HemoCue AB is a multinational corporation targeted on manufacturing point-of-care analysisinstruments for medical treatment. Their main product, the DM 201, is outdated and has bigissues gaining new market shares. For example, no medical treatment center in Sweden usesDM 201 frequently. The project of developing a new instrument to replace it was assignedtwo students at the development engineering program at Halmstad University. The projectalso included integration of the new platform for DM 202 to HemoCue AB:s remainingproducts.The project began by defining the different technical areas concerned.

Assessing the emotional state in animals is important in order to establish the quality of their welfare, therefore it is important to investigate under what circumstances animals experience these emotions and to find indicators of their existence. The aim of this thesis was to detect possible behavioural indicators for positive emotions in dogs. These behavioural indicators could be helpful to increase both dogs? and humans? overall well-being in today?s society since they could help e.g. dog owners and caretakers to interpret behaviours displayed by dogs and their intentions so they can respond accordingly.The subjects used were 9 research beagles and each dog participated in three different treatments, assumed to be experienced as positive situations, where communicative interaction was initiated with the dog by engaging in 1) physical contact (P), 2) verbal contact (V) or 3) both physical and verbal contact simultaneously (PV).

Introduction: Each year 1200-1300 patients are diagnosed with head neck cancer. Treatment that involves radiotherapy can cause severe side effects for example trismus that affects quality of life.Purpose: To study health-related quality of life in patients who have undergone radiation treatment for head and neck cancer and participated in a intervention group who received training intended to prevent trismus or in a control group who received standard treatment.Method: This is a prospective study in which data is collected from 66 patients participating in a randomized study aiming to evaluate a training program to prevent trismus. Thirty three participated in the intervention group and thirty three in the control group. Both patient groups assessed health related quality of life (HRQOL) with EORTC QLQ C30 and QLQ-H&N35, at start and end of the radiation treatment, and at 3 and 6-months after completing radiation treatment.Results: There is no difference between the intervention and control groups regarding symptoms, functional status and global health, except for intake of nutritional supplements.  For both groups almost all scales measuring HRQOL deteriorated under the radiation treatment. However, 3 and 6 months after end of radiotherapy HRQOL had improved and had returned to the baseline values.

Previous studies shows that high-intensity aphasia interventiongives better results than intervention that is less intense. This study evaluateda working model at a hospital in Gothenburg which involve related personsin intervention. The model prescribes daily training in the home. The caseseries design study investigated the effect of intervention on auditorycomprehension, impact on participation and examined how the relatedperson judged that communication was affected. Four participants withsevere aphasia received intervention for 16 weeks, 8 of which includedintensive training at home and at the clinic, while 8 weeks only includedclinical intervention.

This candidate report describes how a group of students can develop a smartphone applicationwithout any prior knowledge in the field. To make the project more realistic there is also a clientwho has requests and wishes regarding the finished product.The document describes the methods used to produce the application and also includesexperiences that the group gained. How the interaction with the client has been performed togain a good understanding of what they wished the product to become is also accounted for.The research questions focus on how the development has proceeded and how one can learnsomething new in a relatively short timespan as a group..

AbstractAim: The aim of this study was to investigate if treatment with ?dry needling? in myofascial triggerpoints (MTrPs) in the rotatorcuff muscles may affect impingement symptoms such as pain during provocative tests, shoulder mobility, and function. The research questions were: Does the value of pain change on the Visual Analog Pain Scale (VAS) between before and after treatment? Do the positive provocative tests for impingement change between before and after treatment? Does the active shoulder mobility change between before and after treatment? Does the self-rated function change between before and after treatment?Method: The study was a prospective randomized intervention study and 19 persons with impingement symptoms (mean ± standard deviation; 58 ± 18 years, and shoulder pain duration 3.9 ± 1.6 months) were randomized into two groups. The groups were tested before, directly after and 3 weeks after treatment.

The purpose of this study was to describe how patients with hemodialysis experience their dialysis treatment. The study was conducted as a qualitative descriptive design. The study is based on six interviews. The interviews were transcribed in their entirety and analyzed according to content analysis inspired by Granheim and Lundman. The result is based on five categories; Stress and requirements, Life-supporting haemodialysis treatment, physical impairments, social constraints and a positive view on haemodialysis.

