Sjogren's Syndrome Presenting as a Large Pericardial Effusion / 대한내과학회지

Primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) is characterized by lymphocytic infiltration to the lacrimal and salivary glands. However, it also includes a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, including musculoskeletal, lung, kidney, neurological, and cardiac manifestations. Cardiac involvement in pSS leads to various conditions including pericardial effusion (PE), left heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and left atrial hypertrophy. A large PE without pulmonary arterial hypertension is extremely rare and there has been no case in Korea, to date. We report a case of a 45-year-old woman with newly-diagnosed pSS who presented with a large PE and pleural effusion. The patient experienced a significant improvement of the PE following treatment with steroids.

Wireless Ausculate Educational System / 대한의료정보학회지

This research is about embodiment of system to support auscultation education more effectively. Cardiac sound data that is stored to PC made many learner deliver by wireless system. For this system we developed a special radio transmitter receiver and a program to manage and remake data. Because of selecting radio system, there is no limitation of establishment and education place. also through web server database and update of data are available. For this reason we can add cardiac sound data newly in education. In case of utilizing existent electron stethoscope in auscultation education, the biggest demerit is that do not deliver sense of sound of actuality stethoscope properly. But radio receiving apparatus that we developed is no difference with sense of sound of cardiac through actuality stethoscope and did so that heighten effect of auscultation education.

Wireless Ausculate Educational System / 대한의료정보학회지

This research is about embodiment of system to support auscultation education more effectively. Cardiac sound data that is stored to PC made many learner deliver by wireless system. For this system we developed a special radio transmitter receiver and a program to manage and remake data. Because of selecting radio system, there is no limitation of establishment and education place. also through web server database and update of data are available. For this reason we can add cardiac sound data newly in education. In case of utilizing existent electron stethoscope in auscultation education, the biggest demerit is that do not deliver sense of sound of actuality stethoscope properly. But radio receiving apparatus that we developed is no difference with sense of sound of cardiac through actuality stethoscope and did so that heighten effect of auscultation education.

The Patient Monitoring Information ARS. Call System / 대한의료정보학회지

This study is to develop a system which offers the auto-response and the auto-call about the patient monitoring information of the heart rate, NIBP, SpO2 and overall status from a patient monitor to registered users. After detecting a dial tone by a developed ARS and confirming a registered user, this system offers the information of a required patient by ARS voice. If a user registered to an auto-calling service, this system can offer a patient monitoring information automatically and periodically for a user' s setting to a user' s hand-phone or beeper by the voice or the number. Additionally, when the patient' s emergency situation to happen, this system calls the emergency state to an registered user' s hand-phone or beeper by the voice or the number. All of the information of patient monitoring is managed by the SQL database system for easy to the data extraction and the service of the statistical information effectively.

The Heart Sound Data Analysis, Management System using the Wireless Stethoscope / 대한의료정보학회지

This paper is about the system using a wireless stethoscope to analysis the FFT and the time-frequency for a heart sound and to manage the collected data for a web-based system. We reformed a wireless stethoscope, connected to PC interface and added the analysis function. In result, we combined merits of an existed wireless system to be convenient for measuring the heart sound and to be available for many listener to ausculate the heart sound simultaneously, and an existed wired system to supply the various analysis functions. The heart sounds data was made into the database to search or refer to the patient data. It is possible to search and refer by the web-browser to the recorded heart sound file, the analyzed file by FFT and the STFT time-frequency method.

Analysis of the Left Ventricular Contractile Reserve Using End-systolic Pressure-Volume Relation (ESPVR) in Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Its Correlation with Pathologic Findings

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular (LV) end-systolic pressure volume relation (ESPVR) is considered as a load independent contractile index. However, its application in human beings has been limited by the difficulty in the accurate real time measurement of the LV volume changes. With introduction of the echocardiographic automatated edge detection method, on-line generation of multiple LV pressure volume-loops has become possible to assess ESPVR. This study was performed to investigate the correlation of the degree of myocardial damages with myocardial contractility and contractile reserve assessed by ESPVR as a surrogate of contractility index. METHODS: Studies were attempted in ten patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Baseline two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography, cardiac catheterization for hemodynamic assessment and endomyocardial biopsy were performed. Generation of multiple LV pressure-volume loops during occlusion and release of the inferior vena cava by a balloon catheter was performed using the volume signals from the echocardiographic automatated edge detection method and the pressure signals from a 5F fluid-filled lumen catheter. ESPVR was measured at the baseline and after 3 minutes of dobutamin infusion (10 microgram/Kg/min). RESULTS: No correlation was observed between the degree of myocyte hypertrophy change or interstitial fibrosis and the two-dimensional echocardiographic or hemodynamic data. However, restrictive LV filling pattern was more common in the patients with severe degree of myocyte hypertrophy change. Myocardial contractility and contractile reserve were also significantly reduced in this patient group. The degree of interstitial fibrosis did not affect myocardial contractility or contractile reserve in this particular patient group. CONCLUSION: Assessment of ESPVR using the echocardiographic automatated edge detection method was feasible in the patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. The degree of myocardial hypertrophy change was prominent in the patients with reduced contractility and contractile reserve.