Browsing by Author "Soman, B"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11
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    A Comparative Study of Different Auto-Focus Methods for Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Detection from Brightfield Microscopic Images
    (PROCEEDINGS OF 2016 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING, VLSI, ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS AND ROBOTICS (DISCOVER), 2016) Saini, G; Panicker, RO; Soman, B; Rajan, J
    Automatic tuberculosis (TB) detection methods using microscopic images are becoming more popular now a days. Auto-focusing is the first and foremost step in the development of an automated microscope for TB detection. Different focus measures exist for the selection of in-focus image from both fluorescence and brightfield microscopic images. Recently, some researchers have investigated and compared several different focus measures for TB sputum microscopy. In this study we focused on brightfield microscopic images and considered around 20 popular focus measures. Experiments were conducted on a large set of images having different features.
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    A Review of Automatic Methods Based on Image Processing Techniques for Tuberculosis Detection from Microscopic Sputum Smear Images
    (JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SYSTEMS, 2016) Panicker, RO; Soman, B; Saini, G; Rajan, J
    Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It primarily affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. TB remains one of the leading causes of death in developing countries, and its recent resurgences in both developed and developing countries warrant global attention. The number of deaths due to TB is very high (as per the WHO report, 1.5 million died in 2013), although most are preventable if diagnosed early and treated. There are many tools for TB detection, but the most widely used one is sputum smear microscopy. It is done manually and is often time consuming; a laboratory technician is expected to spend at least 15 min per slide, limiting the number of slides that can be screened. Many countries, including India, have a dearth of properly trained technicians, and they often fail to detect TB cases due to the stress of a heavy workload. Automatic methods are generally considered as a solution to this problem. Attempts have been made to develop automatic approaches to identify TB bacteria from microscopic sputum smear images. In this paper, we provide a review of automatic methods based on image processing techniques published between 1998 and 2014. The review shows that the accuracy of algorithms for the automatic detection of TB increased significantly over the years and gladly acknowledges that commercial products based on published works also started appearing in the market. This review could be useful to researchers and practitioners working in the field of TB automation, providing a comprehensive and accessible overview of methods of this field of research.
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    Calculation error in estimating low HDL in women Response
    (INDIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH, 2014) Thankappan, KR; Shah, B; Mathur, P; Sarma, PS; Srinivas, G; Mini, GK; Daivadanam, M; Soman, B; Vasan, RS
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    COMMUNITY-BASED EARLY WARNING AND ADAPTIVE RESPONSE SYSTEM (EWARS) FOR MOSQUITO BORNE DISEASES: AN OPEN SOURCE/OPEN COMMUNITY APPROACH
    (ISPRS TECHNICAL COMMISSION VIII SYMPOSIUM, 2014) Babu, AN; Soman, B; Niehaus, E; Shah, J; Sarda, NL; Ramkumar, PS; Unnithan, C
    A variety of studies around the world have evaluated the use of remote sensing with and without GIS in communicable diseases. The ongoing Ebola epidemic has highlighted the risks that can arise for the global community from rapidly spreading diseases which may outpace attempts at control and eradication. This paper presents an approach to the development, deployment, validation and wide-spread adoption of a GIS-based temporo-spatial decision support system which is being collaboratively developed in open source/open community mode by an international group that came together under UN auspices. The group believes in an open source/open community approach to make the fruits of knowledge as widely accessible as possible. A core initiative of the groups is the EWARS project. It proposes to strengthen existing public health systems by the development and validation a model for a community based surveillance and response system which will initially address mosquito borne diseases in the developing world. At present mathematical modeling to support EWARS is at an advanced state, and it planned to embark on a pilot project
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    Containing the first outbreak of COVID-19 in a healthcare setting in India: The sree chitra experience
    (Indian Journal of Public Health., 2020-10) Singh, G; Srinivas, G; Jyothi, EK; Gayatri, LK; Gaitonde, R; Soman, B
    The response to the first health worker case in India and novel strategies adopted in the context of evolving pandemic of COVID-19 is presented here. On the same day of confirmation, institutional COVID cell was established, and contact tracing was started. A total of 184 contacts were identified and quarantined. Hospital services were scaled down, and responsibilities were reassigned. In-house digital platforms were used for daily meetings, contact tracing, line listing, risk stratification, and research. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction-based severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV2 testing facility was established in the institute. All high-risk contacts were given hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis. No secondary cases were found. Hospital preparedness, participatory decision-making through institutional COVID cell, optimal use of in-house digital platforms, and coordination with the state health department and national bodies, including Indian Council of Medical Research, were the supporting factors. Rapidly evolving guidelines, trepidation about the disease, logistic delays, and lack of support systems for people under quarantine were the challenges in the containment exercise.
