Bio-Based Materials as Applicable, Accessible, and Affordable Healthcare Solutions

Bio-Based Materials as Applicable, Accessible, and Affordable Healthcare Solutions
Author: Adam A. Tracy
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 63
Release: 2018-01-03
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3319693263

In this book, Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and a region in the lowest income group per capita, is used to demonstrate the potential for healthcare reorganization and collaboration with the introduction of “successful” technologies centered around available, bio-compatible, and sustainable natural resources. Our book discusses three of the top killers of children under 5 years of age in Nigeria, pneumonia (20%), diarrheal diseases (15%), and traumatic injuries (4%). These conditions are used as examples to demonstrate the potential for improved pediatric outcomes with treatments engineered from sustainable and natural resources. Furthermore, this book outlines possible action items that can help drive economic growth, educational opportunities, collaborative outreach, and workforce productivity to build a healthy and sustainable community. Medical technology in the industrialized world has seen rapid advancements leading to increased survival and greater patient outcomes. However, the development and implementation of these resources is not always applicable to regions in need of new and more basic ways to provide treatment. Moore’s Law, a paradigm that considers advancement synonymous with increased digitization and optimization of electronic processes, defines the history of technology. However, the functionality of advanced and “smart” technology is essentially useless in underdeveloped areas. These regions lack some of the basic requirements for innovative medical technologies to impact human health, such as electricity, access to spare parts, computer analysis tools, and network architecture. In addition, the poor physical infrastructure, insufficient management, and lack of technical culture are barriers for entry and sustainability of these technologies. Rather than importing medical devices from industrialized countries, we propose that the mindset and research focus for under developed areas must be on “successful” technologies. Simply put, these areas need technology that “gets the job done.”

Green Photocatalysts for Energy and Environmental Process

Green Photocatalysts for Energy and Environmental Process
Author: Saravanan Rajendran
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2019-09-04
Genre: Science
ISBN: 303017638X

This book describes green photocatalysts and their diverse applications in the fields of environmental sciences and energy. It especially takes a closer look at the removal of air and water pollutants, the generation of hydrogen, photo fuel cells, electrophotocatalysts, solar energy conversions, and green biophotocatalysts. Furthermore it also discusses on the role of catalysts along with their chemical reactions, challenges, past developments and directions for further research on photocatalysts. It includes recent developments of quantum dots (QDs) and photocatalytic applications of QDs such as carbon materials like carbon and graphene based QDs, metal, metal sulfide and metal oxide based QDs as well as a detailed review on various types of templates used for the preparation of porous g-C3N4 and its applications in detail. This is done with special reference to dye degradation, reduction of hexavalent Cr, and reduction of CO2 and for the evolution of H2 photocatalytically. This book offers an intriguing and useful guide for a broad readership in various fields of catalysis, material sciences, environment and energy.

Lignin-based Materials for Biomedical Applications

Lignin-based Materials for Biomedical Applications
Author: Patrícia Figueiredo
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2021-07-26
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0128203048

Lignin-based Materials for Biomedical Applications: Preparation, Characterization, and Implementation explores the emerging area of lignin-based materials as a platform for advanced biomedical applications, guiding the reader from source through to implementation. The first part of the book introduces the basics of lignin, including extraction methods, chemical modifications, structure and composition, and properties that make lignin suitable for biomedical applications. In addition, structural characterization techniques are described in detail. The next chapters focus on the preparation of lignin-based materials for biomedical applications, presenting methodologies for lignin-based nanoparticles, hydrogels, aerogels, and nanofibers, and providing in-depth coverage of lignin-based materials with specific properties—including antioxidant properties, UV absorbing capability, antimicrobial properties, and colloidal particles with tailored properties—and applications, such as drug and gene delivery, and tissue engineering. Finally, future perspectives and possible new applications are considered. This is an essential reference for all those with an interest in lignin-based materials and their biomedical applications, including researchers and advanced students across bio-based polymers, polymer science, polymer chemistry, biomaterials, nanotechnology, materials science and engineering, drug delivery, and biomedical engineering, as well as industrial R&D and scientists involved with bio-based polymers, specifically for biomedical applications. - Unlocks the potential of lignin-based materials with advanced properties for cutting-edge applications in areas such as drug delivery, gene delivery and tissue engineering - Presents state-of-the-art methodologies used in the development of lignin-based nanoparticles, hydrogels, aerogels and nanofibers - Explains the fundamentals of lignin, including structure and composition, extraction and isolation methods, types and properties, chemical modifications, and characterization techniques

