Background: Shift workers are at high risk of developing sleep disorders such as shift worker sleep disorder or chronic insomnia. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the first-line treatment for insomnia, and emerging evidence shows that internet-based CBT is highly effective with additional features such as continuous tracking and personalization. However, there are limited studies on internet-based CBT for shift workers with sleep disorders. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a 4-week, physician-assisted, internet-delivered CBT program incorporating machine learning–based well-being prediction on the sleep duration of shift workers at high risk of sleep disorders. We evaluated these outcomes using an internet-delivered CBT app and fitness trackers in the intensive care unit. Methods: A convenience sample of 61 shift workers (mean age 32.9, SD 8.3 years) from the intensive care unit or emergency department participated in the study. Eligible participants were on a 3-shift schedule and had a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score ≥5. The study comprised a 1-week baseline period, followed by a 4-week intervention period. Before the study, the participants completed questionnaires regarding the subjective evaluation of sleep, burnout syndrome, and mental health. Participants were asked to wear a commercial fitness tracker to track their daily activities, heart rate, and sleep for 5 weeks. The internet-delivered CBT program included well-being prediction, activity and sleep chart, and sleep advice. A job-based multitask and multilabel convolutional neural network–based model was used for well-being prediction. Participant-specific sleep advice was provided by sleep physicians based on daily surveys and fitness tracker data. The primary end point of this study was sleep duration. For continuous measurements (sleep duration, steps, etc), the mean baseline and week-4 intervention data were compared. The 2-tailed paired t test or Wilcoxon signed rank test was performed depending on the distribution of the data. Results: In the fourth week of intervention, the mean daily sleep duration for 7 days (6.06, SD 1.30 hours) showed a statistically significant increase compared with the baseline (5.54, SD 1.36 hours; P=.02). Subjective sleep quality, as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, also showed statistically significant improvement from baseline (9.10) to after the intervention (7.84; P=.001). However, no significant improvement was found in the subjective well-being scores (all P>.05). Feature importance analysis for all 45 variables in the prediction model showed that sleep duration had the highest importance. Conclusions: The physician-assisted internet-delivered CBT program targeting shift workers with a high risk of sleep disorders showed a statistically significant increase in sleep duration as measured by wearable sensors along with subjective sleep quality. This study shows that sleep improvement programs using an app and wearable sensors are feasible and may play an important role in preventing shift work–related sleep disorders. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/24799.

Tracheal intubation (TI) is a key medical skill used by anesthesiologists and critical care physicians in airway management in operating rooms and critical care units. An objective assessment of dexterity in TI procedures would greatly enhance the quality of medical training. This study aims to investigate whether any biomechanical parameters obtained by 3D-motion analysis of body movements during TI procedures can objectively distinguish expert anesthesiologists from novice residents. Thirteen expert anesthesiologists and thirteen residents attempted TI procedures on an airway mannequin using a Macintosh laryngoscope. Motion capturing technology was utilized to digitally record movements during TI procedures. The skill with which experts and novices measured biomechanical parameters of body motions were comparatively examined. The two groups showed similar outcomes (success rates and mean time needed to complete the TI procedures) as well as similar mean absolute velocity values in all 21 body parts examined. However, the experts exhibited significantly lower mean absolute acceleration values at the head and the left hand than the residents. In addition, the mean-absolute-jerk measurement revealed that the experts commanded potentially smoother motions at the head and the left hand. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves analysis demonstrated that mean-absolute-acceleration and -jerk measurements provide excellent measures for discriminating between experts and novices. Biomechanical parameter measurements could be used as a means to objectively assess dexterity in TI procedures. Compared with novice residents, expert anesthesiologists possess a better ability to control their body movements during TI procedures, displaying smoother motions at the selected body parts.

Background: The incidence of delirium in patients with burns receiving treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) is high, reaching up to 77%, and has been associated with increased mortality rates. Therefore, early identification of patients at high risk of delirium onset is essential for improving treatment strategies. Objective: This study aimed to create a machine learning model for predicting delirium in patients with burns during their ICU stay using patient data from the first day of ICU admission and identify predictive factors for ICU delirium in patients with burns. Methods: This study focused on 82 patients with burns aged ≥18 years who were admitted to the ICU at Mie University Hospital for ≥24 hours between January 2015 and June 2023. In total, 70 variables were measured in patients upon ICU admission and used as explanatory variables in the ICU delirium prediction model. Delirium was assessed using the Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist every 8 hours after ICU admission. A total of 10 different machine learning methods were used to predict ICU delirium. Multiple receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted for various machine learning models, and the area under the curve (AUC) for each was compared. In addition, the top 15 risk factors contributing to delirium onset were identified using Shapley additive explanations analysis. Results: Among the 10 machine learning models tested, logistic regression (mean AUC 0.906, SD 0.073), support vector machine (mean AUC 0.897, SD 0.056), k-nearest neighbor (mean AUC 0.894, SD 0.060), neural network (mean AUC 0.857, SD 0.058), random forest (mean AUC 0.850, SD 0.074), adaptive boosting (mean AUC 0.832, SD 0.094), gradient boosting machine (mean AUC 0.821, SD 0.074), and naïve Bayes (mean AUC 0.827, SD 0.095) demonstrated the highest accuracy in predicting ICU delirium. Specifically, 24-hour urine output (from ICU admission to 24 hours), oxygen saturation, burn area, total bilirubin level, and intubation upon ICU admission were identified as the major risk factors for delirium onset. In addition, variables, such as the proportion of white blood cell fractions, including monocytes; methemoglobin concentration; and respiratory rate, were identified as important risk factors for ICU delirium. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the ability of machine learning models trained using vital signs and blood data upon ICU admission to predict delirium in patients with burns during their ICU stay.

Background: Shift work sleep disorders (SWSDs) are associated with the high turnover rates of nurses, and are considered a major medical safety issue. However, initial management can be hampered by insufficient awareness. In recent years, it has become possible to visualize, collect, and analyze the work-life balance of health care workers with irregular sleeping and working habits using wearable sensors that can continuously monitor biometric data under real-life settings. In addition, internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for psychiatric disorders has been shown to be effective. Application of wearable sensors and machine learning may potentially enhance the beneficial effects of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy. Objective: In this study, we aim to develop and evaluate the effect of a new internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for SWSD (iCBTS). This system includes current methods such as medical sleep advice, as well as machine learning well-being prediction to improve the sleep durations of shift workers and prevent declines in their well-being. Methods: This study consists of two phases: (1) preliminary data collection and machine learning for well-being prediction; (2) intervention and evaluation of iCBTS for SWSD. Shift workers in the intensive care unit at Mie University Hospital will wear a wearable sensor that collects biometric data and answer daily questionnaires regarding their well-being. They will subsequently be provided with an iCBTS app for 4 weeks. Sleep and well-being measurements between baseline and the intervention period will be compared. Results: Recruitment for phase 1 ended in October 2019. Recruitment for phase 2 has started in October 2020. Preliminary results are expected to be available by summer 2021. Conclusions: iCBTS empowered with well-being prediction is expected to improve the sleep durations of shift workers, thereby enhancing their overall well-being. Findings of this study will reveal the potential of this system for improving sleep disorders among shift workers.

Today, the challenges of an aging society are primarily seen in frailty, sarcopenia, and impaired functionality