medicine

Chronic kidney disease is a gradual loss of kidney function over time and affects 10% of the population worldwide. One of the common treatment of kidney disease is hemodialysis. Hemodialysis removes waste products and excess fluid from the bloodstream. Intradialytic hypotensive episodes still represent the most frequent complication in dialysis treatments. One major reason that causes hypotensive episodes is the application of a non-adequate net fluid removal rate. This work presents the development of a physiological closed loop system, which...

The aortic aneurysm is a common disease that is particularly relevant due to the feared complication of rupture with an extraordinarily high mortality rate. The valid recording of aortic growth is essential, since therapeutic decisions that are relevant for the patient's outcome depend on it. In the present work, the growth behavior of the aorta was quantified, CT-morphological and clinical growth predictors were derived and growth rates were compared on the basis of different parameters. Details Title: Predictors for the...

We know almost everything about individual nerve cells and the knowledge about the function of entire brain regions is increasing every day. However, if we look for explanations of the functions of cell clusters with thousands or even millions of neurons, then there is a gaping void. We do not know it. Or rather, we didn't know, because this book develops and describes the signal processing and the way information is stored in our brain and in neural networks in...

Simulation of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is based on the Bloch equation. Solving the Bloch equation numerically is not difficult, but realistic imaging experiments bear a high computational burden. In his dissertation, Cristoffer Cordes presents simulation methods that exploit hardware restrictions and the common structure of MRI sequences while not enforcing any approximations. These strategies use the reoccurrence of radiofrequency pulses, partial availability of analytical solutions, a reformulation of the problem in Fourier space and finally an inclusion of the...

Pharmacoepidemiological databases are a very useful tool, without which well-directed quality improvements and targeted risk management of adverse drug effects would not be possible. Data from such retrospective databases allow investigations into specific subpopulations - e.g., groups with specific diagnoses - thanks to their size and duration of observation. Regarding the quality of such data, it has been proven that carefully planned observational studies can produce results comparable to those of randomized controlled trials. This book presents eight epidemiological and...

Many questions remain in the design and evaluation of automated cleaning processes for surgical instruments. This work describes a model for evaluating the process and its optimization. A total of sixteen influencing factors (measuring method, machine, process parameters) on the cleaning result are statistically examined. Tests are carried out in parallel using various measuring methods (TOC, BCA) and test soiling on self-constructed, demountable test specimens. The results are compared with processes in clinics. A simplified model of practical process evaluation...

The disease diabetes mellitus represents a major health and economic problem. In industrialized countries, the prevalence is estimated at 6-8%. In the present work, the care situation of patients with type 2 diabetes was analyzed using the patient database "Disease Analyzer" and 6 published studies were summarized. In addition to examining the validity of the database, the temporal development of the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and antidiabetic therapies was analyzed, the most important oral antidiabetic substance classes and insulin therapies...