Three-dimensional (3D) printing has gained popularity across various domains but remains less integrated into medical surgery due to its complexity. Existing literature primarily discusses specific applications, with limited detailed guidance on the entire process. The methodological details of converting Computed Tomography (CT) images into 3D models are often found in amateur 3D printing forums rather than scientific literature. To address this gap, we present a comprehensive methodology for converting CT images of bone fractures into 3D-printed models. This involves transferring files in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) format to stereolithography format, processing the 3D model, and preparing it for printing. Our methodology outlines step-by-step guidelines, time estimates, and software recommendations, prioritizing free open-source tools. We also share our practical experience and outcomes, including the successful creation of 72 models for surgical planning, patient education, and teaching. Although there are challenges associated with utilizing 3D printing in surgery, such as the requirement for specialized expertise and equipment, the advantages in surgical planning, patient education, and improved outcomes are evident. Further studies are warranted to refine and standardize these methodologies for broader adoption in medical practice.
- Klíčová slova
- 3D printing, Image-guided surgery, Medical education, Patient-specific models, Preoperative planning, Surgery,
- MeSH
- 3D tisk * MeSH
- fraktury kostí * diagnostické zobrazování chirurgie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- modely anatomické MeSH
- počítačová rentgenová tomografie * metody MeSH
- radiologické informační systémy organizace a řízení MeSH
- traumatologie MeSH
- zobrazování trojrozměrné metody MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
This editorial discusses the recent study conducted by Macias et al., revealing that anesthesiologists' case volume history has only a marginal impact on improving operating room efficiency, resulting in minimal clinical significance. The idea that a specific anesthesia team or type of anesthesia could enhance productivity has been previously investigated, yielding similar conclusions. Although the study primarily focuses on the time from patient arrival to the completion of anesthesia induction, excluding the latter part of anesthesia-controlled time, Macias et al. have made a valuable contribution by challenging the prevalent notion that less experienced anesthesiologists adversely affect operating room efficiency.
- Klíčová slova
- Anesthesia, Anesthesia-controlled time, Case volume, Operating group,
- MeSH
- anesteziologie * MeSH
- anesteziologové * MeSH
- celková anestezie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- operační sály MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- dopisy MeSH
Hospital face increased resource constraints and competition. This escalates the need for efficiency optimization especially in resource-intense areas, such as the Operating Room (OR). Efficiency cannot happen at expenses of patient outcomes. Innovative digital support systems (DSS) have been introduced into the market to support established standardization methods of intraoperative workflows further. This review aimed to analyze whether applied standardization methods and implemented DSS of intraoperative surgical workflows lead to increasing efficiency and demonstrate economic improvements. A systematic review of intraoperative surgical workflows standardization and digitalization was performed. Journal articles and reviews from 2000 to 2023 were retrieved from EBSCO, PubMed, and Scopus databases, as well as the internal database of Johnson & Johnson. 17 articles showed a significant increase in efficiency through standardization, which led to cost reductions between $70.20 to $3,516 per case without negatively impacting quality. Five additional articles on DSS demonstrated a significant positive impact on efficiency and quality. Reduction in OR-time between 6 to 22% per case was one main contributor. No literature on DSS revealed any correlated economic impact. Selected standardization methods and introduced DSS for intraoperative surgical workflows effectively increase efficiency while maintaining or even improving quality. Demonstrated cost-effectiveness of non-digital standardization methods across surgical areas requires more research on complex and resource-intensive procedures and the economic value of DSS to support hospital management's strategic decisions to overcome the increasing economic burden.
- Klíčová slova
- Cost efficiency, Digital support system, Intraoperative, Operating room, Standardization, Surgical process,
- MeSH
- analýza nákladové efektivity MeSH
- délka operace MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- nemocnice MeSH
- operační sály * ekonomika normy MeSH
- výkonnost MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
- systematický přehled MeSH
INTRODUCTION: European Union intends to enable cross-border health services through a program referred to as "MyHealth@EU". The first main service is the dispensation of medicine by interlinking national electronic prescription systems. The second one is the Patient Summary, which enables providing the basic set of patients' medical data. METHODS: The contemporary technical documentation of the project was studied and selected published Key Performance Indicators of the project were analyzed. Where necessary, data were acquired directly from the European Commission. RESULTS: Data from the start of the project (fourth quarter of 2019) until the second quarter of 2022 were analyzed. During this time both the overall number of EU countries with operational cross-border healthcare and their particular abilities in both services have risen. At present, there are eleven countries with capabilities in at least one of the services, of which nine have reported transactions. More countries are in the test phase now and will join the operational phase of the project shortly. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Nevertheless, the program is still used mostly for testing purposes. It seems that only electronic prescription and dispensation are commonly and widely used so far and only Estonian and Finnish patients usually get their medication dispensed abroad. The rest of the operational countries is still at present missing country pairs with a strong cross-border use case.
- Klíčová slova
- Electronic Prescription, Interoperability, Patient Summary, eHealth,
- MeSH
- elektronické předepisování * MeSH
- Evropská unie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- poskytování zdravotní péče * MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Pneumatic tube transport systems (PTS) for delivery of patient samples to a hemostasis laboratory are often used to reduce turnaround time for vital analyses. PTS in our hospital has the ability to regulate the transport speed in the range of 3-6 m/s with acceleration control technology. We evaluated the effects of PTS transport for routine coagulation tests, platelet function tests and special global coagulation tests. Duplicate samples were collected from 29 patients and 40 healthy individuals. One sample was sent using PTS and the other was carried by personnel to the lab for determination of protrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, trombin time, fibrinogen, antitrombin and thrombin generation test. Platelet function was measured by means of a Apact 4004® analyzer using the inductors (ADP, Arachidonic acid and Epinephrine). Samples transported using PTS with normal transport speed 6 m/s does not affect basic coagulation tests (PT, aPTT, FIB, TT and AT), but TGT has significantly altered. The use of PTS with controlled acceleration regulated the increase in thrombin generation from 10% to 3%, which is not statistically signifiant. The use of PTS with controlled acceleration did not show a significant difference even with the highly sensitive method of platelet aggregation. We conclude that PTS with acceleration control with transport speed from 3 to 6 m/s does not affect to platelet activity as measured by LTA and also global coagulation test - TGT. The advantage of PTS transport is very rapid assessment laboratory testing. From the above validation study, it is clear that PTS should always be validated for specialized laboratory methods and appropriately adapted to specific transport conditions.
