• Title/Summary/Keyword: Cost-effectiveness

Search Result 2,606, Processing Time 0.048 seconds

The Management of Spontaneous Pneumothorax -Clinical Review in 451 Cases- (자연기흉의 임상적 고찰(451례))

  • 오태윤;장운하;배상일
    • Journal of Chest Surgery
    • /
    • v.31 no.4
    • /
    • pp.374-379
    • /
    • 1998
  • From March 1985 to June 1997, 451 patients of spontaneous pneumothorax treated at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital were reviewed retrospectively. Most of the patients were male (male to female ratio, 8.2:1). The mean age of the primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) was 26.8 years, and that of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax(SSP) was 53.1 years. 330 out of 451 patients(73%) were PSP. The causes of the SSP were mostly pulmonary tuberculosis and COPD: 87 patients(72%), and 24 patients(19.2%), respectively. All the patient were treated by one of the following modalities: 1)rest and oxygen therapy in 42 patients, 2) closed thoracostomy in 208 patients, 3) thoracotomy in 156 patients, 4) VATS bullectomy in 45 patients. The mean duration of postoperative chest tube drainage was as following: thoracotomy 8.3 days, VATS bullectomy 4.7 days. For recent 3 consecutive years, VATS bullectomy has become the more frequently applied operative procedure than thoracotomy in the treatment of surgically indicated PSP, from 33% in 1994 to 78% in 1996. With the minimally invasive thoracoscopic surgery being more prevalent, VATS bullectomy will be able to be the 1st choice of treatment not only for the recurrent pneumothoracies but also for the some selected cases of the 1st episode pneumothoracies. To verify this approach as clinically acceptable one in terms of cost-effectiveness, recurrence rate, etc, a large scale of multi-institutional clinical study will be needed in a sooner time.

  • PDF

Economical Analysis of Cervical Disc Disease by Anterior Inter-body Fusion Methods - Comparing of Bone Graft vs Plating - (경추간판 탈출 환자의 전방 고정술에 따른 경제적 분석 - 골 이식법과 금속판 고정 병행술의 비교 -)

  • Gill, Seung-Bae;Lee, Sang-Youl;Heo, Seung-Ho;Jang, Yeun-Gyu
    • Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
    • /
    • v.30 no.2
    • /
    • pp.201-206
    • /
    • 2001
  • Objective : The purpose of this study was to assess the complications, duration of admission, cost effectiveness, radiologic stabilization of the anterior cervical bone fusion in the treatment of cervical disc disease with and without plating. Materials and Methods : Fifty-two surgically treated patients for cervical disc disease were reviewed. Group I consisted of consecutive treated patients with iliac auto-bone graft without instrumentation after anterior cervical discectomy. Group II consisted of consecutive treated patients with iliac autologous-bone graft with CASPER cervical plate fixations. Radiologic fusion was decided when loss of end plate boundary between graft bone and vertebral body and immobile, maintenance of the disc space were evident on simple dynamic plain films. The patients were discharged after the stabilization of cervical motion by films was of tained. These groups were analysed multiple variably with Mann-Whitney U-test. Results : Group I consisted of 18 patients, group II consisted of 34 patients. Mean age was $49.0{\pm}8.1years$, mean duration of admission was $17.27{\pm}10.51days$, mean costs for treatment was $1,970,000{\pm}475,000won$. In group I, mean age was 47.7(34-60) years, 16 patients had undergo on one-level operation, 2-patients had undergo on two-level operation, mean duration of admission was $28.7{\pm}10.4days$, mean costs for treatment was $2,194,473{\pm}561,639won$. The periods of stabilization was $6.6{\pm}3.36weeks$ on radiologic study. Mean periods of out patient follow up was 16.8(6-64) weeks after discharge. Mean period of radiologic follow up was 17.3(4-6) weeks after surgical operation. In group II, mean age was 49.7(37-62) years and 18 patients one-level operation, 14- patients had undergo on two-level operation and 2-patients three-level operation. Mean duration of admission was $11.24{\pm}3.29days$, mean costs for treatment was $1,850,823{\pm}389,372won$. The periods of stabilization was $5.88{\pm}7.07weeks$ on radiologic study. Mean period of out patients follow up was 16.7(4-60) weeks after discharge. Mean period of radiologic follow up was 12.4(3-52) weeks after surgical operation. The duration of admission showed statistical significance in Group II but other items showed no significant difference between two groups. Conclusions : The more economic, early life return and effective method of cervical disc disease in our series were evident in patients who had undergone, iliac bone graft and plate fixations after anterior discectomy.

