healthcare
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Intel and GE form healthcare joint venture, sluggish Atom-powered home servants on the way
Okay, so maybe we're only half-kidding about the prospective of having home health robots that can barely multitask, but we're hoping that Intel and GE at least have the heart to equip any domicile servants with a Core i3 or stronger. If you haven't heard, the two aforesaid companies have joined hands this week to create a 50/50 joint venture, one that'll result in the creation of a new healthcare company "focused on telehealth and independent living." Financial terms aren't being disclosed, but the goal is pretty simple: "to use technology to bring more effective healthcare into millions of homes and to improve the lives of seniors and people with chronic conditions." It's a bit unclear at this point what all the duo will be creating, but we wouldn't be shocked to see medical tablets, Core i7 980X-based "medical monitoring PCs" and Moorestown-powered "I've fallen and I can't get up!" neck pieces surface in the near future.
MIT's Android optometry app could help you stop squinting all the time (video)
Remember Bokodes, MIT's tiny replacement for barcodes and the like? Their holographic nature enabled them to represent different information from different angles, and it's this property that allows the tech behind them to be used in a very different and even more useful way: figuring out just how busted your vision is. The Camera Culture team at MIT's Media Lab evolved that tech into a $2 box that refracts the image displayed on a smartphone screen. When combined with an app that displays a set of dots and lines, the user can manipulate the image until things look to be perfectly aligned. Once complete, the app spits out a prescription and you're just a quick trip to your local mall-based eyeglasses joint away from perfect vision. The goal is to make it easier for optometrists in developing countries to quickly and easily find glasses for people, but an app that could save a trip to the doctor's office is a wonderful thing regardless of where you are.
Self-assembling nanodevices could advance medicine one tiny leap at a time
Seems like Harvard wasn't content with making robotic bees, and has taken its quest for miniaturization right down to the nanoscale level. One nanometer-wide, single-stranded DNA molecules are the topic of the university's latest research, which sets out a way they can be used to create "3D prestressed tensegrity structures." Should these theoretical scribblings ever pan out in the real world, we could see the resulting self-assembled nanodevices facilitating drug delivery targeted directly at the diseased cells, and even the reprogramming of human stem cells. Infusing a nanodevice with the relevant DNA data passes instructions on to your stem cells, which consequently turn into, for example, new bone tissue or neurons to augment your fleshy CPU. Yes, we're kinda freaked out, but what's cooler than being able to say you're going to the doctor for a shot of nanotransformers?
Robots to invade Scottish hospital, pose as 'workers'
A new £300 million ($445 million) hospital is set to open up soon in Stirlingshire, Scotland. Why would you care about that? Maybe because laser-guided robots will play a fundamental role in the facility's daily running, including the disposal of waste, delivery of meals, cleaning of operating theaters, and (gulp!) drug dispensation. We're told they'll have their own underground lair corridors and dedicated lifts, with humanoid employees able to call them up via a PDA. It's believed that using robots to perform the dirty work will be more sanitary than current methods, but we have to question the sanity of anyone who believes this isn't the first step toward the robot rebellion. Well, it's been nice knowing you guys.
World's first remote heart surgery completed in Leicester, UK
In the past, we've seen robots remove brain tumors and even transplant a kidney or two, and now a cardiologist has completed the world's first remote heart operation at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, UK. Using the Remote Catheter Manipulation System built by New Jersey's Catheter Robotics, Dr. Andre Ng was able to insert electrodes attached to catheters into the heart through blood vessels in the groin. One of the challenges surgeons traditionally face with this kind of procedure is prolonged exposure to the X-Rays used to monitor the patient. By operating remotely, doctors can avoid fatigue and cumulative radiation exposure -- not to mention those bulky lead aprons. "As long as the connection is reliable," Ng told the Financial Times, the operation could be performed over the Internet from anywhere in the world. Just the same, we'd prefer it if our doctor was at least in the same building as he shoved electrodes into out hearts. Don't we at least deserve that much? PR after the break.
New app helps the uninsured find free healthcare
Though The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that President Obama signed into law last month was a huge step in advancing universal health care for Americans, most of the dramatic benefits won't go into affect until 2014 (and even then, it's still not technically "universal"). But until we finally catch up to most of the other developed countries in the world, there's an iPhone app that can help Americans who are uninsured and struggling financially. The Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) was founded in 2005 as a joint effort by America's pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies to help patients find medical programs for which they may be eligible to obtain free or nearly-free medication and services. The PPA has now launched an iPhone and Blackberry app to give patients another resource to find the help they need. The app lets patients scroll through the medicines offered by PPA member programs or locate one of 10,000 free health care clinics across the United States. The PPA app is free and available now in the App Store. For those of you without an iPhone or Blackberry that may need financial assistance in obtaining medication, you can check out the PPA's website or call toll-free 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669) to see if you are eligible for help. Free apps and free health care. What a wonderful world.
