RESUMEN

OBJECTIVES: This project focuses on how patients respond to wearable biomedical sensors, since patient acceptance of this type of monitoring technology is essential for enhancing the quality of the data being measured. There is a lack of validated questionnaires measuring patient acceptance of telemedical solutions, and little information is known of how patients evaluate the use of wearable sensors. METHODS: In information systems research, surveys are commonly used to evaluate the user satisfaction of software programs. Based on this tradition and adding measures of patient satisfaction and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), a Sensor Acceptance Model is developed. The model is made operational using two questionnaires developed for measuring the patients' perceived acceptance of wearable sensors. RESULTS: The model is tested with 11 patients using a newly developed wearable ECG sensor, and with 25 patients in a reference group using a traditional "Holter Recorder". Construct validity is evaluated by confirmatory factor analysis, and internal consistency is calculated using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Sensor Acceptance Index (SAI) is calculated for each patient, showing reasonable dependencies and variance in scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study attempts to identify patients' acceptance of wearable sensors, describing a user acceptance model. Understanding the patients' behavior and motivation represents a step forward in designing suitable technical solutions, and calculations of SAI can, hopefully, be used to compare different wearable sensor solutions. However, this instrument needs more extensive testing with a broader sample size, with different types of sensors and by explorative follow-up interviews.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Development of new wearable biomedical sensors within a wireless infrastructure opens up possibilities for new telemedical applications leading to significant improvements in continuous monitoring, and thereby to better quality of patient care. In this paper we describe a new concept for a wireless electrocardiogram (ECG) system intended for continuous monitoring of ECG activity especially designed for arrhythmia diagnostic purposes. The patient is wearing an ECG sensor, "a smart electronic electrode", with wireless transmission of ECG signals to a dedicated hand held device (HHD). This device is monitoring the continuously recorded ECG signal, and can detect abnormal ECG activity using an automatic arrhythmia detector. Based on this, the device will transmit alarm conditions to a remote clinical alarm station (CAS). The system will act as a continuous event recorder, which can be used to follow up patients who have survived cardiac arrest, ventricular tachycardia or cardiac syncope but also for diagnostic purposes for patients with diffuse arrhythmia symptoms. This paper describes the principle design requirements for the new wireless ECG sensor and system design for the HHD in order to transfer detected alarms to the CAS.

RESUMEN

Unskilled handling of surgical diathermia units exposes patients, operators and assistants to unnecessary risks. This article briefly reviews the equipment's technical potential, possible risks of complication, and how risk factors can be eliminated by proper handling. Important issues are risk of local accidental burns and of unintended stimulation of muscles and nerves, precautions when treating patients with a pacemaker or metallic implant, and specific problems connected to endoscopy.

Asunto(s)