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Google chief believes he can save '100,000 lives' a year with access to medical records
If you think that Google has got enough of your personal data, think again. In an interview with the New York Times, Larry Page has said that he wants access to your medical records, but don't worry, it's all for your own good. In describing how Google's services frequently outrage privacy advocates before their potential (and usefulness) is known, the company chief said that regulations surrounding patient data is harming people. In fact, Page makes the bold claim that if Google was given the right to mine healthcare data, it'd "probably save 100,000 lives next year." It's a bold claim, but isn't it the same line that the NSA has taken over the last few months?
NY State to launch a patient portal that gives residents access to health records
If you've ever wished you had more immediate access to your health records beyond just asking your doctor for a copy, then you might want to consider a move to New York State. Dr. Nirav Shah, NY state's commissioner of health, has announced that New York will be the first state in the country to launch a new patient portal that'll give you access to your health records from the comfort of your home. Created by Mana Health and the New York eHealth Collaborative, the portal will incorporate information from the Statewide Health Information of New York (SHIN-NY) plus the state's All Payer Database. Shah also promises that all data will be interoperable so that records from different doctor's IT systems will play nice together. You won't just be able to view them either; Shah says that said data can also be plugged into third-party apps and services in case you want to manage your health in more detail.
The Summoner's Guidebook: It takes skill to right-click stuff in League of Legends
I've mentioned in passing that my favorite role on Summoner's Rift is ADC, otherwise known as "AD Carry" or "ranged DPS." This might be a bit of a surprise for some of you. Typically in League of Legends, the jungler is the playmaker, and if not, the support is. The playmaker roles seem like more suited to me, especially because I write guides on how to make plays. The ADC is the opposite of a playmaker. She's incredibly reactionary, relying on others to start things so she can finish them. Bruisers, tanks, junglers, mages, and supports all have tools to make things happen, but not the ADC. I didn't learn to love carrying right away. It was sort of an evolutionary process, moving from support to mid to never-playing-SR-again to top to jungle to ADC. One of the things I love about ADC is that you can't be good at it starting out. You can be better than the people you're playing against, but you can't be good at it at all. The huge technical curve, more than anything else, is what attracts me to the role.
How Apple's mobile devices are re-defining medicine
The New York Times examines how Apple's iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad are changing the way the health industry works. Of course, a light, powerful, and simple touchscreen computer can be handy almost anywhere, but that's especially true in the field of medicine. Much of the work involves reference materials and careful measurements, and Apple's little devices are quickly becoming many doctors' first step in helping patients. From huge reference books slimmed down into easy-to-access apps and websites, to special accessories designed to measure specific patient conditions. In fact, the Times notes, some professors of medicine are cautioning their students to remember that they have more tools at their disposal than just that iPhone in their pocket. Examining and dealing directly with the patient is always a priority, obviously, and some doctors in the piece say certain tasks just call for a good old fashioned pen and paper. But Apple's iOS devices are certainly great tools to be used in the medical field, as we've seen before. Apps and accessories both, in conjunction with Apple's great computers, are just adding more and more weapons to doctors' growing arsenal of tools to do their jobs.
Sony unveils first medical-grade OLED monitor, surgery gets rendered in all-too-vivid color
OLED screens are virtually everywhere, and they're steadily getting bigger, but it was tough to find any in hospitals until now. While Sony's 25-inch PVM-2551MD might not have the most glamorous name, it's the first and only OLED monitor with FDA approval for use in surgery. No, it's not just to give the doctor something more pleasing (or disgusting) to look at while she's removing a gallstone -- the organic display can be a genuine help for surgery through the higher contrast, virtually non-existent blur and more faithful color reproduction versus the LCDs it's meant to replace. Us patients likely won't see the now-shipping 2551MD for much longer than it takes to go unconscious, so it might be hard to appreciate; if it helps surgeons finish operations faster and with fewer mistakes, however, we could all reap the rewards.
FCC grants radio spectrum to muscle-stimulating wireless devices for paralysis patients
The medical community is all smiles today, because the FCC has decided to allocate a chunk of radio spectrum for potentially life-altering wireless devices. Designed for stroke patients and those suffering from brain or spinal cord injuries, these so-called medical micropower networks (MMN) use a set of implanted electrodes and a wearable wireless controller to stimulate the muscles of a paralyzed user. In a statement issued last week, the FCC announced that these devices have been approved for use within the 413 to 457MHz range, as requested in a petition from the Alfred Mann Foundation, which has already constructed several prototype MMN systems. The organization's CEO, David Hankin, immediately lauded the ruling, adding that the Foundation now plans to launch trials of MMN systems on humans, in the hopes of receiving clearance from the FDA. "The FCC's decision removes the most significant roadblock to helping people," Hankin said. "The frequency that has been approved for use is the most efficient for penetrating tissue with radio waves and without which the new generation of our implantable neurostimulator technology would be impossible to advance." The significance of the occasion wasn't lost on FCC chairman Julius Genachowski, either. "These broadband-enabled technologies are life-changing, impacting individuals, families, and communities in ways we can only begin to imagine," Genachowski said in a prepared statement. His sentiments were echoed in remarks from fellow commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who heralded the decision as "one of the most important the commission has adopted during my tenure," citing its potential to "greatly improve the lives of those who are faced with some of today's most difficult medical challenges."
