BackgroundMedication misuse results in considerable problems for both patient and society. It is a complex problem with many contributing factors, including timely access to product information.ObjectiveTo investigate the value of 3-dimensional (3D) visualization paired with video conferencing as a tool for pharmaceutical advice over distance in terms of accessibility and ease of use for the advice seeker.MethodsWe created a Web-based communication service called AssistancePlus that allows an advisor to demonstrate the physical handling of a complex pharmaceutical product to an advice seeker with the aid of 3D visualization and audio/video conferencing. AssistancePlus was tested in 2 separate user studies performed in a usability lab, under realistic settings and emulating a real usage situation. In the first study, 10 pharmacy students were assisted by 2 advisors from the Swedish National Co-operation of Pharmacies’ call centre on the use of an asthma inhaler. The student-advisor interview sessions were filmed on video to qualitatively explore their experience of giving and receiving advice with the aid of 3D visualization. In the second study, 3 advisors from the same call centre instructed 23 participants recruited from the general public on the use of 2 products: (1) an insulin injection pen, and (2) a growth hormone injection syringe. First, participants received advice on one product in an audio-recorded telephone call and for the other product in a video-recorded AssistancePlus session (product order balanced). In conjunction with the AssistancePlus session, participants answered a questionnaire regarding accessibility, perceived expressiveness, and general usefulness of 3D visualization for advice-giving over distance compared with the telephone and were given a short interview focusing on their experience of the 3D features.ResultsIn both studies, participants found the AssistancePlus service helpful in providing clear and exact instructions. In the second study, directly comparing AssistancePlus and the telephone, AssistancePlus was judged positively for ease of communication (P = .001), personal contact (P = .001), explanatory power (P < .001), and efficiency (P < .001). Participants in both studies said that they would welcome this type of service as an alternative to the telephone and to face-to-face interaction when a physical meeting is not possible or not convenient. However, although AssistancePlus was considered as easy to use as the telephone, they would choose AssistancePlus over the telephone only when the complexity of the question demanded the higher level of expressiveness it offers. For simpler questions, a simpler service was preferred.Conclusions3D visualization paired with video conferencing can be useful for advice-giving over distance, specifically for issues that require a higher level of communicative expressiveness than the telephone can offer. 3D-supported advice-giving can increase the range of issues that can be handled over distance and thus improve access to product information.
It is well known throughout the PM HIP (Powder Metallurgy Hot Isostatic Pressing) industry that PM HIPed 316L material in general exhibit higher strength than conventional 316L. However, previous studies have shown an uncharacteristic behavior in impact toughness properties at cryogenic temperatures compared to conventional forged material. The uncharacteristic behavior consists of unexpectedly large drop in impact toughness at cryogenic temperatures which is not seen in the same extent in conventional material e.g. forged 316L. With the recent code case approval for PM HIPed 316L material, this behavior can be seen as an uncertainty regarding the performance of the material and its use in nuclear applications can therefore become limited. The behavior and underlying mechanisms is yet to be explained in detail. One possible explanation is that it is caused by oxides in the material, of which a large amount originates from oxygen picked up by the very large surface area of the powder during the manufacturing process. The correlation between impact toughness at room temperature and oxygen content is often referred to. In this study the non-metallic inclusion content is correlated to the impact properties at −196°C (−321°F), and a suggested explanation for the behavior of PM HIP 316L/316LN vs. conventional 316L is presented. The size and number of inclusions constitutes a major difference between the PM HIPed and conventional material. The results show that the size of the inclusions is significantly smaller in the PM materials compared to the conventional material and as a consequence they are present in larger numbers in the PM materials. Furthermore, the results clearly show the correlation between inclusion content and the impact toughness at cryogenic temperatures. The correlation is not as clear at room temperature where the different materials behave more similar. The suggested explanation is further supported by literature on cryogenic properties of 316L/316LN, 316L weld material and PM HIP 316LN with greatly reduced oxygen content. The impact toughness testing was performed using instrumented test equipment capable of recording load vs. displacement during testing. From this data the crack propagation and crack initiation energy can be estimated. Furthermore, it is known that grain size can influence mechanical properties. In this study no clear relationship between impact toughness and grain size could be observed. However, a correlation between the grain size and the amount of inclusions in the material was observed. It was found that larger amounts of inclusions in the PM HIPed material are correlated to a finer grain size. The results indicate that the inclusion particles inhibit grain growth during the HIP and heat treatment process by pinning of grain boundaries.
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