  • PDF

Development of Safe Korean Programming Language Using Static Analysis (정적 분석을 이용한 안전한 한글 프로그래밍 언어의 개발)

  • Kang, Dohun;Kim, Yeoneo;Woo, Gyun
    • KIPS Transactions on Computer and Communication Systems
    • /
    • v.5 no.4
    • /
    • pp.79-86
    • /
    • 2016
  • About 75% of software security incidents are caused by software vulnerability. In addition, the after-market repairing cost of the software is higher by more than 30 times than that in the design stage. In this background, the secure coding has been proposed as one of the ways to solve this kind of maintenance problems. Various institutions have addressed the weakness patterns of the standard software. A new Korean programming language Saesark has been proposed to resolve the security weakness on the language level. However, the previous study on Saesark can not resolve the security weakness caused by the API. This paper proposes a way to resolve the security weakness due to the API. It adopts a static analyzer inspecting dangerous methods. It classifies the dangerous methods of the API into two groups: the methods of using tainted data and those accepting in-flowing tainted data. It analyses the security weakness in four steps: searching for the dangerous methods, configuring a call graph, navigating a path between the method for in-flowing tainted data and that uses tainted data on the call graph, and reporting the security weakness detected. To measure the effectiveness of this method, two experiments have been performed on the new version of Saesark adopting the static analysis. The first experiment is the comparison of it with the previous version of Saesark according to the Java Secure Coding Guide. The second experiment is the comparison of the improved Saesark with FindBugs, a Java program vulnerability analysis tool. According to the result, the improved Saesark is 15% more safe than the previous version of Saesark and the F-measure of it 68%, which shows the improvement of 9% point compared to 59%, that of FindBugs.

Investigating the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Firm's Short- and Long-Term Performance with Online Text Analytics (온라인 텍스트 분석을 통해 추정한 기업의 사회적책임 성과가 기업의 단기적 장기적 성과에 미치는 영향 분석)

  • Lee, Heesung;Jin, Yunseon;Kwon, Ohbyung
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
    • /
    • v.22 no.2
    • /
    • pp.13-31
    • /
    • 2016
  • Despite expectations of short- or long-term positive effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm performance, the results of existing research into this relationship are inconsistent partly due to lack of clarity about subordinate CSR concepts. In this study, keywords related to CSR concepts are extracted from atypical sources, such as newspapers, using text mining techniques to examine the relationship between CSR and firm performance. The analysis is based on data from the New York Times, a major news publication, and Google Scholar. We used text analytics to process unstructured data collected from open online documents to explore the effects of CSR on short- and long-term firm performance. The results suggest that the CSR index computed using the proposed text - online media - analytics predicts long-term performance very well compared to short-term performance in the absence of any internal firm reports or CSR institute reports. Our study demonstrates the text analytics are useful for evaluating CSR performance with respect to convenience and cost effectiveness.

Effect of Constrain Condition of Soil Nail Head on Slope Stability (쏘일 네일 두부 구속조건이 사면 안정성에 미치는 영향)

  • Kim, Yongeung;Ahn, Kwangkuk
    • Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
    • /
    • v.15 no.2
    • /
    • pp.37-43
    • /
    • 2014
  • Natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis occur suddenly, so that they cause massive loss of lives and property. Especially earthquakes represent a particularly severe threat because of the extensive damage accompanied by them. In Korea, an earthquake-resistant design has been rarely applied to a design or construction of slope. However, in resent years, the researches for earthquake-resistance have been performed because the importance on the earthquake-resistance is perceived and highlighted. Soil nail method, one of the slope stability methods, is excellent for its constructability and cost effectiveness, as compared with other stability methods. Also, this method has been widely used for reinforced construction for slope stability. The studies of soil nail method have been performed on the interaction behavior between nails and slopes as well as the varied load condition such as static load, dynamic load and so on. Nevertheless, there has been minimal research regarding the constraint condition of nail head. In this study, the numerical analysis was performed for identifying effect on slope stability for the constrain condition of the soil nail. The result shows that the resistance of constrained the nail head on reinforced slope is larger compared to the one of unconstrained nail head.

