editor-in-chief: Ming Chyu, PhD, PE
published quarterly from 2010 • ISSN 2040 2295
• 2009 journal prices/format options
The Journal of Healthcare Engineering is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing fundamental and applied research on all aspects of engineering involved in healthcare delivery processes and systems. It provides a vehicle for the exchange of advanced knowledge, emerging technologies and innovative ideas among healthcare engineering researchers, engineers, managers and consultants around the world. The journal encompasses biomedical engineering (devices, equipment, procedures, software), healthcare information technology, distance healthcare, healthcare facilities and infrastructure, healthcare environment management, improvement of healthcare delivery systems, healthcare safety, elderly care, public health and epidemiology, healthcare policy and social issues. Authors are encouraged to submit papers based on analytical, computational, experimental and clinical research, state of the art reviews, conceptual and theoretical developments and designs.
• Biomedical engineering
• Computer-aided medical engineering
• Medical robotics
• Clinical decision support, computer aided diagnosis
• Medical/disease modeling
• Biomechanics
• Biomaterials
• Rehabilitation engineering
• Drug delivery
• Distance healthcare, healthcare telecommunication, telemedicine, teleradiology
• eHealth network
• Digital hospital
• Electronic health record
• Internet virtual hospital
• Home healthcare
• Healthcare information operating systems
• Healthcare database management systems
• Healthcare software management
• Web-based healthcare software systems
• Healthcare facilities and infrastructure
• Healthcare energy systems engineering
• Innovative operating room and patient room design
• Healthcare support service engineering
• Ergonomics and design, environmental ergonomics
• Healthcare environmental engineering, clinical environmental management
• Infection control engineering
• Healthcare waste management
• Improvement of healthcare delivery system (efficiency, effectiveness,
productivity, quality, economics, innovation)
• Design and management of healthcare organization
• Healthcare operational measurement, modeling, and simulation
• Integrated healthcare delivery systems
• Healthcare safety, security, reliability, and risk management
• Emergency response engineering
• Disaster management
• Engineering issues in public health and epidemiology
• Engineering and aging (elderly patient service, adaptive equipment,
assistive technology)
• Healthcare engineering for long-term care
• Engineering to address health disparities
• Engineering issues in healthcare public policy, insurance, and finance
• Healthcare engineering to address social responsibility and ethics
• Healthcare engineering education
Detection of Pathological Myopia by PAMELA with Texture-Based
Features through an SVM Approach
Jiang Liu, Damon W.K. Wong, Joo Hwee Lim, Ngan Meng Tan, Zhuo Zhang, Huiqi
Li, Fengshou Yin, Benghai Lee, Seang Mei Saw, Louis Tong and Tien Yin Wong
Pathological myopia is the seventh leading cause of blindness
worldwide. Current methods for the detection of pathological myopia are manual
and subjective. We have developed a system known as PAMELA (Pathological Myopia
Detection Through Peripapillary Atrophy) to automatically assess a retinal
fundus image for pathological myopia. This paper focuses on the texture analysis
component of PAMELA which uses texture features, clinical image context and
support vector machine-based classification to detect the presence of pathological
myopia in a retinal fundus image. Results on a test image set from the Singapore
Eye Research Institute show an accuracy of 87.5% and a sensitivity and specificity
of 0.85 and 0.90 respectively. The results show good promise for PAMELA to
be developed as an automatic tool for pathological myopia detection.
Keywords: pathological myopia, peripapillary atrophy, computer aided
detection
Investigation of the Effects of Continuous Low-Dose Epidural
Analgesia on the Autonomic Nervous System Using Hilbert Huang Transform
Wei-Ren Chuang, Jia-Rong Yeh, Li-Kuei Chen, Yin-Yi Han and Jiann-Shing
Shieh
Effects of continuous low-dose epidural bupivacaine (0.05-0.1%)
infusion on the Doppler velocimetry for labor analgesia have been well documented.
The aim of this study was to monitor the activity of the autonomic nervous
system (ANS) for women in labor based on Hilbert Huang transform (HHT), which
performs signal processing for nonlinear systems, such as human cardiac systems.
Thirteen pregnant women were included in the experimental group for labor
analgesia. They received continuous epidural bupivacaine 0.075% infusion.
The normal-to-normal intervals (NN-interval) were downloaded from an ECG holter.
