TQM implementation in hospitals

This paper discusses the essential elements for successful Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation in hospital, and the challenges that occur with such implementation. Guidelines for this implementation are provided to show how TQM tools can be used effectively in hospitals.     

Exploiting slack time for just-in-time scheduling in wireless sensor networks

We consider the problem of real-time data collection in wireless sensor networks, in which data need to be delivered to one or more sinks within end-to-end deadlines. To enhance performance with respect to end-to-end deadline miss ratio, existing approaches schedule packets by prioritizing them based on per-packet deadlines and other factors such as the distance to the sink. However, important factors affecting the end-to-end performance such as queuing delays and buffer overruns have largely been ignored in the existing real-time schemes. Packet prioritization by itself cannot assist with these issues, and may in fact, exacerbate them for real-time data collection, since many high priority packets may simultaneously contend for the constrained network resources. In sensor networks, where the channel bandwidth and buffer space are often quite limited, these issues can dramatically impact real-time performance. Based on this observation, we propose Just-in-Time Scheduling (JiTS) strategies where packets are judiciously delayed within their slack time to reduce contention and load balance the use of the network buffers. We explore several policies for delaying data packets at different intermediate nodes considering potential contention. In addition, we also show that the routing protocol has a significant impact on real-time performance. In particular, shortest path routing leads to considerably better performance than geographic forwarding, which is often used for real-time data transmission in wireless sensor networks. Using an extensive simulation study, we demonstrate that JiTS can significantly improve the deadline miss ratio and packet drop ratio compared to two state-of-the-art approaches for real-time packet delivery for sensor networks (RAP and SPEED) under various scenarios. Notably, JiTS requires neither lower layer (e.g., MAC layer) support nor synchronization among the sensor nodes.     

Uniting bounded control and MPC for stabilization of constrained linear systems

In this work, a hybrid control scheme, uniting bounded control with model predictive control (MPC), is proposed for the stabilization of linear time-invariant systems with input constraints. The scheme is predicated upon the idea of switching between a model predictive controller, that minimizes a given performance objective subject to constraints, and a bounded controller, for which the region of constrained closed-loop stability is explicitly characterized. Switching laws, implemented by a logic-based supervisor that constantly monitors the plant, are derived to orchestrate the transition between the two controllers in a way that safeguards against any possible instability or infeasibility under MPC, reconciles the stability and optimality properties of both controllers, and guarantees asymptotic closed-loop stability for all initial conditions within the stability region of the bounded controller. The hybrid control scheme is shown to provide, irrespective of the chosen MPC formulation, a safety net for the practical implementation of MPC, for open-loop unstable plants, by providing a priori knowledge, through off-line computations, of a large set of initial conditions for which closed-loop stability is guaranteed. The implementation of the proposed approach is illustrated, through numerical simulations, for an exponentially unstable linear system.     

A simple algorithm to enrich eLectures with instructor notes

One of the devices that may help in content development for eLearning services is an Electronic Copyboard (e-board). Once it is available in every classroom, it helps in extracting the lecturer notes in an electronic as-in-class format. This paper introduces an alternative solution to e-boards. The presented solution is much cheaper and much simpler to install if compared to that of the e-boards. It could be implemented using a web camera and a video processing algorithm to extract notes that were added or removed by the lecturer. The notes extracted along with the slides presented and the recorded lecturer voice may compose a complete as-in-class electronic form of the lecture (eLecture). This paper presents first the proposed Notes Extraction Algorithm and runs few experiments when the notes are added on a traditional white board under various scenarios. The algorithm takes into consideration the brightness variations of the video in detecting the notes especially since this is normal to occur due to for instant to the lecturer movements in front of the white board. Second, the paper presents an authoring tool that includes the proposed algorithm to extract notes and combines them along with video and slides, if exist, before generating eLectures that could be viewed using popular players.     

Regenerating MR tagged images using harmonic phase (HARP) methods

Magnetic resonance tagging has proven useful in the visualization and quantification of cardiac motion. Traditionally, tags are designed to have crisp geometric profiles in order to enhance both visualization and detection of tags. Recent image acquisition and analysis methods, however, have been designed to exploit sinusoidal tag profiles. This paper presents a method based on harmonic phase (HARP) concepts to synthesize tag lines that have both crisp profiles and alternative orientations from the original sinusoidal patterns. Results are demonstrated on images acquired with SPAMM, CSPAMM, and fast-HARP pulse sequences.     