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    Exposure to firearm: impact on psychological health in central India
    (Indian Journal of Community Health, 2014-12) Saxena, S; Varma, RP; Soman, B
    Background: The issue of firearm exposure is one of the widespread prevailing problems in today’s world but at the same time it is least talked about. Its psychological effects vary from person to person and the degree of consequences has many variables to measure. The firearm exposure not only implies to an individual but also the whole gambit of social structures around him. Methods: A cross-section study on 505 subjects of the age group 20-45 years from central India was done, where routine social order depends upon massive armament of the citizen. We studied the relationship between socio-demographic variables and firearm exposure with variables of psychological domain of the WHOQOL-BREF. Multivariate logistic regression model was constructed to find the correlates among them. The objectives of the study were to study the attributes of socio demographic variables, which affects psychological health and exposure to firearms in the study population and to see the impact of exposure to firearms on psychological health. Results: Higher education is associated positively with psychological health. The desire to have a gun (OR=1.988, CI 1.306-3.024, p-value <.005) is showing a significant association with low psychological domain score of QOL. Being married (OR=.556, CI .344-.901, p-value <.005) and not Living in a joint family (OR=.581, CI .379-.891, p-value <.005) is associated with poor psychological health. Conclusions: Higher education is the best predictor for good psychological health. Semiskilled workers (farmers and laborers) should be prioritized as high risk groups for adverse life situations. Firearm exposures have a significant impact on psychological health. So, policies directed at rural population should target at specific needs of community.
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    MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF SPATIAL DISEASE VARIABLES BY SPATIAL FUZZY LOGIC FOR SPATIAL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS
    (ISPRS TECHNICAL COMMISSION VIII SYMPOSIUM, 2014) Platz, M; Rapp, J; Groessler, M; Niehaus, E; Babu, A; Soman, B
    A Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) provides support for decision makers and should not be viewed as replacing human intelligence with machines. Therefore it is reasonable that decision makers are able to use a feature to analyze the provided spatial decision support in detail to crosscheck the digital support of the SDSS with their own expertise. Spatial decision support is based on risk and resource maps in a Geographic Information System (GIS) with relevant layers e.g. environmental, health and socio-economic data. Spatial fuzzy logic allows the representation of spatial properties with a value of truth in the range between 0 and 1. Decision makers can refer to the visualization of the spatial truth of single risk variables of a disease. Spatial fuzzy logic rules that support the allocation of limited resources according to risk can be evaluated with measure theory on topological spaces, which allows to visualize the applicability of this rules as well in a map. Our paper is based on the concept of a spatial fuzzy logic on topological spaces that contributes to the development of an adaptive Early Warning And Response System (EWARS) providing decision support for the current or future spatial distribution of a disease. It supports the decision maker in testing interventions based on available resources and apply risk mitigation strategies and provide guidance tailored to the geo-location of the user via mobile devices. The software component of the system would be based on open source software and the software developed during this project will also be in the open source domain, so that an open community can build on the results and tailor further work to regional or international requirements and constraints. A freely available EWARS Spatial Fuzzy Logic Demo was developed wich enables a user to visualize risk and resource maps based on individual data in several data formats.
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    PARTICIPATORY GIS IN ACTION, A PUBLIC HEALTH INITIATIVE FROM KERALA, INDIA
    (ISPRS TECHNICAL COMMISSION VIII SYMPOSIUM, 2014) Soman, B
    Community ownership is essential for sustainable public health initiatives. The advantages of getting active involvement of homebound village women in a public health campaign to establish community health surveillance are being reported in this paper. With the support of the local self government authorities, we had selected 120 village women, and they were given extensive training on various healthcare schemes, home based management of local ailments, leadership skills and survey techniques. Afterwards, they had been asked to share their knowledge with at least 10-15 women in their neighbourhood. This had improved their status in the neighbourhood, as more and more people started getting their advice on healthcare and social services related matters. Subsequently, they had collected the socio-demographic and morbidity details of the entire households, including the geometric coordinates (longitude and latitude) of the households and public offices. In this process, they began to use the geographic position system (GPS) machines, dismissing the myth that women are not that techno savvy, further improving their acceptability in the community. Many among them were seen proudly describing the implications of the thematic maps to the village people and line department staff in the monthly subcentre meetings. Many were offered seats in the local body elections by leading political parties, a few of them did stand in the elections and three of them had won the elections. This experience reinforces our belief that the empowerment of villagers with newer technology could be a public health tool with much wider positive implications.
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    Rate and risk of all cause mortality among people with known hypertension in a rural community of southern Kerala, India:The resutls for the prolife cohort.
