Mobile Videoconferencing Research Articles

Perspectives on a telepresence robot at an independent living facility: lessons learned and implications

PurposeTelepresence robots have gained prominence as a novel technological modality for mobile videoconferencing. Although the technology has mass appeal in the realm of telehealth and patient–health provider communication, its integration in community living settings for older adults has not been extensively studied. The aim of this study was to gather the perspectives of residents, trainers and staff at a retirement facility on their experience with a telepresence robot during and following a five-week wellness program.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed semi-structured interviews with ten stakeholders who were involved in the wellness program followed by a qualitative content analysis of the data. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology served as the interview framework to explore the facilitators and barriers to the implementation of the robot.FindingsIndependent coding of the data by the study investigators identified discrete as well as interconnected categories among the stakeholders. Residents expressed their changing ideation of the robot, affinity toward the technology, preference for human connection and future value. Perspectives of the trainers, the fellow residents (ambassadors) and staff pertained to their need for increased engagement, growing comfort with the technology, usability challenges and importance of coordination and training.Originality/valueOlder adults' outlook and comfort with telepresence robots improve with continuing exposure to the technology for healthcare and social connectivity needs. However, in-person care is also preferred initially and periodically to engage with their health providers meaningfully and effectively via the robot. To address long term feasibility and usability, the authors propose a hierarchical approach when integrating telepresence robots in community living facilities for older adults. Information technology education, staff training and reliable internet connectivity are the precursors to optimizing the value and perceived usefulness of the technology.

Availability of Information and Communication Technology among the Agricultural Line Department Officials of Odisha

To evaluate the availability of information and communication technology among the agricultural department staff in the year 2021, a study was carried out in the Khordha district of the state of Odisha. The stratified random sample approach was used to choose 105 respondents for the current study, comprising 22 district level, 59 block level and 24 village level agricultural officers. Ex-post facto research design was employed for the study while taking into consideration the sampling method. The data collected was statistically analysed using frequency, percentage and mean score. The study found that the majority of the district level officers (100%) had the availability of Microsoft package, a laptop, internet services, social media, e-mail, web-based search engines, a modem, a mobile phone, headphones, a television and video conferencing and block level officers (100%) had the availability of Microsoft package, a laptop, internet services, social media, e-mail, web-based search engines, a modem, a mobile phone, a television and videoconferencing whereas the village level agricultural officers (100%) had the availability of only mobile phone and television. A functioning in the ICT tools can be handled with good awareness and training dependable electricity in the workplaces.

Mobile Videoconferencing for Occupational Therapists' Assessments of Patients' Home Environments Prior to Hospital Discharge: Mixed Methods Feasibility and Comparative Study.

BackgroundOccupational therapists who work in hospitals need to assess patients’ home environment in preparation for hospital discharge in order to provide recommendations (eg, technical aids) to support their independence and safety. Home visits increase performance in everyday activities and decrease the risk of falls; however, in some countries, home visits are rarely made prior to hospital discharge due to the cost and time involved. In most cases, occupational therapists rely on an interview with the patient or a caregiver to assess the home. The use of videoconferencing to assess patients’ home environments could be an innovative solution to allow better and more appropriate recommendations.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was (1) to explore the added value of using mobile videoconferencing compared with standard procedure only and (2) to document the clinical feasibility of using mobile videoconferencing to assess patients’ home environments.MethodsOccupational therapists assessed home environments using, first, the standard procedure (interview), and then, videoconferencing (with the help of a family caregiver located in patients’ homes, using an electronic tablet). We used a concurrent mixed methods design. The occupational therapist's responsiveness to telehealth, time spent on assessment, patient’s occupational performance and satisfaction, and major events influencing the variables were collected as quantitative data. The perceptions of occupational therapists and family caregivers regarding the added value of using this method and the nature of changes made to recommendations as a result of the videoconference (if any) were collected as qualitative data, using questionnaires and semistructured interviews.ResultsEight triads (6 occupational therapists, 8 patients, and 8 caregivers) participated. The use of mobile videoconferencing generally led occupational therapists to modify the initial intervention plan (produced after the standard interview). Occupational therapists and caregivers perceived benefits in using mobile videoconferencing (eg, the ability to provide real-time comments or feedback), and they also perceived disadvantages (eg, videoconferencing requires additional time and greater availability of caregivers). Some occupational therapists believed that mobile videoconferencing added value to assessments, while others did not.ConclusionsThe use of mobile videoconferencing in the context of hospital discharge planning has raised questions of clinical feasibility. Although mobile videoconferencing provides multiple benefits to hospital discharge, including more appropriate occupational therapist recommendations, time constraints made it more difficult to perceive the added value. However, with smartphone use, interdisciplinary team involvement, and patient participation in the videoconference visit, mobile videoconferencing can become an asset to hospital discharge planning.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.2196/11674

