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  1. Article ; Online: Hypertension Diagnosis and Management in Africa Using Mobile Phones: A Scoping Review.

    Oronti, Iyabosola B / Iadanza, Ernesto / Pecchia, Leandro

    IEEE reviews in biomedical engineering

    2024  Volume 17, Page(s) 197–211

    Abstract: Target 3.4 of the third Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly proposes to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by one-third. Epidemiological data presented by the World Health ... ...

    Abstract Target 3.4 of the third Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly proposes to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by one-third. Epidemiological data presented by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016 show that out of a total of 57 million deaths worldwide, approximately 41 million deaths occurred due to NCDs, with 78% of such deaths occurring in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). The majority of investigations on NCDs agree that the leading risk factor for mortality worldwide is hypertension. Over 75% of the world's mobile phone subscriptions reside in LMICs, hence making the mobile phone particularly relevant to mHealth deployment in Africa. This study is aimed at determining the scope of the literature available on hypertension diagnosis and management in Africa, with particular emphasis on determining the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of interventions based on the use of mobile phones. The bulk of the evidence considered overwhelmingly shows that SMS technology is yet the most used medium for executing interventions in Africa. Consequently, the need to define novel and superior ways of providing effective and low-cost monitoring, diagnosis, and management of hypertension-related NCDs delivered through artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques is clear.
    MeSH term(s) Humans ; Artificial Intelligence ; Cell Phone ; Hypertension/diagnosis ; Telemedicine ; Africa ; Noncommunicable Diseases
    Language English
    Publishing date 2024-01-12
    Publishing country United States
    Document type Review ; Journal Article
    ISSN 1941-1189
    ISSN (online) 1941-1189
    DOI 10.1109/RBME.2022.3186828
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  2. Article ; Online: Exploring the misalignment on the value of further research between payers and manufacturers. A case study on a novel total artificial heart.

    Federici, Carlo / Pecchia, Leandro

    Health economics

    2022  Volume 31 Suppl 1, Page(s) 98–115

    Abstract: Payers and manufacturers can disagree on the appropriate level of evidence that is required for new medical devices, resulting in high societal costs due to decisions taken with sub-optimal information. A cost-effectiveness model of a hypothetical total ... ...

    Abstract Payers and manufacturers can disagree on the appropriate level of evidence that is required for new medical devices, resulting in high societal costs due to decisions taken with sub-optimal information. A cost-effectiveness model of a hypothetical total artificial heart was built using data from the literature and the (simulated) results of a pivotal study. The expected value of perfect information (EVPI) was calculated from both the payer and manufacturer perspectives, using net monetary benefit and the company's return on investment respectively. A function was also defined, linking effectiveness to market shares. Additional constraints such as a minimum clinical difference or maximum budget impact were introduced into the company's decisions to simulate additional barriers to adoption. The difference in the EVPI between manufacturers and payers varied greatly depending on the underlying decision rules and constraints. The manufacturer's EVPI depends on the probability of being reimbursed, the uncertainty on the (cost-)effectiveness of the technology, as well as other parameters relating to initial investments, operating costs and market dynamics. The use of Value of information for both perspectives can outline potential misalignments and can be particularly useful to inform early dialogs between manufacturers and payers, or negotiations on conditional reimbursement schemes.
    MeSH term(s) Budgets ; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Heart, Artificial ; Humans ; Probability ; Uncertainty
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-04-23
    Publishing country England
    Document type Journal Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
    ZDB-ID 1135838-5
    ISSN 1099-1050 ; 1057-9230
    ISSN (online) 1099-1050
    ISSN 1057-9230
    DOI 10.1002/hec.4520
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  3. Article: Analysis of Pharmaceutical Companies' Social Media Activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on the Public.

    Gyftopoulos, Sotirios / Drosatos, George / Fico, Giuseppe / Pecchia, Leandro / Kaldoudi, Eleni

    Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)

    2024  Volume 14, Issue 2

    Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic, a period of great turmoil, was coupled with the emergence of an "infodemic", a state when the public was bombarded with vast amounts of unverified information from dubious sources that led to a chaotic information landscape. The ... ...

    Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic, a period of great turmoil, was coupled with the emergence of an "infodemic", a state when the public was bombarded with vast amounts of unverified information from dubious sources that led to a chaotic information landscape. The excessive flow of messages to citizens, combined with the justified fear and uncertainty imposed by the unknown virus, cast a shadow on the credibility of even well-intentioned sources and affected the emotional state of the public. Several studies highlighted the mental toll this environment took on citizens by analyzing their discourse on online social networks (OSNs). In this study, we focus on the activity of prominent pharmaceutical companies on Twitter, currently known as X, as well as the public's response during the COVID-19 pandemic. Communication between companies and users is examined and compared in two discrete channels, the COVID-19 and the non-COVID-19 channel, based on the content of the posts circulated in them in the period between March 2020 and September 2022, while the emotional profile of the content is outlined through a state-of-the-art emotion analysis model. Our findings indicate significantly increased activity in the COVID-19 channel compared to the non-COVID-19 channel while the predominant emotion in both channels is joy. However, the COVID-19 channel exhibited an upward trend in the circulation of fear by the public. The quotes and replies produced by the users, with a stark presence of negative charge and diffusion indicators, reveal the public's preference for promoting tweets conveying an emotional charge, such as fear, surprise, and joy. The findings of this research study can inform the development of communication strategies based on emotion-aware messages in future crises.
    Language English
    Publishing date 2024-02-09
    Publishing country Switzerland
    Document type Journal Article
    ZDB-ID 2651997-5
    ISSN 2076-328X
    ISSN 2076-328X
    DOI 10.3390/bs14020128
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  4. Article ; Online: Recurrence quantification analysis of center of pressure trajectories for balance and fall-risk assessment in young and older adults.

    Fernandez-Cervantes, Emiliano / Montesinos, Luis / Gonzalez-Nucamendi, Andres / Pecchia, Leandro

    IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society

    2023  Volume PP

    Abstract: The prevalence and impact of balance impairments and falls in older adults have motivated several studies on the characterization of human balance. This study aimed to determine the ability of recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) measures to ... ...

    Abstract The prevalence and impact of balance impairments and falls in older adults have motivated several studies on the characterization of human balance. This study aimed to determine the ability of recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) measures to characterize balance control during quiet standing in young and older adults and to discriminate between different fall risk groups. We analyze center pressure trajectories in the medial-lateral and anterior-posterior directions from a publicly available static posturography dataset that contains tests acquired under four vision-surface testing conditions. Participants were retrospectively classified as young adults (age<60, n=85), non-fallers (age≥60, falls=0, n=56), and fallers (age≥60, falls≥1, n=18). Mixed ANOVA and post hoc analyzes were performed to test for differences between groups. For CoP fluctuations in the anterior-posterior direction, all RQA measures showed significantly higher values for young than older adults when standing on a compliant surface, indicating less predictable and stable balance control among seniors under testing conditions where sensory information is restricted or altered. However, no significant differences between non-fallers and fallers were observed. These results support the use of RQA to characterize balance control in young and old adults, but not to discriminate between different fall risk groups.
    Language English
    Publishing date 2023-01-12
    Publishing country United States
    Document type Journal Article
    ZDB-ID 1166307-8
    ISSN 1558-0210 ; 1063-6528 ; 1534-4320
    ISSN (online) 1558-0210
    ISSN 1063-6528 ; 1534-4320
    DOI 10.1109/TNSRE.2023.3236454
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  5. Article: 3D-printed activated charcoal inlet filters for oxygen concentrators: A circular economy approach.

    Williams, Ellis / Piaggio, Davide / Andellini, Martina / Pecchia, Leandro

    Development engineering

    2022  Volume 7, Page(s) 100094

    Abstract: As of May 2021, the current COVID-19 pandemic is still plaguing the world, challenging all the countries and their health systems, globally. In this context, conditions typical of low-resource settings surfaced also in high-resource ones (e.g., the lack ... ...

    Abstract As of May 2021, the current COVID-19 pandemic is still plaguing the world, challenging all the countries and their health systems, globally. In this context, conditions typical of low-resource settings surfaced also in high-resource ones (e.g., the lack of essential medical equipment, of resources etc.), while exacerbating in the already resource-scarce settings, because of COVID-19. This is the case of oxygen concentrators that are one of the first-line medical devices for treating COVID-19 patients. Since the beginning of 2020, their demand has been rapidly growing worldwide, aggravating the situation for low-resource settings, where the availability of devices providing oxygen-enriched air was already scarce. In fact, due to their delicacy, the lack of spare parts and of an appropriate health technology management system, oxygen concentrators can often be found broken or not working properly in these settings. The underlying problems have deep roots. The current regulatory frameworks and standards, which are set by high-income countries, are too stringent, and do not take into account the limited resources of poorer settings. Thus, they are often inapplicable in such settings. One of the main issues affecting the oxygen concentrators, is that related to the filters, which are designed to filter out dust, particles, bacteria, and to be used in medical locations complying with international standards (e.g., the air filtration level in a surgical theatre in Italy is at 99.97%). When used in low-resource settings, which do not comply with these standards and face several challenges (e.g., dust), these filters have a much-reduced lifespan. For these reasons, this paper aims to present the redesign of the inlet filter of an oxygen concentrator, which is used to prevent gross particles to enter the device. The redesign is based on a reverse engineering approach, and on the use of 3D-printing along with activated charcoal. After testing the filtration efficiency with a particle counter, the filter design has been refined through several iterations. The final prototype performs particularly well when filtering particles above 1 μm (with a filtration efficiency of 64.2%), and still has a satisfactory performance with any particle size over 0.3 μm (with a filtration efficiency of 38.8%). Following the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, this project aims to empower local communities, and start a positive trend of self-sustained supply chain of simple spare parts for medical devices, leveraging on frugal engineering, 3D-printing, locally produced activated charcoal, and circular economy.
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-01-19
    Publishing country England
    Document type Journal Article
    ISSN 2352-7285
    ISSN 2352-7285
    DOI 10.1016/j.deveng.2022.100094
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  6. Article: The role of ethics in science: a systematic literature review from the first wave of COVID-19.

