May 08 Past Paper

1.)
(a) Identify two features of a sensor.

A sensor can detect when there is a physical change in the patient; such as change in heart rate. It also can take information that it finds and turn it into a signal that can be recorded by another device.


(b) Describe two advantages of using a USB memory device for the storage of
medical information.

It is a cheap method of storage; the price of USB memory device's can vary from very expensive to very inexpensive. This makes it a tool that patients and doctors alike can use to store their medical data.
USB sticks are also very small making them portable; this allows them to be carried around in a pocket or bag very conveniently.

(c) Explain two advantages for the hospital of having a patient at home using
these monitoring devices.

It is cheaper for a patient to be monitored from home then at the hospital because they do not have to pay for taking up space at the hospital.
This also gives the doctors more time to work on people that need immediate care while also leaving the other patients constantly monitored.
 
(d) Evaluate possible solutions to overcome the issues of reliability and
privacy of data when patients use this technology.

To overcome the issue of security the hospitals should password protect their USBs.   They should also only allow certain personnel to know the passwords so that only people that need to know certain information do. They could also encrypt their information when transferring it from when area to another. They could use biometric security for accessing files.
For Reliability they could back-up all of they should back up all of the files from the USBs onto a hard drive. They should have anti virus software to make sure no viruses get onto their USBs. When the device is being set up they should compare its readings with readings from the devices at a hospital to make sure they are the same. The devices should be regularly updated and reolaced to make sure they always are working properly. They should also have maintenance done on the watch frequently to check if the watch is still operating properly.

Reflection of the December 7th class

During this class we learned about online diagnosis's. An online diagnosis usually involves a questionnaire in which the patient answers personal questions about their illness. An advantage of this is that it saves time because patients don't have to leave their house. However a disadvantage is that they are relying too much on computers to make a diagnosis and their could be an error in the system that will then create an incorrect diagnosis.
Issues of this would be reliability (if the system has an error then the diagnosis will be incorrect), integrity ( people may alter data) and security (peoples private information are on these sites, so they need to protected).

Reflection of the December 2nd class

EMR or Electronic Medical Records are a record of a patients medical history that are stored as an electronic file. The advantage of this is that these records are easier to sort and locate then the previously used paper files. Another advantage of this is that  they can be accessed from many different locations. A disadvantage of this is that if the EMR system crashes their would be no records of any of the patients medical histories. This however, can be solved by having a backup of the files.

An issue with this would be Integrity. This is because if the data is altered doctors would then have misinformation about a patient. Security is also an issue because people could steal the information about patients and then sell it. This makes it important for Hospitals to have a high level of security such as biometrics and password protection.

Reflection of the November 30th class

During this lesson we learned about a pill called the Robot Pill. This is an experimental pill that is used to remind a patient that it is time to take their medicine. This pill contains a microchip inside of if that monitors heart rate as well as the time between medicine. When it is time for the patient to take his medicine the chip will send a message to a patch that the patient must wear on his arm. This patch will then send an SMS to the persons cell phone to remind the person to take their medicine. The advantages of this pill are that they are relatively cheap and if they succeed in reminding more people to take their medicine they could save much more money in the form of hospital bills. However an issue would be equality of access because this pills are not available all over the world. Integrity is also an issue because if the data is even altered slightly then the infromation that the patient receives could either increase or decrease the intake of pills to a dangerous level. The IT systems used are hardware: microchip, mobile phones, sensors, pills, software: monitors patient's conditions) and users:patients and doctors. These are issues with all kinds of robotic pills that are used throughout the world today.

Reflection of the November 27th class

During this class we learned about the Da Vinci Surgical system. This system is an ergonomically designed tool for surgeons to make these procedures faster and easier.

Here is a list of the components of this system take from the site http://www.intuitivesurgical.com/products/davinci_surgicalsystem/index.aspx 

Surgeon Console

• Using the da Vinci Surgical System, the surgeon operates while seated comfortably at a console viewing a 3-D image of the surgical field.
• The surgeon's fingers grasp the master controls below the display, with hands and wrists naturally positioned relative to his or her eyes.
• The system seamlessly translates the surgeon's hand, wrist and finger movements into precise, real-time movements of surgical instruments inside the patient.

Patient-side Cart

• Provides either three or four robotic arms—two or three instrument arms and one endoscope arm—that execute the surgeon's commands.
• The laparoscopic arms pivot at the 1-2 cm operating ports, eliminating the use of the patient's body wall for leverage and minimizing tissue damage.
• Supporting surgical team members assist in installing the proper instruments, prepare the 1-2 cm port in the patient and supervise the laparoscopic arms and tools being utilized.

EndoWrist Instruments

• A full range of proprietary EndoWrist instruments is available to support the surgeon while operating.
• The instruments are designed with seven degrees of motion that mimic the dexterity of the human hand and wrist.
• Each instrument has a specific surgical mission such as clamping, suturing and tissue manipulation.
• Quick-release levers speed instrument changes during surgical procedures.

Vision System

• The Vision System, with high-resolution 3-D endoscope and image processing equipment, provides the true-to-life 3-D images of the operative field.
• Operating images are enhanced, refined and optimized using image synchronizers, high-intensity illuminators and camera control units. 

A social and ethical issue of this is that of reliability. This is because if the system fails during a surgery this could be devastating for the patient who would be stuck their mid-surgery. Another issue would be that of equality of access. These systems are very expensive and so only the rich developed countries can afford to have them. The IT systems in this are hardware (robotics) and software (maneuvering software).

Reflection of the November 23rd class

During this lesson we learned about telemedicine. Telemedicine is an application of clinical medicine in which medical data can be transferred quickly and easily to many different locations over a network. This is related to the caBIG which is a network that transfers diagnostic images between hospitals.This is an advantage for doctors all over the world  because now many times they do not have to travel to meet or have the patients come meet them. They can just look at the data sent to them over the network and they can then make their diagnosis. This is also helpful because more then one doctor can look at the patients medical information and provide input into their diagnosis.  Social and Ethical Issues for this would first of all be reliability as well as integrity because if the data is altered even slightly the doctor would be unable to make the correct medical decisions. Another issue would be that of control because only the doctor should be able to make these medical decisions.

Next-generation Diagnostic Imaging

  For many years Diagnostic Imaging has been limited by the inability to compare and contrast imaging from previous trials and/or separate locations. To counter this ongoing problem The National Cancer Institute intiated  the development of the Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG). This is a network that allows doctors and medical analysts to collect and share data around the world. With this development doctors are now at an advantage because they can now have the input of doctors from many different places to help them properly diagnose their patients.

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