Browsing by Author "Boillat, Thomas"

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AI-enhanced solutions during COVID-19: Current trends and future innovations
(2022-08) Nawaz, Faisal A; Boillat, Thomas; Khan, Abdul Rahman
Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is defined as a branch of Computer Science that is capable of simulating intelligent behavior through machine automation systems. There has been a significant rise in research and application of AI in addressing various aspects of Engineering and Medicine. This mutual overlap between the two fields has led to a new discipline, so-called “Artificial Intelligence in Medicine”, or AIM in short [1]. Not only is AIM being applied for image processing and analysis, but also for prognose [2–4], treatment [5–7], and patient monitoring [1,8] among others. In this matter, AIM has been instrumental during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been brought to global attention and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020 [9]. The exponential increase in the number of cases worldwide has prompted for emergent innovations and collaborations in the fields of Medicine and Engineering. While there have been contrasting opinions on the scope of AI during this period, we are observing a continuum of interdisciplinary growth across this field [10]. The early impact of AI during COVID-19 has been observed in 1) Early warning system and predictive modeling 2) Contact Tracing 3) Diagnostics 4) Drug discovery and development and 5) Social Control. As depicted in Fig. 1, this article aims to explore these domains [10] in the context of AI-assisted applications and their impact on addressing COVID-19. This article describes the contributions of AI during COVID-19, along with trends and innovations related to these technologies in harnessing sustainable healthcare solutions.
Design4Health Bootcamp: A design thinking approach to improve the 21st century skills of health, engineering and design students
(2020) Boillat, Thomas; Tuffnell, Christopher; Rivas, Homero
Abstract— Global industries are acknowledging that professions as we know them will not require the same skills as they did in the 20th Century. Therefore how can universities prepare students for challenges that have not been fully identified? This paper will present the Design4Health Bootcamp, an initiative that intends to close the so-called “21st century skills gap”. We present its course curriculum, quantitative and qualitative evaluation and conclude with a set of principles that support the implementation of such initiatives.
Effects of a workplace exercise intervention on cardiometabolic health: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
(2021) Loney, Tom; Boillat, Thomas
Introduction: The worldwide rising levels of physical inactivity especially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Eastern Mediterranean region are alarming. The UAE reports one of the highest rates of non-communicable disease mortality and insufficient physical activity (PA) is a major underlying cause. Therefore, action is required to reduce physical inactivity using evidence-based strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a worksite exercise intervention on cardiometabolic health in the UAE. Methods and analysis: This is a protocol for a pragmatic parallel randomised controlled trial with a 1:1 allocation ratio to the intervention group and delayed intervention group. A total of 150 participants will be recruited from a semigovernment telecommunications company in Dubai (UAE) after meeting the eligibility criteria. The intervention group will receive 2 hours of exercise per week during working hours for 12 weeks (maximum 1 hour/day). The intervention group will be assigned to attend personal trainer sessions in the workplace gym throughout the intervention period. After the intervention is completed, the delayed intervention group will also receive 2 hours of exercise time per week from working hours for 4weeks. The main outcome measure is the change in the cardiometabolic risk components, that is, systolic or diastolic blood pressure, waist circumference, glycated haemoglobin, fasting plasma glucose, lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol from baseline to the end of the intervention. The secondary outcome is to examine whether the workplace exercise intervention improves PA levels 4weeks postintervention. Ethics and dissemination: The study has been approved by the Dubai Scientific Research Ethics Committee (DSREC-SR-08/2019_02). The results will be disseminated as follows: at various national and international scientific conferences; as part of a PhD thesis in Public Health at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, UAE University; and in a manuscript submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.