Optimization of testability parameters

The main objective of this study was to investigate performance models of automatic diagnostic systems taking into consideration its imperfections such as incorrect isolation and false alarms. This was accomplished by developing an optimization model to assist the decision maker in determining the optimal values of testability parameters which maximize his/her utility function. This will provide the decision maker with a tool to evaluate the parameters set forth by the designer and to assess the real capability of the diagnostic system. This tool also will help the decision maker to check if the correct detection and isolation capability of the system, as well as the imperfections of the system, e.g., incorrect isolation and false alarms are acceptable and satisfactory.

An interactive program was developed and help to implement the optimization modedl. This program provides the decision maker with enough flexibility to avaluate different different strategies and to repeat the decision process after changing one or more of the model's parameter. An example will be presented to show the application of this optimization model.     

Total quality management: An approach & a case study

For the last decade, American companies have been playing catch-up in the area of quality and productivity. Japanese companies and other foreign competitors have moved into markets that were once dominated by American companies, by producing higher quality products. The problem to date in the U.S. has obviously not been the lack of resources or documentation on quality and improvement programs, but the misdirection of these programs and the lack of total management commitment. Total Quality Management (TQM) is seen as an effective method that will accomplish the task of higher quality levels, and increased productivity.

The purpose of Total Quality Management is to implement a process that is long term and continuous, in which all of management participates in establishing continuous improvement initiatives throughout the organization, beginning with their own function in the organization. TQM integrates the fundamental techniques and principles of Quality Function Deployment, Taguchi Methods, Statistical Process Control, Just-In-Time, and existing management tools into a structured approach. The primary objective of this approach is to incorporate quality and integrity into all functions at all levels of the organization.

This paper examines the TQM process, philosophy, concepts, attributes and how it can be used to develop a “quality-based” culture. The paper also examines the introduction and implementation of the TQM process at an electronic's manufacturer.     

Synthesizing variable instruction issue interpreters forimplementing functional parallelism on SIMD computers

Functional parallelism can be supported on SIMD machines by interpretation. Under such a scheme, the programs and data of each task are loaded on the processing elements (PEs) and the Control Unit of the machine executes a central control algorithm that causes the concurrent interpretation of the tasks on the PEs. The central control algorithm is, in many respects, analogous to the control store program on microprogrammed machines. Accordingly, the organization of the control algorithm greatly influences the performance of the synthesized MIMD environment. Most central control algorithms are constructed to interpret the execution phase of all instructions during every cycle (iteration). However, it is possible to delay the interpretation of infrequent and costly instructions to improve the overall performance. Interpreters that attempt improved performance by delaying the issue of infrequent instructions are referred to as variable issue control algorithms. This paper examines the construction of optimized variable issue control algorithms. In particular, a mathematical model for the interpretation process is built and two objective functions (instruction throughput and PE utilization) are defined. The problem of deriving variable issue control algorithms for these objective functions has been shown elsewhere to be NP-complete. Therefore, this paper investigates three heuristic algorithms for constructing near optimal variable issue control algorithms. The performance of the algorithms is studied on four different instruction sets and the trends of the schedulers with respect to the instruction sets and the objective functions are analyzed     

Link quality analysis and measurement in wireless mesh networks

Protocols and applications in wireless mesh networks often optimize their performance by measuring the quality of wireless links. However, measuring and characterizing link-quality is a challenging task due to the nature of wireless channel and device-specific properties of radios. The paper proposes two aspects of link-quality measurement and estimation in realistic networks that benefit higher-layer protocols. First, we analyze the statistical properties of link-quality metrics, such as received signal strength and packet error rates, in an indoor IEEE 802.11 mesh network. We show that the statistical distribution and memory properties vary across different links, but are predictable. The next contribution of the paper is a real-time measurement framework that enables higher-level protocols in wireless mesh networks. We discuss the architectural requirements and our implementation experiences of a measurement framework. In addition, we provide three concrete applications that use the measured link-quality and statistical inference to better adapt their behavior.