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!
Hospitals eye the iPad for low-cost paperless records
Unless you have absolutely no imagination, you've probably noticed the resemblance of the iPad to one of those cheap little clipboards that your friendly neighborhood doctor carries around on rounds. Apple is rumored to be making its own rounds of hospitals marketing the new über-iPod touch, having visited a hospital in LA in the recent weeks. What's so great about tablets for health care? When connected to a Wi-Fi network, they're perfect for looking up medical information or working patient charts while on the move. The iPad in particular would be perfect, having no keyboard to disinfect or lid hinges to break. In addition, the most expensive Wi-Fi iPad is priced at just US$699, while many traditional Windows Tablet PCs used in health care start in the neighborhood of $2,000. Of course, it all depends on the software. We recently received a question from a reader who just happens to be a doctor, asking if he could use an iPad with his existing Windows-based medical record keeping system. The answer was simple; yes, since there are already many VNC and RDP apps available for the iPad that can be used to control a remote PC (examples are Jaadu VNC [iTunes Link] and iTap RDP Client [iTunes Link]. While neither of these vendors has 'fessed up to working on an iPad-specific version of their app, it's only a matter of time. For medical practices using the Mac OS X-based MacPractice system, the company has announced MacPractice Interface for iPad, MacPractice Kiosk for iPad, Dental Chart for iPad, and an iPad-based EMR/EHR app. With a little luck and a big marketing push from Apple, the iPad may make it into hospitals and medical offices around the world. [via MacNN] Update: The author apologizes to all who were offended by the previous image that accompanied this post. Also, please note that the image above is an artists conception and does not indicate that an iPad or any other unsterilized electronic instrument would be used in a hospital environment.
Arterial tandem: coronary drill gets cleared for use, MEMS sensor distinguishes between kinds of plaque
We know discussing things involving "arteries" and "coronary plaque" generally don't do much for one's appetite, but being the holidays and all, we honestly can't think of a more fitting way to remind you not to pig out this evening. Up first is a MEMS-based sensor designed by downright enlightened researchers at the University of Southern California, which is used to "distinguish between stable and unstable atherosclerotic plaques in coronary arteries." The idea here is to more easily determine whether a patient needs immediate surgery or simple lifestyle changes in order to remedy artery issues, though the process is still awaiting clinical approval before it can be used en masse. In related news, Pathway Medical has just received European clearance to sell its Jetstream G2 NXT coronary drill overseas (or "peripheral atherectomy catheter," as it were), which does exactly what you'd expect it to: clear clogged blood vessels in the treatment of PAD. If you're not already grossed out, feel free to tap the links below for more information on head past the break for a couple of video demonstrations. Mmm, honey ham!
iRobot creates new business unit for healthcare robotics
Well, it doesn't have a Roomba that will check up on your vitals just yet, but it looks like iRobot is betting on healthcare robotics in a fairly big way, with it taking advantage of the recent TEDMED conference to announce that it's forming a new business unit focused solely on the still burgeoning industry. That unit will be headed up by Tod Loofbourrow, who says that he believes the business "has the potential to make a significant difference in the field of healthcare," and adds that he thinks "the long-term potential of robotics to extend independent living is profound." While he's just as light on specifics, iRobot CEO Colin Angle is no less ambitious about the company's goals, saying that iRobot's "healthcare mission is add a million years of independent living to our customers." And in case you're wondering, the image at right isn't an iRobot robot, but it is all too real.
Vioguard's self-sanitizing keyboard means maybe we don't all have to die this year
If there's one thing scarier than going to the hospital for some potentially harmful harmfulness, it's getting sicker due to some minor slip-up in the carefully-observed hygiene practices of your own personal Zach Braff M.D. That's where Vioguard's newly shipping UVKB50 self-sanitizing keyboard comes in, with a proximity detector to let a set of freshly sanitized keys slide out for use by a health care professional, which slide back once they're not in use to get re-sterilized with anti-bacterial ultraviolet light. The $899 pricetag isn't too bad given the application, but it probably won't be making our own cubicles safer any time soon. Video of the keyboard in action is after the break.
Baby incubators made from Toyota 4Runner, Aunty Entity would be proud
Developing nations are often the recipients of used, donated baby incubators, as new ones cost about $40,000 each. Often lacking either the technicians or the parts to fix them, however, most of the incubators don't actually work. Enter Jonathan Rosen of Boston University's School of Management, who's ingeniously devised an incubator out of the very abundant Toyota 4Runner. The device is cobbled together using headlights as the heating source, the filters for air purification and the door alarm for emergency notification. The resulting incubator costs about $1,000 to make and can be repaired by auto mechanics, which is obviously good news for hospitals in need. The bad news? Dr. McDreamy's in the garage, "fixing" your car.
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.