Noise reduction in speech signal of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients using optimal variable stage cascaded adaptive filter configuration

In hands-free communications, including mobile phones, teleconferencing, and video conferencing, the ultimate aim is to obtain a noise-free signal. The adaptive filters that utilize the LMS adaptation algorithm are the best suited for speech signal de-noising among the existing speech signal enhancement techniques. LMS adaptive filter is preferred due to its low computational complexity and robustness, but it fails to simultaneously achieve a faster convergence speed and minimum steady-state MSE. This work introduces a novel cascaded adaptive filter structure for speech signal de-noising wherein the objective is to estimate the noise-free signal with high accuracy. The proposed optimal variable stage cascaded adaptive filter model utilizes a variable stage cascaded adaptive filter structure to estimate the noise-free signal, which is then employed to recover the clean signal with high accuracy. The proposed filter model is tested for reducing the noise from a normal speech signal taken from the NOIZEUS database and an impaired speech signal of Parkinson’s Disease affected patients taken from the MDVR-KCL dataset. The signals are corrupted by various stationary and non-stationary noise signals of different input SNR levels. The noisy signal is used to test the performance of the proposed optimal filter model. The signal de-noising performance of the proposed filter is evaluated in MSE, SNR, and ANR. The results have shown that the proposed filter model provides remarkable performance and an output SNR of 10–15 dB higher than the existing cascaded filter structures. Further, the proposed filter model employs LMS adaptive algorithm, offering a cost-effective and straightforward hardware implementation of ANC with improved accuracy.

Keeping Students Connected and Engaged in a Wet-Lab Research Experience during a Time of Social Distancing via Mobile Devices and Video Conferencing Software.

ABSTRACTTwo major COVID-19 pandemic challenges presented for in-person instruction included adhering to social distancing guidelines and accommodating remote learners who were temporarily isolated or permanently participating from afar. At Binghamton University, our First-year Research Immersion (FRI) program was challenged with providing students with a wet lab course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE), an intense hands-on experience that emphasized student teamwork, lab protocol development, iteration, troubleshooting, and other elements of the scientific process that could not be replicated in a fully remote environment. We developed an innovative technology approach to maximize all students’ connection to the lab research experience, utilizing dedicated mobile devices (iPod Touch) and video conferencing software (Zoom) to synchronously connect remote learners to in-person learners, peer mentors, and instructors in our FRI research labs. In this way, despite limited lab capacities and fluctuating remote learning populations, we were able to connect remote learners to their peers and mentors in real-time and give them responsibilities that allowed them to be engaged and feel like meaningful participants in the research process. Although our students reported a preference for in-person labs, they noted that this hybrid model was better than other traditionally employed remote-learning lab options. We believe that the lessons learned here can be applied to improve access to research in all situations and allow us to be prepared for other catastrophic disruptions to the educational system.

Face Detection Algorithm Based on Deep Residual Network

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, face detection technology is widely used in our daily lives, such as mobile payment, video conferencing and personal identification. However, face the scenario while the face been blocking or crowding, the face detection accuracy would be greatly reduced. Therefore, in this paper, a high-precision face detection algorithm based on deep residual network has been proposed to solve this issue. Firstly, adding neural framework branches based on the Resnet-50 to improve the detection accuracy. Then import the soft-NMS method to enhance the robustness of algorithm. Experimental test on the public data set FDDB, the results indicate that the accuracy of this algorithm can reach 94.2% with good robustness, both accuracy and speed are better than the previous algorithm.

