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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!
GumPack wearable vitals monitor: the new MedicAlert bracelet?
It may not have the charm or good looks of, say, the uBOT-5, but a new wearable vital signs monitor could cut back on doctor's visits for the chronically ill. Produced by a Kansas State University student, the GumPack -- known as such for its size -- is a multi-sensor monitoring device that fits in the palm of your hand and relays vital stats to your doctor via the internet. Along with a built-in camera and microphone for record keeping, as well as WiFi capabilities for connectivity, the battery-powered GumPack will sport various sensors, like a reflectance pulse oximeter or a two-thumb ECG. The monitor is still in the concept stage, and will likely not be available for mass-market distribution for years -- if ever -- but with technology like this in the works, the "I've fallen and I can't get up" lady might as well start looking for a new gig.
Health care and aeronautics industries agree that FCC should set aside bandwidth for dedicated remote patient monitoring system
Mobile body area network (MBAN) technology has the potential to be a boon to the healthcare system of the future by enabling remote patient monitoring through disposable wireless devices -- meaning fewer doctor visits for everyone and great news for latrophobes. Until now, MBAN was opposed by the Aerospace & Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council (AFTRCC) because it utilizes the same radio bands that aircraft manufacturers do when they're testing new planes. AFTRCC didn't want all that medical chatter "polluting their spectrum" but decided to get on board with MBAN when the health care industry promised to create a way to stop signals that disrupt aeronautical traffic. MBAN is a part of the FCC's National Broadband Plan and purports to use short-length radio waves (not unlike Bluetooth) in the 2300 and 2400 MHz range to transmit physiological info to treating physicians -- as opposed to other patient monitors that use web-based communications. MBAN would initially be used in hospitals but could later find its way into residential use by employing home entertainment systems (Wii Fit integration, here we come!) to collect and transmit data. With the FCC expected to decide on the final rules for MBAN later this year, the Intel Health Guide may have some company in the at-home patient monitoring business. We can only hope that the next time the aeronautic and health care industries combine forces, it will take the form of jetpack-wearing doctors making house calls.
Doctor Who's sonic screwdriver is still fiction -- but not forever
Kudos to Bristol University for catching our attention, and doing so in the name of promoting education. Professor of Ultrasonics Bruce Drinkwater is evoking a rather iconic name to better explain how cool science / engineering can be. Though already used in the manufacturing and medical fields -- don't yawn and look away just yet -- Drinkwater expresses some confidence that the future of this technology could very well usher in a pocketable device similar to the sonic screwdriver fancied by a certain former resident of Gallifrey. You know, that do-it-all device that can repair electronic equipment, burn and cut items, fuse metals, scan for information, and render virtually any lock useless... except here we're focusing on ultrasonic sound waves capable of fixing parts together and creating miniature force fields. As for the Time Lord himself, we know of at least one past Doctor who, as joked by a later incarnation, would rather "save the universe using a kettle and some string" (and has, in more recent iterations, pulled out miraculous victories with even a BlackBerry Storm). Point is, you should maybe consider a degree in Physics and an eccentric outfit should you ever find yourself holding a working prototype.
iPads headed into operating rooms along with surgeons
While some hospitals are eying the iPad as a way of going paperless with patient records, Georgetown University is already putting them directly in the operating room and into the hands of its surgeons. Offering real-time access to records and images of patients while inside the operating room, iPads have become "as essential as a scalpel" for surgeons while eliminating guesswork for those taking care of multiple patients each day. "The iPad clearly has the potential to be very useful in the hospital and in the operating theater," says Dr. Felasfa Wodajo in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Surgical Radiology. "The same features which make the iPad great for surfing the web, such as looking at images and viewing video, nicely translate into the operating room." We have written about iPads showing up in Chicago-area hospitals and being offered to hospitals as a campaign promise in Australia, so I think we can safely assume that this trend will only increase as they become more popular outside of medical facilities. I have read a lot about how their use should bring down medical costs for patients. More and more hospitals are realizing just how powerful a tool like the iPad can be. [via American Consumer News]
Australia election campaign promises iPads in every hospital
In what I can comfortably say is a previously unimagined application, the iPad is now being used as an election promise to entice voters in Australia. ZDNet notes that the promise was made last week by Victorian Premier John Brumby as part of a proposed new state health policy, which would see iPads given to every doctor in Victoria's public hospitals, "noting their potential to impact positively on long-term hospital problems such as scheduling across the health ecosystem". Australia-based iSoft, an e-health vendor, has welcomed the policy due to their interest in targeting the iPad for use with its medical applications. Victoria has invested $360 million in an extensive overhaul of its record-keeping systems and iSoft is a key supplier of their efforts. My own dermatologist uses an iPad during exams and has said it makes record keeping much easier for his nurses and assistants. Meanwhile, I just sit there thinking it's cool to see my doctor carrying around an iPad. It's only a matter of time before tablet computing takes over for paper records in medical settings. [via MacDailyNews]
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite title?