Improvement of Performance Test Standards for Marine Pollution Prevention Materials and Chemicals (for Eco-toxicity Test) (해양오염방제 자재·약제의 성능시험기준 개선방안에 관한 연구(생태독성시험 항목))

  • Kim, Tae Won;Lee, Su Jin;Kim, Young Ryun;Lee, Moon Jin
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
    • /
    • v.27 no.6
    • /
    • pp.744-753
    • /
    • 2021
  • This study suggests ways to improve the standard test method and judgment criterion for the "Eco-toxicity Test" based on the rules and regulations provided in 'performance and qualifying test standards for marine pollution prevention materials and chemicals' in the Republic of Korea. Compared with the relevant references of other countries, this study attempted to find the limitations in the existing standards. As for the growth inhibition test of algae using Skeletonema costatum as an indicator, applying comparative analysis to measure specific growth rates, together with statistical analysis, instead of applying current methods, judged by the appearance of colors from the culture medium was suggested. Considering the exponential growth phase of the test species, the test duration was suggested to be reduced to less than four days. For the test with fish as an indicator, resetting the appropriate body size was suggested to, show consistent sensitivity against chenicals applied during testing. Furthermore, it is necessary to consider the criteria needs, which should be established in reasonable and objective ways. For the testing species, marine rotifer, Brachionus plicatilis could be a replacement for Artemia sp., and a bivalve for fish in the test. To improve the performance effectiveness of the "Eco-toxicity test", it is worth considering the designation of accredited testing institutes, by placing it in the same loop. Thus it is also expected to have a reliable management system in place, having the capacity of cost calculation properly and adjusting testing items if required.

Performance Characteristics of No-Fines Polymer Concrete using Recycled Coarse Aggregate with Binder Contents (결합재의 함량에 따른 순환굵은골재 사용 무세골재 폴리머 콘크리트의 성능 발현 특성)

  • Kim, Do-Heon;Jung, Hyuk-Sang;Kim, Dong-Hyun
    • Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
    • /
    • v.9 no.4
    • /
    • pp.433-442
    • /
    • 2021
  • In this study, the properties of no-fines polymer concrete with different polymer binder contents were evaluated. The polymer concrete was formulated using a polymeric binder (unsaturated polyester resin), fly ash, and recycled coarse aggregate (60%) and crushed coarse aggregate (40%). The polymeric binder content (4.0-6.0wt.%) was used as an experimental variable because it dramatically affects both the cost-effectiveness and material properties. The results showed that the density, compressive strength, flexural strength both before and after exposure to freezing and thawing increased as the polymer binder content increased, while the absorption, void ratio, permeable voids, coefficient of permeability, and acid resistance (mass loss by acid attack) decreased as the polymeric binder content increased. In particular, even though the void ratio was 18.4% and the water permeability coefficient was 7.3mm/sec, the compressive strength and flexural strength were as high as 38.0MPa and 10.0MPa, respectively, much more significant than those of previous studies. Other properties such as absorption and acid resistance were also found to be excellent. The results appear to be rooted in the increased adhesion of the binder by adding a cross-linking agent and the surface hydrophobicity of the polymer.

Principles for evaluating the clinical implementation of novel digital healthcare devices (첨단 디지털 헬스케어 의료기기를 진료에 도입할 때 평가원칙)

  • Park, Seong Ho;Do, Kyung-Hyun;Choi, Joon-Il;Sim, Jung Suk;Yang, Dal Mo;Eo, Hong;Woo, Hyunsik;Lee, Jeong Min;Jung, Seung Eun;Oh, Joo Hyeong
    • Journal of the Korean Medical Association
    • /
    • v.61 no.12
    • /
    • pp.765-775
    • /
    • 2018
  • With growing interest in novel digital healthcare devices, such as artificial intelligence (AI) software for medical diagnosis and prediction, and their potential impacts on healthcare, discussions have taken place regarding the regulatory approval, coverage, and clinical implementation of these devices. Despite their potential, 'digital exceptionalism' (i.e., skipping the rigorous clinical validation of such digital tools) is creating significant concerns for patients and healthcare stakeholders. This white paper presents the positions of the Korean Society of Radiology, a leader in medical imaging and digital medicine, on the clinical validation, regulatory approval, coverage decisions, and clinical implementation of novel digital healthcare devices, especially AI software for medical diagnosis and prediction, and explains the scientific principles underlying those positions. Mere regulatory approval by the Food and Drug Administration of Korea, the United States, or other countries should be distinguished from coverage decisions and widespread clinical implementation, as regulatory approval only indicates that a digital tool is allowed for use in patients, not that the device is beneficial or recommended for patient care. Coverage or widespread clinical adoption of AI software tools should require a thorough clinical validation of safety, high accuracy proven by robust external validation, documented benefits for patient outcomes, and cost-effectiveness. The Korean Society of Radiology puts patients first when considering novel digital healthcare tools, and as an impartial professional organization that follows scientific principles and evidence, strives to provide correct information to the public, make reasonable policy suggestions, and build collaborative partnerships with industry and government for the good of our patients.