Using an Electronic Tablet to Assess Patients' Home Environment by Videoconferencing Prior to Hospital Discharge: Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Feasibility and Comparative Study.

BackgroundOccupational therapists working in hospitals are usually involved in discharge planning to assess patients’ safety and autonomy upon returning home. However, their assessment is usually done at the hospital due to organizational and financial constraints. The lack of visual data about the patients’ home may thus reduce the appropriateness and applicability of the support recommended upon discharge. Although various technological tools such as mobile devices (mobile health) are promising methods for home-based distance assessment, their application in hospital settings may raise several feasibility issues. To our knowledge, their usefulness and added value compared to standard procedure have not been addressed yet in previous studies. Moreover, several feasibility issues need to be explored.ObjectiveThis paper aims to (1) document the clinical feasibility of using an electronic tablet to assess the patient's home environment by mobile videoconferencing and (2) explore the added value of using mobile videoconferencing, compared to the standard procedure.MethodsA feasibility and comparative study using a mixed-methods (convergent) design is currently undergoing. Six occupational therapists will assess the home environment of their patients in the hospital setting: they will first perform a semistructured interview (a) and then use mobile videoconferencing (b) to compare “a versus a+b.” Interviews with occupational therapists and patients and their caregivers will further explore the advantages and disadvantages of mobile videoconferencing. Two valid tools are used (the Canadian Measure of Occupational Performance and the telehealth responsivity questionnaire). Direct and indirect time is also collected.ResultsThe project was funded in the spring of 2016 and authorized by the ethics committee in February 2017. Enrollment started in April 2017. Five triads (n=4 occupational therapists, n=5 clients, n=5 caregivers) have been recruited until now. The experiment is expected to be completed by April 2019 and analysis of the results by June 2019.ConclusionsMobile videoconferencing may be a familiar and easy solution for visualizing environmental barriers in the home by caregivers and clinicians, thus providing a promising and inexpensive option to promote a safe return home upon hospital discharge, but clinical feasibility and obstacles to the use of mobile videoconferencing must be understood.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/11674

Utility of Mobile Apps for Video Conferencing to Follow Patients at Home After Outpatient Surgery.

Introduction:Outpatient surgery has a great opportunity to demonstrate the role of using mobile video conference (VC) postoperatively. Our patients use technology to help decision making in finding physicians. The authors aim to assess patient's perception on the use of mobile apps for VC with the surgeon and/or staff.Methods:Consenting patients completed a questionnaire of 10 questions preoperatively and postoperatively to assess the difference in opinion.Results:Overall, 120 patients completed the questionnaire preoperatively with 58% female population, 71% younger than 65 years, and 67% having a GED/higher education. Fifty-two patients had surgery with 54% female population, and 60% were younger than 65 years. All patients had mobile apps for VC with 55% using WhatsApp, 40% using Facetime, and 5% other. In person, being with a trained educator at the office was the preferred method for learning about surgical procedures. Overall, four patients contacted the surgeon directly preoperatively. After surgery, 8 of 52 patients (15%) used VC to the surgeon directly, and 37 patients used the VC with the team.Conclusion:With advances in new technology, the use of mobile video conferencing adds a new forum for communication with patients. In the outpatient surgical setting, this forum would improve patient-physician relations.