In real life, many of us lack a distinguished title. Oh sure, sometimes we get called "Sport" when someone forgets our name, or "Stupid Lady!" when we drive over a dog, but the "Reverends" and "Doctors" and "Honorables" and "Flag Admirals" tend to escape our grasp. What do you have to do to get one of these? Pay a hundred bucks at the DMV? Happily, MMOs are more than willing to dispense titles -- AKA "Name Bling" -- to any and all who show up and perhaps slaughter a town's worth of critters. Warhammer Online, Star Trek Online, Lord of the Rings Online and many of the new MMOs boast a title system. And why not? After all, it's one of the easiest reward systems to throw into the game from the devs' side, and players just go nuts over them. So what title is your absolute favorite, and what did you have to do to earn it? I was always partial to WAR's "AHHHHHHH" title, which was earned by falling to your death 25 times. Because if you're that accident-prone, you might as well get compensated for it. What about you?
Visualized: literally
This eyeball, currently under construction in Chicago's Loop district, is an art project appropriately named "Atraxi" "Eye." Getting into a staring contest could be a deadly affair.
iTriage provides mobile health advice with style
As the clock ticks down on World Health Day, there's an app that we should tell you about: the free iTriage 2.0 for iPhone (now also available for Android, and with a version coming soon for iPad). It's a provider locator, a symptom and disease database, and more. The iTriage story is intriguing enough; the app was created by Dr. Peter Hudson and Dr. Wayne Guerra, practicing emergency physicians who realized that patients and healthcare consumers were facing information deficits at the moments when they most needed clear and accurate guidance around symptoms, conditions and available care facilities. Patients might have to make several calls to different providers -- a PCP, a specialist, and an ER or urgent care location -- to identify the best pathway of care. Hudson & Guerra's approach to reducing this inefficiency was to break down the complexity of more traditional health resource tools and give users several pathways into the massive taxonomy of medical information. With iTriage, the app starts from the most urgent possibilities (the "Call 911" button). It then works its way down through finding immediate care (ER, specialists, etc.), locating a physician, looking up symptoms and conditions, and an exhaustive library of procedure information (including medical web searches, images & video, and eventually average cost details). Beyond the informational bounty of the app, there's a separate layer that combines location awareness and a connection to the hospital systems for certain areas (mostly HCA hospitals in Colorado and Florida for now, but Hudson says the coverage areas are expanding). Hospitals that partner with iTriage's parent company can choose to list additional information, like ER waiting times or areas of excellence, within the app.
Voalté One iPhone and iPad apps streamline healthcare communications
We've posted about the use of both the iPhone and iPad in the healthcare industry before, and there are a number of apps that have been developed to take advantage of the iPhone in hospitals and clinics. One of our readers pointed out that Voalté, a company that specializes in hospital paging and communications, has had a free iPhone app available for over a month. The free Voalté One app works to integrate VoIP calling, text-messaging, and all of the alarms and alerts from patient monitoring systems onto an iPhone or iPod touch. Of course, there's more to using this than just installing the app on an iPhone -- the company designs and builds communication systems for hospitals -- so deploying an iPhone or iPad-based solution isn't exactly "free." Screenshots found in the App Store show the app being used by a nurse to designate available or busy time, sending quick messages with a single tap, and a directory of hospital personnel listed by their current availability. Voalté has also announced a version of the app for iPad. The company realizes that the size of the iPad isn't exactly perfect for nurses on the go, so they're targeting physicians and other clinicians who can benefit from the larger screen real estate for viewing medical images or educating patients. Voalté says that they'll have the iPad app available when the device ships, presumably later this month. Thanks to reader Alex B. for the tip!