Scientists find less damaging defibrillation method, heart tissue relieved
Good news, aging Earthlings: a team of researchers have found a way to shock a coding patient's heart, while leaving other organs and tissues undamaged from the defibrillator. The device send a single high voltage pulse of electrical energy to a patient's chest in order to fix an irregular or nonexistent heart beat; traditionally, what often results is damage to point of contact and surrounding skin cells, muscles and tissues, but a team of whiz kids have seemingly figured out a way to dodge the dreadfulness. Led by scientists Stefan Luther and Flavio Fenton, the team claims that by using a series of five pulses of less potent shocks (instead of a single concentrated charge), docs can see an 84 percent reduction in damaging power. This new technology -- coined low-energy antifibrillation pacing (LEAP) -- can also be used in implanted defibrillators, not just the well-known flappy paddles. Due to the relatively low emissions, both the patient and such implants have extended lives. And that, friends, is good for us all -- given the impending Robot Apocalypse, we'll be needing those extra years just to hold down the fort.
London's E-Health Cloud program will send patient records to the stratosphere next month
You'd think that the recent spate of high-profile cyberattacks would've deterred the healthcare industry from sending patient records to the cloud -- but you'd be wrong. Beginning next month, all data on patients at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital will be stored in a centralized database, accessible from any computer, smartphone or tablet. Under the National Health Service's pilot program, known as E-Health Cloud, patients will be able to decide which doctors, nurses or family members can view their records, allowing them to easily share their data with other specialists. Flexiant, the Scottish software company that developed the platform, hopes to eventually expand it to other treatment phases, including assisted living, and insists that its system will help the NHS save money in the long-term. Security, however, will likely prove critical to the program's success. Users will have to pass multiple ID checkpoints to access the database, but privacy-wary Londoners might demand protection a bit more robust than an automated bouncer. You won't need to adhere to a dress code to view the full PR, available after the break.
NYU medical center goes sci-fi, scans patients' palms
NYU's Langone Medical Center is getting a jump on that whole 21st-century medical care thing by ditching the clipboards and paperwork for palm scans and digital databases. On June 5th the hospital threw the switch on an electronic patient-tracking program from Epic Systems and paired it with biometric identification technology from PatientSecure, which scans the veins in persons hands using near-infrared light. Instead of being forced to fill out forms with your insurance info and social security number every time you visit, you simply place your hand on a scanner and -- ta-da! -- your records come right up. By combining the vasculature scans (which are even more unique than fingerprints) with patient photos, NYU should be able to minimize misidentification and cut down on duplicate records. Rather than go out on some cheesy pun about palm reading, we'll leave the predictable word play to the folks at ABC news -- check out their coverage after the break alongside PR from the Langone Medical Center.
IBM's Jeopardy-winning supercomputer headed to hospitals. Dr. Watson, we presume?
We always knew that Watson's powers extended well beyond the realm of TV trivia, and now IBM has provided a little more insight into how its supercomputer could help doctors treat and diagnose their patients. Over the past few months, researchers have been stockpiling Watson's database with information from journals and encyclopedias, in an attempt to beef up the device's medical acumen. The idea is to eventually sync this database with a hospital's electronic health records, allowing doctors to remotely consult Watson via cloud computing and speech-recognition technology. The system still has its kinks to work out, but during a recent demonstration for the AP, IBM's brainchild accurately diagnosed a fictional patient with Lyme disease using only a list of symptoms. It may be another two years, however, before we see Watson in a white coat, as IBM has yet to set a price for its digitized doc. But if it's as sharp in the lab as it was on TV, we may end up remembering Watson for a lot more than pwning Ken Jennings. Head past the break for a video from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, which, along with Columbia University, has been directly involved in IBM's program.
Somnus Sleep Shirt watches while you sleep, won't be creepy about it (video)
Monitoring sleep patterns usually involves a hydra of sensors that keep track of brain activity, muscle movements and heart rates, but a startup called Nyx Devices has developed a new night shirt that can evaluate the quality of a user's slumber by analyzing only breathing patterns. The form-fitting Somnus Sleep Shirt is embedded with two sensors that keep track of a person's overnight breathing and transmit this information to a small data recorder, which slides into the lower corner of the nightie. When a user wakes up, he or she can upload their stats to Nyx's website, where they can generate more detailed analytics and log their caffeine and alcohol intake to find out how all those martini lunches affect their snoozing. Co-inventor Matt Bianchi, a sleep neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, thinks the Somnus could help patients suffering from insomnia, who often have difficulty determining how much shuteye they actually get. It's worth noting, though, that this exclusively respiratory approach is still considered experimental and Nyx still has to conduct a few at-home tests before bringing the shirt to market next year, hopefully for less than $100. Until then, we'll just keep tossing and turning in our Spider Man jammies. Stroll past the break for an appropriately soporific video.
