Computers in

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Chapter 3

• Computers in
• Medicine and Science

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Introduction

• The disciplines of medicine and science involve
  similar steps
• Make an assessment to the cause of an occurrence
• Collect and analyze data to understand the
  occurrence
• Recommend a course of action
• Technology has transformed the medical and
  scientific fields
• Data collection and analysis
• Data communication
• Data storage

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Computers in Medicine

• Medical informatics is the application of
  computers, communications, and information
  technology to all aspects of medicine
• Patient history
• Medical practice management
• Patient diagnosis and monitoring
• Operating room technology
• Telemedicine and telepresence surgery
• Research and training
• Consumer information

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Maintaining Patient History

• A computer-based patient record (CPR) stores
  patient information electronically
• Includes medical history, prescriptions, and
  health insurance information
• Can also store digital X-rays, surgery videos,
  and recorded physician notes
• An electronic medical record (EMT) system is a
  healthcare management software package
• Stores CPRs
• Includes computer devices and connectivity with
  labs
• Checks for possible drug interactions

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Managing the Medical Practice

• EMT systems can help manage the medical practice
• Link patient records with billing systems
• Use coded records to file insurance claims
• Scheduling systems
• Schedule patient appointments
• Print out reminder cards for patients
• Reporting systems
• Monitor patient outcomes over time
• Help billing and insurance managers keep track of
  payments

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Patient Diagnosis and Monitoring

• Technology allows healthcare professionals to
• Capture and analyze patient data with electronic
  diagnostic tools
• EKGs, ultrasound, MRIs, CAT scans, digital X
  rays, pill-sized cameras
• Use computer-assisted diagnostics (CAD) to
  confirm or exclude a diagnosis
• Decision support or expert systems
• Access pharmacy and medical information online
• Useful for both physician and patients
• Monitor patients continuously
• In the hospital or remotely from home

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Medical Diagnostic Tools
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MRI
Ultrasound
EKG
Digital X ray
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Health-related Web sites
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Pulse oximeters are used to continuously monitor
a patients blood oxygen levels and pulse rate.
Handheld devices can be equipped with pulse
oximeter software and a probe to provide fully
functional portability.
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A G2 GlucoWatch consists of two main parts a
watchlike device that measures blood sugar and a
plastic part that snaps into the watch and sticks
to your skin. Gel discs collect the glucose the
watch measures the glucose every ten minutes and
sounds an alarm if the reading is abnormal.
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Operating Room Technology

• Computer-aided surgery (CAS) uses technology to
  assist surgeons
• Image-guided surgery
• Uses MRIs, CAT scans, and other images to
  understand the shape of tissues before and during
  the surgery
• Endoscopy uses an endoscope to view images of
  internal structures in the body
• The surgeon watches the screen while moving the
  tube of the endoscope
• Robots
• Used with endoscopy to perform very delicate
  procedures

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Telemedicine and Telepresence Surgery

• Telemedicine uses technology to help healthcare
  professionals consult and share knowledge around
  the world
• Uses live Internet and videoconferencing to share
  digitized images
• Allows doctors in remote areas to consult with
  specialists using a satellite link
• Monitors chronically-ill patients with online
  submissions
• Telepresence surgery involves the use of robots
• Surgeon operate robotic arms from a remote site

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Sharing digitized images with Internet and
videoconferencing technologies
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Medical Research and Training

• Epidemiology is concerned with the distribution,
  cause, and control of disease
• With technology, data regarding a specific
  disease can be
• Collected into a database
• Processed and analyzed by computers
• Searched for patterns in the spread of the
  disease
• Computers can recognize patterns of disease that
  would never be caught with human analysis alone
• Useful for cancer studies, outbreaks, and
  epidemics

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Improving Medical Training

• Virtual reality (VR) simulators
• Allow students and trainees to interact with a
  patient
• React to the students movements using a computer
  program
• Stores users performance for later review
• Haptic feedback
• Gives feedback based on the sense of touch
• Recreates how a procedure actually feels
• Used with the Armys human patient simulator
• Simulators allow physicians to practice
  procedures without human risk

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Army medics use a high-tech patient simulator
called SimMan
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Credibility of Medical Information

• Numerous Web sites provide health information
• e.g., AMA Physician Select, National Cancer
  Institute, WebMD, MEDLINEplus
• Not all online information is accurate or
  up-to-date
• Use recommended or accredited Web sites
• HON, URAC, and CAPHIS evaluate medical Web sites
• The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention
  (CDC) lists current false health reports and
  hoaxes

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Tips to evaluate health-related Web sites
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Computers in Science