    Maccaro, Alessia / Piaggio, Davide / Pagliara, Silvio / Pecchia, Leandro

    Health and technology

    2021  Volume 11, Issue 5, Page(s) 1063–1071

    Abstract: This paper proposes a systematic literature review on ethics and CoviD-19, aiming to understand the impact and the perception of the pandemic during the first wave (January-June 2020) and the consequences one year later. PubMed was systematically ... ...

    Abstract This paper proposes a systematic literature review on ethics and CoviD-19, aiming to understand the impact and the perception of the pandemic during the first wave (January-June 2020) and the consequences one year later. PubMed was systematically searched up May 2020 to identify studies that took into consideration various ethical issues that have been arising from the Covid-19 outbreak. The eligibility of the papers was determined by two authors, who screened the results mediated by a third author. In order to facilitate the screening, the titles were divided into five sub-thematic macro-areas, namely
    Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12553-021-00570-6.
    Language English
    Publishing date 2021-06-03
    Publishing country Germany
    Document type Journal Article ; Review
    ZDB-ID 2581463-1
    ISSN 2190-7196 ; 2190-7188
    ISSN (online) 2190-7196
    ISSN 2190-7188
    DOI 10.1007/s12553-021-00570-6
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  7. Article ; Online: Use of technology to prevent, detect, manage and control hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.

    Stokes, Katy / Oronti, Busola / Cappuccio, Francesco P / Pecchia, Leandro

    BMJ open

    2022  Volume 12, Issue 4, Page(s) e058840

    Abstract: Objective: To identify and assess the use of technologies, including mobile health technology, internet of things (IoT) devices and artificial intelligence (AI) in hypertension healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).: Design: Systematic review.: ... ...

    Abstract Objective: To identify and assess the use of technologies, including mobile health technology, internet of things (IoT) devices and artificial intelligence (AI) in hypertension healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
    Design: Systematic review.
    Data sources: Medline, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science.
    Eligibility criteria: Studies addressing outcomes related to the use of technologies for hypertension healthcare (all points in the healthcare cascade) in SSA.
    Methods: Databases were searched from inception to 2 August 2021. Screening, data extraction and risk of bias assessment were done in duplicate. Data were extracted on study design, setting, technology(s) employed and outcomes. Blood pressure (BP) reduction due to intervention was extracted from a subset of randomised controlled trials. Methodological quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.
    Results: 1717 hits were retrieved, 1206 deduplicated studies were screened and 67 full texts were assessed for eligibility. 22 studies were included, all reported on clinical investigations. Two studies were observational, and 20 evaluated technology-based interventions. Outcomes included BP reduction/control, treatment adherence, retention in care, awareness/knowledge of hypertension and completeness of medical records. All studies used mobile technology, three linked with IoT devices. Short Message Service (SMS) was the most popular method of targeting patients (n=6). Moderate BP reduction was achieved in three randomised controlled trials. Patients and healthcare providers reported positive perceptions towards the technologies. No studies using AI were identified.
    Conclusions: There are a range of successful applications of key enabling technologies in SSA, including BP reduction, increased health knowledge and treatment adherence following targeted mobile technology interventions. There is evidence to support use of mobile technology for hypertension management in SSA. However, current application of technologies is highly heterogeneous and key barriers exist, limiting efficacy and uptake in SSA. More research is needed, addressing objective measures such as BP reduction in robust randomised studies.
    Prospero registration number: CRD42020223043.
    MeSH term(s) Africa South of the Sahara ; Artificial Intelligence ; Cell Phone ; Humans ; Hypertension/diagnosis ; Hypertension/prevention & control ; Technology
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-04-05
    Publishing country England
    Document type Journal Article ; Systematic Review ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
    ZDB-ID 2599832-8
    ISSN 2044-6055 ; 2044-6055
    ISSN (online) 2044-6055
    ISSN 2044-6055
    DOI 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-058840
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  8. Article ; Online: Personalized Training via Serious Game to Improve Daily Living Skills in Pediatric Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