5 Apps for the Gastroenterologist
Sometime this summer a wiseacre commenter (we get a few) suggested we do a "Five Apps" for a variety of somewhat offbeat topics. One wasn't so far-fetched however: gastroenterologist. One could say that a gastro doc has about the same needs as any doctor, of course, and that's an easy out. So here are 5 apps that are great for gastroenterologists and possibly any medical specialist... Coming soon: 5 apps for the lemur owner. Epocrates Rx - This free app looks up drugs and is updated weekly. Epocrates [iTunes link] has already been available for other mobile platforms for a while, this is a must-have for physicians, I would think. There's also a Pro version that is designed for medical professionals, and it requires a yearly subscription fee to work. It's $99 for one year, which is pretty reasonable for what this does -- which includes an amazing pill ID tool. DocWrite - Another free app with a service you subscribe to, but this may appeal to more than doctors. DocWrite [iTunes link] is a transcription service that sends your ramblings securely and sends you back a complete transcription in PDF or Word. DocWrite has a web-based dashboard for your stuff, too, so you'll never be without those documents in text or audio. PubSearch - PubMed is a massive database of medical research papers and PubSearch (free version) [iTunes link] is an iPhone app that'll search them. Yes, of course you need a subscription to the database (noticing a trend here?). PubSearch also has a Mac desktop app, although there does not seem to be any coordination between the two. I'd imagine something like sharing bookmarks would be helpful. PubSearch Plus [iTunes link] costs $1.99 and is really the more functional version as it will show full articles and use EZProxy (where supported). Medcalc - A free medical calculator? Yep, Medcalc [iTunes link] includes a ton of formulas for doctors, plus a few indices and charts and whatnot to keep a handy reference for those who need it. This app seems to cover a lot of ground, although I'm not sure how much applies to the field of gastroenterology. Mobile MIM for iPhone and iPod touch - Sadly, this has yet to be released. But I'm guessing it'll be at the top of many doctors' wish lists. MIMvista makes real-deal medical imaging stuff and the MIM app for iPhone was demonstrated at WWDC. The demo was astounding, showing how doctors could merge CT and PET scans right on their iPhone and make notes for later use. The app is pending FDA approval, with no release date or price set.
Wii Check-up Channel will link you to health professionals, Dr. Mario
It was inevitable we guess what with everyone plus your grandma using the Wii. Now Nintendo Japan has announced a new Wii "Check-Up" channel that acts as a health guidance system between you and health professionals. Scheduled for an April launch, the system developed in partnership with Hitachi, NEC, Panasonic and a health insurance company is said to provide 2-way communication between users and health leaders who'll provide "healthy guidance" to otherwise Cheeto-stained gamer-types. The service appears to be compatible with both Wii Fit and its Balance Board as well as NEC's mobile phone health platform for checking progress or accessing advice remotely. It also appears to be usable anonymously. We'll update you just as soon as we get all these Japanese press releases translated. [Via Akihabara News and NeoGAF]Read -- NECRead -- Nintendo
Wii blamed for ridiculous increase in British hospital visits
Nintendo's Wii has been maiming careless gamers since the day it was launched, but an inexplicable uptick in Britain has professionals scratching their heads. According to Dr. Dev Mukerjee of Broomfield Hospital: "There has been a 100 percent increase in patients complaining of Wii-itis." Turns out, Wii-itis is their word for playing so much Wii that you injure yourself. Astonishingly, up to ten people per week are being "hospitalized with injuries caused by playing Nintendo Wii games," which has forced medical personnel to "issue warnings of the dangers associated with the video game system." Some of the most common injuries are Wii-knee (seriously) and tendon stretching / tearing, both of which could likely be avoided if gamers would bother to stretch before breaking a sweat. Sheesh -- what do folks even learn in Physical Education these days?
British surgeon saves life by obeying SMS instructions
Not that we haven't seen text messaging save a life before, but this situation was clearly more intense than anything we've heard of in the past. British vascular surgeon David Nott was volunteering in the Democratic Republic of the Congo when faced with a 16-year-old boy that had "his left arm ripped off." With the knowledge that it was "badly infected and gangrenous," he relied on SMS instructions from a colleague in England in order to perform a forequarter amputation. Out of respect for your stomach, we'll spare you the details (believe us, plenty are in the read link), but the end result was that the boy was able to survive thanks to the text-based how-to guide. Who says messaging has no practical purpose?[Via textually]
Comprehensive Intel Health Guide seeks to provide in-home health monitoring
In-home medical monitoring systems are far from new, but everyone takes notice when a firm like Intel formally announces that it's diving in headfirst. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Intel is gearing up to launch a series of trials with health-care organizations in order to "show whether the new tools bring improved results in treating conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease." More specifically, the Intel Health Guide -- which includes a "simplified computer and software system that are designed to help elderly people and other patients monitor and manage their conditions at home" -- will connect to medical equipment and then transmit that information with specified individuals (namely health professionals) over the 'net. Admittedly, the initiative is far from being implemented in non-trial form, but it should be good to go by the time you start forgetting things and kvetching about the taste of your tap water.[Via PC World]
Dr. Touch: exactly like what you think, except not at all
The age of the house call is long gone, and until we manage to replace all our bodily organs with cybernetic proxies, medical gadgets are our only hope to minimize those pesky office visits. The Health PHS5000 (aka Dr. Touch) from LG and Intel isn't the first of its kind, but it is the latest such device, and it's been recently introduced exclusively in Japan to begin medical trials. The little white box with a friendly UI (smileys mean you're not dead yet, we presume) can track things like blood pressure and sugar levels, and will even send reports to your doctor's office -- meaning your terminal laziness can reach astronomical new heights... er, lows. It's perfect for the disabled or merely reclusive, and with any luck will be hacked soon to allow Wii Fit integration.