Another 20 pregnant women in non-anesthesia labor (average gestation age was
38.6 weeks) were included in the comparison group. In this study, HHT was
used to decompose components of ECG signals, which reflect three different
frequency bands of a person’s heart rate spectrum (viz. high frequency
(HF), low frequency (LF) and very low frequency (VLF)). It was found that
the change of energy in subjects without anesthesia was more active than that
with continuous epidural bupivacaine 0.075% infusion. The energy values of
the experimental group (i.e., labor analgesia) of HF and LF of ANS activities
were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than the values of the comparison group
(viz. labor without analgesia), but the trend of energy ratio of LF/HF was
opposite. In conclusion, the sympathetic and parasympathetic components of
ANS are all suppressed by continuous low-dose epidural bupivacaine 0.075%
infusion, but parasympathetic power is suppressed more than sympathetic power.
Keywords: Epidural infusion, labor analgesia, autonomic nervous system,
ECG holter, Hilbert Huang transform, heart rate spectrum, sympathetic, parasympathetic.
Analysis of Breast Thermography Using Fractal Dimension to
Establish Possible Difference between Malignant and Benign Patterns
Mahnaz EtehadTavakol, Caro Lucas, Saeed Sadri and E.Y. K. Ng
Early detection of breast cancer by means of thermal imaging
has a long and extremely controversial history. Recently, the availability
of highly sensitive infrared (IR) cameras which can produce high-resolution
diagnostic images of the temperature and vascular changes of breasts, as well
as a better knowledge of advanced image processing techniques, has generated
a renewed interest. The objective of this study is to investigate fractal
analysis of breast thermal images and to develop an algorithm for detecting
benignity and malignancy of breast diseases. The study is based on IR images
captured by thermal camera, in which the resolution of the results is within
the state of the art of IR camera. A total of 7 malignant cases and 8 benign
cases have been considered. The breast images were first segmented by fuzzy
c-means clustering. Then the first hottest regions for each image were identified
and the fractal dimension of those regions was computed. It is shown that
the fractal dimension results significantly differ between malignant and benign
patterns, suggesting that fractal analysis may potentially improve the reliability
of thermography in breast tumor detection.
Keywords: Angiogenesis; Fractal analysis; Breast; Tumor shapes; Thermography;
Fuzzy
Reengineering the Cardiac Catheterization Lab Processes:
A Lean Approach
Venkatesh A. Raghavan, Vikram Venkatadri, Varun Kesavakumaran, Shengyong
Wang, Mohammad Khasawneh and Krishnaswami Srihari
This paper presents a cross-functional effort in a US community
hospital for an overall process improvement in its Cardiac Catheterization
Lab (CCL). One of the key system performance metrics identified was the patient
turnaround time. The objective of this study was to identify the sources of
delays in the system that lead to prolonged patient turnaround time using
a structured lean approach. A set of qualitative recommendations were proposed
and implemented. Quantification of some of these recommendations and certain
additional ‘what-if’ scenarios were evaluated using Discrete Events
Simulation (DES). The simulation results showed that significant reduction
in patient turnaround time could be achieved if the proposed recommendations
were implemented. This study demonstrated the benefits of adopting the lean
philosophy in the continuous process improvement journey in the healthcare
delivery arena.
Keywords: Reengineering, lean techniques, cardiac catheterization lab,
patient turnaround time
Hospital Registration Process Reengineering Using Simulation
Method
Qiang Su, Xiaoyun Yao, Ping Su, Jinghua Shi, Yan Zhu and Lei Xue
With increasing competition, many healthcare organizations have
undergone tremendous reform in the last decade aiming to increase efficiency,
decrease waste, and reshape the way that care is delivered. This study focuses
on the operational efficiency improvement of hospital’s registration
process. The operational efficiency related factors including the service
process, queue strategy, and queue parameters were explored systematically
and illustrated with a case study. Guided by the principle of business process
reengineering (BPR), a simulation approach was employed for process redesign
and performance optimization. As a result, the queue strategy is changed from
multiple queues and multiple servers to single queue and multiple servers
with a prepare queue. Furthermore, through a series of simulation experiments,
the length of the prepare queue and the corresponding registration process
efficiency was quantitatively evaluated and optimized.
