Health Informatics Assignment Week 7 to 9

Week 7 Question


  1. What are the five possible approaches to accelerating the creation of standards?
  2. Define five health care standards, not mentioned in the chapter, that might also be needed?
  3. What role should the government play in the creation of standards?

    Answer:

    The national government plays a pivotal role in controlling scheme funding via mandatory health insurance (MHI) as well as other national welfare; enhancing the integrity and protection of medication and medical technologies; monitoring public health activities; and supporting science. Though the laws and obligations differ drastically over place and time, they must be established by governments. Governments include people with the guidelines for everyday experiences, defend themselves from external intervention as well as provide with their well-being and satisfaction. Governments play an significant part in the advancement of safety. The significant changes in the last four decades of the 20th century had profoundly influenced and resulted in a reconfiguration of the proper role of government in healthcare and social spheres though too. Given that market forces do not sufficiently meet the medical needs of the community, policymakers have a responsibility to interfere to enhance prosperity and productivity, perform aspects of public health, and deliver essential public services that have an impact on overall growth. In order to preserve the social government's role in health promotion, the Regional Committee is invited to present ways of improving healthcare organizations operations with a special emphasis on governance, funding and service provision. The healthcare field situation, however, is distinguished from other markets, as competitive forces struggle to sufficiently meet peoples' health requirements for different reasons, presenting policymakers with unique obligations in healthcare growth. As an outcome of market distortions, policymakers have had an opportunity to participate with a view to increasing prosperity and performance, performing important public health functions and delivering critical public services that have a great deal to do with health growth. In addition, health is viewed in the nation or elsewhere, not necessarily as a product of the economy, but as a fundamental human need as well as civil obligation. Government policies must strive to adjust to emerging developments and obstacles whilst diminishing government's social position in the light of social attitudes as well as obligations and responsibilities at national , regional and international level Efforts are being made to improve various purposes of the healthcare system, with special emphasis on administration, funding and service provision.

  4. At what level might a standard interfere with a vendor’s ability to produce a unique product?
  5. Define a hypothetical standard for one of the areas mentioned in the text for which no current standard exists. Include the conceptualization and discussion points. Specifically state the scope of the standard.

    Answer:

    The imminent in regard to the meeting up the standards seems to be brighter enough. The prevailing attitude among the prevailing groups in the Europe as well as United States have favored developing workable morals so that the novel problems could be solved. Participants favorize working in togetherness, in lieu of which the proprietary and concerns that have not been published concerns to its least. However, separation of the data from the syntax is quite essential.  Therefore, the development of a common, global data model is thus found to be essential. Elaborations in the context of vocabulary, coding along with the standardized data structures have been approaching the reality. Constantly, the objectives towards plug and play had not been comprehended, though this is hoped to be attainable in the next upcoming years. In the text data interchange standards are discussed, in the area of communication between medical devices, DICOM has been introduced. However, with the arise of wireless network environment. The Outcomes and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) is a streamlined data set developed to support the thorough and systematic assessment of outcome measures for clinician home health to enhance the value of telemedicine services. The collection involves information from aggregate records, asserts, and evaluation of health records. While wireless technology including such smartphones, laptops as well as other smart applications appear to penetrate each component of daily situations, hospitals also sought to incorporate them into the healthcare environment. Comparably, wireless communication systems are used in health-care facilities that do have the development of the infrastructure required. It proposes the orthogonal multiplexing frequency division (OFDM) as a wireless connection for image classification distribution. This allowed the convergence of medical imaging devices from various manufacturers to be included nationwide to archive, share and distribute patient information. Customer records and associated images are transferred in a standard way and deposited. Patients, in turn, are getting quite efficient treatment. Users retain regular 2D images in a PACS along with 3D images. Practitioners in radiology use a PACS to store so all medical diagnostic directories. The cost implementation of PACS along with the selection of vendor to the institution have impacted the implementation of the PACS in its workstations, archiving as well as managing data storage systems along with carrying out interfaces like RIS/HIS when using imaging techniques like MRI, CT and digital x-ray. For operation of these systems then there will be requirement of the trained personnel along with infrastructure upgrade that would count onto the making direct or indirect influencing to the costs. However, PACS is a diagnostic imaging technology capable of doing the following:

    • provides comprehensive processing and easy access to the patient studies photos from various mediums of the imaging.
    • converts digital images and electronic reports over the system.
    • Improves efficiency and productivity in Radiology.
    • improves the quality of care across hospital.