Health-Care Utilization as a Proxy in Disability Determination

Health-Care Utilization as a Proxy in Disability Determination
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2018-04-02
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 030946921X

The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two programs that provide benefits based on disability: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. This report analyzes health care utilizations as they relate to impairment severity and SSA's definition of disability. Health Care Utilization as a Proxy in Disability Determination identifies types of utilizations that might be good proxies for "listing-level" severity; that is, what represents an impairment, or combination of impairments, that are severe enough to prevent a person from doing any gainful activity, regardless of age, education, or work experience.

Communities in Action

Communities in Action
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 583
Release: 2017-04-27
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309452961

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

Economics of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Industry

Economics of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Industry
Author: Ramesh Bhardwaj
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2024-08-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1040106536

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, including analysis of its current trade and innovation strategies. Opening with a survey of the global pharmaceutical and medical device industry, Bhardwaj outlines the growing trade and trade interdependence among countries in the global supply chain. He adopts a trade competitiveness approach to analyze patterns of product specialization and examines the drug discovery process and its challenges in translating bioscientific knowledge into lifesaving products. Bhardwaj argues that further economic integration, collaborative R&D, and digital technologies may help accelerate productivity and address global challenges of escalating drug costs, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), and pandemic risks. The book also considers how the industry may further green its supply chain, and thus contribute to SDG Goals 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), before closing on a review of China and India, major players who have the potential to become drivers of low-cost medical products and innovations. With its evidence-based analysis, this book will be of great interest to researchers in pharmaceutical studies, supply chain management, global health, and health economics, as well as policymakers and professionals interested in the global issues facing the industry.

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
Author: Adam Bohr
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2020-06-21
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0128184396

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare is more than a comprehensive introduction to artificial intelligence as a tool in the generation and analysis of healthcare data. The book is split into two sections where the first section describes the current healthcare challenges and the rise of AI in this arena. The ten following chapters are written by specialists in each area, covering the whole healthcare ecosystem. First, the AI applications in drug design and drug development are presented followed by its applications in the field of cancer diagnostics, treatment and medical imaging. Subsequently, the application of AI in medical devices and surgery are covered as well as remote patient monitoring. Finally, the book dives into the topics of security, privacy, information sharing, health insurances and legal aspects of AI in healthcare. - Highlights different data techniques in healthcare data analysis, including machine learning and data mining - Illustrates different applications and challenges across the design, implementation and management of intelligent systems and healthcare data networks - Includes applications and case studies across all areas of AI in healthcare data

Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation - Intersections between Public Health, Intellectual Property and Trade

Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation - Intersections between Public Health, Intellectual Property and Trade
Author: World Intellectual Property Organization
Publisher: WIPO
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2013
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9280523082

This study has emerged from an ongoing program of trilateral cooperation between WHO, WTO and WIPO. It responds to an increasing demand, particularly in developing countries, for strengthened capacity for informed policy-making in areas of intersection between health, trade and IP, focusing on access to and innovation of medicines and other medical technologies.

Finding What Works in Health Care

Finding What Works in Health Care
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2011-07-20
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309164257

Healthcare decision makers in search of reliable information that compares health interventions increasingly turn to systematic reviews for the best summary of the evidence. Systematic reviews identify, select, assess, and synthesize the findings of similar but separate studies, and can help clarify what is known and not known about the potential benefits and harms of drugs, devices, and other healthcare services. Systematic reviews can be helpful for clinicians who want to integrate research findings into their daily practices, for patients to make well-informed choices about their own care, for professional medical societies and other organizations that develop clinical practice guidelines. Too often systematic reviews are of uncertain or poor quality. There are no universally accepted standards for developing systematic reviews leading to variability in how conflicts of interest and biases are handled, how evidence is appraised, and the overall scientific rigor of the process. In Finding What Works in Health Care the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends 21 standards for developing high-quality systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research. The standards address the entire systematic review process from the initial steps of formulating the topic and building the review team to producing a detailed final report that synthesizes what the evidence shows and where knowledge gaps remain. Finding What Works in Health Care also proposes a framework for improving the quality of the science underpinning systematic reviews. This book will serve as a vital resource for both sponsors and producers of systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research.