- Klíčová slova
- Controlled acceleration, Platelet, Pneumatic tube system,
- MeSH
- agregace trombocytů * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- trombocyty * MeSH
- vyšetření krevní srážlivosti MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Although theoretical studies on Anesthesia Information Management Systems (AIMS) have proved their benefits, much less attention has been paid to researching the actual adoption of AIMS. Only a few studies from the USA and Western Europe have been published up to now. The purpose of this article is to assess the adoption, motivation for, and barriers to, usage of AIMS from the perspective of early Czech adopters of these systems. A questionnaire was used to gather adopters' views on motivating factors, benefits encountered after introduction and obstacles perceived to adopting AIMS. Data about usage, costs and functionalities of each of the AIMS was obtained using semi-structured telephone interviews prior to sending out the questionnaire. Five AIMS from three different vendors in four academic hospitals (20% of Czech hospitals of this type) were identified. Improved clinical documentation and convenience for anesthesiologists was reported from every site. Lack of funds, however, was identified as the primary barrier to further adoption. The cost of introduction of AIMS per operating room varied between 1000 and 40,000 US dollars. Although the number of AIMS in the Czech Republic is limited, findings suggest that benefits have been experienced on every site. Findings corroborate previous studies from the USA and Western Europe.
- Klíčová slova
- AIMS, Anesthesia, Information system,
- MeSH
- anesteziologie ekonomika organizace a řízení normy MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- motivace MeSH
- náklady a analýza nákladů MeSH
- nemocniční informační systémy ekonomika organizace a řízení normy MeSH
- vysokoškolská lékařská centra organizace a řízení MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
Currently, mobile learning is a new trend in medical education. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the use of m-learning in medical education and discuss its effect on student learning process in order to help future medical professionals deliver better care for patients and populations. This was done by conducting a literature search in the databases Web of Science, Scopus, and MEDLINE, and consequently by evaluating the findings of the selected studies. The results of this study confirm that mobile learning is efficient, especially in the acquisition of new knowledge and skills. Nevertheless, so far, the role of mobile learning has been perceived as an appropriate complement to traditional learning. Therefore, more research should be conducted on the efficacy of the use mobile learning in medical education, as well as to explore the unique features of mobile devices for the enhancement of learning outcomes.
- Klíčová slova
- Education, Efficacy, Limitations, Medical students, Mobile learning,
- MeSH
- distanční studium * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- percepce MeSH
- studenti lékařství MeSH
- studenti MeSH
- studium lékařství * MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
The article Medical Image Retrieval Using Vector Quantization and Fuzzy S-tree, written by Jana Nowaková, Michal Prílepok and Václav Snášel, was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on December 15, 2016 without open access.
- Publikační typ
- tisková chyba MeSH
The aim of the article is to present a novel method for fuzzy medical image retrieval (FMIR) using vector quantization (VQ) with fuzzy signatures in conjunction with fuzzy S-trees. In past times, a task of similar pictures searching was not based on searching for similar content (e.g. shapes, colour) of the pictures but on the picture name. There exist some methods for the same purpose, but there is still some space for development of more efficient methods. The proposed image retrieval system is used for finding similar images, in our case in the medical area - in mammography, in addition to the creation of the list of similar images - cases. The created list is used for assessing the nature of the finding - whether the medical finding is malignant or benign. The suggested method is compared to the method using Normalized Compression Distance (NCD) instead of fuzzy signatures and fuzzy S-tree. The method with NCD is useful for the creation of the list of similar cases for malignancy assessment, but it is not able to capture the area of interest in the image. The proposed method is going to be added to the complex decision support system to help to determine appropriate healthcare according to the experiences of similar, previous cases.
- Klíčová slova
- Fuzzy S-tree, Image classification, Image comparison, Medical image, NCD, TF-IDF, Vector quantization,
- MeSH
- algoritmy MeSH
- fuzzy logika * MeSH
- komprese dat MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mamografie metody MeSH
- rozpoznávání automatizované metody MeSH
- systémy pro podporu klinického rozhodování organizace a řízení MeSH
- ukládání a vyhledávání informací metody MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
On the epidermal surface there are inhomogeneities which manifest as, among other things, lower local impedance. These regions include Head's zones, sweat glands, and also the so-called acupuncture points. The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of skin perfusion on epidermal impedance at the acupuncture points. When measuring epidermis impedance in the local (acupuncture) points the method of impedance plethysmography was applied. Both the method of four electrode measurement at the constant current and the method of two electrode measurement by means of the different and indifferent electrode as well were engaged. First, we had to uncover the size of the action skin points which was made by means of a different micro-electrode developed by us. The effect of some factors on the reproducibility and comparability of the values measured was evaluated. The attention was focused mainly on the questions of the pressure of the different electrode on the skin surface, magnitude and waveform of the exciting current, and so on. The authors demonstrate the impossibility to measure changes in skin impedance in the acupuncture points, in dependence on the blood perfusion--which was due to the high serial resistance between the point measured in the acupuncture place when the four-electrode measurement was applied, on the other side.