David A. Viggiano

Evaluation of Speak for Myself with Patients Who Are Voiceless

Purpose: To describe the creation and initial feasibility study of a new computer application to improve communication with people who cannot communicate by customary means during their hospitalization. Design: This was a mixed‐methods, quasi‐experimental design. Methods: This exploratory feasibility study obtained data about the experiences of 20 intensive care patients in three South Florida hospitals who were unable to speak due to mechanical obstruction. Findings: Study participants (20), who ranged in age from 45 to 91 years (M = 67.4, SD = 12.88) and between −1 to +1 (SD = −0.15) on the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale, used Speak for Myself from 4 to 16 hours with a mean of 8.86 (SD = 2.12). Ninety‐five percent of the participants stated that Speak for Myself was helpful for communication. Conclusions: Speak for Myself was helpful to patients who used it. This was a small study (n = 20). It warrants further investigation. Clinical Relevance: Patients who are unable to communicate their needs through conventional methods still want to make their preferences and needs known. Speak for Myself is a new application that facilitates ensuring the patients voice is heard.

First look at 4D GPR imaging of permeable zones around the borehole

For the development of a method for imaging fluid flow in undisturbed oolitic limestones several meters away from the borehole we conducted an open-hole, vadose zone infiltration experiment monitored by hourly repeated 3D Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys. Data acquisition on a dense 5 x 10 cm bingrid, centimeter precise repositioning of GPR antennae and 3D migration reveals the propagation of the moisture front. Difference cube amplitude levels between repeated 3D GPR surveys are 5-10 times lower than the original survey amplitudes. However, saturation change related time shifts in and below zones with water infiltration cause a blurring of 4D spatial resolution. Development of processing schemes for extraction of time shifts and warping of repeat cubes is needed. When solved, such a method has the potential to allow non-invasive quantification of the 3D hydrological parameter field around the borehole at submeter resolution.