in the credit risk of the health care industry in China due to the COVID-19 epidemic by the modified KMV (named by Kealhofer, Mcquown, and Vasicek) model to calculate the default distances. We observe that the overall default distance mainly first decreased and then increased before and after the COVID-19 epidemic control in China; after the epidemic was controlled, the overall credit risk was reduced by 22.8%. Specifically, as shown in subdivided industries, health care equipment and health care facilities have larger credit risk fluctuations, while health care suppliers, health care distributors, and health care services have smaller fluctuations. These results can contribute to our understanding of why the COVID-19 epidemic in China could be controlled earlier, and software facilities are more important than hardware facilities in public health safety. Our methodological innovation is to use the GARCH (generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity) model and threshold regression model to modify the important parameters of the KMV model. This method has good accuracy in the Chinese environment.

Impending Backlog of Cleft Palate Patients Due to COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has placed an unprecedented strain on healthcare systems worldwide, but while high-income countries (HICs) have been able to adapt, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have been much slower to do so due to a lack of funding, skilled healthcare providers, equipment, and facilities. The redistribution of resources to combat the pandemic in LMICs has resulted in decreased surgical volumes at local surgical centers as well as a dramatic reduction in the number of humanitarian aid missions. Despite recent global investment in improving the surgical capacities of LMICs, even in the pre-COVID-19 era there was a vast unmet surgical need. This deficit in surgical capacity has grown during the pandemic and it will be a significant struggle to overcome the resulting backlog of patients. A topic of particular concern to the authors is the effect that the pandemic will have on the delivery of time-sensitive surgical care to patients with cleft palate deformities as delay in providing care can have enormous physical and psychosocial consequences. This paper draws increased attention to the lasting impact that the COVID-19 pandemic may have on cleft palate patients in LMICs.SSRN Pre-print server link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3898055

The Waiver of Certain Intellectual Property Rights Provisions of the TRIPS for the Prevention, Containment and Treatment of COVID-19: A Review of the Proposal under WTO Jurisprudence

AbstractThis article is a critical legal analysis of the proposed TRIPS waiver under World Trade Organization (WTO) law. It reviews the existing TRIPS flexibilities and the “August 2003 TRIPS waiver”, highlighting the obstacles to achieving the goals of these legal instruments. It demonstrates that numerous critical TRIPS flexibilities, notably TRIPS Article 31bis, are ineffective, prompting some countries to submit a new waiver proposal to the WTO. It highlights several WTO rules that are also quite ambiguous. This paper argues that a WTO clarification might be an alternative to the new TRIPS waiver proposal if it is ultimately rejected due to a lack of consensus among WTO members. Finally, this article emphasises the importance of adopting a balanced approach that may simplify complicated TRIPS rules, decrease the risk of trade-based retaliation and improve collaboration in knowledge transfer and scaling up the manufacture of and access to lifesaving vaccines, pharmaceuticals and healthcare equipment.

Postnatal Care of Mothers: Knowledge, Nutritional Status and Utilization of Postnatal Care Services

The enabling environment for safe motherhood depends on the acumen of skilled health personnel and the availability of adequate health-care facilities, equipment, and medicines and emergency care when needed. The goal three of SDG aims at reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births. In view of this, a study was conducted to study the knowledge, nutritional status and utilization of postnatal care services by the nursing mother and to develop intervention module to enhance mother’s knowledge on postnatal care on a sample of 200 mother-infant dyads in Dharwad district of Karnataka state. The tools used for the study were a self-structured questionnaire to study the knowledge about care during puerperium, MUAC was measured to assess the nutritional status of lactating women and Aggarwal socio-Economic Status scales were administered [1]. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was used to study the presence of postpartum depression among mothers [2]. The results revealed that most of the mothers had moderate (66.50 %) anaemia and 7.00 per cent had severe anaemia. Only 42 per cent women had normal nutritional status whereas 31.50 per cent were in moderate under-nutrition category and 10 per cent were in severe undernutrition category Maternal knowledge in four dimensions of public health, breastfeeding and nutrition, contraceptive methods and infant care was low to moderate. An intervention on postnatal care of mother was developed and was tested for its efficacy. The intervention to mothers significantly increased their knowledge on care during puerperium. The results indicate a need for family-based intervention to improve postnatal care of mother for safe motherhood.

