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eT-shirt from España looks after your heart, minds its bedside manners (video)
Spain -- the land of pasión, jamón ibérico and flamenco is throwing a stylish solución towards the medical community's way. Researchers at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid have created an intelligent eT-shirt (looks more like a tank top to us) for biomonitoring of hospital patients. The wearable, washable chaleco is embedded with electrodes that monitor its wearer's vitals, and a removable thermometer and accelerometer for the collection of temperature and positioning data. A separate in-pocket GPS dongle is also used to locate individuals "within a two-meter margin of error," but the team plans to incorporate this localizer directly into the shirt in future iterations. Tested at the Cardiology unit of Madrid's Hospital Universitario La Paz, the collaborative LOBIN (Locating & Biomonitoring by means of Wireless Networks in Hospitals) project prototype could help reduce in-patient stays, delivering SMS alerts to off-site, connected medical staffs. No word on whether this'll be offered in S, M, L or XL, but hey, at least that black is slimming. ¿Hablas español? Pues, skip past the break for a video tour of the form-fitting device.
iTriage 3.0 adds live wait times for acute care facilities, medicine information and more
When TUAW last talked with the folks behind iTriage, it was shortly before World Health Day in 2010, and the app had just updated to version 2.0 with a version for Android. A little more than 16 months later, iTriage has hit version 3.0 with a plethora of changes and new features such as: Expanded disease treatment support where people can select a symptom and find the right doctor based on the symptom, care facility or prescription. Mapped medications where you can select a problem, such as a cough or cold, find the cause, then peruse medications and possible treatments. More than 1,000 common prescriptions and over-the-counter medications are listed to date. Search for urgent care facilities and see live wait times for acute care. Pre-registration and appointments rolled out. Updated interface adding improved provider search and access to key nationwide emergency hotlines and 911. Dr. Peter Hudson, one of the app's creators, told me that more than 700 hospitals, 400 urgent care clinics and 14,000 doctors are providing data for iTriage, and the number is growing. While I was hard-pressed to find participating physicans and hospitals in the Harrisburg area, I got a good glimpse of the new features by switching the location to Denver. Several of the hospitals listed live wait times for both pediatric and regular emergency care. One had the appointment/pre-registration list deployed. Check out these new features in the gallery below. %Gallery-131117% The app is extremely well-regarded, and it's easy to see why. I'm still feeling my way around central Pennsylvania, and it's nice to see where a hospital or pharmacy is close to me should I need it. "We're trying to make it really simple for people," Hudson said. The app is closing in on 3 million downloads spanning both iOS and Android, Hudson said. What'e more, 60 percent of those who have downloaded the app keep it on their mobile device, which Hudson said is 18 times higher than the average app retention. Future plans include additional functionality for consumers to connect with health care providers and with people in the same area who have suffered like injuries. iTriage 3.0 is a free download in the App Store.
Tiny RFID amulet stores medical records, makes paramedics' lives easier
Using RFID to store medical records, ultimately making the jobs of paramedics and doctors that much easier, is hardly a new concept. But, for the most part, such devices have been limited to clinical trials. Asahi Kasei Corp. is hoping to change that with the debut of a tiny, 3cm-square charm that can be read by a computer or smartphone. In addition to basic info, such as name, birth date, and blood type, the chip could transmit links to more storage-intensive data like X-rays images. Instead of building out a proprietary system, the company is relying on established technology called FeliCa from Sony. That means the device will enjoy broad compatibility with existing products, and should be inexpensive to produce. Asahi Kasei hopes to begin selling the medical amulets to cities and hospitals within a year, for as little as ¥2,000 (around $25).
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.
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.
iPhone and iPad are preferred by physicians says survey
Next time you visit your doctor and poke around his or her office, chances are you'll see an iPhone or an iPad lying around. A survey of 3,700 physicians by QuantiaMD reveals the iPad and the iPhone are the preferred mobile devices among those in the medical profession. According to the survey results, 83% of physicians own a smartphone. Of those with a smartphone, 59% have an iPhone and 29% have an iPad. About 44% of those physicians without a smartphone expect to buy one in 2011. What will they choose? 39% said they plan to buy an iPhone and 27% plan to buy an iPad. How does Android compare? Only 20% see an Android handset in their future, while a lowly 7% want an Android tablet. This dominance holds true whether the physician buys the device out-of-pocket or his practice funds the purchase. These iOS devices are certainly being put to good use. Doctors use them to look up drug information, choose a treatment path, learn about new treatments, help make a diagnosis and more. (Ed: Plus, come on -- would you really want someone who buys a Windows phone to be in charge of your health?)
