A Systematic Multidisciplinary Process for User Engagement and Sensor Evaluation: Development of a Digital Toolkit for Assessment of Movement in Children With Cerebral Palsy.

Objectives: To describe and critique a systematic multidisciplinary approach to user engagement, and selection and evaluation of sensor technologies for development of a sensor-based Digital Toolkit for assessment of movement in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods: A sequential process was employed comprising three steps: Step 1: define user requirements, by identifying domains of interest; Step 2: map domains of interest to potential sensor technologies; and Step 3: evaluate and select appropriate sensors to be incorporated into the Digital Toolkit. The process employed a combination of principles from frameworks based in either healthcare or technology design. Results: A broad range of domains were ranked as important by clinicians, patients and families, and industry users. These directly informed the device selection and evaluation process that resulted in three sensor-based technologies being agreed for inclusion in the Digital Toolkit, for use in a future research study. Conclusion: This report demonstrates a systematic approach to user engagement and device selection and evaluation during the development of a sensor-based solution to a healthcare problem. It also provides a narrative on the benefits of employing a multidisciplinary approach throughout the process. This work uses previous frameworks for evaluating sensor technologies and expands on the methods used for user engagement.

Measurement of HVL on fluoroscopy units.

The total filtration of a fluoroscopy x-ray tube assembly may be deduced from the half value layer (HVL) of the x-ray beam at a specified tube voltage using published data tables. The HVL is usually measured by placing increasing thicknesses of Al plates between the focus and a dosimeter, and measuring the output while keeping the kV constant. However, on many of the newer fluoroscopy units, it is not possible to set the tube potential manually. This can create difficulties when measuring the HVL since the increasing thicknesses of aluminum trigger the automatic brightness control to adjust the kV and mA automatically, thus altering the tube output and HVL. This communication describes a simple but effective method to measure the amount of filtration on such units, which has the advantage of not requiring any extra equipment.

Measurement of HVL on Fluoroscopy Units.

The total filtration of a fluoroscopy x-ray tube assembly may be deduced from the half value layer (HVL) of the x-ray beam at a specified tube voltage using published data tables. The HVL is usually measured by placing increasing thicknesses of Al plates between the focus and a dosimeter, and measuring the output while keeping the kV constant. However, on many of the newer fluoroscopy units, it is not possible to set the tube potential manually. This can create difficulties when measuring the HVL since the increasing thicknesses of aluminum trigger the automatic brightness control to adjust the kV and mA automatically, thus altering the tube output and HVL. This communication describes a simple but effective method to measure the amount of filtration on such units, which has the advantage of not requiring any extra equipment.