    (International journal of preventive medicine., 2014) Kuriakose, A; Anish, TSN; Soman, B; Varghese, RT; Sreelal, TP; Mendez, AM; Abraham, A
    Background: Hypertension is one of the most important determinants of death due to vascular damage and is fast emerging as a high burden disease in India. However, its documentation is poor in the country. This study aims to estimate the rate and the causal pattern of mortality in a cohort of people with high blood pressure as compared to normotensives. Methods: The study setting is Varkkala, a rural village in southern Kerala, India, and the study design was that of a prospective cohort. A total of 77,881 participants of age 20 years and above were considered for analysis. The rate and risk of all cause mortality (death due to any cause) among hypertensives were quantified and compared against the normotensives. The causes of death were also analyzedin both the groups. Cox proportional hazard models were created to estimate the hazard ratios of death among hypertensives adjusted for sociodemographic factors, behaviors, and comorbidities. Results: The incidence proportion of deaths in the study was 4.28% during the follow‑up period of 6 years. The relative risk of mortality was 3.13 (CI: 2.91‑3.37) in the high BP group. The age‑adjusted hazard ratio of all cause mortality for the high BP group was 2.96 (2.56‑3.42). Coronary artery disease was the major cause of death among the subjects with high BP. Conclusions: The study revealed high prevalence of hypertension in the study population. A person with hypertension is at three times higher risk of death due to any cause compared to a normotensive individual even after adjustment for age.
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    Risk Factor Profile for Chronic Non-communicable Diseases: Results of a Community-Based Study in Kerala, India
    (Indian Journal of Medical Research, 2010) Thankappan, KR; Shah, B; Mathur, P; Sarma, PS; Srinivas, G; Mini, GK; Daivadanam, M; Soman, B; Vasan, RS
    BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Kerala State is a harbinger of what will happen in future to the rest of India in chronic non-communicable diseases (NCD). We assessed: (i) the burden of NCD risk factors; (ii) estimated the relations of behavioural risk factors to socio-demographic correlates, anthropometric risk factors with behavioural risk factors; (iii) evaluated if socio-demographic, behavioural and anthropometric risk factors predicted biochemical risk factors; and (iv) estimated awareness, treatment and adequacy of control of hypertension and diabetes, in Kerala state.METHODS:A total of 7449 individuals (51% women) stratified by age group, sex and place of residence were selected and information on behavioural risk factors; tobacco use, diet, physical activity, alcohol use, measured anthropometry, blood pressure was collected. Fasting blood samples were analysed for blood glucose, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides in a sample subset.Using multiple logistic regression models the associations between socio-demographic and anthropometric variables with biochemical risk factors were estimated.RESULTS: The burden of NCD risk factors was high in our sample. Prevalence of behavioural and each of the biochemical risk factors increased with age, adjusting for other factors including sex and the place of residence. The odds ratios relating anthropometric variables to biochemical variables were modest, suggesting that anthropometric variables may not be useful surrogates for biochemical risk factors for population screening purposes. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: In this large study of community-based sample in Kerala, high burden of NCD risk factors was observed, comparable to that in the United States. These data may serve to propel multisectoral efforts to lower the community burden of NCD risk factors in India in general, and in Kerala, in particular.
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    Using opensource data to explore distribution of built environment characteristics across Kerala, India
    (Indian Journal of Public Health, 2020-10) Valson, JS; Kutty, VR; Soman, B; Jissa, VT
    Background: Built environment characteristics in the neighborhood are of utmost priority for a healthy lifestyle in the fast-urbanizing countries. These characteristics are closely linked to the disease burden and challenges in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), which have been unexplored using open-source data. The present technology offers online resources and open source software that enable researchers to explore built environment characteristics with health and allied phenomena. Objectives: This article intends to delineate methods to capture available and accessible objective built environment variables for a state in India and determine their distribution across the state. Methods: Built environment variables such as population density and residential density were collated from the Census of India. Safety from crime and traffic were captured as crime rates and pedestrian accident rates, respectively, acquired from State Crime Records Bureau. Greenness, built-up density, and land slope were gathered from open-source satellite imagery repository. Road intersection density was derived from OpenStreetMap. Processing and analysis differed for each dataset depending on its source and nature. Results: Each variable showed a distinct pattern across the state. Population and residential density were found to be closely related to each other across both districts and subdistricts. They were both positively related to crime rates, pedestrian accident rates, built-up density, and intersection density, whereas negatively related to land slope and greenness across the subdistricts. Conclusion: Delineating the distribution of built environment variables using available and open-source data in resource-poor settings is a first in public health research among LMICs. Cost-effectiveness and reproducible nature of open-source solutions could equip researchers in resource-poor settings to identify built environment characteristics and patterns across regions.