scholarly journals Electronic Tools for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 347-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven D Burdette

Electronic tools for infectious diseases and medical microbiology have the ability to change the way the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases are approached. Medical information today has the ability to be dynamic, keeping up with the latest research or clinical issues, instead of being static and years behind, as many textbooks are. The ability to rapidly disseminate information around the world opens up the possibility of communicating with people thousands of miles away to quickly and efficiently learn about emerging infections. Electronic tools have expanded beyond the desktop computer and the Internet, and now include personal digital assistants and other portable devices such as cellular phones. These pocket-sized devices have the ability to provide access to clinical information at the point of care. New electronic tools include e-mail listservs, electronic drug databases and search engines that allow focused clinical questions. The goal of the present article is to provide an overview of how electronic tools can impact infectious diseases and microbiology, while providing links and resources to allow users to maximize their efficiency in accessing this information. Links to the mentioned Web sites and programs are provided along with other useful electronic tools.

2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 892-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine E Keplar ◽  
Christopher J Urbanski ◽  
Deanna S Kania

OBJECTIVE: To review the common general drug information applications and specialty drug information applications available for personal digital assistants (PDAs). DATA SOURCES: The literature was accessed through MEDLINE (2003–June 2004). Other information was obtained through secondary sources, such as Web sites describing common PDA applications as well as actual product trials. The key search terms used were handheld, PDA, personal digital assistants, drug information, pharmacokinetics, medical information, and medical applications. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: Articles or studies that provided a review of drug information references for the PDA since 2002 were included. Data pertaining to cost and application size were obtained from product or vendor Web sites. DATA SYNTHESIS: There are numerous medical applications available for the PDA including general drug information references, specialty drug information references (eg, pediatrics, cardiology, infectious diseases, oncology, psychology, herbals), diagnostic applications, medical calculators, nursing references, and patient tracking databases. Due to the huge array of programs, as well as factors such as cost and memory requirements, the healthcare provider must be selective in the medical applications that are placed on the PDA. CONCLUSIONS: There are many excellent PDA drug information applications that provide fast and accurate drug information and other features that assist the healthcare provider.


Author(s):  
Steve Chi-Yin Yuen ◽  
Patrivan K. Yuen

Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are small handheld devices initially designed for use as personal organizers. They can store documents, spreadsheets, calendar entries, games, databases, and lots of other resources normally associated with a laptop or desktop computer. PDAs are relatively inexpensive and highly portable and are designed to utilize small, low-bandwidth files and applications. They are able to perform limited PC tasks such as word processing and spreadsheet analysis and newer PDAs are capable of Web browsing and e-mail functions via wire or wireless connected to networks. Also, they can synchronize with desktop computers and laptops to download Web sites via channels and work off-line. Furthermore, PDAs offer infrared communication, allowing data to be transferred across short distances between devices without the need for networks. The latest developments offer wireless connection via mobile phone networks or Bluetooth, and many combine phone and PDA functions in one unit (Aclear.net, n.d.). This article will provide an overview of PDA technology including advantages and limitations and the use of PDAs in teaching and learning, as well as the future trends. This will help educators assess the use of PDAs in teaching and learning environments and determine how PDAs can be integrated into the curriculum.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 87-98
Author(s):  
Abdullah Alamri

Healthcare systems have evolved to become more patient-centric. Many efforts have been made to transform paper-based patient data to automated medical information by developing electronic healthcare records (EHRs). Several international EHRs standards have been enabling healthcare interoperability and communication among a wide variety of medical centres. It is a dual-model methodology which comprises a reference information model and an archetype model. The archetype is responsible for the definition of clinical concepts which has limitations in terms of supporting complex reasoning and knowledge discovery requirements. The objective of this article is to propose a semantic-mediation architecture to support semantic interoperability among healthcare organizations. It provides an intermediate semantic layer to exploit clinical information based on richer ontological representations to create a “model of meaning” for enabling semantic mediation. The proposed model also provides secure mechanisms to allow interoperable sharing of patient data between healthcare organizations.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1285
Author(s):  
Anh Tran Tam Pham ◽  
Angus Wallace ◽  
Xinyi Zhang ◽  
Damian Tohl ◽  
Hao Fu ◽  
...  