RFID "virtual walls" could keep tabs on hospital assets
RFID has long since been a pretty common find in your modern day hospital, but now GE and CenTrak are teaming up to make the technology even more useful in those long, winding hallways. Simply hailed as RFID "virtual walls," the creation enables venues to "track tagged mobile medical equipment down to a portion of a single room." By providing sub-room-level distinction, personnel can locate hardware within a monitored area as tiny as 6- x 8-feet, and although it'll likely be used to locate cardiac defibrillators and portable ultrasound machines, patients could theoretically be tracked, too. The new tech will be shown off at the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) Conference in San Jose next week, though there's no word on how soon the duo will roll this stuff out en masse.[Via medGadget]
White space networking could disrupt hospital telemetry systems
The stumbling blocks keep piling up as white space networking struggles to get off the ground: it looks like the manufacturers of healthcare equipment are set to join NAB in opposing the technology. Wireless medical telemetry devices like heart monitors have been operating in broadcast white spaces since the late 80s, and manufacturers like GE Healthcare say that the Microsoft- and Google-backed white space networking initiative could potentially "directly interfere" and "prevent patient monitoring." For its part, the FCC has set aside all of channel 37 for medical telemetry devices in 1998 after interference from a nearby TV station shut down the system at Baylor University Medical Center, but it wasn't mandatory, and hospitals that haven't made the switch could face millions of dollars in upgrade costs. That's not say that medical telemetry concerns are a problem that can't be solved -- the new Google push includes a channel 37 exception, for example, and there are some other compromise solutions on the table -- but it seems like there's no end of issues for a technology that hasn't really even been demonstrated working yet.
Omron's Okao Catch measures the intensity of your smile
It was inevitable, really. Not even two months after jolly researchers at Kansai University developed a machine to calculate the quantity of a person's laughter comes a new method of measuring just how hard you're cheesing. According to Omron's Yasushi Kawamoto, the Okao Catch technology is able to closely analyze "the curves of the lips, eye movement and other facial characteristics to decide how much a person is smiling." In a recent demonstration, it threw up percentages as people moved in front of a camcorder and began to grin, and while a somber individual did net an astounding score of zero, it doesn't seem that negative numbers are doled out for frowners. Besides being incredibly novel, the creators are hoping that it can be used in the medical field for accurately judging the "emotional state of patients," in robotics for helping androids "decipher human reactions" and in dressing rooms assisting B-list celebs improve their charm.[Via Tarakash]
RTX Telehealth Monitor keeps you in contact with your doctor
We've seen a few remote health monitor concepts, but they all seem like overkill compared to RTX's Telehealth Monitor, which strips things down to the basics. The device wirelessly connects to a range of sensors like blood glucose monitors, scales, and and blood pressure monitors, and sends data to healthcare providers over a phone line connection. In addition, the unit can be programmed to ask diagnostic questions, give dosage reminders, and communicate other information from doctor to patient. Intriguing, but come on -- not even our grandparents have landlines anymore.[Via MedGadget]
Air-driven robotic legs hop, skip and jump
Though we've certainly seen robotic legs that like to get their jump on, a team of researchers at the University of Tokyo have assembled a new two-legged creature that can actually spring up about 50-centimeters on its own -- and land gracefully. The creation is part of a larger project aimed at creating humanoids with cat-like (or just human-like, really) reflexes that can better assist the elderly when used as caregivers. Moreover, this hopper relies on air-driven artificial muscles rather than electric motors, and while we're not sure it could hang with Ronaldinho, it can boot a fútbol when asked.
VeriChip defends its implantable microchips, promises they're safe
Man, that was quick. Just two days after reports hit the net about RFID implants being linked to cancer, VeriChip is lunging out to vehemently defend its own implantable microchip. Interestingly enough, the firm cites phrases from a number of studies to suggest that all is well and we've nothing to fear by getting one of these bad boys inserted into us, and it also makes darn sure we know the thing has been "cleared by the FDA as a Class II Medical Device." Lastly, the company has promised to continue looking at the "veracity and credibility of the studies," and noted that it would "take the necessary steps to ensure that our products remain safe to the end user." Phew, good thing, eh?
Otto Bock's prosthetic C-Leg cleared for battle
It's been quite a while since we've heard anything new on the C-Leg, but German firm Otto Bock has now unveiled a sleeker, stronger, and more military-approved version for those in need of a new leg. The microprocessor-controlled knee joint is "the standard prosthesis issued to US fighters who have lost a leg above the knee," offers up a number of "modes" to best suit your current activity, and includes a wireless remote for switching between those modes. The intelligent system within takes data samples of your gait 50 times per second in order to best adapt to your needs, and the internal hydraulics promise "optimal response" no matter how strenuous or demanding the chore. Of course, buying a leg that seemingly puts these natural ones to shame won't run you cheap, as the newest C-Leg will reportedly cost somewhere in the $30,000 to $40,000 range to have it delivered and fitted.[Via Wired]Read - C-Leg used on American soldiersRead - Product Page
