Development Of A Computer-based Retinal Imaging Program For Identification Of People At Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$254,714.00
Summary
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and imposes an enormous financial and healthcare burden on the Australian community. This project will develop and deliver a novel clinical prediction tool, incorporating retinal vascular imaging and assessment, to improve identification of asymptomatic people who are at high risk of cardiovascular disease at an early stage, allowing implementation of preventative strategies and medical interventions to effectively prevent CV disease.
Measuring The Productive Efficiency Of Hospitals - A Comparison Of Parametric And Non-parametric Approaches
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$61,815.00
Summary
In the face of rising health service costs, an ageing population, and falling private health insurance rates, the efficient use of scarce health service resources has become a central theme in health system reform. Productive (or technical) efficiency is a key aspect of health system reform - that given health services are produced with the minimum feasible amount of resources. Despite the importance of technical efficiency there have been few published studies in Australia which measure technic ....In the face of rising health service costs, an ageing population, and falling private health insurance rates, the efficient use of scarce health service resources has become a central theme in health system reform. Productive (or technical) efficiency is a key aspect of health system reform - that given health services are produced with the minimum feasible amount of resources. Despite the importance of technical efficiency there have been few published studies in Australia which measure technical efficiency in the health sector. This study will develop theoretical and empirical approaches to measuring technical efficiency in the production of hospital services using data from Victoria. Measures of hospital technical efficiency will be developed using two quantitative modelling approaches: stochastic frontier modelling and data envelopment analysis. Results will be used to investigate the impact of patient and hospital characteristics on efficiency, and to identify economies of scale and scope in the provision of hospital services. The robustness of results to changes in variables, the sample of hospitals studied, and model assumptions will be tested, and two techniques will be compared to assess their appropriateness in the health services context which has not previously been done. Criteria for assessing the approaches include the degree to which: assumptions affect the robustness of results; the techniques capture the salient features of health services production; and the techniques produce similar rankings and estimates of inefficiency. The methods used will represent a significant contribution to international knowledge of hospital efficiency measurement, and the relationships between hospital characteristics, casemix, and efficiency. The study wil provide improved measures of hospital efficiency in Victoria, and will inform debate on hospital funding policy.Read moreRead less
Efficient Signal Transmission Techniques for Future Wireless Communications Systems. The project aims at developing efficient signal transmission techniques that enable advanced telecommunication services to achieve high quality and cover greater geographic areas with low cost and minimal infrastructure. The outcomes of the project will enable high performance, high data rate and cost-effective wireless communications in Australia. The outcomes can be directly applied to current and future wirel ....Efficient Signal Transmission Techniques for Future Wireless Communications Systems. The project aims at developing efficient signal transmission techniques that enable advanced telecommunication services to achieve high quality and cover greater geographic areas with low cost and minimal infrastructure. The outcomes of the project will enable high performance, high data rate and cost-effective wireless communications in Australia. The outcomes can be directly applied to current and future wireless LAN, cellular mobile networks, WiMax systems, WiFi and other wireless networks. In addition, it will support and enhance the social and economic benefit of wireless access to broadband networks in rural and regional Australia.Read moreRead less
Sensing and Communications for Tactical Radio: Mapping the RF Weather. This project investigates sensing, localisation and communication strategies to improve the performance of modern tactical radio networks. Such networks face all of the well-known design challenges of mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) but with added complication of a contested and adversarial operating environment. By exploiting the power of radio nodes to sense the radio spectrum, as well as to communicate over it, a distribut ....Sensing and Communications for Tactical Radio: Mapping the RF Weather. This project investigates sensing, localisation and communication strategies to improve the performance of modern tactical radio networks. Such networks face all of the well-known design challenges of mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) but with added complication of a contested and adversarial operating environment. By exploiting the power of radio nodes to sense the radio spectrum, as well as to communicate over it, a distributed network of nodes can create a detailed picture of the surrounding radio-frequency (RF) environment: the nodes can work together to map the “RF weather”. In this project we will design advanced sensing and localisation methods to accurately map the RF spectrum, and then exploit this map in communication system design.Read moreRead less
Lattice Panel Based Optical Apertures for Optical Wireless Networks . Future work and homes will demand superfast wireless connectivity supported by optical fibre networks providing high speeds into our buildings. The technology gap, however, is a system to deliver this level of connectivity to our wireless mobile devices. Addressing this need, this innovative project proposes a novel architecture of lattice panel apertures based on arrays of phased arrays that can establish and steer multiple ....Lattice Panel Based Optical Apertures for Optical Wireless Networks . Future work and homes will demand superfast wireless connectivity supported by optical fibre networks providing high speeds into our buildings. The technology gap, however, is a system to deliver this level of connectivity to our wireless mobile devices. Addressing this need, this innovative project proposes a novel architecture of lattice panel apertures based on arrays of phased arrays that can establish and steer multiple optical beams simultaneously. It will investigate these system architectures, demonstrating their feasibility. By transforming broadband wireless into the future of optical mobile networking, the project outcomes will extend to every connected office and home, benefiting Australia’s economy and national security. Read moreRead less