    Vallefuoco, Ersilia / Bravaccio, Carmela / Gison, Giovanna / Pecchia, Leandro / Pepino, Alessandro

    IEEE journal of biomedical and health informatics

    2022  Volume 26, Issue 7, Page(s) 3312–3322

    Abstract: The majority of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit difficulties in social communication and behavior, which hinder their learning capability, amid others. Among technological solutions for people with ASD, serious games are frequently ... ...

    Abstract The majority of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit difficulties in social communication and behavior, which hinder their learning capability, amid others. Among technological solutions for people with ASD, serious games are frequently used to enhance learning of specific skills and instructional contents. However, because of heterogeneity in applications and game design, few studies have investigated their use in training daily activities. This paper presents a 3D personalized serious game we developed and validated to help ASD patients practice with shopping activities. Personalized training is paramount in people with ASD, thus several elements of this game were personalized to improve engagement and therefore the effectiveness of the virtual training. In order to assess the validity of the game, ten subjects (age [Formula: see text], 20% female) with ASD played ten sessions of the serious game, once per week. The participants underwent a real-life experience pre- and post-training in a real-life supermarket. Changes in daily living skills among participants were evaluated through specific tools: a form based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health for Children and Youth; and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale II. Significant improvements (p 0.05) were detected in the main skills trained with the serious game, especially in learning the shopping procedure, directing attention, and problem-solving skills. These findings suggest that personalized serious games can represent a prominent tool to enhance daily living skills, but future work should clinically validate their efficacy.
    MeSH term(s) Adolescent ; Attention ; Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Child ; Communication ; Female ; Humans ; Male
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-07-01
    Publishing country United States
    Document type Journal Article
    ZDB-ID 2695320-1
    ISSN 2168-2208 ; 2168-2194
    ISSN (online) 2168-2208
    ISSN 2168-2194
    DOI 10.1109/JBHI.2022.3155367
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  9. Article ; Online: COVID-19 preparedness and social dynamics in a Sub-Saharan Africa country, Benin.

    Maccaro, Alessia / Piaggio, Davide / Vignigbé, Marius / Stingl, Alexander / Pecchia, Leandro

    Health promotion international

    2022  Volume 37, Issue 4

    Abstract: This project aims to assess and analyse the perception and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Benin. The applied research methodology was interdisciplinary and combined field studies that used ethnographic and social research methods with coding and data ...

    Abstract This project aims to assess and analyse the perception and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Benin. The applied research methodology was interdisciplinary and combined field studies that used ethnographic and social research methods with coding and data analysis, leading to theoretical dilemmas, which were analysed from the viewpoint of bioethical reflection. Furthermore, biomedical engineering approaches were used to assess the preparedness to COVID-19. Despite the preparedness to COVID-19 due to the promoted governmental measures, a peculiar management of the pandemic emerged. The latter, although noteworthy, did not overcome the typical challenges of medical locations in low-resource settings. This, together with the controversial spread of information and local beliefs, caused significant economic and social consequences, exceeding the benefits related to the containment of the virus. This research highlights how the emotion of fear, in this specific situation, was herald of dramatic consequences, rather than having a heuristic and empowering effect.
    MeSH term(s) Africa South of the Sahara ; Benin/epidemiology ; COVID-19/prevention & control ; Humans ; Pandemics
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-08-24
    Publishing country England
    Document type Journal Article
    ZDB-ID 1027448-0
    ISSN 1460-2245 ; 0957-4824
    ISSN (online) 1460-2245
    ISSN 0957-4824
    DOI 10.1093/heapro/daac105
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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  10. Article ; Online: Personal protective equipment research and innovation in the context of the World Health Organization COVID-19 R&D Blueprint program.

    Moon, Madison / Pecchia, Leandro / Velazquez Berumen, Adriana / Baller, April

    American journal of infection control

    2022  Volume 50, Issue 8, Page(s) 839–843

    MeSH term(s) COVID-19/prevention & control ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional ; Personal Protective Equipment ; SARS-CoV-2 ; World Health Organization
    Language English
    Publishing date 2022-07-28
    Publishing country United States
    Document type Journal Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
    ZDB-ID 392362-9
    ISSN 1527-3296 ; 0196-6553
    ISSN (online) 1527-3296
    ISSN 0196-6553
    DOI 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.05.007
    Database MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE

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