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In order to provide access to care in a timely manner, it is necessary to effectively manage the allocation of limited resources. such as beds. Bed management is a key to the effective delivery of high quality and low-cost healthcare. The purpose of this paper is to develop a discrete event simulation to assist in planning and staff scheduling decisions.

A discrete event simulation model was developed for a hospital system to analyze admissions, patient transfer, length of stay (LOS), waiting time and queue time. The hospital system contained 50 beds and four departments. The data used to construct the model were from five years of patient records and contained information on 23,019 patients. Each department’s performance measures were taken into consideration separately to understand and quantify the behavior of departments individually, and the hospital system as a whole. Several scenarios were analyzed to determine the impact on reducing the number of patients waiting in queue, waiting time and LOS of patients.

Using the simulation model, it was determined that reducing the bed turnover time by 1 h resulted in a statistically significant reduction in patient wait time in queue. Further, reducing the average LOS by 10 h results in statistically significant reductions in the average patient wait time and average patient queue. A comparative analysis of department also showed considerable improvements in average wait time, average number of patients in queue and average LOS with the addition of two beds.

This research highlights the applicability of simulation in healthcare. Through data that are often readily available in bed management tracking systems, the operational behavior of a hospital can be modeled, which enables hospital management to test the impact of changes without cost and risk.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate technologies improving image quality and understanding in life‐science microscopy.

The new technique of high‐content analysis is described, along with the equipment available from various manufacturers. Advances in fluorescence imaging and confocal microscopy are then addressed. The paper concludes by reporting a powerful 3D visualisation package, and equipment for networked viewing of high‐resolution microscopy images.

High‐content analysis has developed rapidly in the last four or five years, due largely to improvements in the software interface. Automation and powerful software acquire and manage vast quantities of data, allowing scientists experiment afresh on archived images. Improvements in laser scanning techniques and the emergence of microLED arrays assist microscopy imaging of live cells, whilst techniques giving high‐spectral discrimination improve image understanding.

The paper describes how image‐processing technologies are assisting the work of cell biologists. Stresses the importance of software and hardware design to user uptake, which is relevant for all engineers.

This is a volume about gender, health and medicine broadly defined. It is based on the now widely-held assumption in the sociology of medicine that medicine and health are social constructions and that gender is an embedded part of them (see Lorber, 1997). The essays reveal that embedded with gender in the institution of medicine are race, class, and sexuality. Taken as a whole, the volume offers a critique of exclusively biomedical approaches to personal and public health and calls for more sociological input and qualitative research to help us understand aspects of health and illness. Among the recurrent themes in the seven essays are the medicalization of personal and social problems, the commodification of healthcare, and questions of agency, responsibility and control.

Profiles Jeff Bezos's past and future strategy at the helm of Amazon.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments.

Back in 1995 financial analyst Jeff Bezos decided to try taking advantage of the fact internet usage was growing at the rate of 2,300 percent a year. He came up with the idea of selling books online, and thanks to investments from friends and family, he launched an online business from Seattle. He called it Amazon. Just eight years later Bezos had the wealth to seriously investigate pursuing a life‐long interest in making space tourism possible. Five years on from that, Bezos is worth an estimated $8.2 billion, head of a company that recently offered a 134.8 percent return to shareholders. But Wall Street remains wary.

Offers practical advice from the CEO of Amazon.

Focuses on Amazon and Bezos's continuously successful business philosophy.

This paper aims to provide details of the emerging families of robotic exoskeletons that are aimed at industrial applications.

Following an introduction, this paper considers the reasons for, and benefits of, using robotic exoskeletons in industrial applications. The paper then discusses a range of products and developments and their applications. Finally, brief concluding comments are drawn.

Following earlier military and medical developments, recent years have seen a huge upsurge in interest in industrial robotic exoskeletons. A new generation of products are under development in the USA, the Europe and the Far East by a growing number of companies, and some have entered production. The aim of developing industrial robotic exoskeletons is to assist workers in physically demanding tasks and, thus, reduce the incidence of industrial injuries and associated financial consequences. Several applications have been reported, most notably in the Far East, across a diverse range of industries.

New families of robotic exoskeletons are being developed, and these are poised to exert a major impact on many industries and constitute a significant market opportunity. This paper provides a timely insight into these developments.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors and their commercialisation and to consider a number of recent applications, markets and product developments.

Following an introduction and a brief historical background to MEMS sensors and their commercialisation, the paper describes a selection of recent applications, with an emphasis on high volume uses. Various market figures are included to place these applications in a commercial context. Sensors for both physical variables and gases are considered.

The paper shows that MEMS sensor applications continue to grow in the automotive, consumer electronics and other industries, which consume many millions of sensors annually. New product developments reflect the requirement for smaller and lower-cost sensors with enhanced performance and greater functionality. Markets for physical sensors dominate but MEMS technology is making progressive inroads in the gas sensing field.

This article provides a timely review of a selection of recent MEMS sensor applications, markets and product developments.