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION IN HEALTHCARE: A REVIEW AND FUTURE RESEARCH AGENDAS

Disruptive innovation (DI) refers to a mode of low cost high ancillary performance innovation that starts at the lower end of the market and gradually moves up to eventually displace its incumbent counterparts. The concept of DI has become more and more popular in the healthcare sector. The paper studies how healthcare research has embraced the concept of DI in various areas within the healthcare sector. Areas of healthcare, where DI has been adopted as a management strategy, were identified in the last two decades, through initially shortlisting 157 papers and the final reviewed set of 117 papers. Through a multi-method approach comprising of co-word analysis, identification of themes, mapping of research work across these themes and geography, the study found that, although from a management perspective there are 13 major themes, the majority of the focus is on four major themes–healthcare delivery and services, healthcare administration, technology and equipment, and nursing and palliative care. Furthermore, the majority of the geography-specific research was conducted in developed countries, especially the USA. It was also observed that organisational strategies for successfully implementing DI in the healthcare sector are still in the nascent stage and the focus is mostly in the area of healthcare delivery and administration from the management perspective. Future research studies could aim at looking at the role that DI plays in the healthcare sector of the developing countries, as well as using DI in other areas of healthcare, rather than a few concentrated areas.

Models for an Ultraviolet-C Research and Development Consortium.

The development of an international, precompetitive, collaborative, ultraviolet (UV) research consortium is discussed as an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a new UV commercial industry and the supply chain to support this industry. History has demonstrated that consortia can offer promising approaches to solve many common, current industry challenges, such as the paucity of data regarding the doses of ultraviolet-C (UV-C, 200 nm to 280 nm) radiation necessary to achieve the desired reductions in healthcare pathogens and the ability of mobile disinfection devices to deliver adequate doses to the different types of surfaces in a whole-room environment. Standard methods for testing are only in the initial stages of development, making it difficult to choose a specific UV-C device for a healthcare application. Currently, the public interest in UV-C disinfection applications is elevated due to the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the respiratory coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). By channeling the expertise of different UV industry stakeholder sectors into a unified international consortium, innovation in UV measurements and data could be developed to support test methods and standards development for UV healthcare equipment. As discussed in this paper, several successful examples of consortia are applicable to the UV industry to help solve these types of common problems. It is anticipated that a consortium for the industry could lead to UV applications for disinfection becoming globally prolific and commonplace in residential, work, business, and school settings as well as in transportation (bus, rail, air, ship) environments. Aggressive elimination of infectious agents by UV-C technologies would also help to reduce the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Applications of nanogenerators for biomedical engineering and healthcare systems

The dream of human beings for long living has stimulated the rapid development of biomedical and healthcare equipment. However, conventional biomedical and healthcare devices have shortcomings such as short service life, large equipment size, and high potential safety hazards. Indeed, the power supply for conventional implantable device remains predominantly batteries. The emerging nanogenerators, which harvest micro/nanomechanical energy and thermal energy from human beings and convert into electrical energy, provide an ideal solution for self‐powering of biomedical devices. The combination of nanogenerators and biomedicine has been accelerating the development of self‐powered biomedical equipment. This article first introduces the operating principle of nanogenerators and then reviews the progress of nanogenerators in biomedical applications, including power supply, smart sensing, and effective treatment. Besides, the microbial disinfection and biodegradation performances of nanogenerators have been updated. Next, the protection devices have been discussed such as face mask with air filtering function together with real‐time monitoring of human health from the respiration and heat emission. Besides, the nanogenerator devices have been categorized by the types of mechanical energy from human beings, such as the body movement, tissue and organ activities, energy from chemical reactions, and gravitational potential energy. Eventually, the challenges and future opportunities in the applications of nanogenerators are delivered in the conclusive remarks.image

Is COVID-19 the "Catalyst" to Incorporate 3D Printing Technology into the Manufacturing Industry?

The contribution of the fight against COVID-19 to the incorporation of 3D printing technology into the manufacturing industry is the research question of this study. By observing the structure of initiatives of hobbyists and enterprises in the 3D printing industry that are printing health care equipment for nursing staff, we conclude that 3D printing technology could be used for mass production under a different production model. We propose two different typologies of a factory's structure, calling them "Adjust-Semi Cloud Factory 1" and "Semi-Cloud Factory 2." To measure the effectiveness of these new types of factories, we propose a framework based on characteristics and aspects of knowledge management.