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.
Startup's headset will bathe your brain in ultrasound, might help fight cancer, too
The scientific community has spent a decade exploring ultrasound as a means of breaking through the blood-brain barrier -- a layer of tightly-packed cells that surround the brain's blood vessels, making it difficult for doctors to deliver chemotherapy and other treatments to cancer patients. Thus far, though, most ultrasound-based techniques have relied upon complex and often costly equipment, including MRI machines and infusion pumps. But researchers at a startup called Perfusion Technology think they may have come up with a less invasive, more cost-effective alternative -- a new headset designed to deliver low-intensity ultrasound therapy to the entire brain over the course of extended treatment periods. This approach differs markedly from most other methods, which typically target smaller areas of the brain with high-intensity ultrasound doses. As with most other potential breakthroughs, however, Perfusion's technique still needs to undergo some major testing. The company has already conducted several tests on animals, but the last time a similar method was tried on humans, many subjects ended up suffering from excessive bleeding. And that doesn't sound good at all.
1,800 iPads on the way to Ottawa Hospital
The Canadian Broadcasting Company is reporting that the Ottawa Hospital, which already has about 500 Apple tablets being used by health-care providers, has recently ordered another 1,800 iPads to replace paper medical charts. Doctors at the facility currently use iPads to examine X-rays, write prescriptions and take notes during patient visits. The devices carry patient medical histories, triage information, allergy data and allow doctors to order treatment while they're still with the patient. The hospital hopes to offset the cost of the additional iPads through replacements of old equipment, increased productivity and a reduction in errors. Ottawa Hospital CIO Dale Potter, who proposed the iPad plan to the hospital, noted that for handwritten doctor orders, "15 or 20 percent of those are missing information, or are illegible, and require human intervention." It is expected that the devices, which will arrive by July, will reduce the amount of rework required on orders that have been entered incorrectly by hand. Ottawa Hospital is working with Select Start Studios, a Canadian development firm that created the Ottawa Hospital EMR (electronic medical record) Client app. The app is designed with patient information security in mind, and no data is stored locally on the iPad in case the device is stolen or lost. [via Macgasm]
Intubation bot lets doctors safely shove tubes down unconscious human throats
We've seen all manner of medical robots 'round these parts, from bloodbots to surgical cyborgs. And now Dr. Thomas M. Hemmerling from McGill University Health Centre (who also helped develop the McSleepy anesthetic android) has created the world's first intubation robot. Called the Kepler Intubation System (KIS), it's a robotic arm with a video laryngoscope that's controlled via joystick -- allowing MDs to get their Dr. Mario on while sliding an endotracheal tube into any passed-out meatbag with minimal fuss and maximum safety. The first procedure using the device on a real, live human was a success, and clinical testing continues. We're not big on bots shoving anything anywhere (even if it does help us breathe while under the knife), but that's better than android appendages lobbing grenades our way.
Kinect keeps surgeons on task, Nintendo 3DS might assist optometrists with diagnoses
The latest generation of gaming gadgets do some nifty tricks, and one of the niftiest they might perform is assisting the realm of medicine. Microsoft's Kinect sounded like a candidate for surgery, and this month real-life surgeons have actually put it to use -- Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, Canada rigged the Xbox 360 depth camera to its medical imaging computer. Now, doctors don't have to scrub out to manipulate an MRI scan, or even appoint a peon to the task -- rather, they simply raise their bloodied glove, and dive into the digital imagery with a wave of a dextrous hand. Meanwhile, the American Optometric Association has expanded upon its initial praise of Nintendo's 3DS, saying the autostereoscopic 3D handheld "could be a godsend for identifying kids under 6 who need vision therapy." Though Nintendo's warning labels had originally incited a bit of fear among parents, the organization says that kids who can't experience the 3DS to its full potential may have amblyopia (or other vision disorders) that can be more easily treated the earlier it's caught, though one doctor interviewed by the Associated Press contends that kids with amblyopia may not know what they're missing to begin with -- so don't necessarily expect a panacea, folks.
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!
