Panayiotis C. Polycarpou

On the Design, Installation, and Evaluation of a Radio-Frequency Identification System for Healthcare Applications [Wireless Corner]

In this paper, we present the design, implementation, and testing of a radio-frequency identification (RFID) system for healthcare applications. The constantly growing passive RFID technology at ultra-high frequencies (UHF), in conjunction with current state-of-the-art information and communication technologies (ICTs), was used for the system design. The end product was installed at an oncology hospital in Cyprus, where it was thoroughly evaluated by medical staff and hospital administrators. This pilot project had three main objectives: a) automatic and error-free patient identification of in-hospital patients using RFID-enabled cards or wristbands; b) Real-time location service (RTLS) for locating and tracking medical assets and high-value equipment in the hospital ward; c) quick and hassle-free drug inventory management through the use of inexpensive smart labels and cost-effective stationary readers. Here, we present a detailed description of the three major subsystems of the pilot project, emphasizing the main features and capabilities of the system, important design and implementation issues, as well as system evaluation and testing. During the design stage of the project, special emphasis was placed on user friendliness, system capabilities, adequate coverage and tag readability, privacy and security of sensitive patient data, system reliability, and the daily practices of medical personnel and hospital administrators.

Effect of Planar Impact Modeling on the Pounding Response of Base-Isolated Buildings

During strong earthquake excitations, base-isolated buildings may collide, either with the surrounding moat wall or with adjacent buildings if the available clearance is exceeded. This undesirable possibility has been recently investigated by several researchers, adopting various types of force-based impact models. Evidently, an important issue that arises regarding such numerical studies is the way of taking into account potential impacts. This paper parametrically investigates the effects of impact modeling characteristics on the computed overall peak response of a base-isolated building that experiences structural pounding. Specifically, the Kelvin-Voigt impact model and various other modifications of this linear viscoelastic impact model are considered in the conducted analyses. In order to efficiently conduct this investigation a specially developed software is utilized. The results indicate that the excitation’s and isolator’s characteristics do not significantly influence the variation of the normalized peak response of the superstructure. In contrast, the impact parameters can have a significant effect on the superstructures’ peak accelerations with overestimations up to 70%. In general, the normalized peak response ratios of the inter-story drifts tend to increase as the available seismic gap clearance and the coefficient of restitution decrease, although the magnitude of the deviations is within 5%, which can be considered insignificant.

THE EFFECT OF MODIFIED LINEAR VISCOELASTIC IMPACT MODELS ON THE POUNDING RESPONSE OF A BASE-ISOLATED BUILDING WITH ADJACENT STRUCTURES

Abstract. During strong earthquake excitations, base-isolated buildings may collide, either with the surrounding moat wall or with adjacent buildings. This unfavorable possibility has been recently investigated through numerical simulations and parametric studies. A very important issue regarding these numerical studies is the modeling of impacts, which are typically simulated using various types of force-based impact models. This paper parametrically investigates the effects of impact modeling characteristics on the overall structural response of a base-isolated building that is subjected to seismic pounding. Specifically, the KelvinVoigt impact model and various other modifications of this linear viscoelastic impact model are considered in the performed analyses. In order to effectively and efficiently conduct this investigation, a specialized software application, which has been specifically developed to simulate buildings subjected to pounding, is employed. A smooth bilinear (Bouc-Wen) model is used for the simulation of the seismic isolation system. The influence of particular impact parameters, as well as the width of the seismic gap, on the dynamic response of the structure under strong excitations is quantified. Furthermore, the effect of using different impact models for the calculation of the impact forces on the overall seismic response during pounding is simulated and discussed, since a reasonable question arises regarding the accuracy of an impact model, which is a simplification of the actually very complicated impact phenomenon.

Design and Implementation of a Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) System for Healthcare Applications

This paper presents the use of RFID technology in the healthcare sector. A highly sophisticated RFID system, which also incorporates advanced Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), was carefully designed in order to be implemented as a pilot project at the premises of the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Center (BOCOC) in Cyprus. The RFID system will be used for automatic and error-free patient identification through the use of RFID wristbands and/or tagequipped plastic cards, for Real Time Location Service (RTLS) in order to locate medical equipment (e.g., infusion pumps, walkers, wheelchairs, etc.) in the premises of the hospital, and inventory control for the pharmacy. The RFID technology that is used in this pilot project is based on the UHF-band EPC C1 Generation 2 data exchange protocol. A Graphical User Interface for a medical tablet PC was developed which interfaces the RFID hardware (e.g., stationary and handheld readers, RFID printers, etc.) with the everyday routine tasks of the hospital’s medical personnel. The application platform developed by the research team is extremely easy-to-use by doctors and nurses, powerful, effective, and superior to traditional paper-bound processes.

Numerical Investigation of the Effectiveness of Rubber Shock-Absorbers as a Mitigation Measure for Earthquake-Induced Structural Poundings

Very often, especially in densely-resided areas and city centers, neighboring buildings are constructed very close to each other, without sufficient clearance between them. Thus, during strong earthquakes, structural poundings may occur between adjacent buildings due to deformations of their stories. Furthermore, in the case of seismically isolated buildings, pounding may occur with the surrounding moat wall due to insufficient seismic gap at the base of the building. The current study presents a simple but efficient methodology that can be used to numerically simulate the incorporation of rubber layers between neighboring structures with relatively narrow seismic gaps in order to act as collision bumpers and mitigate the detrimental effects of earthquake-induced poundings. The efficiency of this potential impact mitigation measure is parametrically investigated considering both cases of conventionally fixed-supported and seismically isolated buildings subjected to various earthquake excitations. The results indicate that under certain circumstances the incorporation of rubber bumpers in an excising seismic gap can reduce the amplifications of the peak responses of the structures due to pounding.