Key words: Healthcare service; Queuing strategy; Waiting time; Medmodel
The Use of Observation and Interview Methods for Assessing
Issues in Patient Care in the Resuscitation Unit of a Level-1 Trauma Center
Joseph Sharita, Carl I. Schulmanb, Lorgia McCanec, Jill Graygod and Jeffrey
Augensteine
Although traumatic injury is the leading cause of death in the
U.S. for people between the ages of one and 44, we lack important knowledge
about how the various activities and processes within the resuscitation units
of trauma care systems can impact the management of patient care. This article
reports on a research study that involved the complementation of observation
and interview methods for identifying and assessing a broad array of issues
and concerns within this highly complex critical care setting in a large level-1
trauma center. Data from observations were collected on 27 days, and subsequently
used to guide semi-structured interviews with 22 health care workers representing
different specialties responsible for patient care within the resuscitation
unit. The complementation of observation and interview data afforded the opportunity
to validate issues that were observed while providing a richer understanding
of these issues as a basis for formulating intervention strategies.
Keywords: resuscitation unit, quality of trauma care, observation study,
interview study, integrating qualitative methods
Semi-Automatic Anatomical Tree Matching for Landmark-Based
Elastic Registration of Liver Volumes
Klaus Drechsler, Cristina Oyarzun Laura, Yufei Chen, Marius Erdt
One promising approach to register liver volume acquisitions
is based on the branching points of the vessel trees as anatomical landmarks
inherently available in the liver. Automated tree matching algorithms were
proposed to automatically find pair-wise correspondences between two vessel
trees. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of the existing automatic
methods are completely error free. After a review of current literature and
methodologies on the topic, we propose an efficient interaction method that
can be employed to support tree matching algorithms with important pre-selected
correspondences or after an automatic matching to manually correct wrongly
matched nodes. We used this method in combination with a promising automatic
tree matching algorithm also presented in this work. The proposed method was
evaluated by 4 participants and a CT dataset that we used to derive multiple
artificial datasets.
Keywords: Liver, Anatomical Trees, Tree Matching, Interactive Refinement,
Visualization
Healthcare Facility Evacuations: Lessons Learned, Research
Activity, and the Need for Engineering Contributions
Ashley Kay Childers and Kevin M. Taaffe, PhD
Over the past few years, there has been an increase in research related to a healthcare facility’s role during a disaster. Most of this literature relates to emergencies where the facility is a resource to the affected population, and the facility must make decisions associated with sudden, increased patient demands. Some emergencies, however, may affect the facility’s ability to function and may therefore force the need for a complete patient evacuation. This paper provides an overview of the available literature including lessons learned from actual healthcare facility evacuations and research focusing on making improvements. The purpose is to summarize a variety of healthcare evacuation issues and highlight the research in this area. We raise questions for further research and conclude with an example of using engineering techniques to improve healthcare facility evacuations by prioritizing patients for transport.
Real Time Medical Image Consultation System Through Internet
D Durga Prasad, Saikat Ray, Arun K. Majumdar, Jayanta Mukherjee, Bandana
Majumdar, Soubhik Paul, Amit Kumar Verma
Teleconsultation among doctors using a telemedicine system typically involves dealing with and sharing medical images of the patients. This paper describes a software tool written in Java which enables the participating doctors to view medical images such as blood slides, X-Ray, USG, ECG etc. online and even allows them to mark and/or zoom specific areas. It is a multi-party secure image communication system tool that can be used by doctors and medical consultants over the Internet.
Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Hospitals and Healthcare
Facilities
Pat Ledonne, Shanti Pless, Ian Doebber and Eric Bonnema
The Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Hospitals and Healthcare
Facilities (AEDG-SHC) was recently completed, the sixth document in a series
of guides designed to achieve 30% savings over the minimum code requirements
of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999. The guide is available for print
purchase or as a free download from http://www.ashrae.org/aedg and provides
user-friendly assistance and recommendations for the building design, construction,
and owner community to achieve energy savings. Included in the guide are prescriptive
recommendations for quality assurance and commissioning; design of the building
envelope; fenestration; lighting systems (including electric lighting and
daylighting), heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems; building
automation and controls; outside air (OA) treatment; and service water heating
(SWH). The guide educates, provides practical recommendations for exceeding
code minimums, and provides leadership to help design teams and owners produce
higher efficiency commercial buildings.
Keywords: 30% energy savings, high performance buildings, energy efficiency,
Advanced Energy Design Guide, small healthcare faculties.
