Case Study: An Information System for Use in Surveillance Rounds

Case Study: Information System for Monitoring Rounds Equipment installed within the facilities of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) will be monitored to ensure safe operation. The critical components are continuously monitored and controlled by the automation system, but most of the unsupported support devices are inspected daily without using information technology (IT). Instead, the technician performs a surveillance tour to verify that the device is functioning correctly within the specified parameters.

Several innovative monitoring systems are in use or under development. For example, ESSENCE is an automatic syndrome surveillance system that was originally dependent on existing automated healthcare information systems at Colorado State University and Virginia State. Since September 11, ESSENCE has expanded to more than 300 installations all over the world. Every 24 hours, download and automatically analyze 30,000 dynamic diagnostics from these various devices, prioritize them based on the expected value of historical data and visualize using GIS. However, none of the systems currently under development may be sufficient on its own. The best solution is a system that is sufficiently sensitive to detect certain conditions and even small bursts.

Case Study: Information System for Monitoring Rounds Equipment installed within the facilities of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) will be monitored to ensure safe operation. The critical components are continuously monitored and controlled by the automation system, but most of the unsupported support devices are inspected daily without using information technology (IT). Instead, the technician performs a surveillance tour to verify that the device is functioning correctly within the specified parameters.

Initial video surveillance systems were unable to record and store information, so continuous monitoring was taking place. Development of reel-to-reel media enables recording of surveillance video. These systems require manual tape replacement, which is a time-consuming, expensive and unreliable process that the operator must manually screw the tape from the reel through the recorder into the empty reel. Because of these shortcomings, video surveillance is not universal. VCR technology began to appear in the 1970's, recording and deleting information became easier, and the use of video surveillance became more common.