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Telemedicine and Tools for Health Monitoring in Adults and Foetuses

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Digital Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 8451

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, 80134 Naples, Italy
Interests: bioengineering; public health; healthcare decision making; machine learning and data mining for healthcare; modeling and analysis of biomedical data; health technology assessment; quality improvement in healthcare; lean six sigma; biomedical signal processing and analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Assistant Guest Editor
Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Catanzaro Magna Graecia, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy
Interests: heart rate variability; electrocardiography; chronic heart failure; Lean Six Sigma; machine learning

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Assistant Guest Editor
Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (DIETI), University of Naples Federico II, 80134 Naples, Italy
Interests: applications of systems and control theory to bioengineering; computational biology; modeling and control of biomedical devices; computational analysis and robust control of dynamic systems in biomedical engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Assistant Guest Editor
Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (DIETI), University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Interests: biomedical engineering; bioengineering; nanomedicine; magnetic resonance imaging; contrast agents; microfluidics; biomaterials; nanoparticles; biomedical data analysis; biomedical signal processing; heart rate variability; fetal heart rate variability; electronic fetal monitoring; lean six sigma in healthcare
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Telemedicine is an important research field that arises from the evolution of electromedical equipment combined with information technology and telecommunication systems, in order to ensure diagnosis, specialist consultation, and remote monitoring, even to patients residing in places far from adequately equipped health centres (e.g., islands, decentralized urban centres, or rural areas, especially in developing countries), often forced to move for unnecessary consultation or even to improper hospitalizations.

The fields of application of telemedicine are various and constantly evolving, from cardiology (transmission of electrocardiographic traces) to radiology (transmission of radiographic images), dermatology (transmission of digital images of skin lesions), pathological anatomy, and many others. Practically every branch of medicine could make use of this tool to improve patient quality of life and healthcare sector management. A mobile phone, for example, is sufficient to transmit data from a portable electrocardiograph to a listening centre and to allow real-time diagnosis at home.

Of course, telemedicine should assure the same safety and efficacy parameters as the traditional health care offered in hospitals and, in general, in the clinical environment.

On the other hand, foetal monitoring is a very important and delicate research field since the foetus is protected in the maternal womb and therefore, until the moment of delivery, accessible only through indirect measures. Furthermore, every mother experiences the need to know the health of their foetus. Hence, the best way to monitor foetal health, with continuity and avoiding false positives, has always been sought.

The field of gynaecology is therefore well-suited to a greater use of telemedicine. The need for this tool arises above all from the high frequency of very long monitoring, especially in the management of pregnancies at risk, with a consequent increase in the number of outpatient checks, as well as prolonged and not always necessary hospitalizations and, last but not least, an increase of cost effectiveness.

Conversely, the development of mobile devices and the increase in wireless networks can allow the provision of medical support when and where patients need it.

Abdominal electrocardiography and cardiotocography are particularly used in prenatal telemedicine, although other methodologies, such as phonocardiography, could be used.

The objective of this Special Issue is to attract ideas regarding the application of telemedicine tools for health monitoring in adults and foetuses. Especially appreciated are original research articles which could contribute to provide guidelines, tools, and techniques that could help spread the knowledge of these methodologies and possibly push hospital structures to obtain supplies in order to facilitate patient monitoring and thus streamline hospital procedures.

Review articles which summarize the state of the art and recent advances in these topics are also welcome.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Proposals of new foetal and adult monitoring methodologies;
  • Descriptions of experience already introduced in the hospital environment;
  • Clear illustrations of necessary techniques to support telemedicine;
  • Reducing the number of pregnant hospitalizations;
  • Saving costs for the hospital and at the same time improving quality of life of pregnant people.

Dr. Giovanni Improta
Prof. Dr. Maria Romano
Prof. Dr. Francesco Amato
Dr. Alfonso Maria Ponsiglione
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • telemedicine
  • telemedicine cost-effectiveness
  • telemedicine and health outcomes
  • health monitoring
  • foetal health monitoring
  • foetal heart rate
  • biomedical signal processing and analysis