A Mobile Videoconference-Based Intervention on Stress Reduction and Resilience Enhancement in Employees: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundVideoconferencing-based treatments have shown great potential in increasing engagement and compliance by decreasing the barriers of time and distance. In general, employees tend to experience a lot of stress, but find it difficult to visit a clinic during office hours.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a mobile videoconference-based intervention for stress reduction and resilience enhancement in employees.MethodsIn total, 81 participants were randomly allocated to one of the three conditions: mobile videoconferencing, in-person, and self-care; of these, 72 completed the study. All participants underwent assessment via self-reported questionnaires before, immediately after, and 1 month after the intervention. Intervention lasted for 4 weeks and consisted of elements of cognitive behavioral therapy, positive psychology, and meditation. Changes in clinical variables regarding stress and resilience across time were compared between treatment conditions.ResultsThere were significant condition × time effects on variables measuring perceived stress, resilience, emotional labor, and sleep, demonstrating significantly differential effects across time according to treatment condition. Moreover, there were significant effects of condition on perceived stress and occupational stress. There were no significant differences in any variable between the mobile videoconferencing and in-person conditions at 1 month after the intervention.ConclusionsResults indicate that both mobile videoconferencing and in-person interventions were comparably effective in decreasing stress and enhancing resilience. Further studies with a larger sample size and a longer follow-up period are warranted to investigate the long-term effect of mobile videoconferencing interventions.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03256682; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03256682 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/71W77bwnR)

Mobile Video Conferencing for Sharing Outdoor Leisure Activities Over Distance

Video communication systems work relatively well for family members and friends when they want to converse with each other between their homes. Yet it is much more challenging to share activities using mobile video conferencing in outdoor settings. We explored the design of mobile video conferencing systems that focused on allowing family and friends to participate in outdoor leisure activities together over distance. We created and studied two technology probe setups: shared geocaching and shared bicycling. Both used mobile cameras and streamed audio and video between remote family members or friends as they participated in the activities. Through these design and study explorations, we explore how family and friends make use of mobile video during leisure activities, what elements are important for the design of such systems, and how mobile video for outdoor leisure activities compares and contrasts to video calling in the home and, more generally, while mobile. Our research points to design considerations around camera views, when and how audio and video should be presented, and the privacy concerns of users and how to balance them with the benefit of the technology.

Telehospice: Implementation lessons from rural hospice care with mobile tablets.

6546 Background: In underserved rural communities, hospice personnel often travel great distances to reach patients, resulting in challenges to maintain access, quality, cost-effectiveness and safety. To address these disparities, the University of Kansas Medical Center piloted the country’s first TeleHospice (TH) service in 1998. Barriers such as technology limitations, costs and attitudes towards technology limited adoption (Cook et al., 2001). An updated academic-community project utilizes secure mobile videoconferencing to support TH services in Kansas’ frontier communities. Methods: Leveraging lessons learned from the early work, a secure cloud-based videoconferencing solution was chosen for ease of use. To maximize limited resources, the selection of hospice partners was guided by Gustafson et al.’s (2003) Organizational Change Manager, which also informed implementation gaps. The academic team partnered with Hospice Services, Inc., a leader in rural hospice care, providing services to 16 Kansas counties. Results: From February 2016 through January 2017, 116 TH encounters occurred, encompassing 707 attendees over 7,462 minutes. The most common TH uses to date have been: administrative (e.g., connecting hospice staff across 16 counties); professional-to-professional (e.g., connecting hospice nurses at homes to additional TH professionals); and family support (e.g., connecting adult children with loved ones). Initial use of videoconferencing for administrative purposes developed a comfort level in using it for clinical and family support purposes. For staff meetings alone, the hospice has saved approximately $2,500/month in travel, with TH staff noting increased morale driven by increased team communication. Conclusions: Compared with early work, technology advances and a community-centered approach have increased TH adoption. With decreasing budgets as well as rural hospice closures, innovative, cost-effective and community-driven approaches such as TH are needed to decrease disparities. As dissemination occurs in national hospice organizations, continued research is needed to understand best fit within frontier hospices, to inform future urban applications and to address reimbursement.

Korean Version of the Mini-Mental State Examination Using Smartphone: A Validation Study.

