METHOD: Wounds were cleansed and debrided before using the application to photograph, document, measure and analyse the wounds. The smartphone app was oriented parallel to the plane of the wound, where possible, to obtain accurate measurements. A longitudinal study report was generated for each wound and showed the progress of the wound healing until the wound was closed.
RESULTS: A sample size of 60 patients consisting of wounds from different locations, and a total of 203 measurements and analyses were conducted over a period of seven months. The wound monitoring app proved to be effective for wound monitoring and required less than two hours' training. A report summary of wounds recorded could also be generated automatically through the dashboard. All 60 patients' cases were automatically recorded, measured and presented into reports for use in clinical analysis. There was a significant time savings (27 hours per day for a specialised care centre with 10 nurses) increase over manual wound documentation and measuring methods.
CONCLUSION: The app provided a non-contact, easy to use, reliable and accurate smart wound management solution for clinicians and physicians to track wound healing in patients. The app could also be used by patients and caregivers for home monitoring of their wounds.
Aim: To investigate the concurrent validity and reliability of the WBB for balance assessment in healthy young adults.
Methods: Thirty-two young adults participated in this study. Their ability to balance was tested while standing on a WBB and a laboratory-grade force platform, under three conditions: feet together with eyes open, feet together with eyes closed and semi-tandem standing with eyes open. They had 10 min resting period between tests. The agreement between the WBB and the laboratory-grade force platform was investigated, and the reliability of the WBB was determined.
Results: A poor agreement between the WBB and the laboratory-grade force platform was found for all standing conditions [intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.03 to 0.07]. A moderate to high reliability was found for the WBB for balance assessment in healthy young adults (ICC = 0.66 to 0.76).
Conclusion: The WBB was found to be a reliable tool for static balance assessment in healthy young adults. However, it had poor validity compared to the laboratory-grade force platform.
DESIGN: Two PCR TaqMan assays targeted to the FMDV internal ribosome entry site or the 3D polymerase coding region for the rapid detection of FMDV were evaluated using non-infectious materials to determine the test most appropriate for implementation as part of Australia's national preparedness for the rapid detection and diagnosis of FMD outbreaks.
RESULTS: Two published tests (PCR TaqMan assays targeted to the FMDV IRES region or the FMDV 3D polymerase coding region) were evaluated for their ability to detect FMDV genetic material in non-infectious FMDV ELISA antigen stocks held at Australian Animal Health Laboratory. Both tests were able to detect FMDV genetic material from strains O1 Manisa, O-3039, A22, A24, A Malaysia, C, Asia 1 and SAT 1, 2 and 3. With the exception of Asia 1, the TaqMan assay targeted to the FMD 3D polymerase coding region had Ct values equal to or lower than for the TaqMan assay targeted to the IRES region suggesting that this test may provide broader serotype detection and sensitivity. However, the TaqMan assay directed to the FMDV IRES is the only one to date to have undergone substantial evaluation using clinical samples collected during an outbreak. The greatest differences observed were for O-3039, SAT 1, and 3.
CONCLUSION: Given the ease of setting up both tests, AAHL currently runs both tests on highly suspect FMD investigations to provide independent confirmation of the absence of FMDV because the tests are focused on two independent regions of the FMDV genome. These tests add substantially to Australia's preparedness for FMD diagnosis complementing the already well-established virus isolation and antigen capture ELISA tests for index case diagnosis of FMD in Australia.