GOFlow: Smartwatch app to deliver laboratory results in emergency departments – A feasibility study
(2020) Boillat, Thomas
Purpose: Information Technology (IT) plays a critical role in supporting emergency physicians’ (EPs) routines. Pagers, personal computers, and smartphones offer fast access to patient data, such as laboratory results. However, due to the inherent features of specimen processing and laboratory instruments, the turnaround time from test ordering to availability of results can be long. Lack of follow-up of abnormal results can lead to missed information that could impact patient care and safety. Despite the increasing use of ubiquitous technologies, a third of physicians remains devoid of reliable methods for ensuring that results have been received. In this feasibility study, we report the potential of using a smartwatch to deliver laboratory results to EPs at the pointofcare and to support efficiency in emergency care. Unlike mobile devices that are increasingly used by EPs, smartwatches are always accessible, even during hands-on procedures. Method: Two EPs and four experts in human-computer interaction designed the smartwatch application following the Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM). The application was then evaluated in a pediatric emergency department through semi-simulated scenarios by eleven EPs. The primary outcome was to measure both the app perceived usability and satisfaction scores by the aim of the System Usability Scale (SUS), and the perceived usefulness and intention of its use by the aim of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) scale. Secondary outcomes were to assess the application’s efficiency by measuring the delay between the reception of the notification and 1) the access to its details and 2) the visit to the patient. Finally, open questions about the positive and negative aspects of the prototype as well as potential improvements were asked and evaluated qualitatively. Results: The prototype obtained a score of 81.4 out of 100 (good) on the SUS and a score of 5.96 out of 7 on the UTAUT scale. EPs using the smartwatch visited patients within 30 seconds receiving the laboratory results. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the capacity of smartwatches to speed up the point-of-care delivery of laboratory results in the ED.
Guinness World Record: Personal Experience and Physiological Responses of a Non-Professional Athlete Successfully Covering 620 Km in 7-Days by Foot Across the United Arab Emirates
(2022) Boillat, Thomas; Du Plessis, Stefan; Loney, Tom
Abstract: Ultra-endurance record-breaking attempts place significant metabolic, cardiovascular, and mechanical stress on the athlete. This research explores the personal experience and physiological responses of a non-professional athlete attempting the Guinness World Record of covering 620 km on foot across the United Arab Emirates in 7-days or less. The participant wore a smartwatch throughout the challenge to collect heart rate, activity, and environmental temperature data. Anthropometric, body composition, and inflammatory, haematological, and endocrine biomarkers measurements were completed pre- and post-event. A pre- and post-event interview was conducted to collect data on training and preparation, and self-reported experiences during the challenge. Despite episodes of diarrhoea, vomiting, and muscle cramps due to hypohydration during the first days of the challenge, the participant successfully completed 619.01 km in six days, 21 hours, and 47 minutes (average pace 10.11 min/km) achieving a new Guinness World Record. Body mass remained unchanged, fat mass decreased, and fat-free mass especially in the legs increased over the seven days, most likely due to water retention. Biomarkers of stress, cell damage, and inflammation increased. Haematological markers related to red blood cells decreased probably due to exercise-induced increases in plasma volume with the participant classified with mild anaemia post-event. This case study reinforces the importance of amateur athletes attempting similar ultra-endurance events adhering to a pre-planned hydration and nutrition strategy to maximise performance and minimise the risk of injury.
Increasing Completion Rate and Benefits of Checklists: Prospective Evaluation of Surgical Safety Checklists With Smart Glasses
(2019) Boillat, Thomas; Rivas, Homero
Background: Studies have demonstrated that surgical safety checklists (SSCs) can significantly reduce surgical complications and mortality rates. Such lists rely on traditional posters or paper, and their contents are generic regarding the type of surgery being performed. SSC completion rates and uniformity of content have been reported as modest and widely variable. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and potential of using smart glasses in the operating room to increase the benefits of SSCs by improving usability through contextualized content and, ideally, resulting in improved completion rates. Methods: We prospectively evaluated and compared 80 preoperative time-out events with SSCs at a major academic medical center between June 2016 and February 2017. Participants were assigned to either a conventional checklist approach (poster, memory, or both) or a smart glasses app running on Google Glass. Results: Four different surgeons conducted 41 checklists using conventional methods (ie, memory or poster) and 39 using the smart glasses app. The average checklist completion rate using conventional methods was 76%. Smart glasses allowed a completion rate of up to 100% with a decrease in average checklist duration of 18%. Conclusions: Compared with alternatives such as posters, paper, and memory, smart glasses checklists are easier to use and follow. The glasses allowed surgeons to use contextualized time-out checklists, which increased the completion rate to 100% and reduced the checklist execution time and time required to prepare the equipment during surgical cases.
