GTS (Denmark)

As an individual with lived experience, I am proof that technology can be an extremely valuable tool in coping with disabilities such as cerebral palsy (CP). There is also the importance of technology in relation to health and health promotion. I commend Kersalé et al. for their nuanced approach and for addressing many of the key aspects relevant to shared digital portals in paediatric rehabilitation.1 Like the authors, I am concerned about who should have access to patient data, as the power of such data is increasingly recognized, including to inform policies.2 In Denmark, many individuals with CP find their medical records and professional reports are sometimes misinterpreted and subsequently used to justify reductions in support and assistance by the authorities, despite the original intention often being the exact opposite. Therefore, continued and explicit attention to legal safeguards and informed consent in determining data access is essential. Along with Kersalé et al., I would like to emphasize the importance of accessibility in the portal or portals – with a focus on universal design.3 In this regard, it is important to stress that while neuromotor impairments present specific accessibility needs, the inclusion of cognitive challenges in the equation makes accessibility considerations even more critical. This includes not only technical and physical accessibility, but also cognitive and communicative accessibility – ensuring that information is understandable and usable. It is widely recognized that medical solutions are often poorly communicated when the target group does not resemble the physicians and programmers developing the solution. Genuine user involvement is therefore essential to ensure relevance and usability. Finally, I would stress the importance of integration with existing health-promoting technologies, such as Apple Watch, Fitbit, and similar platforms. Many individuals with disabilities, including individuals with CP, already use and subscribe to multiple digital health solutions. While the portal described in the article by Kersalé et al. is framed primarily within a medical and scientific context, it is important to recognize that new digital systems often fail to integrate with technologies that users already rely on. This lack of interoperability creates additional workload and confusion rather than empowerment. Not required.

Background: Community pharmacists could play more potential role when finding ways to allocate effectively limited healthcare resources in primary care in many developing countries, including India. Pharmacists could participate in national public health programs, and cooperate effectively with other members of health care team. This small-scale pilot study was designed to develop a method for characterizing physicians' perceptions on the role of pharmacists in public health and patient care in India. Methods: Six volunteers visited 800 physicians in Southern region in India and collected data in 2014. The survey tool consisted of 28 structured questions concerning: (i) physicians' experiences of cooperation with pharmacists; (ii) physicians' general opinion on pharmacists' involvement in National Public Health Programs (NPHPs) in India; and (iii) pharmacists' involvement in 11 major NPHPs. The data were collated and extracted and descriptive statistical analysis was conducted by SAS (version 9.3). Results: Of total 800 physicians contacted, 129 responded. Of the responding physicians 98% were comfortable with pharmacists' roles in general, 96% were comfortable or somewhat comfortable to collaborate with pharmacists, and 82% regarded pharmacists as part of health care team. The physicians with shorter professional practice were more positive on pharmacists' involvement in NPHPs than physicians having at least 11 years' experience. Overall response of accepting pharmacists' role and involvement in NPHPs was positive, Pulse Polio, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Tobacco control, and Leprosy eradication programs being the top NPHPs where physicians perceived pharmacists had a role to play. Conclusion: This small-scale pilot study indicates that Indian physicians are willing to collaborate with pharmacists and are comfortable to involve them in the health care team. The survey also revealed differences in opinions between junior and senior physicians: the longer physicians' practice experience was, the less favorable they were for pharmacists' involvement in NPHPs.

The topic of this paper is the work carried out in Work Package 2.3-2 of the EU network ACE. This work package is concerned with the modelling of the surfaces of modern reflector antennas. In particular the problems associated with homogenisation are described together with an application example. Fast, but approximate, methods are compared to rigorous solutions for realistic strip grid configurations. A new, fast and very efficient interpolation technique for frequency selective surfaces is introduced.

Recently, shaped reflectors with single feeds have become popular for applications with a single contoured beam. Contoured-beam antennas have in the past mainly been array-fed offset reflectors. They may provide multiple contoured beams. This paper considers two reflector antenna realizations of multiple contoured beams with fewer feed elements. Fewer feeds will require less complex beam forming networks and ease the implementation of reconfigurability. Each concept is discussed by an example. The first example uses a shaped reflector with five large feeds to form a reconfigurable Hemi beam. The second example uses a dual-gridded reflector antenna with arrays of unequally sized waveguide feeds to form three frequency reuse beams in each polarization. (6 pages)