Jumper´s knee is a common overuse injury due to repetitive microtrauma to the patellar tendon. It is especially common among athletes who are involved in sporting activities that involve jumping or fast running. The term jumper´s knee was adopted after Blazina published his original paper in 1973. Its pathology can be considered as a partial or total rupture of the patellar tendon in one of its three insertions. The aim of this literature study was to review the methods used to treat this condition and the results obtained focusing on pain relief and returning to previous sport or level of activity.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate if elementary school teachers are a vulnerable professional group and if elementary school teachers should be mentally prepared for abusive treatment. Thus determine whether the reduced possibility for certain professionals such as police officers and order guards to obtain compensation for abusive treatment also shall apply for elementary school teachers.To reach that purpose, first the concept of abusive treatment and how compensation for abusive behavior becomes topical have to be straighten out. Then follows an analysis of both the lower possibility to obtain compensation for abusive treatment, but also how elementary teachers can be mentally prepared abusive treatment.It turns out in the conclusion that elementary school teachers are considered vulnerable in relation to the specifications of their work environment and because of that elementary school teachers must be deemed to have knowledge of that they may be subject to abusive treatment. Therefore I believe that elementary school teachers as certain professionals like police officers and order guards may not be granted compensation for every situation of abusive treatment, a lower limit must apply..

Septic tenosynovitis involving the digital sheath is a relatively common problem in the horse and the prognosis has been considered as poor. However, there are only few studies confirming this. The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge about the prognosis for septic tenosynovitis in the digital sheath. The literature indicates that half or a bit more than half of the treated horses will return to previous use. The recommended treatment is debridement of the wound, lavage and sometimes application of drains and broadspectrum antibiotics. The prognosis is considered as worse when the infection is established.

Introduction: Basic Body Awereness Therapy (BBAT) is a treatment developed to treat different kinds of psychiatric diagnoses, but also to prevent the emergence of any other unhealthy conditions. The treatment is aimed to increase the body control and conscious breathing but also requires mental awareness.Aim: The aim of this study is to, based on social cognitive theory, describe patients' experiences of BBAT performed as group therapy.Method: The study design was qualitative with an inductive approach. Five people were interviewed after a BBAT group treatment in primary care. The data was collected by individual interviews with semi-structured questions and the interviews were analysed by qualitative content analysis.Result/Conclusion: The participants experienced increased body awareness and implemented BBAT strategies even though the treatment frequency was insufficient. BBAT was described as helpful used to regulate intensity level, stress management and facilitate breathing.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness training in the treatment of chronic pain, estimate the degree of mindfulness before and after intervention, and to describe the participants experience of mindfulness training. Mindfulness is defined as moment to moment, non-judgmental awareness. After the treatment of chronic pain 16 patients were offered and nine agreed to participate in mindfulness training. The intervention group took part in an 8-week group-program. The comparison group, not randomized, was 16 former patients.

Success in treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy against different types of cancer tumors is limited by side-effects such as hearing loss which can have a large impact on the individual`s quality of life. It is of great importance to continue with studies that address this complex of problems.Objective: The aim of this literature review is to investigate the impact of platinum-based chemotherapy on hearing in children and adolescents treated for different types of cancer.Method: A descriptive review of literature was made based on sources from 15 different studies on the impact of platinum-based chemotherapy on hearing in the target group.Results: The survey of the studies shows that platinum-based chemotherapy causes incidence of hearing loss by differing degree in the target group. Dosage of a platinum-based substance appeared to be the most significant factor. Treatment with both cisplatin and carboplatin was more ototoxic than treatment with only one of these. Greater risk for hearing loss was to a higher degree observed in younger children.

In this study we have investigated how care users in a nursing home experience their possibilities for influence and treatment from the staff. The study was conducted through focus group interviews with six participants who we met on four occasions. Questions the study departs from are: How do users experience their opportunity to influence? How do the users experience the treatment from the staff? The study has a qualitative approach and has been analyzed by means of symbolic interactionism, with an emphasis on the Self. Our results demonstrate that in situations of good treatment there is also a good influence.

Introduction: Anxiety and depression are common among patients enrolled in psychiatric outpatient care. Ear Acupuncture is an alternative form of treatment that has been shown to relieve anxiety and depression in previous studies.Aim: To evaluate ear acupuncture as a group treatment for depression and anxietyMethod: A psychiatric outpatient clinic has been offering group treatments with ear acupuncture for anxiety and depression for 5 weeks. Participants of the study have answered self-rating scales Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory and Sheehan Disability scale before and after the treatment period. Material was collected in the period 2008-2012 and has been analyzed in SPSS.Results: Data from 31 patients were included in the study. The results from the study showed a significant difference, between the measurements before and after treatment, with a reduction of the average values in the three different scales.Summary: From this study, it is difficult to draw any conclusions about the effect of ear acupuncture.