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 686 KiB  
Article
No Influence of Mechatronic Poles on the Movement Pattern of Professional Nordic Walkers
by Agnieszka Szpala, Sławomir Winiarski, Małgorzata Kołodziej, Bogdan Pietraszewski, Ryszard Jasiński, Tadeusz Niebudek, Andrzej Lejczak, Karolina Lorek, Jacek Bałchanowski, Sławomir Wudarczyk and Marek Woźniewski
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 163; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010163 - 22 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1645
Abstract
This study compared selected temporal and kinematic parameters of normal gait and Nordic Walking (NW) performed with classic and mechatronic poles (classic poles equipped with sensors). It was assumed that equipping NW poles with sensors for biomechanical gait analysis would not impair the [...] Read more.
This study compared selected temporal and kinematic parameters of normal gait and Nordic Walking (NW) performed with classic and mechatronic poles (classic poles equipped with sensors). It was assumed that equipping NW poles with sensors for biomechanical gait analysis would not impair the NW walking technique. Six professional NW instructors and athletes, including three women, participated in the study. The MyoMotion MR3 motion analysis system was used to collect gait kinematic variables. The subject’s task was to cover a 100-m distance with three types of gait: a gait without poles, a gait with classic NW poles, and a gait with mechatronic poles at the preferred speed. Parameters were measured both on the right and left sides of the body. No significant differences were found between gait types for three temporal parameters: step cadence, step, and stride time. For the other variables, all the differences identified were between free-walking and walking with poles, with no differences between standard and mechatronic poles. For nine kinematic parameters, differences between free-walking and walking with poles for both the left and right sides were found, while no differences were due to the pole type. All temporal parameters were characterized by symmetry, while among kinematic parameters, only two were asymmetrical (shoulder abduction–adduction in walking with regular poles and elbow flexion–extension in walking without poles). Equipping classic NW poles with additional signaling and measuring devices (mechatronic poles) does not impair the NW technique, making it possible to use them in further studies of gait biomechanics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Telemedicine and Tools for Health Monitoring in Adults and Foetuses)
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13 pages, 2284 KiB  
Article
Lean Management Approach for Reengineering the Hospital Cardiology Consultation Process: A Report from AORN “A. Cardarelli” of Naples
by Eduardo Bossone, Massimo Majolo, Serena D’Ambrosio, Eliana Raiola, Michele Sparano, Giuseppe Russo, Giuseppe Longo, Maria Triassi and Angelo Rosa
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(8), 4475; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084475 - 8 Apr 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2790
Abstract
Background: Consultations with specialists are essential for safe and high-quality care for all patients. Cardiology consultations, due to a progressive increase in cardiology comorbidities, are becoming more common in hospitals prior to any type of treatment. The appropriateness and correctness of the request, [...] Read more.
Background: Consultations with specialists are essential for safe and high-quality care for all patients. Cardiology consultations, due to a progressive increase in cardiology comorbidities, are becoming more common in hospitals prior to any type of treatment. The appropriateness and correctness of the request, the waiting time for delivery and the duration of the visit are just a few of the elements that can affect the quality of the process. Methods: In this work, a Lean approach and Telemedicine are used to optimize the cardiology consultancy process provided by the Cardiology Unit of “Antonio Cardarelli” Hospital of Naples (Italy), the largest hospital in the southern Italy. Results: The application of corrective actions, with the introduction of portable devices and telemedicine, led to a reduction in the percentage of waiting for counseling from 29.6% to 18.3% and an increase in the number of patients treated. Conclusions: The peculiarity of the study is to apply an innovative methodology such as Lean Thinking in optimizing the cardiology consultancy process, currently little studied in literature, with benefits for both patients and medical staff. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Telemedicine and Tools for Health Monitoring in Adults and Foetuses)
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23 pages, 4969 KiB  
Article
Exploring an Efficient Remote Biomedical Signal Monitoring Framework for Personal Health in the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Zhongyun Tang, Haiyang Hu, Chonghuan Xu and Kaidi Zhao
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(17), 9037; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18179037 - 27 Aug 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2743
Abstract
Nowadays people are mostly focused on their work while ignoring their health which in turn is creating a drastic effect on their health in the long run. Remote health monitoring through telemedicine can help people discover potential health threats in time. In the [...] Read more.
Nowadays people are mostly focused on their work while ignoring their health which in turn is creating a drastic effect on their health in the long run. Remote health monitoring through telemedicine can help people discover potential health threats in time. In the COVID-19 pandemic, remote health monitoring can help obtain and analyze biomedical signals including human body temperature without direct body contact. This technique is of great significance to achieve safe and efficient health monitoring in the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing remote biomedical signal monitoring methods cannot effectively analyze the time series data. This paper designs a remote biomedical signal monitoring framework combining the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G communication and artificial intelligence techniques. In the constructed framework, IoT devices are used to collect biomedical signals at the perception layer. Subsequently, the biomedical signals are transmitted through the 5G network to the cloud server where the GRU-AE deep learning model is deployed. It is noteworthy that the proposed GRU-AE model can analyze multi-dimensional biomedical signals in time series. Finally, this paper conducts a 24-week monitoring experiment for 2000 subjects of different ages to obtain real data. Compared with the traditional biomedical signal monitoring method based on the AutoEncoder model, the GRU-AE model has better performance. The research has an important role in promoting the development of biomedical signal monitoring techniques, which can be effectively applied to some kinds of remote health monitoring scenario. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Telemedicine and Tools for Health Monitoring in Adults and Foetuses)
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