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Information and Communication Technologies for Social Good and Healthcare

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Communications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 4573

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to the selected papers from EAI GOODTECHS 2021, which will be held in Aveiro, Portugal, between 14 and 17 September 2021.

Social goods are products and services that can be provided through private enterprises, government institutions, or non-profit institutions. They benefit people with special needs, including older adults, those participating in sports, and young people. Social goods are related to healthcare, safety, sports, environment, democracy, computer science, and human rights.

Sensors may be included in the development of solutions for social good that promote the support of different physical activities, by measuring parameters such as air quality or temperature. The current pandemic associated with the dispersion of coronavirus around the world highlights the critical role of sensors that can support the control and treatment of different diseases. The use of computer science technologies will support multiple cross-domain fields. Mobile devices include different types of sensors. These sensorial units include accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, microphones, and Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. These sensors can be used to create numerous solutions to promote social good. Additionally, smart environments include multiple types of sensors, such as door sensors, contact sensors, motion sensors, and light sensors. The sensors can promote the recognition of different parameters. Furthermore, mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and smart watches are widely used. Mobile devices have different capabilities for the improvement of social good solutions. The accuracy and statistical analysis of these systems are essential for their acceptance.

Human–computer interaction and social networks help in the creation of diverse solutions and opportunities for different types of people. Different environments can use various technologies and architectures. Low-cost sensors (electroencephalography, electrocardiography, electromyography, etc.) can be used for the monitoring of different kinds of people,.

Sensorial systems promote the creation of medical solutions that support the preliminary diagnosis of various diseases. Furthermore, the Internet of Things, smart cities, distributed sensing, and fog computing are representative examples of new information and communication technologies (ICT) paradigms that aim to describe a dynamic and globally cooperative infrastructure built upon objects’ intelligence and self-configuring capabilities. These connected objects are finding their way into our pockets, vehicles, urban areas, and infrastructure.

The use of mobile devices is growing in different daily activities, and their use started in young people. Still, older adults are now using these types of devices. Technological tools are widely improving, and they include different sensors, which can acquire different physical and physiological data. The development of these systems is involved in the development of ICT technologies for well-being. Besides, e-Health and m-Health solutions may not act only in the treatment and monitoring stages of different diseases.

Moreover, this technology can have a preventive role, promoting healthy lifestyles and active coaching to avoid unhealthy habits. There are various solutions currently under development related to this field. Moreover, these solutions can improve our quality of life and be used in the design and development of novel technologies for social help. This is a multidisciplinary and extensive subject for public health and well-being. Moreover, Internet of Things applications provide a continuous stream of data collected in real-time. The data collected can be combined with machine learning methods to predict unexpected events in the context of a smart city. These cyber-physical systems are intelligent objects that can be the basis for developing enhanced technologies for social good.

In the GOODTECHS conference, we are hence interested in experiences with the design, implementation, deployment, operation, and evaluation of smart objects and technologies for social good. We are not considering only the so-called First World as the scenario for this evolution. We also refer to those areas where ICT is currently less widespread, hoping that it may represent a societal development opportunity rather than a source for further divide. The European Alliance endorses the event for innovation, a leading community-based organization devoted to the advancement of change in the field of ICT.

Dr. Ivan Miguel Serrano Pires
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sensors
  • social good
  • medicine
  • machine learning
  • mobile health
  • mobile devices
  • technology

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 6593 KiB  
Article
RespiraConNosotros: A Viable Home-Based Telerehabilitation System for Respiratory Patients
by Beatriz María Bermejo-Gil, Fátima Pérez-Robledo, Rocío Llamas-Ramos, Luís Augusto Silva, André Sales-Mendes, Valderi Reis Quietinho Leithardt and Inés Llamas-Ramos
Sensors 2021, 21(10), 3318; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21103318 - 11 May 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3530
Abstract
Currently, there are more than 1.55 million cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Spain. Of these, it is estimated that around 45% will present respiratory complications, which represents approximately 620,000 patients who will need respiratory rehabilitation. The health system has no resources for this [...] Read more.
Currently, there are more than 1.55 million cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Spain. Of these, it is estimated that around 45% will present respiratory complications, which represents approximately 620,000 patients who will need respiratory rehabilitation. The health system has no resources for this huge quantity of patients after the hospital discharge to finish the complete recovery and avoid the chronicity of the symptoms. We propose an application named RespiraConNosotros. The application has been created and designed to guide users in performing respiratory rehabilitation exercises, especially for COVID-19 patients, and it also facilitates patient–physiotherapist contact via chat or video calling to help patients. It is accessible for all users and on all devices. All exercises would be guided and supervised by a specialized physiotherapist who suggests, adapts, and guides the exercise according to the function level of each patient. Data obtained was satisfactory; all patients pointed out the easy access, the intuitive format, and the advantage of communicating with an expert. Concerning functional assessment, all participants improved their score on the Borg scale after performing the intervention with the application.This platform would help respiratory patients to make rehabilitation treatments to recover their pulmonary function and to decrease or eliminate the possible complications they have. It never substitutes any prescribed treatment. In conclusion, RespiraConNosotros is a simple, viable, and safe alternative for the improvement and maintenance of respiratory capacity and patient’s functionality affected by COVID-19. It could be used as a complement to face-to-face treatment when the situation allows it. Full article
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