Nanotechnology in Periodontics- Review Article

The field of nanotechnology is concerned with the study of small objects. This is done through the development of stuff, gadget, as well as organization those display different properties of materials which differ from those found on a larger scale. Use of nanotechnology in the procedures of periodontal treatment has made it possible to allow the treatment with less invasive techniques and reaching the same target. Nanodental care has a lot of promise in terms of developing technologically sophisticated clinical instruments and equipment for oral health care. Robots are said to be capable of inducing oral analgesia, desensitizing teeth, manipulating tissue to realign and straighten crooked teeth, as well as improving tooth durability. The aim of the article is to examine the concept of nanotechnology and how it may be used in dentistry in the form of nanodentistry, a new discipline of dentistry.

A review on health-care acquired infections of the hospital staff during routine patient’s delivery service

The health-care acquired infections (HCAIs) occur world-wide among persons undergoing medical attention in health institutions and result in unexpected long-term stay, disability and financial loses. The most predominant infections are catheter associated urinary tract, central line associated, surgical site and ventilator associated pneumonia infections. The patients are prone to infections during hospitalization from varied environmental sources, hands of health-care professionals, medical equipment and other infected patients. The frequent factors affecting patients on admission are improper hand hygiene, contact with infected patients, adverse drug events and surgical complications. Patients under health-care delivery can acquire infection disseminated from food, water, aerosols and hospital wastes. The application of personal protective equipment, routine educational interventions are common approaches that can help stop HCAIs and save lives, decrease death rate and health delivery expenses. In buttressing this, the World Health Organization (WHO) enunciated guidelines to enhance hand washing practices, infection prevention and control programme, monitored use of antibiotics and its resistance. The other measures included global adoption of efficient surveillance system and the impact of relevant stakeholders in health sectors needed to prevent and control hospital acquired infections.

The role of healthcare supply chain management in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic: hot off the press

PurposeThe study aims to examine the role of health-care supply chain management during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cross-section of 42 selected sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.Design/methodology/approachThe study used cross-sectional robust least square regression for parameter estimates.FindingsThe results confirmed the N-shaped relationship between the health-care logistics performance index (HLPI) and COVID-19 cases. It implies that initially HLPI increases along with an increase in COVID-19 cases. Later down, it decreases COVID-19 cases by providing continued access to medical devices and personal protective equipment. Again, it increases due to resuming economic activities across countries.Practical implicationsThe continuing health-care supply chain is crucial to minimize COVID-19 cases. The international support from the developed world in providing health-care equipment, debt resettlement and resolving regional conflicts is deemed desirable to escape the SSA countries from the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueThe importance of the health-care supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic is evident in the forecasting estimates, which shows that from August 2021 to April 2022, increasing the health-care supply chain at their third-degree level would reduce coronavirus registered cases. The results conclude that SSA countries required more efforts to contain coronavirus cases by thrice increasing their health-care logistics supply chain.

The structure of the South African stock market network during COVID-19 hard lockdown

This study investigates the topology of the South African stock market network pre, during, and post the level 5-lockdown period. We use the daily closing price of the 134 companies in the all-share index (ALSI) from 01 October 2019 to 30 October 2020. We construct the minimum spanning tree using the cross-correlation of the returns computed from the closing price data. The research findings show that the South African stock market network forms clusters and is homogeneous, and the finance industry plays a central role. Specifically, the results show an expansion of MST during the level 5 lockdown and shrinkage of the MST post level 5 lockdown. The average correlation coefficient decreases through all sub-periods; conversely, the average distance increases in all sub-periods. Post-level 5 lockdown period, stocks in the Health Care Equipment & Services sector form a small cluster that did not exist before the lockdown period. JSE node degree distribution for all sub-periods follows the power law.

