Active and Assisted Living (AAL) systems aim at improving the quality of life and supporting independent and healthy living of older or impaired people by using a distributed network of sensors and actuators to create a ubiquitous technological layer, able to interact transparently with the users, observing and interpreting their actions and intentions, learning their preferences and adjusting the parameters of the system to improve their quality of life and work. This book provides a comprehensive review of the technologies and applications for AAL. Topics covered include the current state of the art of smart environments and labs from an AAL point of view; ambient and wearable sensors for human health monitoring; computer vision for active and assisted living; data fusion for identifying lifestyle patterns; interoperable enhanced living environments; reasoning systems for AAL; person-environment interaction; data analytics for enabling connected health; human gait analysis for frailty detection; fall prevention and detection; supporting activities of daily living; outdoor mobility assistance; location and orientation technologies based on WiFi systems; health, wellbeing and engagement in life through AAL; tablet-based clinical decision support system for hospitalised older adults; smart, age-friendly cities and communities; privacy and ethical issues; and human-centred design. The book concludes with a case study on the design and implementation of a smart home technological platform for the delivery of AAL services. With a wide range of chapters from international contributors, this book is essential reading for researchers and students in academics and industry developing AAL technologies, healthcare practitioners, and engineers with an interest in the field.

Nanomaterials are able to penetrate nanoscale pores of tissues, possess prolonged circulation, enter cells, and have increased surface area per volume allowing for greater drug loading. For these reasons, nanomaterials are finding numerous uses in medicine including fighting cancer, promoting tissue regeneration, reversing aging, inhibiting infection, limiting inflammation or scar tissue growth, and many others. This book describes the engineering applications and challenges of using nanostructured surfaces and nanomaterials in healthcare. Topics covered include biomimetic coating of calcium phosphates on Ti metals; surface modifications of orthopaedic implant materials using an electroplating process; design, fabrication and application of carbon-based nano biomaterials; usage of stem cells in bone and cartilage tissue engineering; nanobiomaterials and 3D bioprinting for osteochondral regeneration; self- assembled peptide hydrogels for biomedical applications; antimicrobial properties of nanomaterials; nanoparticle enhanced radiation therapy for bacterial infection; nanomaterials used in implant technology and their toxicity; challenges of risk assessment of nanomaterials in consumer products and current regulatory status; and the clinical rationale for silicon nitride bioceramics in orthopedics. With contributions from an international selection of researchers this book is essential reading for researchers in industry and academia working at the interfaces of healthcare, engineering and nanotechnology.

This edited book brings together research from laboratories across the world, in order to offer a global perspective on advances in prosthetic hand control. State-of-the-art control of prosthetics in the laboratory and clinical spaces are presented and the challenges discussed, and the effect of user training on control of prosthetics to evaluate the translational efficacy and value for the end-user is highlighted. The book begins with a chapter introducing the fundamental principles, engineering challenges and control solutions for prosthetic hands. Further chapters address methods to design bespoke sockets, magnetomyography, implantable technologies for closed-loop control of prostheses, direct neural control of prostheses via nerve implants as well as user-prosthesis co-adaptation, and two chapters on prosthetics for children. The book concludes with a chapter by Dr Nazarpour on the future of myoelectric prosthetics control, with particular focus on the successful translation of research advances into real clinical gains. The book is essential reading for anyone involved in research or undertaking advanced courses in prosthetic design and control. It provides an in-depth exploration of this rewarding topic, by exploring technologies with the potential to improve the quality of life of upper-limb prosthetic users.

No longer confined to medical devices, medical software has become a pervasive technology giving healthcare operators access to clinical information stored in electronic health records and clinical decision support systems, supporting robot-assisted telesurgery, and providing the technology behind ambient assisted living. These systems and software must be designed, built and maintained according to strict regulations and standards to ensure that they are safe, reliable and secure. Engineering High Quality Medical Software illustrates how to exploit techniques, methodologies, development processes and existing standards to realize high-confidence medical software. After an introductory survey of the topic the book covers global regulations and standards (including EU MDD 93/42/EEC, FDA Title 21 of US CFR, ISO 13485, ISO 14971, IEC 52304, IEEE 1012 and ISO/IEC 29119), verification and validation techniques and techniques, and methodologies and engineering tasks for the development, configuration and maintenance of medical software.

Ultrasound imaging technology has experienced a dramatic change in the last 30 years. Because of its non-invasive nature and continuing improvements in image quality, ultrasound imaging is progressively achieving an important role in the assessment and characterization of cardiovascular imaging. Speckle is inherent in ultrasound imaging giving rise to a granular appearance instead of homogeneous, flat shades of gray, as is visible and as such, speckle can severely compromise interpretation of ultrasound images, particularly in discrimination of small structures. On the other hand, speckle can be used in the detection of time varying phenomena, or tracking tissue motion. The objective of this book is to provide a reference edited volume covering the whole spectrum of speckle phenomena, theoretical background and modelling, algorithms and selected applications in cardiovascular ultrasound imaging and video processing and analysis. The book is organized under the following four parts, Part I: Introduction to Speckle Noise; Part II: Speckle Filtering; Part III: Speckle Tracking; Part IV: Selected Applications in Cardiovascular Imaging.