The mutagenic effect of tobacco smoke on male fertility
(2021) Omolaoye, Temidayo S.; Boillat, Thomas; Loney, Tom; Plessis, Stefan S du
Abstract: Despite the association between tobacco use and the harmful effects on general health as well as male fertility parameters, smoking remains globally prevalent. The main content of tobacco smoke is nicotine and its metabolite cotinine. These compounds can pass the blood-testis barrier, which subsequently causes harm of diverse degree to the germ cells. Although controversial, smoking has been shown to cause not only a decrease in spermmotility, spermconcentration, and an increase in abnormal sperm morphology, but also genetic and epigenetic aberrations in spermatozoa. Both animal and human studies have highlighted the occurrence of sperm DNA-strand breaks (fragmentation), genome instability, genetic mutations, and the presence of aneuploids in the germline of animals and men exposed to tobacco smoke. The question to be asked at this point is, if smoking has the potential to cause all these genetic aberrations, what is the extent of damage? Hence, this review aimed to provide evidence that smoking has a mutagenic effect on sperm and how this subsequently affects male fertility. Additionally, the role of tobacco smoke as an aneugen will be explored.We furthermore aim to incorporate the epidemiological aspects of the aforementioned and provide a holistic approach to the topic.
Readiness to Embrace Artificial Intelligence Among Medical Doctors and Students: Questionnaire-Based Study
(2022) Boillat, Thomas; Nawaz, Faisal A; Rivas, Homero
Background: Similar to understanding how blood pressure is measured by a sphygmomanometer, physicians will soon have to understand how an artificial intelligence–based application has come to the conclusion that a patient has hypertension, diabetes, or cancer. Although there are an increasing number of use cases where artificial intelligence is or can be applied to improve medical outcomes, the extent to which medical doctors and students are ready to work and leverage this paradigm is unclear. Objective: This research aims to capture medical students’ and doctors’ level of familiarity toward artificial intelligence in medicine as well as their challenges, barriers, and potential risks linked to the democratization of this new paradigm. Methods: A web-based questionnaire comprising five dimensions—demographics, concepts and definitions, training and education, implementation, and risks—was systematically designed from a literature search. It was completed by 207 participants in total, of which 105 (50.7%) medical doctors and 102 (49.3%) medical students trained in all continents, with most of them in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North America. Results: The results revealed no significant difference in the familiarity of artificial intelligence between medical doctors and students (P=.91), except that medical students perceived artificial intelligence in medicine to lead to higher risks for patients and the field of medicine in general (P<.001). We also identified a rather low level of familiarity with artificial intelligence (medical students=2.11/5; medical doctors=2.06/5) as well as a low attendance to education or training. Only 2.9% (3/105) of medical doctors attended a course on artificial intelligence within the previous year, compared with 9.8% (10/102) of medical students. The complexity of the field of medicine was considered one of the biggest challenges (medical doctors=3.5/5; medical students=3.8/5), whereas the reduction of physicians’skills was the most important risk (medical doctors=3.3; medical students=3.6; P=.03). Conclusions: The question is not whether artificial intelligence will be used in medicine, but when it will become a standard practice for optimizing health care. The low level of familiarity with artificial intelligence identified in this study calls for the implementation of specific education and training in medical schools and hospitals to ensure that medical professionals can leverage this new paradigm and improve health outcomes.
Wearable Orofacial Technology and Orthodontics
(2023) Prasad, Sabarinath; Boillat, Thomas; Ghoneima, Ahmed; Diar-Bakirly, Samira
Abstract: Wearable technology to augment traditional approaches are increasingly being added to the arsenals of treatment providers. Wearable technology generally refers to electronic systems, devices, or sensors that are usually worn on or are in close proximity to the human body. Wearables may be stand-alone or integrated into materials that are worn on the body. What sets medical wearables apart from other systems is their ability to collect, store, and relay information regarding an individual’s current body status to other devices operating on compatible networks in naturalistic settings. The last decade has witnessed a steady increase in the use of wearables specific to the orofacial region. Applications range from supplementing diagnosis, tracking treatment progress, monitoring patient compliance, and better understanding the jaw’s functional and parafunctional activities. Orofacial wearable devices may be unimodal or incorporate multiple sensing modalities. The objective data collected continuously, in real time, in naturalistic settings using these orofacial wearables provide opportunities to formulate accurate and personalized treatment strategies. In the not-too-distant future, it is anticipated that information about an individual’s current oral health status may provide patient-centric personalized care to prevent, diagnose, and treat oral diseases, with wearables playing a key role. In this review, we examine the progress achieved, summarize applications of orthodontic relevance and examine the future potential of orofacial wearables.