A New Approach in the Design of High-Risk Infusion Technology
Robert S. Murphy and Steven J. Wilcox
The syringe infusion pump has been established as the instrument of choice for high-risk infusions, where potent drugs are often delivered at low rates of flow. However, numerous instances of unexpected flow error with consequent patient physiological impact have been reported. These include unwanted bolus delivery on release of line occlusion, dosage fluctuation due to pump height change and fluid reflux within the multiple pump installations now common in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This article examines the performance of a typical ICU syringe infusion pump and identifies mechanical compliance, inherent in commercial designs, as a source of flow error that should not be ignored by equipment designers. A prototype low compliance system is described and tested with performance compared to the conventional design, demonstrating advantages in terms of lower flow error.
Keywords: infusion pump design, syringe pump, flow accuracy
Low-Power Implantable Device for Onset Detection and Subsequent Treatment of Epileptic Seizures: A Review
Muhammad Tariqus Salam, Mohamad Sawan and Dang Khoa Nguyen
Over the past few years, there has been growing interest in neuro-responsive intracerebral local treatments of seizures, such as focal drug delivery, focal cooling, or electrical stimulation. This mode of treatment requires an effective intracerebral electroencephalographic acquisition system, seizure detector, brain stimulator, and wireless system that consume ultra-low power. This review focuses on alternative brain stimulation treatments for medically intractable epilepsy patients. We mainly discuss clinical studies of long-term responsive stimulation and suggest safer optimized therapeutic options for epilepsy. Finally, we conclude our study with the proposed low-power, implantable fully integrated device that automatically detects low-voltage fast activity ictal onsets and triggers focal treatment to disrupt seizure progression. The detection performance was verified using intracerebral electroencephalographic recordings from two patients with epilepsy. Further experimental validation of this prototype is underway.
Keywords: Electroencephalographic (EEG), seizure detector, focal drug delivery, focal cooling, electrical stimulation and implantable device
Selective Inactivation of Viruses with Femtosecond Laser Pulses and its Potential Use for in Vitro Therapy
Shaw-Wei D. Tsen, Yu-Shan D. Tsen, K. T. Tsen and T. C. Wu
Introduction: Traditional biochemical and pharmaceutical methods
employed today encounter
problems of clinical side effects and drug resistance, and their use is becoming
limited. Therefore, it has become important and necessary to develop new,
alternative strategies to combat viral diseases.
Materials and Method: Avariety of viruses including M13 bacetriophage (nonenveloped
ssDNA), tobacco mosaic virus (nonenveloped ssRNA), human papillomavirus (nonenveloped
dsDNA) and human immunodeficiency virus (enveloped ssRNA), together with human
red blood cells, Jurkat T-cells and mouse dendritic cells in their buffer
solutions have been irradiated with near-infrared subpicosecond laser pulses
in vitro.
Results: A window of laser power density, approximately between 1 GW/cm2 and
10 GW/cm2, has been observed that allows killing the viral particles while
leaving mammalian cells unharmed.
Conclusion: The ultrashort pulsed laser technology may have great potential
for disinfection of
blood components.
Keywords: Viruses, femtosecond laser, selective inactivation
Locomotor Training in Subjects with Sensori-Motor Deficits: An Overview of the Robotic Gait Orthosis Lokomat
R. Riener, L. Lünenburger, I. C. Maier, G. Colombo, V. Dietz
It is known that improvement in walking function can be achieved
in patients suffering a
movement disorder after stroke or spinal cord injury by providing intensive
locomotor training.
Rehabilitation robots allow for a longer and more intensive training than
that achieved by
conventional therapies. Robot assisted treadmill training also offers the
ability to provide
objective feedback within one training session and to monitor functional improvements
over
time. This article provides an overview of the technical features and reports
the clinical data
available for one of these systems known as “Lokomat”. First, background
information is given
for the neural mechanisms of gait recovery. The basic technical approach of
the Lokomat system is then described. Furthermore, new features are introduced
including cooperative control strategies, assessment tools and augmented feedback.
These features may be capable of further enhancing training intensity and
patient participation. Findings from clinical studies are presented covering
the feasibility as well as efficacy of Lokomat assisted treadmill training.