• The process of science generally follows a series
  of steps known as the scientific method
• Computer technology has revolutionized the
  scientific process as defined by the scientific
  method
• Observing, collecting, and analyzing, and testing
• Computers can create accurate models and
  simulations to test hypotheses
• The speed and power of computers allow scientists
  to tackle complex problems with vast amounts of
  data

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Observation and Data Collection

• A key part of the scientific method is the
  collection of data
• Computers and communications devices have
  transformed the data collection process, allowing
  scientists to
• Gather data automatically
• Store or transmit data for immediate analysis
• Gather data from remote locations

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Collecting Weather Data

• Weather balloons carry radiosondes into the upper
  atmosphere to collect data
• Radiosondes are high-tech instrument packages
  that measure temperature, humidity, air pressure,
  and wind speed and direction
• Weather radars collect data by sending out a beam
  of energy and then measuring how much of that
  beam is reflected back
• Geostationary Operational Environmental
  Satellites (GOES) orbit the earth 22,000 miles
  above the equator
• Gather precise data with a sounder and camera

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A weather balloon helps measure basic weather
information by 1) Lifting a radiosonde about 20
miles into the atmosphere 2) The radiosonde
measures temperature, humidity, and air
pressure 3) The balloon pops and the radiosonde
is carried back to earth by parachute
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Hunting Hurricanes

• Hurricane hunters are airplanes that routinely
  fly into weather that most pilots avoid
• Contains probes, weather radar, data collection
  instruments, computer workstations
• Transmits data and radar photos back to a
  hurricane center using a satellite link

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Remote Sensing

• Uses GOES satellites to track and record data
• Automatic weather station (AWS) units in
  Antarctica support meteorological research and
  climate prediction
• A computer periodically updates data and
  transmits it to a satellite for storage
• The National Data Buoy Center tracks weather
  along U.S coastlines
• Buoys and C-MAN stations transmit data to the
  satellite the data is then posted on the Web
• The DART system uses moored buoys to track
  tsunamis
• A bottom pressure recorder (BPR) transmits data
  from the moored buoy to the surface buoy, and
  then on to a GOES

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Antarctica automatic weather station (AWS)
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Data Classification and Analysis

• Computers can classify and analyze vast
  quantities of data more quickly and accurately
  than ever before
• The Human Genome Project
• Identifies all of the genes in human DNA
• A genome is a blueprint for an organism,
  encompassing the entire set of DNA
• A gene defines the characteristic of an organism
• DNA contains chemical bases that repeat billions
  of times
• Uses powerful computers to sort through the
  billions of DNA bases and identify the
  approximately 30,000 genes

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Data Classification and Analysis, cont.

• SETI_at_home project
• Searches for extraterrestrial intelligence with
  radio and light signals
• Relies on the concept of distributed computing
• Collective processing power of several computers
  is used to analyze vast amounts of colleted data
• The radio telescopes in Puerto Rico captures the
  data
• The data is sent to thousands of small computers
  for processing by a home server in Berkley
• The results are sent back and stored in a database

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Data Modeling and Simulation

• A theory can be tested by building a model and
  and testing that model with realistic data
• A computer model can represent just about any
  object, organism, or process
• Models and simulations are useful when it is
  physically impossible to view the data
• Weather forecasts, impact of pollution, global
  warming

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Forecasting the Weather

• Weather forecasts begin with data collection from
  low-tech or computer-based devices
• The data is fed into a supercomputer that uses
  mathematical models of the atmosphere to make
  predictions
• The National Weather Service manages and
  continuously refines this models
• New models are being developed to forecast
  hurricanes, thunderstorms, and other severe
  weather

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Environmental Impact Modeling

• Computers are used to model the impact of various
  occurrences on the environment
• The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL)
  has pioneered computer modeling
• Analyzes weather phenomena
• Models the progress of ozone depletion and global
  warming
• Simulates the effect of greenhouse gases on crops
• Simulates how the increase in ocean heat will
  impact the earth

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Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

• A GIS assembles, stores, manipulates, ad displays
  data that is identified by its location
• Can present several layers of description
  information for a geographical region
• GIS software includes the ability to enter
  information into a DBMS and create maps for
  examination or queries
• Applications include mapping software, business
  strategies, and geographical analysis of health
  or environmental issues

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Layers in a GIS map
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Conclusion

• Computers have revolutionized data collection,
  analysis, and communication
• Computers are used in medicine to maintain
  patient records, manage a practice, acquire
  health information, diagnose and monitor
  patients, perform operations, and treat patients
  remotely
• Computers are used in science to observe,
  collect, and analyze data, and to determine
  potential effects based on models and simulations