Sergio Guillén

Multimedia telehomecare system using standard TV set

Nowadays, there are a very large number of patients that need specific health support at home. The deployment of broadband communication networks is making feasible the provision of home care services with a proper quality of service. This paper presents a telehomecare multimedia platform that runs over integrated services digital network and internet protocol using videoconferencing standards H.320 and H.323, and a standard TV set for patient interaction. This platform allows online remote monitoring: ECG, heart sound, blood pressure. Usability, affordability, and interoperability were considered for the design and development of its hardware and software components. A first evaluation of technical and usability aspects were carried forward with 52 patients of a private clinic and 10 students in the University. Results show a high rate (mean = 4.33, standard deviation-SD = 1.63 in a five-points Likert scale) in the global perception of users on the quality of images, voice, and feeling of virtual presence.

User satisfaction with home telecare based on broadband communication

Home telecare services based on broadband communication were established in five locations in Europe. Two different types of telecare unit were developed: one based on a PC or set-top box containing a videoconferencing codec and another on off-the-shelf videoconferencing units. The participants in the project were 13 medical staff, 135 patients and 88 people informally caring for the patients. Questionnaires were used to evaluate user satisfaction with eight telecare services. Almost all participants rated the usability of the system as good or excellent. A total of 105 telecare sessions were scored by the medical staff. Overall, the quality of audio and video communication was judged satisfactory. For the patients and carers, the perceived quality of communication was also satisfactory and did not vary significantly between sites. The medical staff were reasonably satisfied with how the service supported them in their work. Except for the item about being able to support patients in a critical situation, medical staff agreed that an improved quality of health services was offered through telecare. All participants agreed that personal information was treated confidentially and that there was little risk in using the telecare services. The medical staff trusted the assessments they could make remotely while using the telecare system. Although the findings cannot be generalized due to the small number of telecare sessions and the relatively short duration of the experiment, the results encourage further research.

Evaluation of a mobile health system for supporting postoperative patients following day surgery

A system based on mobile phones with built-in cameras has been developed for the postoperative management of patients sent home after day surgery. The system allows patients to send pictures and pulse oximetry measurements to a hospital server in a few seconds. Health professionals can then see what patients are describing and make a more objective estimate of the patients’ status. Over a five-month period, a total of 49 patients used the system. A total of 222 images were sent, the average image delivery time being 29 s (SD 11). In nine cases (18%), the availability of images modified the treatment, and a visit to an emergency unit was avoided in eight of them who had blood-stained dressings and normal haematomas. The patients who had their treatment modified sent more images (an average of 5.4/patient) than those for whom images confirmed the correct treatment (3.1/patient). Each telephone call lasted for a mean duration of 18 min (range 8–34). The patient satisfaction data showed that all the aspects studied were evaluated in a very positive way, with 96% of the patients completely satisfied with the attention received by the mobile health application.

New technologies for promoting a healthy diet and active living.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) offer innovative formats for promoting healthy lifestyles and reinforcing public health initiatives. They can be applied to large population segments without losing the functionality of being tailored to individual fluctuating needs. Advantages of ICT include real-time provision and adaptation of nutrition and health recommendations based on an individuals particular situation, the potential to combine assessment procedures with healthy lifestyle support and the ability to unify psychosocial and cultural dimensions to enhance adherence. Two pilot programs are presented that show the potential for applying ICT to the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity habits.

Ambient assisted living spaces validation by services and devices simulation

The design of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) products is a very demanding challenge. AAL products creation is a complex iterative process which must accomplish exhaustive prerequisites about accessibility and usability. In this process the early detection of errors is crucial to create cost-effective systems. Computer-assisted tools can suppose a vital help to usability designers in order to avoid design errors. Specifically computer simulation of products in AAL environments can be used in all the design phases to support the validation. In this paper, a computer simulation tool for supporting usability designers in the creation of innovative AAL products is presented. This application will benefit their work saving time and improving the final system functionality.

Ambient Assisted Nutritional Advisor for elderly people living at home

Nutrition is a critical aspect when getting older because bad nutrition habits can accelerate the process of degradation of the physical condition of the old person. In order to mitigate this problem, an Ambient Assisted Living service has been developed. Research with this service is focused on demonstrating that with an Ambient Intelligence systems it is possible to make the nutritional management much more effective by influencing the user, by automatically and seamlessly monitoring and by facilitating tools for nutritional management for people that want to be autonomous. In this paper both requirement acquisition and development processes are described as well.

A Survey of Commercial Wearable Systems for Sport Application

The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview on wearable systems used in sport and physical activities. Sportconcept covers many different types of activities and objectives of its practitioners. The use of ICT technologies in sport, and in particular of wearable systems, is therefore closely linked with the specificities of the sportive practice rules, conditions, environments and goals.

Heart Failure Monitoring System Based on Wearable and Information Technologies

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading source of death in the western world and in particular, in Europe CVD cause 45% of all deaths. Besides, heart failure (HF), the paradigm of CVD, affects mainly people older than 65. Facing this reality, the European Union funded MyHeart Project, whose mission is empowering citizens to fight CVD by means of a preventive lifestyle and an early diagnosis. This paper presents an innovative integrated solution for the assessment of heart failure: HF management (HFM). HFM is a heart failure disease management system that makes use of innovative approaches, based on information technologies (IT) and wearable technologies, for the continuous assessment of HF progression and cardiovascular risk stratification. By integrating patient data from different sources with special emphasis in the information obtained from extensive ECG processing the system assesses the patients cardiac condition. Rather than just merely evaluating the cardiovascular status, HFM is designed to motivate patients to acquire an active role in their health management and to help them to improve their cardiac condition by promoting physical exercise

e_Disease Management. A system for the management of the chronic conditions

Disease Management (DM) is a system of coordinated healthcare intervention and communications for populations with conditions in which patient self-care efforts are significant. e-DM makes reference to processes of DM based on clinical guidelines sustained in the scientific medical evidence and supported by the intervention of Information and Telecommunication Technology (ICT) in all levels where these plans are developed. This paper discusses the design and implementation of a e-DM system which meets the requirements for the integrated chronic disease management following the recommendations of the Disease Management Association and the American Heart Association.

Information and assistance bubbles to help elderly people in public environments

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) is an emerging bundle of technologies and services that has been specially conceived to support disabled and elderly people to be more autonomous in their daily life. Support for mobility is a key aspect in AAL, and makes elderly people feel very independent and socially integrated. This paper describes an AAL solution to support elderly people outside home: provides information and assistance at the street near public buildings, and inside public buildings. The concept of bubble is proposed in this paper as a physical space where it is possible to consume to a number of local services. Presented mobility-based AAL Services are integrated with an ambient assisted home, so users perceive mobility service as an extension of the care chain beyond the boundaries of their homes.