Processing and Compression of Digital Video in Immersive Environments. This project will have significant economic and social benefits, both in terms of the technologies developed and the new applications in training and entertainment supported by them. This project supports the national research priority "Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries", supporting media and creative industries and assisting organisations to collaborate across large distances. These be ....Processing and Compression of Digital Video in Immersive Environments. This project will have significant economic and social benefits, both in terms of the technologies developed and the new applications in training and entertainment supported by them. This project supports the national research priority "Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries", supporting media and creative industries and assisting organisations to collaborate across large distances. These benefits will be realised in both urban and remote areas. The collaboration between the CIs and the iCinema Centre will lead to the application of advanced technology to real-world problems.Read moreRead less
Accurate Location Service for 3G Cellular Networks. The project aims to improve the accuracy of automatic location identification of GPS enabled handsets in third-generation cellular networks via a modified Differential GPS method. The proposed sub-metre location ability will be a value-added service of the network providers and will appeal to a wide sector of users. The challenge is to develop a cost effective solution by utilising existing network infrastructure. We propose to use the GPS timi ....Accurate Location Service for 3G Cellular Networks. The project aims to improve the accuracy of automatic location identification of GPS enabled handsets in third-generation cellular networks via a modified Differential GPS method. The proposed sub-metre location ability will be a value-added service of the network providers and will appeal to a wide sector of users. The challenge is to develop a cost effective solution by utilising existing network infrastructure. We propose to use the GPS timing units in 3G networks for deriving local GPS position corrections; and to transfer these corrections to the users via the 3G data bursts of the beacons or other user data broadcasts.Read moreRead less
Advanced Space-Time Coded Multiuser Wireless Communications via Test-bed Development. Meeting the global demand for mobile and wireless communications depends critically on reliable and high rate data transfer. Unfortunately, communications medium idiosyncrasies pose formidable challenges. Very recently, in combatting this, major breakthroughs have been achieved whereby the use of multiple antennas allows for drastic data-rate increases. These advances use sophisticated Space-Time coding metho ....Advanced Space-Time Coded Multiuser Wireless Communications via Test-bed Development. Meeting the global demand for mobile and wireless communications depends critically on reliable and high rate data transfer. Unfortunately, communications medium idiosyncrasies pose formidable challenges. Very recently, in combatting this, major breakthroughs have been achieved whereby the use of multiple antennas allows for drastic data-rate increases. These advances use sophisticated Space-Time coding methods, and while they are causing great excitement in terms of their simulation performance, it is not clear how they will perform in practice, or in fact how they are to be realistically implemented. This project will address this issue by building a world-first testbed that implements a high rate wireless communications system using Space-Time and other coding methods.Read moreRead less
Object-based Video Compression for Delay-Insensitive Services. Digital television is now big business worldwide. Techniques that can lead to improved compression of audiovisual services will always be of interest both to international standards bodies and to industry. The development of more efficient transmission techniques for audiovisual services will be of considerable benefit to all regions of Australia and in particular to remote regions. It can be expected that the development of this tec ....Object-based Video Compression for Delay-Insensitive Services. Digital television is now big business worldwide. Techniques that can lead to improved compression of audiovisual services will always be of interest both to international standards bodies and to industry. The development of more efficient transmission techniques for audiovisual services will be of considerable benefit to all regions of Australia and in particular to remote regions. It can be expected that the development of this technology will significantly improve service quality in these areas without the need for upgrading the existing telecommunications infrastructure. This will allow, for example, pay and free-to-air operators to provide additional services within their current bandwidth limitations.Read moreRead less
Cross-Correlated Security and Service Quality in Heterogeneous Mobile Communication Networks. Mobile telecommunication infrastructures constitute the vital elements of all developed countries and therefore their reliability and integrity has a profound role in a sustained national economy progress. This project will provide a uniquely practical and long-term solution to the Internet security threat even after introduction of new mobile applications and services. The project will put Australia on ....Cross-Correlated Security and Service Quality in Heterogeneous Mobile Communication Networks. Mobile telecommunication infrastructures constitute the vital elements of all developed countries and therefore their reliability and integrity has a profound role in a sustained national economy progress. This project will provide a uniquely practical and long-term solution to the Internet security threat even after introduction of new mobile applications and services. The project will put Australia on the frontbench of the extensive research activities worldwide in the field of mobile network security and quality of service. This project will protect the nation's most valuable data infrastructure from service interruption as a result of a sudden data traffic load increase.Read moreRead less