References: from circuit board to live operation.

1x1-MedCare: analysis of joint ultrasound according to HEAD-US

Background

In haemophilia, repeated joint bleeds lead to haemophilic arthropathy, progressive joint damage. The HEAD-US score (Haemophilia Early Arthropathy Detection with Ultrasound) detects this damage early by ultrasound and records it in a reproducible scoring system. Clinical studies need image processing, structured recording of findings and a longitudinal database that links scans to clinical endpoints.

Our contribution

• Design, development and rollout of the complete analysis software
• Recording of findings according to the HEAD-US protocol: synovial hypertrophy, cartilage and bone damage, standardised per joint
• Patient and study database with history across treatment periods of several years
• Visualisations and reports on the effectiveness of new prophylaxis therapies
• Participation in the scientific analysis, which led to the co-authorship

What the software does

It records the HEAD-US score for all six major joints in three domains, keeps each patient’s ultrasound history over years and links findings to clinical endpoints for real-world evidence analyses. Comparisons between examiners stay reproducible, a requirement for clinical publications.

Publications

Publication 2015: first correlation of the standardised HEAD-US score with joint function in haemophilia patients. Publication 2025: real-world evidence report on a patient with haemophilia B, in whom ultrasound follow-up under a new prophylaxis shows that joint damage has stopped progressing. Both with co-authorship by 1x1 IT-Solutions.

Method

HEAD-US assesses elbows, knees and ankles and is now part of the EHC and ISTH guidelines for haemophilia care. Its strengths are reproducibility between examiners and suitability for follow-up over years.

Disclosure: As part of the 2015 publication, fees and research funding from the client were disclosed. The scientific assessment is carried out independently according to the standards of the publication. Our contributions are technical in nature.

Light and smoke from the advertising screen

Background

For the launch of a new series season, the LED screen on Kurfürstendamm was not just to show images but to act as a stage: real light and smoke effects were to burst into the street scene at exactly the right moment, in sync with the animated spot.

Task

The advertising company’s playout platform controlled the spots centrally. What was missing was a bridge that sends precisely timed signals from playback to spotlights and fog machines, without touching the running system.

• Effect no more than a few milliseconds behind the spot
• Fail-safe over several weeks of campaign time
• Integration without a custom extension of the platform
• Control of all effects devices, expandable with further actuators

Our contribution

• Circuit design, component selection and layout for continuous operation
• In-house manufacture of the circuit board, including assembly and housing
• Firmware that converts network signals to the actuators in real time
• Mounting at the large LED screen and wiring of the light and fog actuators
• Setting up the signal chain together with the platform’s support team
• Testing and acceptance during the running campaign

Three-stage design

The platform sends a signal when the spot starts. The 1x1-Bridge (our own circuit board and firmware) receives it and triggers the spotlights and fog machines frame-accurately. Depending on the environment, communication runs over UDP, MQTT or HTTP. Each stage stays replaceable, and failures stay limited to one stage.

Steam from the coffee cup on the screen

Background

For the launch of a new product line, the spot showed a coffee cup from which real steam was to rise into the city air, as if freshly brewed.

Our contribution

• The 1x1-Bridge was used again, adapted to the fog actuators of this installation
• Exact signal sequences, so that the steam rises from the screen in sync with the spot
• Mounting at the large LED screen and wiring of the fog machine
• Connection to the platform’s running configuration, together with its support team

Developed once, used many times

The solution uses the same architecture as the 2023 project. The reusable 1x1-Bridge has thus run in campaigns for different brands.

Billboard monitoring without cameras

The system has been in continuous use for years and reports lighting faults in real time. Hardware, server and alerting are all in production.

Problem

Illuminated advertising sites are a contractual obligation after dark. If the light fails and is only noticed on the next inspection round, the advertising company loses hours to days of advertising impact and revenue. Cameras are ruled out in public spaces, because recording third parties without consent is not permitted under the GDPR and the BDSG (German Federal Data Protection Act). On top of that, the sites are spread across areas of the city without a network connection.

Solution

Each billboard has a monitoring box: our own circuit board with a GSM modem and sensors that measure only the lighting, not the surroundings. If the lighting fails, the box sends a text message to a central server. The server alerts the people responsible, depending on shift, time of day and location, by a call through the phone system, by text message or by email. A call does not get lost in the on-call inbox.

• Level 1: complete lighting failure, immediately critical
• Level 2: individual faulty lamps, prepared via OneWire brightness sensors for each lamp

Our contribution

• Circuit design of the box with GSM modem and sensor connection
• In-house manufacture of the circuit boards, rugged housing for outdoor use
• Firmware with thresholds, self-monitoring and regular heartbeat signals
• Our own server software for analysis and multi-level alerting
• Connection to the client’s phone system for automatic alert calls
• Operation and maintenance over several years

Why it is still running today

• GSM and SMS still get through when LTE or 5G data fails
• No cloud: the server is at the client’s premises, so no service can be discontinued under it
• Sensors, transmission, analysis and alerting are separate and can be replaced individually
• Without cameras, there are no follow-on data protection costs and no permit risks when sites change