UCSF's robotic pharmacy automatically distributes medication, scrutinizes human error (video)
Robots are slowly taking over the world, right? Well, their latest conquest is the pharmacy. The UCSF Medical Center has implemented three robotic pill-dispensing machines that handle and prepare medication that's dangerous to the common human. The process works as follows: doctor writes a prescription, hospital clerk sends it over to pharmacist, pharmacist enters slip into the computer, robot picks up it and does the dirty work. The automated machine will grab the proper dosage, package it and slap a label indicating instructions and patient info. Rather than fearing for their jobs (or lives), the folks at the UCSF at are excited about this robot-takeover 'cause it increases the time care-givers spend with patients while allowing pharmacists to work more efficiently with physicians in determining what medication to supply. The most impressive thing, we think, is that our robot pals have not had a single error since preparing 350,000 doses of meds. Take that, meatbags!
The Daily Grind: How much grind is too much?
Grind. There's no mechanic in MMOs quite as discussed, debated and decried. Some people dread it, feeling that having any form of recognizable grind in an mmo just destroys the experience for them. Others actually enjoy it, when there's only a little of it at a time, or it's for a recognizable goal, such as grinding materials to level tradeskills or grinding instances to get a certain drop. For still others, who seemingly have the patience of a saint, they'll take pretty much any amount of grind dished out just to continue playing a particular game, grinding for hours, days, weeks, months to accomplish the smallest of things. This morning we thought we'd ask - at what point does a particular game cross from merely difficult or time-consuming to 'grind' for you? Or are they pretty much one in the same? Are you OK with some small amount of grind, or does it send you running for the cancel account/uninstall the second you experience it? How much grind is too much?
Wii continues role as physical therapist
A Reuters article examines one Franklin Perry, a 51-year-old man currently working to regain his strength after suffering a stroke. Though conventional therapy still mainly aids him at the Ohio State University Medical Center's Dodd Hall Rehabilitation Hospital, spending time with Nintendo's Wii has waggled its way into his list of prescriptions. Therapists are encouraging the patients at the hospital to play 30 minutes a day, two to three times a week, noting that the energetic input not only benefits recovery, but keeps older people from rolling their eyes in boredom and lapsing into back in my day states. "The idea of sitting there fiddling a couple of buttons on a video game (controller) is not motivating or interesting at all," explains occupational therapist Robbie Winget. As for Mr. Perry, he's just keen on heading home and getting a Wii of his own. "I wish I could find one," he says in startling unison with every parent this holiday. "Anybody that's over who wants to play can play. If not, I'll be on that thing all by myself." We just hope someone has the foresight to warn him about Cruis'n, lest he exchange physical therapy for mental reconstruction.
Therapists, Army tap Wii for patient rehab
While the Wii has done an admirable job getting gamers to flail their arms and smash home appliances, it's the console's seemingly never-ending stream of minigames that has many of us here shaking our heads rather than our limbs. However, this is not the case for all would-be gamers, as a new report finds that the Wii has become part of a new physical therapy regiment at a medical facility in Minneapolis, where doctors have begun looking to the Wii as a means to help stroke victims on the road to recovery as they attempt to re-learn movements they used to know by playing games like Wii Sports.Not only that, but the same report notes that the Army has likewise enlisted the Wii, noting that the little console that could is being used to help injured soldiers in Landstuhl, Germany regain some of their strength by playing games on the Wii. This is of course encouraging news, not just for those being helped, but also for video games in a more general sense, as we welcome anything that paints the business in a more positive light.[Thanks Joseph]
Robotic patient aurally, visually informs you of its ailments
As if treating a mannequin that can bleed and even flat line on you wasn't stressful enough, researchers at Gifu University's Graduate School of Medicine are hoping to make your residency even harder to manage. A newfangled robotic dummy packs a potent artificial brain, as it can reportedly "respond verbally to questions about how it feels and move its body in ways that exhibit the symptoms of its ailment." The current prototype is modeled after a female who honestly looks to have had one incredibly rough day week, and while it wasn't clear if instructors could program the android to act out only a certain number of understood illnesses, we're sure the library of problems will grow with time. Currently, the bot is being trailed to see if it will indeed prove to be a valuable learning tool to eager med students, and if all goes well, it should "become part of the curriculum next year."[Via PinkTentacle]
360 dashboard update to be ready by morning
The long awaited 360 dashboard update is finally coming, arriving by invite for most Stateside gamers sometime early tomorrow morning.The update will actually begin to go out by 2:00 AM PT, but, according to Major Nelson, it "can take up to four hours for a user to be prompted to receive this update," so the invitation to download the small-in-size (but large-in-scope) update could arrive as late as 6:00 AM PT.Patient gamers can look forward to 125 new features for their cream-colored Xboxes, including the ability to queue multiple Marketplace downloads, keep your place in DVDs, and even fast-forward to just the choicest parts of videos (like the one featuring the titular Tomb Raider above). Plan your evening and/or morning accordingly, folks.See also: A video tour of the Xbox Live Spring update 360 BC update "in the next few weeks" [Thanks to everyone who sent this in; also via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