Stroke often leads to disability, and poststroke survivors often have limited accessibility to medical facilities. For such patients, mobile videoconferencing technology offers an opportunity to perform follow-up assessment and appropriate management of cognitive impairment. We aimed to determine the validity of the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-K) when administered using a smartphone. Thirty patients with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke were included in this study (20 males, 10 females; mean age, 69.8 ± 12.9 years). Both face-to-face and remote assessments of cognitive function through MMSE-K were performed for each patient at an interval of at least 3 days. Additionally, an in-person collaborator evaluated the MMSE-K score during the remote assessment. A smartphone and a tablet were used by the patient and the examiner, respectively, and remote connection was mediated using a dedicated videoconferencing application. The MMSE-K scores obtained through face-to-face, remote, and in-person assessments were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test and the Spearman correlation analysis. There was good agreement between face-to-face and remote assessments, as well as between remote assessment and in-person collaborator's evaluation regarding total MMSE-K score and subscores for each MMSE-K domain (orientation, memory, attention/calculation, language, and visuospatial function). Remote assessment can be a useful clinical evaluation method, and this study confirmed the validity. The smartphone represents a promising tool for the assessment of cognitive function in clinical practice, but further research into the intra- and inter-rater reliability of observations is warranted.

The Efficacy of Telemedicine-Supported Discharge Within an In Home Model of Care.

To determine if mobile videoconferencing technology can facilitate the discharge of low-acuity patients receiving in-home care without compromising short-term health outcomes. A 6-month trial commenced in July 2015 with 345 patients considered unsuited to Criteria Led Discharge (CLD) receiving in-home care included as participants. Nurses providing clinical support to patients in their homes were supplied with a tablet computer (Apple iPad) with Internet connectivity (Telstra 4G Network) and videoconferencing software (Cisco Jabber for Telepresence). Device usage data combined with hospital admission records were collected to determine (a) instances where a telemedicine-facilitated discharge occurred and (b) if the accepted measure of short-term health outcomes (readmission within 28 days) was adversely affected by this alternative method. Telemedicine technology facilitated the discharge of 10.1% (n = 35) of patients considered unsuitable for CLD from the Hospital in the Home model during the trial period. Statistically insignificant differences in rates of readmission between patients discharged in person versus those participating in the telemedicine-supported model suggest that the clinical standards of the service have been maintained. The results of evaluating telemedicine support for nurses providing low-acuity in-home care indicate that patients may be discharged remotely while maintaining the existing clinical standards of the service.

A Review of Downlink Packet Scheduling Algorithms for Real Time Traffic in LTE-Advanced Networks

Objective: In recent times, the demand for high data rates is ever increasing in any wireless network environment. Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) is the latest 4G technology which is developed based on 3GPP specifications. Our main objective in this proposed research wok is to analyze the various packet scheduling algorithms for downlink real time data and present their scheduling metrics. Methods: In this review we considered more recent scheduling algorithms which are QoS aware and with specific focus on real time traffic classes such as VoIP, Video Streaming, Interactive Gaming and mobile video conference. Conclusion: Our most significant observation from this review is that any packet scheduling algorithm for downlink real time data should be QoS aware so that it is readily deployable in the present day multimedia networks. The scheduling schemes should also consider the latest technologies such as Carrier Aggregation (CA) and Multi Input and Multi Output (MIMO). Applications: The presented review will help the researchers and academicians to develop more efficient scheduling schemes for real time applications for smart phone users with better quality of experience and efficient radio resource management.

MHealth Clinic Appointment PC Tablet: Implementation, Challenges and Solutions.