    Thus, it leads to the better justification of the when it comes to gaining of better financial stability along with the improving clinical services, which would also assist in making indirect financial gains. However, upgradation in the workflow efficiency would help in obtaining more financial assets. However, dependency of the PACS workflow in the healthcare system would entirely be dependent upon the how well the systems is executed by the trained personnel and likewise the benefits would be gained as and when the system is operated in acceptable conditions.


Week 8 Question


Questions for Discussion

  1. Develop a regular expression to regularize the tokens in lines 4–9 of the cardiaccatheterization report shown in Figure 8.7 (Complications through Heart Rate).
  2. Create a lexicon for the last seven lines of the cardiac catheterization report shown in Figure 8.7 (Conclusions through the last sentence). For each word, determine all the parts of speech that apply, using the tags in Table 8.2. Which words have more than one part of speech? Choose eight clinically relevant words in that section of the report, and suggest appropriate semantic categories for them that would be consistent with the SNOMED axes and with the UMLS semantic network.
  3. Using the grammar in Figure 8.3, draw all possible parse trees for each of the sample sentences 1a, 2a, and 3a discussed in Section 8.4.3. For each sentence, indicate which parse represents the correct structure.
  4. Using the grammar in Figure 8.3, draw a parse tree for the last sentence of cardiaccatheterization report shown in Figure 8.7.
  5. Using the grammar in Figure 8.4, draw parse trees for the following sentences: no increase in temperature; low grade fever; marked improvement in pain; not breathing. (Hint: some lexemes have more than one word.)
  6. Identify all the referential expressions in the text below and determine the correct referent for each. Assume that the computer attempts to identify referents by finding the most recent noun phrase. How well does this resolution rule work? Suggest a more effective rule.

The patient went to receive the AV fistula on December 4. However, he refuses transfusion. In the operating room it was determined upon initial incision that there was too much edema to successfully complete the operation and the incision was closed with staples. It was well tolerated by the patient.


Week 9 Question


  1. What is the general principle that underlies computed axial tomography (CT)? What are the advantages of CT images over conventional X-ray images?

    Answer:

    CT is related to the basic idea that the intensity of the tissue penetrated either by x-ray beam can indeed be calculated using the attenuation coefficient measurement. Using that same theory, CT allows the recreation of body mass, perpendicular to the data acquisition direction, by even a two-dimensional segment. The CT image is remodeled by such a computer-applied algorithm, using monitoring equipment from some kind of sequence of x-ray attenuation observations collected at different directions all around particular topic; the signal-to - noise proportion for such observations is customized besides trying to reduce the splintered radioactivity and scheme ability to contribute. CT uses radiation exposure, or x-rays, in combination via an automated detector system to capture density patterns and to project the image of a specimen "slice" or "cut." Inside the detector, the x-ray beam changes direction across the target, so that several x-ray interpretations move through to the target. A solid-state device would be the more advanced version of the CT sensor. A solid-state sensor seems to be the most advanced version of a CT detection system. This detector type is identical to the display-film device used during x-ray. The detectors for the solid-state are a scintillator and a photodetector. Light is produced as the x-ray photons align with the scintillator. Radiography restricts a three-dimensional (3D) parts of the image to a two-dimensional (2D) image with little differentiation, since frameworks which reside upon top of one another appear mapped onto one image. While using exogenous substances to strengthen those frameworks, or by getting additional simulations from various angles to differentiate the frameworks throughout the digital image, the intensity can be enhanced. CT images including individual scanner gantry rotations are indeed referred to as fragments since a standard data collection and restoration could create an x-ray representation of a small portion of the patient's body. The material shown in the picture seems to be that if a thin slice or segment of the patient's body being cut in a plane perpendicular to long axis of the patient's body or set for viewing.

    Advantages of CT:

    The benefits of CT scans over x-rays have included vast volume of data a CT scan offers, the physician's ability to customize the images into diverse opinions without extra patient imagery, and indeed the potential to arbitrarily improve or delete imaging configurations. CT over traditional radiography requires the absence of superimposed frameworks, the ability to discern minor variations in atomic structure intensity and defects, and the enhanced image quality. Computed tomography is pain free, non-invasive and precisely performed. A significant advantage of CT is its capability to simultaneously view the bone, soft tissue and blood vessels. In a CT image, intertwined configurations are removed which makes the internal structure quite clear. An x-ray tube rotates throughout the individual while CT imaging so that several details are obtained from several angles. These images are stored in database which scrutinizes them to establish a new view with removal of the overlying structures. CT images permit radiologists as well as other physicians to recognize and then see the shape, size, permeability and texture of structural features. These specific details are being used to decide whether There's a medical issue, the severity and precise location of the issue, and several other essential data. The images could also demonstrate if there is no deformity.

