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Automated Assessment (automate + assessment)
Selected AbstractsA Method for the Automated Assessment of Temporal Characteristics of Functional Hemispheric Lateralization by Transcranial Doppler SonographyJOURNAL OF NEUROIMAGING, Issue 3 2004M. Deppe ABSTRACT Background and Purpose. Transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) can guide and complement investigations based on functional magnetic resonance and positron emission tomography imaging by providing continuous information on cerebral perfusion changes correlated to cerebral activation. So far, however, the role of functional TCD has been limited by a lack of sensitivity.Methods. Here, the authors present an outline of a method that increases the potential of TCD to detect perfusion changes within a vascular territory. Sensitivity on the order of 1% can be achieved by transformation of Doppler envelope curves, which accounts for systemic quasi-periodic and irregular spontaneous blood flow modulations and artificial disturbances related to the recording. A statistical technique is introduced that allows the automatic detection of time periods of significant hemispheric lateralization in evoked flow studies. Furthermore, an index of laterality is defined quantifying the extent of hemispheric dominance during stimulus processing.Results and Discussion. The analysis technique described in this article has been successfully employed in recent examinations on vision, motor activation, language, language recovery, and other cognitive tasks. Conclusion. The novel functional TCD technique permits valid and reproducible assessments of the temporal characteristics of functional hemispheric lateralization. [source] Automated Assessment of Early Concept DesignsARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Issue 2 2009Chuck Eastman Abstract Building information modelling (BIM) is a powerful tool for clients and architects alike, particularly when clients have ongoing complex programmatic requirements. Chuck Eastman describes how with his team* at the AEC Integration Laboratory at the College of Architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology he was commissioned by the US federal government's General Service Administration (GSA) to automate the design guidelines for all US courthouses in such a way that preliminary designs by architects could be assessed and checked against specific criteria. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Automated assessment of cervical dystoniaMOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 11 2003Giuseppe Galardi MD Abstract We developed an automated and objective method to measure posture and voluntary movements in patients with cervical dystonia using Fastrack, an electromagnetic system consisting of a stationary transmitter station and four sensors. The junction lines between the sensors attached to the head produced geometrical figures on which the corresponding aspects of the head were superimposed. The head position in the space was reconstructed and observed from axial, sagittal, and coronal planes. Four patients with cervical dystonia and 6 healthy subjects were studied. Each patient was representative of one of the typical patterns of cervical dystonia. The study allowed the authors to collect quantitative data on posture and range of motion of the head. This pilot study demonstrates the efficacy of the Fastrack system to objectively measure the head position in cervical dystonia patients. © 2003 Movement Disorder Society [source] Improving Heart Failure Self-Management Support by Actively Engaging Out-of-Home Caregivers: Results of a Feasibility StudyCONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, Issue 1 2008John D. Piette PhD The benefits of heart failure (HF) care management have been demonstrated, yet health systems are often unable to meet patients' needs for support between outpatient visits. Informal care provided by family or friends is a low-cost, and potentially effective, adjunct to care management services. The authors evaluated the feasibility of augmenting HF care management with weekly, automated assessment and behavior change calls to patients, feedback via the Internet to an out-of-home informal caregiver or CarePartner (CP), and faxes to the patient's health care team. The program included 52 HF patient-CP pairs participating for an average of 12 weeks. Patients completed 586 assessments (92% completion rate) and reported problems that might otherwise have gone unidentified. At follow-up, 75% had made changes in their self-care as a result of the intervention. The CP program may extend the impact of HF telemonitoring beyond what care management programs can realistically deliver. [source] An In Situ Device to Measure Oxygen in the Vadose Zone and in Ground Water: Laboratory Testing and Field EvaluationGROUND WATER MONITORING & REMEDIATION, Issue 2 2008Bradley M Patterson Oxygen probes developed to measure in situ oxygen concentrations in gaseous and aqueous environments were evaluated in laboratory tests and during long-term field evaluation trials at contaminated sites. The oxygen probes were shown to have a linear calibration and to be accurate compared to conventional dissolved oxygen electrodes and gas chromatography, both of which require labor-intensive sample collection and processing. The probes, once calibrated, required no maintenance or recalibration for up to a period of 7 years in low-oxygen environments, demonstrating long-term stability. Times to achieve 90% of the stabilized concentration (t90) after a step change in aqueous oxygen concentration were 100,120 min in laboratory experiments and up to 180 min in field experiments, which is adequate for monitoring subsurface changes. Field application data demonstrated that the oxygen probes could monitor oxygen concentrations in hydrocarbon-contaminated ground water to a depth of 20 m below the water table or in pyritic vadose zones over extended periods. During bioremediation field trials, oxygen monitoring enabled estimation of oxygen utilization rates by microorganisms and hydrocarbon biodegradation rates. Also, probes were able to monitor the development of ground water desaturation during air sparging trials, enabling the automated assessment of the distribution of injected air. [source] Computer utilization and clinical judgment in psychological assessment reportsJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2006Elizabeth O. Lichtenberger The process of assessment report writing is a complex one, involving both the statistical evaluation of data and clinical methods of data interpretation to appropriately answer referral questions. Today, a computer often analyzes data generated in a psychological assessment, at least in part. In this article, the author focuses on the interaction between the decision-making processes of human clinicians and the test interpretations that are computer-based. The benefits and problems with computers in assessment are highlighted and are presented alongside the research on the validity of automated assessment, as well as research comparing clinicians and computers in the decision-making process. The author concludes that clinical judgment and computer-based test interpretation each have weaknesses. However, by using certain strategies to reduce clinicians' susceptibility to errors in decision making and to ensure that only valid computer-based test interpretations are used, clinicians can optimize the accuracy of conclusions that they draw in their assessment report © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol. [source] RoboNet-II: Follow-up observations of microlensing events with a robotic network of telescopesASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 1 2009Y. Tsapras Abstract RoboNet-II uses a global network of robotic telescopes to perform follow-up observations of microlensing events in the Galactic Bulge. The current network consists of three 2 m telescopes located in Hawaii and Australia (owned by Las Cumbres Observatory) and the Canary Islands (owned by Liverpool John Moores University). In future years the network will be expanded by deploying clusters of 1 m telescopes in other suitable locations. A principal scientific aim of the RoboNet-II project is the detection of cool extra-solar planets by the method of gravitational microlensing. These detections will provide crucial constraints to models of planetary formation and orbital migration. RoboNet-II acts in coordination with the PLANET microlensing follow-up network and uses an optimization algorithm ("web-PLOP") to select the targets and a distributed scheduling paradigm (eSTAR) to execute the observations. Continuous automated assessment of the observations and anomaly detection is provided by the ARTEMiS system (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] | |||||||||||||