Browsing by Subject "Monitoring"
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Item Open Access A Dose Monitoring Program for Computed Radiography(2012) Johnson, JoshuaRecently, there has been a lot of effort placed on monitoring patient dose from medical procedures. The majority of people's concern has been focused on computed tomography because of the higher amounts of patient dose associated with CT exams. Our institution currently has dose monitoring programs for CT, nuclear medicine, and digital projection radiography. However, there is currently no established way to track patient dose for computed radiography. The current method of tracking computed radiography is to track exposure indicators which are not directly meaningful to patient dose. In order to address this issue, I have expanded on the exposure indicator tracking by adding a conversion for estimated patient effective dose in computed radiography.
Item Open Access A Feasibility Study of Noninvasive Intracranial Pressure Monitoring for Adults After Traumatic Brain Injury in Uganda(2022) Petitt, ZoeyIntroduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) accounts for the majority of Uganda’s neurosurgical disease burden, but invasive intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is infrequently used. Noninvasive monitoring through tools like pupillometry could change the care of TBI patients in such a setting. Given the novelty of noninvasive monitoring in Uganda, this study sought to assess the feasibility of pupillometry for noninvasive ICP monitoring for TBI patients. Methods: Healthcare workers in Kampala, Uganda received education on pupillometry, practiced using the device on healthy volunteers, and completed interviews focused on pupillometry and its potential implementation. Qualitative analysis of the interviews assessed pupillometry acceptability and feasibility. Quantitative analysis assessed learning time, time to obtain a measurement, and accuracy of measurements during training. Results: Twenty-two providers completed the study. Participants described how pupillometry would add value to the care of patients with TBI during examination, delivering interventions, and monitoring. Reported concerns included the cost, understanding, and maintenance needs of the pupillometer. Participants also discussed potential challenges with using pupillometry, including limited accessibility and availability as well as challenges with documentation. They suggested offering continued education and providing technical support as strategies to support successful implementation. During training, average time to learn was 13.6 minutes (IQR 3.8) and average time to obtain a measurement was 51.1 seconds (IQR 14.2). Paired t tests to evaluate accuracy after training showed no statistically significant difference in the comparison measurements. Conclusion: Pupillometry would be feasible to use for noninvasive ICP monitoring for TBI patients in Uganda, as long as concerns about the device could be addressed and implementation barriers overcome.
Item Open Access A Framework for Integrating Unoccupied Aircraft Systems Technology into Environmental Readiness at Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific(2021-04-30) Shield, JennieThe Department of Defense is the third largest federal land managing agency in the United States; using approximately 30 million acres, and marine environments, to train and test. The Navy’s ability to adequately train and test is the cornerstone of mission readiness. Therefore, the Navy must sustainably manage its lands, waters, and other natural resources to ensure mission readiness. The Environmental Readiness branch at Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific performs a myriad of compliance and monitoring tasks in support of the Navy’s dual commitment to mission readiness and to environmental stewardship. This project provides a framework for the Environmental Readiness team to integrate Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) technology into compliance and monitoring efforts by examining four tasks: 1) rocky intertidal baseline mapping 2) plant cover classification 3) eel grass habitat mapping, and 4) wildlife detection. This basic framework serves as a foundation for future exploration and evaluation of UAS applications for Environmental Readiness tasking.Item Open Access Design and Implementation of an Institution-Wide Patient-Specific Radiation Dose Monitoring Program for Computed Tomography, Digital Radiography, and Nuclear Medicine(2011) Christianson, OlavRecently, there has been renewed interest in decreasing radiation dose to patients from diagnostic imaging procedures. So far, efforts to decrease radiation dose have focused on the amount of radiation delivered from typical techniques and fail to capture the variation in radiation dose between patients. Despite the feasibility of estimating patient-specific radiation doses and the potential for this practice to aid in protocol optimization, it is not currently standard procedure for hospitals to monitor radiation dose for all patients. To address this shortcoming, we have developed an institution-wide patient-specific radiation dose monitoring program for computed tomography, digital radiography, and nuclear medicine.