Colorizing technology highlights cancerous tissue
In operating rooms today, cancer surgeons are essentially forced to operate without any definitive way of determining whether or not 100% of the diseased tissue has been removed. Thanks to a radical invention by researchers in Massachusetts, that huge limitation could soon be a thing of the past. A new system, dubbed FLARE (Fluorescence-Assisted Resection and Exploration), involves a near-infrared (NIR) imaging system, a video monitor, and a computer. These tools are used to see special chemical dies (christened NIR fluorophores) that are crafted to "target specific structures such as cancer cells when injected into patients." When these dyes are exposed to NIR light, the cancer cells light up, giving doctors an easy look at what they have left to remove. The team is gearing up to showcase the technology at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Philadelphia -- here's hoping it can be put to good use in the very near future.
Study: Playing WoW makes you a better surgeon
The American Psychological Association has released a study of surgeons (why they chose surgeons to study, who knows) that says surgeons who play World of Warcraft and other video games can make them a better surgeon overall. Not only does controlling a game character give you better motor skills, but playing an involved and complicated game can, not surprisingly, can make you a better analytical thinker and problem solver. Surgeons who played videogames (though they don't mention how much or how often) were faster at advanced surgical procedures and make fewer errors than surgeons who didn't.So does this mean that playing videogames can replace education entirely? Not so fast, back to schoolers -- apparently playing games also makes things not so complicated seem not so interesting. While leading a pickup group in Karazhan will definitely help your problem solving abilities (though probably not your stress levels), it will make it harder for you to do things like settle down and study a book. As with everything, moderation is the key.
The Digital Continuum: Pondering Star Trek Online
As a kid, I grew up on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Mostly because my parents watched it constantly, but also because I found that I enjoyed the show. Another staple of my nerd-influenced upbringing was a steady diet of Star Trek movies. Since those formative years I've also watched Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, Voyager and more recently Battlestar Galactica. So it's safe to say I'm at least a casual sci-fi and space nerd. In fact, when I'm not entrenched in some form of entertainment, I tend to spend my extra time over at the official website of Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Of course Star Trek has never been purely about Science. It's always been -- to me, at least -- a mixture of social-political issues, engaging drama and several degrees of actual science. Different writers and directors have, over several decades, writ large their envisioned versions of Star Trek, with varying amounts of the three critical factors that make up a Star Trek experience. So, obviously, I now find myself wondering what Cryptic Studio's massively multiplayer online version is going to be like.
WoW player more ashamed than porn addict
It's not the first time WoW addiction has been addressed, and it won't be the last. This one, however, is a nice change from some more sensational pieces. In an interview with The Boston Globe, well-known psychiatrist Dr. Jerald Block discusses what he calls "pathological computer use." His clients, he says, can be "more ashamed of playing World of Warcraft than looking at porn." These kind of interviews aren't uncommon, like the CNN editorial from a few months ago. However, a few things about Dr. Block's interview struck me as pretty well-balanced. First, Dr. Block has quibbles about the phrase addiction. He feels that word addresses the wrong issues and nuances. Dr. Block prefers "pathological computer use." In my opinion, that word indicates the game itself isn't the problem, but instead the manner in which the person uses the game.Dr. Block also discusses a patient who was very successful at EVE Online. After a fairly disastrous event, he felt betrayed by everyone he knew in the game. Dr. Block spells out the problem isn't only how subject deals with that issue, but that the subject's (out-of-game) friends can't understand. What might be a legitimate, troublesome event is being related-to by people who don't have context to an individual issue. Of course, while it probably ended the player's addiction -- I don't know if I'd list this kind of disaster as a way to quit playing WoW.It's a refreshing view on WoW addiction, and worth a bit more look at Dr. Block's web site.