Self-Reported Physical Limitations Among U.S. Veterans Compared to Non-Veterans: Findings from NHANES

Approximately 43% of males over the age of 65 years are Veterans. Veterans may be at elevated risk for functional declines due to barriers to health care access leading to accelerated loss of independence. This compared the prevalence of functional limitations in Veterans and non-Veterans. Data from two National Health and Examination Survey collection periods, administered 2013-2014 and 2015-2016, were used to compare physical functioning data between male Veterans (N=369) and non-Veterans (N=738) matched 1:2 for sex, race, and BMI. Individuals were considered a Veteran if they self-reported having “served in active duty in the U.S. Armed forces.” Pearson’s chi-square tests were used to assess differences in the prevalence of various self-reported functional limitations between groups. Veterans (mean±SEM: age: 64.5±0.54 years; BMI: 30.0±0.3 kg/m2) were disproportionately affected by self-reported functional limitations caused by long-term physical, mental, or emotional illnesses (8% vs. 3%, p<0.004). Twenty-five % of Veterans reported that these limitations kept them from working compared to 18% of non-Veterans (p<0.003). Veterans (38%) were also more likely to report being limited in the amount of work they could perform compared to non-Veterans (27%) (p<0.01). Additionally, Veterans (20%) were more likely to report the use of special healthcare equipment (i.e. cane, wheelchair) than non-Veterans (12%) (p<0.001). These data suggest that Veterans are at greater risk for functional limitations caused by self-reported long-term physical, mental or emotional illness. Therefore, further research is needed to determine if home- and community-based services could prevent further functional decline, ultimately allowing Veterans to maintain independence.

Implementing High-Reliability Organization Principles at Biological Diagnostic Laboratories: Case Study at National Institute of Health, Islamabad.

Healthcare organizations are complex systems where healthcare professionals, patients, biological materials, and equipment constantly interact and provide feedback with highly consequential outcomes. These are the characteristics of a complex adaptive system. Healthcare delivery requires coordination but it necessarily relies on delegation of essential functions. It is thus essential to have an engaged workforce to ensure optimal outcomes for patients. Thus human performance factors play a key role in ensuring both the presence of excellent healthcare provision and the absence of outcomes that must be avoided-"never events." The commitment of management was a precondition for the implementation of the high-reliability organization (HRO) principles. A team from middle management was engaged and provided with appropriate management tools for identifying, prioritizing, assessing, and applying solutions for the safety concern in their operating systems. This article documents efforts at the National Institute of Health (NIH) to adapt the principles of HROs to diagnostic laboratories and vaccine production facilities at its campus in Islamabad, Pakistan, and seeks to draw some lessons for how this approach can be usefully replicated in such facilities elsewhere. Public health institutes such as NIH deliver vital products and services that are inherently risky to produce, where the consequence of failure can be catastrophic. Adopting the HRO principles is an approach to improving not just safety, but also the overall organizational performance in any setting, including low-resource settings, and can serve as an implementable process for other institutions.

Editorial

At the dawn of the devastating events of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the editorial of the first issue of 2020, as well as in the articles, topics related to the overwhelming impact of the emerging crisis were explored (Van der Maesen 2020). In particular, reference was made to the topical performances of the federal governments of the United States and Brazil, as well as the British government. As an introduction to this special issue, it is interesting to recall and extend some of the observations that were made last year.In the case of the United States, when COVID-19 appeared, the hazards of the virus were downplayed and even neglected. The president countered the opinion of public health experts with false, misleading comparisons to other countries (Qiu 2020). It was proposed to cut the budget of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention by 16 percent starting in October 2020. Long-lasting contacts and collaboration with the World Health Organization were broken. Due to export restrictions on medical products, importing countries were unable to obtain sufficient medical equipment, resulting in a shortage in healthcare equipment that had to be made for up via a mandatory increase in local production. This came at a high cost and with serious delays (Krueger 2020). For the United States itself, the initial attitude of the government resulted in a dramatic blow to its public health resources and capabilities. The quality of hundreds of health departments around the country suggests that the nation may be less prepared for the next pandemic than it was for the current one (Baker and Ivory 2021). The violence toward public health professions is gradually taking shape (Schreiber 2021). An overriding societal pattern, which in the United States undermines the principles of effective public health, is the primacy of personal rights over collective responsibility and solidarity. More than half of US states have introduced new laws to restrict public health measures, including policies requiring quarantine and mandating vaccines and/or masks.