Item Open Access Efficacy of Monitoring Management Activities in Longleaf Pine in North Carolina Using Remote Sensing(2019-12-10) Leung, EmilyUsing remote sensing as a tool to monitor forest management intervention may reduce the time and funds needed to actively visit landscapes. However, previous research typically studied the effects of large-scale disturbances, such as wildfires, to demonstrate the efficacy of using vegetation indices to track forest change. To better understand the limitations of these indices, Landsat 8 NDVI and NBRT values were calculated for 99 management units consisting of longleaf pine stands under stewardship of The Nature Conservancy of North Carolina. These units were across nine preserves held by TNC, in the Coastal Plain region of North Carolina. To assess change, indices values before and after management activity were compared, as well as indices values in management units with and without management intervention. These values were significant, but the changes were minimal. Linear mixed models were created to test the explanatory power that time since treatment, seasonality, treatment size, basal area, treatment type, and preserve locality had on the change in NDVI or NBRT. While these variables failed to explain the changes in indices values post-intervention, a variety of other factors may potentially express the reduction in NDVI or NBRT: other vegetative growth, climate variability, and the scale of the data may influence these indices’ results. As such, while the mixed models did not find these management characteristics explanatory, that alone does not reject the thesis that remote sensing may be useful for monitoring fine-scale change. Further study and extended data collection may prove useful.Item Open Access Oyster Reef Restoration in North Carolina: Recommendations for Improvements in Techniques and Monitoring(2011-04-28) Black, JoshuaThe Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is important to the North Carolina economy, ecology, and way of life. Oysters provide many direct and indirect services that benefit coastal fisheries and North Carolina’s economy. In the past 10 to 15 years oyster reef restoration efforts have increased in the state. Many stakeholders such as the North Carolina Coastal Federation, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, and state universities have collaborated to create and enhance oyster reefs throughout the state. These stakeholders each have their own methods for monitoring restoration sites that they constructed. In the past decade there were metrics of success created by the Oyster Restoration Workgroup to monitor newly restored reefs. There have also been many different types of alternative substrates developed for oyster recruitment in an effort to make up for a decrease oyster shell supply. It is recommended that stakeholders involved with oyster reef restoration in North Carolina continue to collaborate. Recommendations are presented to these stakeholders focused on long-term monitoring goals and standardized monitoring metrics, agreement on priorities for new projects, alternative substrates, and increased use of volunteers. These recommendations serve to improve methods for creating or enhancing future oyster restoration projects in North Carolina.Item Open Access SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF OAK WILT SPREAD IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA(2007-05) Yeh, SharonOak wilt, Ceratocystis fagacearum, has been documented in the Southern Appalachian region of North Carolina since the early 1950s. Due to its rapid spread and rate of damage, the North Carolina Forest Resources Division monitored oak wilt closely by performing annual surveys to both control for and monitor the disease. This project uses the monitoring data to investigate where and how oak wilt could spread in the near future. Understanding the spatial nature of oak wilt can help managers target future monitoring and prevention efforts for this particular region. Both spatial and statistical analyses were used, including the Chi-Squared test, Classification and Regression Tree (CART) models, and the Mantel test. Results from several tests indicate that oak wilt prefers specific oak species within the red oak family, has the potential to spread in Western North Carolina, and spread of oak wilt by long-range pathogen mechanisms have a higher impact on the transmission of oak wilt than short-range mechanisms.Item Open Access The role of glucosylsphingosine as an early indicator of disease progression in early symptomatic type 1 Gaucher disease.(Molecular genetics and metabolism reports, 2021-06) Stiles, Ashlee R; Huggins, Erin; Fierro, Luca; Jung, Seung-Hye; Balwani, Manisha; Kishnani, Priya SGaucher disease (GD), a lysosomal storage disorder caused by β-glucocerebrosidase deficiency, results in the accumulation of glucosylceramide and glucosylsphingosine. Glucosylsphingosine has emerged as a sensitive and specific biomarker for GD and treatment response. However, limited information exists on its role in guiding treatment decisions in pre-symptomatic patients identified at birth or due to a positive family history. We present two pediatric patients with GD1 and highlight the utility of glucosylsphingosine monitoring in guiding treatment initiation.Item Open Access USING SURVEYS AS A TOOL TO ASSESS SEA TURTLE DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT USE, AND TO PROMOTE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN ENDANGERED SPECIES RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT(2007-05) Saladin, NicoleFemale loggerhead sea turtles nesting on Bald Head Island, N.C. were equipped with satellite transmitters to assess their post-nesting movements and habitat use. The resulting surface satellite data revealed foraging and overwintering sites used by these sea turtles, but data provide limited benthic habitat information. To complement this data, a survey was developed to target N.C. dive shops, fishermen and offshore researchers to gather information in an effort to characterize the features of these habitats. An online survey and database will allow for public reporting of sea turtle sightings data and habitat information to complement existing long-term observation studies. By engaging the public in this citizen-scientist approach to sea turtle monitoring, these efforts may promote state-wide awareness and conservation efforts for sea turtles, as well as provide valuable data to researchers. The survey will eventually be expanded to accommodate global sightings reports and data will be managed through regional networks.