I.T. IN MEDICINE & VALIDATION WHAT TECHNOLOGY IS USED, WHAT ROLE VALIDATION PLAYS 11/03/2011 CSEC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 1

11/03/2011 CSEC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 2 CAT scans Monitoring and control systems MRI scans Recording/ maintaining data on patients, medical personnel, pharmaceutical inventory… HOW IS I.T. USED IN MEDICINE??

11/03/2011 CSEC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 3 It is used to define normal and abnormal structures in the body. It also helps to guide the placement of instruments or treatments. C.A.T. A computerized axial tomography scan (CT scan or CAT scan) uses a computer to combine multiple x-ray images to produce cross section images of cross-sectional views of the human body.

11/03/2011 CSEC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 4 Having monitored the ‘data source’, there are times when the values can be changed, such as: -Body temperatures can be pushed down by increasing medication -Quarantine doors can be sealed when a bacterial infection-causing presence is detected MONITORING AND CONTROL Monitoring implies tracking various data sources. In a hospital, we might monitor: -Who enters the operating theatres -The blood glucose level of a patient in the emergency room -The heart rate of an unborn child -The blood pressure of a patient having open heart surgery

11/03/2011 CSEC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 5 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a diagnostic technique that uses a magnetic field to produce pictures of structures inside the body. MRI scans have many uses. It can be used to determine whether a patient has had a stroke or to help diagnose multiple sclerosis, or even identify brain and spinal cord injuries not otherwise detected. MORE INFO HERE : M.R.I.

11/03/2011 CSEC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 6 What are the advantages? Integrity, security, shared data among staff, accessible files (how many times has your doctor or dentist started a new docket for you because the old paper- based one was damaged or misplaced?). Eventually the data can be used to generate reports to aid decision-making for the next year or the next hospital or the next government, even. HOSPITAL/ MEDICAL DATABASES Can be used to catalogue inventory, provides statistics on types of patients seen, expenditure made in the way of pharmaceuticals, track patient history. What IT does in a school or an office applies here as well, in facilitating communication, using various application software, allowing better monitoring and control overall.

11/03/2011 CSEC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 7 Validating something gives official sanction, or approval to it such as “The officials will validate that passport.” Validation is done by the computer, comparing freshly input values against values deemed within the range of what is acceptable or reasonable. Validation does not STOP errors from occurring, however. LET US DEFINE VALIDATION:

11/03/2011 CSEC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 8 For more on validation: ict.com/as_a2_ict_new/ocr/AS_G061/3 11_data_info_knowledge/validation_ver ification/miniweb/pg2.htm e/ict/databases/3datavalidationrev1.sh tml

11/03/2011 CSEC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 9 MEDICINE & VALIDATION As you can imagine, validation is of significant importance in the medical field. Eg1 in entering patient data in a paediatric hospital, ages range from 0 to 18 years. It is important to ensure that no patient has an age entered that is contrary to this range. Eg2 – Patient X is due to receive a certain medication that can be fatal to patients without his/ her condition Personnel cannot be left to ensure that the appropriate data is entered in the system for this person The system may be setup to prevent certain medications from being recorded with certain conditions/ diagnoses.

THE END KEEP READING.. THIS WAS ONLY TO WET YOUR APPETITE… 11/03/2011 CSEC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 10