Utilization Of Object-oriented Programming, Design Patterns And Java For Simulating Earthquake-induced Poundings Of Base-isolated Buildings

Base-isolated buildings experience large horizontal relative displacements during strong earthquakes due to the excessive fl exibility that is purposely incorporated, through seismic bearings, at their bases. When the available clearance around a base-isolated building is limited, there is a possibility of the building pounding against the surrounding moat wall or adjacent structures. Considering the nonlinearities involved in this structural impact problem, it is evident that the effects of potential pounding on the overall seismic response of base-isolated buildings during earthquake excitations should be investigated numerically through appropriate simulations. Object-oriented programming (OOP), design patterns (DPs), and the Java programming language have been utilized in order to design and implement a fl exible and extendable software application that can be effectively used to perform the necessary numerical simulations and parametric studies of base-isolated buildings that may experience structural poundings during earthquake excitations. The aim of this paper is twofold: (i) to explain the signifi cant advantages of utilizing OOP, DPs, and Java in structural analysis software and (ii) to use the developed software to study earthquake-induced poundings of base-isolated buildings.

A UHF Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) System for Healthcare: Design and Implementation

This paper presents a customized design of a UHF Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system to be installed at the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Center (BOCOC) in Cyprus. This is a pilot project that aims at evaluating the effectiveness and overall benefits of UHF RFID technology in the healthcare sector. The purpose of the project is threefold: a) Error-free identification of in-hospital patients through the use of RFID wristbands/cards; b) drug inventory control and monitoring; c) Real Time Location Service (RTLS) capable of locating tagged objects within the premises of the hospital. For the three main pillars of the project, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) was developed in order to run on light-weight medical tablet PCs. The application can access data from a secured central database hosting sensitive information regarding patients, drugs, medical assets, and high-value equipment. The communication between the server and the medical tablet PCs is done over an encrypted wireless local access network.

Simulating seismically isolated buildings under earthquake-induced pounding incidences

Seismically isolated buildings usually experience large horizontal relative displacements during strong earthquakes due to the flexibility that is incorporated, through seismic bearings, at their bases. If the available clearance around a seismically isolated building is, for any reason, limited, then there is a possibility of the building pounding against adjacent structures. This paper, presents a methodology for simulating this problem using numerical methods, in order to investigate the effects of potential pounding on the overall seismic response of seismically isolated buildings.

COMPUTER-AIDED INVESTIGATION OF SPECIAL ISSUES OF THE RESPONSE OF SEISMICALLY ISOLATED BUILDINGS

This paper presents indicative results from the numerical investigation of two special issues of the seismic behaviour of base-isolated buildings, using custom-made software that utilizes modern objectoriented design approaches. The first issue concerns the modelling of the nonlinear behaviour of seismic isolation systems, focusing on the lead rubber bearings (LRBs), which are among the most commonly used seismic isolation systems. In particular, the inaccuracies between the actual behaviour of the LRBs, which can be more precisely represented by the Bouc–Wen model, and the usage of a bilinear inelastic model, which is often used in practice, are assessed through numerical simulations and parametric analyses. The second issue concerns potential pounding of base-isolated buildings with adjacent structures, when the available clearance around a seismically isolated building is limited, during very strong earthquakes. The consequences of potential pounding and the influence of certain parameters on the overall seismic response of base-isolated buildings are also assessed through numerical simulations and parametric analyses using custom-made software.

EFFECT OF THE SEISMIC EXCITATION’S INCIDENCE ANGLE ON THE NONLINEAR BEHAVIOR OF BASE ISOLATED BUILDINGS CONSIDERING POUNDING TO ADJACENT MOAT WALLS

Abstract. In the last decades, a number of reconnaissance reports have revealed that pounding between adjacent buildings, during strong earthquakes, may induce local and in some extreme cases severe structural damage. The problem of earthquake-induced pounding of adjacent buildings has been the subject of great scientific interest, while several recent numerical studies have quantified the effects of seismic pounding of buildings, with the majority of researchers simulating the problem in two dimensions (2D). The results from the various 2D parametric studies have demonstrated the potentially detrimental effects of pounding on the dynamic response of multistory buildings and revealed the importance of this problem regarding the safety and functionality of colliding structures. Furthermore, most of the numerical studies have been limited to the utilization of linear elastic structural models to simulate the adjacent buildings. The current study parametrically investigates the effect of pounding on the inelastic response of base isolated structures, which are simulated as non-linear 3D multi-degree of freedom systems subjected to bidirectional earthquake excitations. Specifically, the influence of certain parameters, such as the angle of the seismic incidence, the width of the seismic gap, characteristics of the isolation system and the configuration of the adjacent structures on the peak response, is parametrically examined, for various near-fault excitations. All numerical simulations are performed using a specially developed software that implements an innovative, simple and efficient approach to model impacts in 3D, taking into account the arbitrary location of contact points and the geometry at the vicinity of impact.