Keywords: gait, locomotion; gait therapy, rehabilitation,
rehabilitation robotics, assessment,
biofeedback, robot-aided training, Lokomat
Lying Posture Classification for Pressure Ulcer Prevention
Aung Aung Phyo Wai, Siang Fook Foo, Weimin Huang, Jit Biswas, Chi-Chun Hsia, Koujuch Liou and Philip Yap
Pressure ulcers are a common problem among patients with limited mobility, such as those bedbound and wheelchair-bound. Constant and prolonged applied pressure is one of the extrinsic factors contributing to the development of pressure ulcers. Analyzing lying postures together with interface pressure measurements from a pressure sensitive bed helps revealing pressure hot spots that can potentially lead to pressure ulcer development. We propose an intelligent system that features lying posture classification with pressure hot spots identification based on interface pressure measurements to possibly identify potential pressure ulcer risk and to provide effective preventive measures. Experimental outcomes correctly classify different lying postures with an accuracy of up to 93%. The proposed system is expected to assist caregivers to detect risk evidence and to provide timely and appropriate interventions for effective pressure ulcer prevention.
Keywords: pressure sensitive bed; pressure hot spots;
lying posture classification; interface
pressure; pressure ulcer prevention
Reliability Measure Model for Assistive Care Loop Framework Using Wireless Sensor Networks
Venki Balasubramanian and Doan. B. Hoang
Body area wireless sensor networks (BAWSNs) are time-critical systems that rely on the collective data of a group of sensor nodes. Reliable data received at the sink is based on the collective data provided by all the source sensor nodes and not on individual data. Unlike conventional reliability, the definition of retransmission is inapplicable in a BAWSN and would only lead to an elapsed data arrival that is not acceptable for time-critical application. Time-driven applications require high data reliability to maintain detection and responses. Hence, the transmission reliability for the BAWSN should be based on the critical time. In this paper, we develop a theoretical model to measure a BAWSN’s transmission reliability, based on the critical time. The proposed model is evaluated through simulation and then compared with the experimental results conducted in our existing Active Care Loop Framework (ACLF). We further show the effect of the sink buffer in transmission reliability after a detailed study of various other co-existing parameters.
Keywords: body area wireless sensor networks; reliability;
assistive care; remote health
monitoring systems
Healthcare Team Performance in Time Critical Environments: Coordinating Events, Foraging, and System Processes
Barrett S. Caldwell, Sandra K. Garrett, Karim C. Boustany
This review paper addresses issues in how healthcare providers
search, obtain, and share
resources in provider teams. Based in part on a System of Systems (SoS) analysis
of provider coordination and resource flows, this paper expands the concepts
of resource foraging theory and event dynamics to develop systematic methods
for studying healthcare provider coordination. Process flow and human factors
emphases from industrial engineering are used to address critical concerns
of single-scale and multi-scale performance in healthcare delivery settings.
Provider strategies for acquiring the information and resources needed for
successful healthcare delivery are dependent on interactions between task
requirements, time constraints, and provider coordination processes, as well
as limitations of information and resource flow capabilities. These improved
definitions and measures will enhance engineers’ ability to contribute
to improved patient care timeliness, effectiveness, quality, and safety.
Keywords: foraging; healthcare delivery; resource acquisition;
task coordination; team
performance
Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities
Eric Bonnema, Shanti Pless, Ian Doebber
The Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Hospitals and Healthcare
Facilities (AEDG-SHC)
was recently completed. It is the sixth document in a series of guides designed
to achieve 30% savings over the minimum code requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA
Standard 90.1-1999. The guide [1] is available for print purchase or as a
free download from http://www.ashrae.org/aedg and provides user-friendly assistance
and recommendations for the building design, construction, and owner communities
to achieve energy savings. Included in the guide are prescriptive recommendations
for quality assurance and commissioning; design of the building envelope;
fenestration; lighting systems (including electric lighting and daylighting);
heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems; building automation
and controls; outside air (OA) treatment; and service water heating (SWH).
The guide educates, provides practical recommendations for exceeding code
minimums, and provides leadership to help design teams and owners produce
higher efficiency commercial buildings.