Implementation of virtual reality for interactive disaster evacuation training using close-range image information (근거리 영상정보를 활용한 실감형 재난재해 대피 훈련 가상 현실 구현)

  • KIM, Du-Young;HUH, Jung-Rim;LEE, Jin-Duk;BHANG, Kon-Joon
    • Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
    • /
    • v.22 no.1
    • /
    • pp.140-153
    • /
    • 2019
  • Cloase-range image information from drones and ground-based camera has been frequently used in the field of disaster mitigation with 3D modeling and mapping. In addition, the utilization of virtual reality(VR) is being increased by implementing realistic 3D models with the VR technology simulating disaster circumstances in large scale. In this paper, we created a VR training program by extracting realistic 3D models from close-range images from unmanned aircraft and digital camera on hand and observed several issues occurring during the implementation and the effectiveness in the case of a VR application in training for disaster mitigation. First of all, we built up a scenario of disaster and created 3D models after image processing with the close-range imagery. The 3D models were imported into Unity, a software for creation of augmented/virtual reality, as a background for android-based mobile phones and VR environment was created with C#-based script language. The generated virtual reality includes a scenario in which the trainer moves to a safe place along the evacuation route in the event of a disaster, and it was considered that the successful training can be obtained with virtual reality. In addition, the training through the virtual reality has advantages relative to actual evacuation training in terms of cost, space and time efficiencies.

The Application of Fuzzy Logic to Assess the Performance of Participants and Components of Building Information Modeling

  • Wang, Bohan;Yang, Jin;Tan, Adrian;Tan, Fabian Hadipriono;Parke, Michael
    • Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
    • /
    • v.8 no.4
    • /
    • pp.1-24
    • /
    • 2018
  • In the last decade, the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) as a new technology has been applied with traditional Computer-aided design implementations in an increasing number of architecture, engineering, and construction projects and applications. Its employment alongside construction management, can be a valuable tool in helping move these activities and projects forward in a more efficient and time-effective manner. The traditional stakeholders, i.e., Owner, A/E and the Contractor are involved in this BIM system that is used in almost every activity of construction projects, such as design, cost estimate and scheduling. This article extracts major features of the application of BIM from perspective of participating BIM components, along with the different phrases, and applies to them a logistic analysis using a fuzzy performance tree, quantifying these phrases to judge the effectiveness of the BIM techniques employed. That is to say, these fuzzy performance trees with fuzzy logic concepts can properly translate the linguistic rating into numeric expressions, and are thus employed in evaluating the influence of BIM applications as a mathematical process. The rotational fuzzy models are used to represent the membership functions of the performance values and their corresponding weights. Illustrations of the use of this fuzzy BIM performance tree are presented in the study for the uninitiated users. The results of these processes are an evaluation of BIM project performance as highly positive. The quantification of the performance ratings for the individual factors is a significant contributor to this assessment, capable of parsing vernacular language into numerical data for a more accurate and precise use in performance analysis. It is hoped that fuzzy performance trees and fuzzy set analysis can be used as a tool for the quality and risk analysis for other construction techniques in the future. Baldwin's rotational models are used to represent the membership functions of the fuzzy sets. Three scenarios are presented using fuzzy MEAN, AND and OR gates from the lowest to intermediate levels of the tree, and fuzzy SUM gate to relate the intermediate level to the top component of the tree, i.e., BIM application final performance. The use of fuzzy MEAN for lower levels and fuzzy SUM gates to reach the top level suggests the most realistic and accurate results. The methodology (fuzzy performance tree) described in this paper is appropriate to implement in today's construction industry when limited objective data is presented and it is heavily relied on experts' subjective judgment.