The detection and monitoring of biomarkers in body fluids has been used to improve human healthcare activities for decades. In recent years, researchers have focused their attention on applying the point-of-care (POC) strategies into biomarker detection. The evolution of mobile technologies has allowed researchers to develop numerous portable medical devices that aim to deliver comparable results to clinical measurements. Among these, optical-based detection methods have been considered as one of the common and efficient ways to detect and monitor the presence of biomarkers in bodily fluids, and emerging aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) with their distinct features are merging with portable medical devices. In this review, the detection methodologies that use optical measurements in the POC systems for the detection and monitoring of biomarkers in bodily fluids are compared, including colorimetry, fluorescence and chemiluminescence measurements. The current portable technologies, with or without the use of smartphones in device development, that are combined with optical biosensors for the detection and monitoring of biomarkers in body fluids, are also investigated. The review also discusses novel AIEgens used in the portable systems for the detection and monitoring of biomarkers in body fluid. Finally, the potential of future developments and the use of optical detection-based portable devices in healthcare activities are explored.


Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 194
Author(s):  
Yung-Chih Wang ◽  
Yao-Hung Tsai ◽  
Ching-Fen Shen ◽  
Ming-Yao He ◽  
Yi-Chen Fu ◽  
...  

Escherichia coli has been known to cause a variety of infectious diseases. The conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a well-known method widely used to diagnose a variety of infectious diseases. This method is expensive and requires considerable time and effort to conduct and complete multiple integral steps. We previously proposed the use of paper-based ELISA to rapidly detect the presence of E. coli. This approach has demonstrated utility for point-of-care (POC) urinary tract infection diagnoses. Paper-based ELISA, while advantageous, still requires the execution of several procedural steps. Here, we discuss the design and experimental implementation of a turntable paper-based device to simplify the paper-based ELISA protocols for the detection of E. coli. In this process, antibodies or reagents are preloaded onto zones of a paper-based device and allowed to dry before use. We successfully used this device to detect E. coli with a detection limit of 105 colony-forming units (colony-forming unit [CFU])/mL.


Author(s):  
Francisco Salomon ◽  
Salvador Tropea ◽  
Diego Brengi ◽  
Ariel Hernandez ◽  
Diego Alamon ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Fearon

HIV diagnostic testing has come a long way since its inception in the early 1980s. Current enzyme immunoassays are sensitive enough to detect antibody as early as one to two weeks after infection. A variety of other assays are essential to confirm positive antibody screens (Western blot, polymerase chain reaction [PCR]), provide an adjunct to antibody testing (p24 antigen, PCR), or provide additional information for the clinician treating HIV-positive patients (qualitative and quantitative PCR, and genotyping). Most diagnostic laboratories have complex testing algorithms to ensure accuracy of results and optimal use of laboratory resources. The choice of assays is guided by the initial screening results and the clinical information provided by the physician; both are integral to the laboratory's ability to provide an accurate laboratory diagnosis. Laboratories should also provide specific information on specimen collection, storage and transport so that specimen integrity is not compromised, thereby preserving the accuracy of laboratory results. Point of Care tests have become increasingly popular in the United States and some places in Canada over the past several years. These tests provide rapid, on-site HIV results in a format that is relatively easy for clinic staff to perform. However, the performance of these tests requires adherence to good laboratory quality control practices, as well as the backup of a licensed diagnostic laboratory to provide confirmation and resolution of positive or indeterminate results. Laboratory quality assurance programs and the participation in HIV proficiency testing programs are essential to ensure that diagnostic laboratories provide accurate, timely and clinically relevant laboratory results.


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