Patients requiring daily intravenous (IV) home parenteral nutrition (HPN) would benefit from in-home professional observation to improve self-care, to assess, detect and prevent serious complications. The study aims are to assess the viability and utility of conducting mobile healthcare (mHealth) videoconference assessments with patients managing lifelong daily 12-hour IV nutrition infusions in their homes. The challenges and solutions to implementing mobile personal computer (PC) tablet based clinic appointments are described. A wireless Apple iPad Mini™ mobile touch-screen tablet computer with 5 mega-pixel camera was loaned to patients. Each tablet had Polycom RealPresence software and a fourth generation (4G) mobile telecommunications data plan. These supported audio-visual mobile videoconferencing encrypted connections between health professionals in their offices and HPN patients and their family members in their homes. Patients' and professionals' evaluations of their mHealth clinic experiences are collected. Patients (mean age = 41.9, SD = 2.8 years) had been prescribed 12-hour home parenteral nutrition (HPN) infusions daily due short bowel disorders. Patients had been on HPN from 1 to 10 years (M=4, SD=3.6). Evaluation of clinic appointments revealed that 100% of the patients (n=45) and the professionals (n=6) indicated that they can clearly hear and easily see one another. The mHealth audio-visual interactions were highly rated by patients and family members. Professionals highly rated their ability to obtain a medical history and visual inspection of patients. Several challenges were identified and recommendations for resolutions are described. All patients and professionals highly rated the iPad mHealth clinic appointments for convenience and ease of communicating between homes and offices. An important challenge for all mHealth visits is the clinical professional's ability to make clinically accurate judgments about what they observed and heard from the patients. Following our solutions for obtaining clear visuals with the iPad can improve ability to make clinical assessments.

Utilization of a Mobile Videoconferencing Tool (FaceTime) for Real-time Evaluation of Critically Ill Residents in Skilled Nursing Facilities

Utilization of a Mobile Videoconferencing Tool (FaceTime) for Real-time Evaluation of Critically Ill Residents in Skilled Nursing Facilities

Abstract 90: NIH Stroke Scale Assessment via iPad-based Mobile Telestroke During Ambulance Transport is Feasible - Pilot data from the Improving Treatment with Rapid Evaluation of Acute Stroke via Mobile Telemedecine (iTREAT) Study

Introduction: The AHA-ASA Target:Stroke Program calls for innovative approaches to prehospital stroke care. We previously showed that mobile videoconferencing during ambulance transport is technically feasible in a rural EMS setting using an iPad-based telemedicine system. We now hypothesize that this mobile telestroke system is clinically feasible as measured by agreement of the NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) between face-to-face (FTF) and remote ambulance-based assessments (iTREAT). Methods: The iTREAT system comprises an Apple iPad® with retina display, high-speed 4G LTE modem, Cisco Jabber secure video conferencing application, mounting apparatus, and magnetic external antenna. We developed 4 unique stroke and 2 unique stroke-mimic scenarios to simulate prehospital stroke alerts. We recruited 3 standardized patients each assigned two scenarios, and randomly assigned each scenario to one of 6 major ambulance routes triaging to UVA Medical Center. To eliminate bias, we alternated the order of FTF and iTREAT evaluations. Statistical measures were inter- and intra-rater correlation coefficient for the NIHSS and audio/visual(AV) quality ratings on a 6-point scale (>4 indicating “good” or “excellent” connectivity). Results: For the 12 iTREAT and 10 FTF evaluations (two FTF missing data), intra-rater correlation of NIHSS scores was consistently >0.91 (mean=0.96). Inter-rater correlation for FTF evaluations was >0.89 (mean 0.96), and inter-rater correlation for iTREAT evaluations was >0.84 (mean=0.94). AV quality ratings during all iTREAT evaluations were deemed “good” or “excellent” (audio mean=5.3, median=5.5; video mean=4.67, median=4.5). Both NIHSS correlation and AV quality rating increased over the study period. Conclusion: In this pilot feasibility study, NIHSS scores obtained via ambulance using our iPad-based mobile telestroke system correlated well with in person assessments. These results support further research to determine feasibility and efficacy of this low-cost mobile telestroke system in prehospital stroke care.

Utilization of a Mobile Videoconferencing Tool (FaceTime) for Real-time Evaluation of Critically Ill Neurosurgical Patients

Utilization of a Mobile Videoconferencing Tool (FaceTime) for Real-time Evaluation of Critically Ill Neurosurgical Patients

Mobile videoconferencing for enhanced emergency medical communication - a shot in the dark or a walk in the park? ‒‒ A simulation study.