  2. Explain the general principle underlying magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)? What are the advantages of this method compared to older methods of imaging?

    Answer:

    Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) incorporates a massive magnet and radio waves to peer through the body to the organs and structures. To diagnose a variety of conditions, from torn ligaments to tumors, healthcare professionals use MRI scans. MRIs seem to be beneficial for brain and spine examination. MRI, thus utilizes the magnetic properties of some nuclei. The particles can be twisted by means of electromagnetic waves, and eventually they fluctuate in the magnetic field until returning to optimum. MRI includes in vivo imaging of the protons. If a radio wave stimulus is applied to a magnetic field, protons transmit a signal; the MRI system then generates an image from those signals.

    Advantages of MRI over other systems of imaging:

    MRI requires no radiation. Juxtaposing substance with MRI is less likely to trigger an allergic response which might occur while using iodine-based agents for x-rays including CT scans. MRI mainly provides clear, detailed images of soft-tissue frameworks that are impossible to accomplish by other imaging technology. MRI 's benefits over many other imaging techniques have included lack of ionizing radiation, particularly facial performance of soft tissue, high resolution images, and multiplanar imaging capabilities. It allows visualization which are clearer than a CT scan. For cases where doctors require a connective tissue image, an MRI is a safer choice over x-rays or CTs. Especially in comparison with CT images, MRIs will produce clearer images of the organs including muscle tissue, like broken ligaments and herniated discs. A CT scan could identify anomalies in certain cases quite quickly than an MRI, namely acute bleeding and fractures in the bones. In comparison, it is possible for an MRI to efficiently detect or irregular lesions like plaques of multiple sclerosis, acoustic neuromas or low-grade astrocytomas. There is no radiation involved as MRIs. Complementary agent with MRI is less likely to cause an adverse response which might occur while using iodine-based materials for x-rays and CT scans.

  3. Explain the differences among contrast, spatial, and temporal resolution.
  4. Describe the four standard image-processing steps, and suggest how these might be applied by an imageanalysis program looking for abnormal cells in a PAP smear.
  5. What is the segmentation step in image analysis? Why is it so difficult to perform? Give two examples of ways by which current systems avoid the problem of automatic seg-mentation. Give an example of how knowledge about the problem to be solved (e.g., local anatomy) could be used in future systems to aid in automatic segmentation.
  6. What additional informatics issues arise when going from two-dimensional to three-dimensional image processing? What are the three-dimensional versions of two-dimensional image-processing operations such as region growing and edge finding?
  7. What is a three-dimensional brain atlas? What are the methods for registering a patient image volume to that atlas? What is the use of a brain atlas?

    Answer:

    An illustration of a three-dimensional brain atlas produced through the Visible Person is Voxelman, within where each voxel in each Visible Person head is classified as an anatomical framework throughout a "generalized voxel model" which automatically developed incredibly comprehensive three-dimensional scenes. Often, many other brain atlases were designed mainly for instructional usages. In line with the purpose of anatomy mostly as guideline for organization, atlases have indeed been designed to analyze responsive data from different research findings. The most popularly utilized neural network atlas seems to be the Talairach atlas, premised upon a 60-year-old woman's postmortem segments. This atlas presented a sequential coordination system consisting of 12 rectangular target brain regions that have been piecewise affine that are transformed to the adjoining regions among the atlas. Such concerns prompted many team members to work on strategy for creating neural compasses that represent variability within a community, whether the entire nation or chosen subsets. The International Brain Mapping Consortium (ICBM), a partnership between many UCLA-led brain research organizations, gathers massive groups of functional brain picture quantities through collaborations from all around from the world. The labeled atlas succeeds at delineating places of interest throughout the Atlas of Strength. The atlas-based segmentation procedure involves of deforming the specified atlas artifacts to perfectly accommodate themselves in the client object to be subdivided with their respective subjects. Segmentation of images is also an initial step in the process of photographs. The purpose is to minimize or make its depiction of even an object a much more relevant and difficult to analyze stuff. The competitive advantage of arrowhead-based segmentation in regards towards the other forms of classification seems to be the capacity to section the picture with no precisely articulated relationship seen between environments and the frequencies of the particles.

  8. Give some example techniques for imaging the function of the brain.