West Penn Allegheny Health System creates an emergency responder app, placing your life in far better hands
Creating a health-minded application for those who are unconscious, dead, or creeping awfully close to death might not do much good, but creating a health-minded application for those who care for the near-dead... now that's a novel concept! The West Penn Allegheny Health System has just churned out the EMS Field Partner app for iPod touch and iPhone, giving emergency medical services (EMS) professionals and other first responders the ability to easily sift through a variety of emergency conditions or complaints -- such as chest pain, stroke symptoms or fall injury, etc. -- and be directed to the closest WPAHS hospital that is most qualified to treat the patient. It also provides an interface with Google Maps and directions to the System's hospitals, not to mention "up to the minute traffic information as well." For more serious encounters, there's a direct link to West Penn Allegheny's LifeFlight Command Center, with the built-in location system telling the backend where to send an emergency helicopter. The app's available for free as we speak, but many of the features (like the chopper request, we're guessing) will require registration. We know, we know -- you had all sorts of crazy ideas. [Thanks, Ryan]
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]
LSUHSC hires surgical robot to remove salivary stone
Louisiana State University's Health Sciences Center has just enlisted the support of a surgical robot "guided by a miniature salivary endoscope" in order to yank a 20mm salivary stone and mend the salivary duct of a 31-year-old patient. A bit gruesome to consider, sure, but it's a whole lot less invasive than removing entire salivary glands as we've had to do in the past. Purportedly, the new procedure saves the salivary gland, cuts down on blood loss, reduces scarring and shortens the accompanying hospital stay. While inside, the robot can also provide high-definition, 3D images, but there doesn't seem to be any public word on when this here doodad will be ready for use outside of a lab. We're guessing it'll get loads of testing done down in Baton Rouge, though -- this Les Miles fellow seems to be giving fans heart attacks, kidney stones and all sorts of other stress-related conditions.
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]
Neurosurgeons use MRI-guided lasers to 'cook' brain tumors
In the seemingly perpetual battle to rid this planet of cancer, a team of neurosurgeons from Washington University are using a new MRI-guided high-intensity laser probe to "cook" brain tumors that would otherwise be completely inoperable. According to Dr. Eric C. Leuthardt, this procedure "offers hope to certain patients who had few or no options before," with the laser baking the cancer cells deep within the brain while leaving the good tissue around it unmarred. The best part, however, is that this is already moving beyond the laboratory, with a pair of doctors at Barnes-Jewish Hospital using it successfully on a patient last month. Regrettably, just three hospitals at the moment are equipped with the Monteris AutoLITT device, but if we know anything about anything related to lasers, it'll be everywhere in no time flat.
Drug vending machines start trial in UK, allow awkward videophone conversations with your pharmacist
You've got to imagine the Japanese are green with envy right now, as the BBC report not one, but two different drug vending machines are being tested out under Her Majesty's watchful eye. The first of these experiments is run by supermarket chain Sainsbury's, which has installed a pair of drug dispenser machines in its stores. They identify users by their fingerprint or a unique number, demand PIN verification too, and then finally accept your prescription. Then -- and this is the really silly part -- a pharmacist comes along, picks up your prescription, fills it out, and deposits it in the machine for you to pick up. So it's impersonal and unnecessarily convoluted, great. PharmaTrust seems to have a slightly better idea with its videophone-equipped, ATM-style robo-vendor: it's intended to allow pharmacists to approve prescriptions off-site and out of usual working hours by letting them speak to you via videophone. It could in fact be a big benefit in more remote areas, depending on how patients take to it -- we'll know more when the trial starts up in participating hospitals this winter.
Yurina health care robot promises to help lift, terrify patients
We already got a look at a robot wheelchair that was on display at the recent Next-Generation Robot Manufacturing Exhibition in Japan, but it wasn't the only robotic health care device on display at the show -- this so-called Yurina robot from Japan Logic Machine was also busy impressing attendees with its patient-lifting abilities. This one offers more than just brute strength, however, as it can also convert itself to a wheelchair that's nimble enough to navigate narrow hallways and be controlled using either by voice directions, a touchscreen, or a Wii nunchuck-type controller. Head on past the break to check it out in action -- and make sure your speakers are turned up.
LCDs can be transformed from e-waste to infection fighters, says new research
Researchers at the University of York have discovered a possible use for discarded LCDs which should come as a relief to anyone familiar with the world's rampant e-waste problem. According to the report, which will be presented today at the Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference in Washington, D.C., a process of heating, then cooling and dehydrating the PVA (polyvinyl-alcohol, the key component of LCDs) with ethanol produces a surface area of mesoporous material with great potential for use in biomedicine. The resultant product's anti-microbial properties can now be enhanced by adding silver nanoparticles, producing something which is anti-bacterial and can kill things like E.coli. The potential application of course, is that hospital surfaces could be made of it in the future. This is just one (major) step in a long-term project, so don't expect to see it in real life anytime soon.