Keywords: 30% energy savings, high performance buildings,
energy efficiency, Advanced
Energy Design Guide, small healthcare facilities
click below to contact the editor: m.chyu@ttu.edu
Editor-in-Chief
Ming Chyu, PhD, PE
Founding Coordinator, Healthcare Engineering Graduate Program; Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering; Adjunct Professor, Department of Pathology,
School of Medicine; Joint Professor, Department of Health, Exercise, and Sport
Sciences, Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences
Center. Lubbock, Texas 79409-1021, USA. Tel: (806) 742-3563 Ext 230. E-mail:
m.chyu@ttu.edu
Associate Editors
Prof. Jing Bai, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University,
Beijing, China
Prof. Heng-Shuen Chen, Director, Medical Informatics Program, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Prof. P. John Clarkson, Ph.D.,
Director, Cambridge Engineering Design Centre, Cambridge University, Cambridge,
UK
Prof. Claudio Cobelli, PhD, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Italy
Charles R. Doarn, MBA, Director, Associate Professor, Public Health Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Prof. Amit Gefen, Ph.D., Director, Musculoskeletal Biomechanical Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Dr. Ash M. Genaidy, President, WorldTek Inc., Sycamore Township, Ohio, USA
Prof. Andreas H. Hielscher, Ph.D., Director, Biophotonics & Optical Radiology Laboratory; Director, Small Animal Imaging Shared Resource, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Depts. Biomedical Engineering & Radiology; Columbia University, New York, USA; Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Hornegger, Head of the Computer Science 5 (Pattern Recognition), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
Dr. Roberto Hornero, Head of the Biomedical Engineering Group, E.T.S. Ingenieros de Telecomunicación, University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
Dr. J.S. Katsanis, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece
Prof. Eva K. Lee, Director, Center for Operations Research in Medicine and HealthCare, School of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology; Co-Director, National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Health Organization Transformation; Co-Director, Biomedical Informatics Program, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute; Winship Cancer Institute, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Prof. Feng-Huei Lin, Director, Division of Medical Engineering, National Health Research Institute, Taiwan; Professor, Institute of Biomed Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Editor-in-chief, Biomedical Engineering-Application, Basis & Communication (SCI)
Prof. Pradeep Ray, School of Information Systems Technology and Management, University of New South Wales, Australia
Prof. Robert Riener, Head of the Sensory-Motor Systems Lab, Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, and University of Zurich, Switzerland
Prof. Jiann-Shing Shieh, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering & Graduate School of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Yuan Ze University, Chung-Li, Taiwan
Prof. Shusaku Tsumoto, Department of Medical Informatics, School of Medicine, Shimane University, Izumo, Japan
Prof. Toshiyo Tamura, Chairman, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
Prof. Martin Yarmush, MD, PhD, Helen Andrus Benedict Professor of Surgery and Bioengineering, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
Prof. Jiajie Zhang, Doris L. Ross Professor, Associate Dean for Research School of Health Information Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
Editorial Board
Prof. Ewart R. Carson, Centre for Health Informatics, City University,
London, United Kingdom
Prof. Fok-Ching Chong, Institute of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Prof. Wan-Young Chung, Division of Electronics, Computer and Telecommunication Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan, Korea
Prof. Dr.-Ing Rüdiger Dillmann, Chairman, Institute of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Karlsruhe, Germany
Prof. Manuel Doblaré, Scientific Director of the Networking Centre for Biomedical Research on Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
Prof. Jesus Favela, Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE), Ensenada, Mexico
Dr. Salih Günes, Department of Electrical-Electronics Engineering, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey
Prof. Susan C. Hagness, Philip D. Reed Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Prof. Neville Hogan, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Director, Newman Laboratory for Biomechanics and Human Rehabilitation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Prof. Ben-Tzion Karsh, Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Prof. Elizabeth A. Krupinski, Department of Radiology & Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Prof. Gladius Lewis, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Prof. Derek A Linkens, Emeritus Professor, Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
Prof. Nigel H. Lovell, Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Prof. Henning Müller, Medical Informatics, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Prof. Seong K. Mun, Institute of Advanced Study, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
Prof. E.Y. K. Ng, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering, Nanyang Technical University, Singapore
Prof. Keith D. Paulsen, Robert A. Pritzker Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Professor of Radiology, Director, Dartmouth Advanced Imaging Center, Hannover, New Hampshire, USA
Prof. Karl Rohr, Head of the Biomedical Computer Vision Group, Department of Bioinformatics & Functional Genomics, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Prof. Georgios Sakas, Head of Cognitive Computing & Medical Imaging Department, Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics, Darmstadt, Germany
Prof. Mohamad A. Sawan, Canada Research Chair in Smart Medical Devices, Ecole Polytechnique, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Prof. Mingui Sun, Laboratory for Computational Neuroscience, Departments of Neurosurgery, Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Prof. Ioannis G. Tollis, Head of Biomedical Informatics Laboratory, Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas, Crete, Greece
Prof. Chan-Hyun Youn, Head of Information and Communications Engineering; Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering; Head, Lab for Advanced Network and System Architecture, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea
Prof. Yuan-Ting Zhang, Head, Division of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Director, Key Lab for Biomedical Informatics and Health Engineering, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, China