BackgroundVideoconferencing on mobile phones may enhance communication, but knowledge on its quality in various situations is needed before it can be used in medical emergencies. Mobile phones automatically activate loudspeaker functionality during videoconferencing, making calls particularly vulnerable to background noise. The aim of this study was to investigate if videoconferencing can be used between lay bystanders and Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) operators for initial emergency calls during medical emergencies, under suboptimal sound and light conditions.MethodsVideoconferencing was tested between 90 volunteers and an emergency medical dispatcher in a standardized scenario of a medical emergency. Three different environments were used for the trials: indoors with moderate background noise, outdoors with daylight and much background noise, and outdoors during nighttime with little background noise. Thirty participants were recruited for each of the three locations. After informed consent, each participant was asked to use a video mobile phone to communicate with an EMD operator. During the video call the EMD operator gave instructions for tasks to be performed by the participant. The video quality from the caller to the EMD was evaluated by the EMD operator and rated on a five step scale ranging from "not able to see" to "good video quality". Sound quality between participants and EMD operators was assessed by a method developed for this trial. Kruskal – Wallis and Chi-square tests were used for statistical analysis.ResultsVideo quality was significantly different between the groups (p <0.001), and the nighttime group had lower video quality. For most sessions in the nighttime group it was still possible to see actions done at the simulated emergency site. All participants were able to perform their tasks according to the instructions given by dispatchers, although with a need for more repetitions during sessions with much background noise. No calls were rated by dispatchers as incomprehensible due to low sound quality and only 3% of the calls were considered somewhat difficult or very difficult to understand.ConclusionsVideoconferencing on mobile phones can be used for the initial emergency call during medical emergencies also in suboptimal conditions.

Multimedia systems journal special issue on Mobile Multimedia applications

The speed and the quality of expanding and creating a vast variety of multimedia services like voice, email, short messages, Internet access, m-commerce, to mobile video conferencing, streaming video and audio have brought true Mobile Multimedia experiences to mobile customers. Due to constant changing environments, limited battery life and diverse data types, Mobile Multimedia implies considerable challenges to operators, infrastructure builders in terms of ensuring fast, reliable services and accommodating the quick growing global customer needs. In this special issue, we present selected papers presented at the 8th International Conference on Advances in Mobile Computing and Multimedia (MoMM2010), held in Paris, France from the 8th to the 10th of November 2010. The papers have been extended significantly from their conference version, to include a thorough literature review and more advanced result. In addition, we have also received several direct submissions as a response to our call for papers. After the review process, we are pleased to include seven papers in this issue, five of which came from extended version of MoMM2010 conference papers and the other two came from direct submissions. In the first paper, Adany, Kraus and Ordonez investigate the area of personalized TV ads to improve the effectiveness of ads distribution to targeted viewers. They study the parameters that contribute to uncertainties of ads allocations to the viewers. Depending on the existence of uncertainties factors, they propose algorithms that can improve the revenue for TV ads allocations. For validation of results, the paper also demonstrates a set of simulation. In the next paper, Rehman and Hussain aim to improve the effectiveness of multimedia content recommender system by utilizing users’ rating frequency in a similarity measure. The proposed algorithm is tested by comparing it with four commonly used similarity measures using different type of data sets. In the next paper, Shahbahrami, Rad, and Attar aim to improve the quality of lossless image compression system. They propose gradient-based tracking and adaptive method into an effective predictor for image compression system. They compare their predictor with existing predictors using mathematical and visual approaches. Ota, Aoyama, Watanabe, Ito, Miyake and Aoki want to improve their existing palmprint-based biometric authentication system by applying them in mobile phones. The previous schemes cannot be mapped directly into mobile phones due to various technology and physical constraints and therefore, in this paper, they utilize other technique to pre-process the palmprints. They implement the schemes using two types of Android devices and evaluate the outcome based on the accuracy and the processing time. They also add evaluation of their schemes in terms of security and usability. In the next paper, Rahman and Saddik propose a framework that can be used to improve learning activities by streaming media embedded with learning objects. The framework enables customization to validate learners’ E. Pardede (&) La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia e-mail: E.Pardede@latrobe.edu.au