This book provides a snapshot of the state of current research at the interface between machine learning and healthcare with special emphasis on machine learning projects that are (or are close to) achieving improvement in patient outcomes. The book provides overviews on a range of technologies including detecting artefactual events in vital signs monitoring data; patient physiological monitoring; tracking infectious disease; predicting antibiotic resistance from genomic data; and managing chronic disease. With contributions from an international panel of leading researchers, this book will find a place on the bookshelves of academic and industrial researchers and advanced students working in healthcare technologies, biomedical engineering, and machine learning.

Nanobiosensors have been successful for in vitro as well as in vivo detection of several biomolecules and it is expected that this technology will revolutionize point-of-care and personalized diagnostics, and will be extremely applicable for early disease detection and therapeutic applications. This book describes the emerging nanobiosensor technologies which are geared towards onsite clinical applications and those which can be used as a personalised diagnostic device. Biosensor technologies and materials covered include electrochemical biosensors; implantable microbiosensors; microfluidic technology; surface plasmon resonance-based technologies; optical and fibre-optic sensors; lateral flow biosensors; lab on a chip; nanomaterials based (graphene, nanoparticles, nanocomposites, and other carbon nanomaterial) sensors; metallic nanobiosensors; wearable and doppler-based non-contact vital signs biosensors; and technologies for smartphone based disease diagnosis. Clinical applications of these technologies covered in this book include detection of various protein biomarkers, small molecules, cancer and bacterial cells; detection of foodborne pathogens; generation and optimisation of antibodies for biosensor applications; microRNAs and their applications in diagnosis for osteoarthritis; detection of circulating tumor cells; online heartbeat monitoring; analysis of drugs in body fluids; sensing of nucleic acids; and monitoring oxidative stress.

Patient-Centered Digital Healthcare Technology explores the creative intersection of novel, emerging technologies and medicine. This convergence is transforming the landscape of healthcare with the overarching objectives of improving clinical outcomes and advocating wellness. The concept of encountering or treating a medical condition when it has already become disturbingly manifest is being replaced by earlier awareness, diagnosis, and proactive intervention enabled by technologies. This book features a range of innovations in health information systems and big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning, real-time home monitoring tools, smartphone apps, medical robotics and intelligent machines, virtual and augmented realities, genome sequencing, blockchain and gamification in healthcare. Intuitive digital health solutions motivate end-users to become active partners in their care, thus enhancing patient engagement and empowerment. This may perhaps lead to yet the most gratifying consequence of novel and emerging technologies: the democratization of healthcare. This book offers a valuable resource for healthcare providers, engineers, data and computer scientists, researchers, practitioners in academia, biomedical industry and multi-disciplinary clinical settings. Subjects include informatics, computing, networking, wireless and mobile applications, and robotic sensing that collectively improve healthcare access and delivery.

Hospitals, medical practices and healthcare organizations are implementing new technologies at breakneck speed. Yet privacy and security considerations are often an afterthought, putting healthcare organizations at risk of data security and privacy issues, fines, damage to their reputations, with serious potential consequences for the patients. Electronic Health Record systems (EHRs) consist of clinical notes, patient listings, lab results, imaging results and screening tests. EHRs are growing in complexity over time and requiring increasing amounts of data storage. With the development of the IoT, the Cloud and Smart Cities frameworks, new privacy and security methods are being pursued to secure healthcare-based systems and platforms. Presenting a detailed framework as well as comparative case studies for security protection, data integrity, privacy preservation, scalability, and healthcare legislation, this edited volume covers state of the art research and addresses privacy and security methods and technologies for EHRs.

Robot-assisted healthcare offers benefits for repetitive, intensive and task specific training compared to traditional manual manipulation performed by physiotherapists. However, a majority of existing rehabilitation devices use rigid actuators such as electric motors or hydraulic cylinders which cannot guarantee the safety of patients; novel soft robots combining soft and compliant actuators with stiff skeletons offer a better alternative. This book focuses on the development of these soft robotics for rehabilitation purposes. Topics covered include an introduction to soft robots and the state of the art of their use in healthcare; concept and modelling of a soft rehabilitation actuator - the Peano muscle; design of the reactive Peano muscle; soft wrist rehabilitation robot; development and control of a soft ankle rehabilitation robot (SARR); design, modelling and control strategies of a gait rehabilitation exoskeleton (GAREX); and conclusions and future work. This book presents novel applications of mechatronics to provide better clinical rehabilitation services and new insights into emerging technologies utilized in soft robots for healthcare, and is essential reading for researchers and students working in these and related fields.