August 25, 2005
eMedicine Consumer Health on PDA
Skyscape has produced another Consumer orientated PDA product. eMedicine's Consumer Health is written by physicians for patients and consumers. It is continuously updated and provides the most current information on thousands of diseases and disorders. Each topic is reviewed by 2 physicians and a PharmD and covers a full range of health issues affecting men, women and children with special sections covering first aid and emergencies as well as exercise, nutrition, and weight management.
According to the publisher, with Skyscape's patented smARTlink™ technology, emConsumer™ can easily cross-index with other titles from Skyscape to provide a powerful and integrated source of clinical information that you can carry with you anytime and anywhere! It is available on both Palm (requires 25.8 MB of memory) and Pocket PC (requires 30.6 MB of memory).
It can be purchased as a download or on a 64MB SD card
Skyscape eMedicine Consumer Health
August 18, 2005
Search Engine Study
For those who may be interested in the power and depth of search engines, computer scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications decided to study the indexes of the two biggest search engines - Google and Yahoo.
In response to a Yahoo claim to have access to over 20 billion items which include 19.2 billion web documents, 1.6 billion images, and over 50 million audio and video files, reserchers conducted a head-to-head analysis. Based on a random sample, they found that on average Yahoo! only returns 37.4% of the results that Google does and, in many cases, returns significantly less.
To read about the methodology and details of the study click here.
August 13, 2005
A Black Box for People
From Science@NASA
When planes have a problem, the best way to understand what went wrong is to check its black box. It records exactly what was happening to the place at the time of the problem. NASA in partnership with engineers from Stanford, have developed something similar for people.
It's a compact, portable, wearable device -- a single piece of equipment that gathers a wide variety of vital signs. About the size of a computer mouse, a CPOD is worn around the waist. It's comfortable enough to be worn while sleeping. It's non-invasive. It takes only minutes to don. Importantly, it can track a person's physiologic functioning as they go about their normal routine -- they don't have to be tethered to some stationary device. It can store data for eight-hour periods for later downloading; alternatively, it can send it wirelessly, in real time, to some other device.
The CPOD typically tracks heart performance, blood pressure, respiration, temperature, and blood oxygen levels. Using three tiny accelerometers, it also tracks a person's movements -- it can tell whether they're running, for example, or spinning or tumbling.
And it can be reconfigured. If researchers choose, almost any kind of sensor could be plugged into the device. The CPOD could, for example, keep track of ambient air pressure, or monitor the concentrations of atmospheric gases.
August 06, 2005
Remote Controlled Humans
The "Tele-Actor" is a skilled human with cameras and microphones connected to a wireless digital network. Live video and audio are broadcast to participants via the Internet or interactive television. Participants not only view, but interact with each other and with the Tele-Actor by voting on what to do next. The "Spatial Dynamic Voting" (SDV) interface incorporates group dynamics into a variety of online experiences.
The Tele-Actor Project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Intel Corporation, UC Berkeley's Interactive University Project, and UC Berkeley's Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS).
And a similar technology - GVS
At the 2005 SIGGRAPH computer graphics conference in Los Angeles this week, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT) researchers debuted a device designed to exploit the effects of Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS). Known as "Shaking the World," the project is the result of research carried out by NTT researcher Taro Maeda. Maeda and his colleagues constructed a headphone-like apparatus to deliver the electrical current and a small radio control to direct the strength and direction of the signal. Whoever wears such headphones can be steered by remote control. When a weak DC current is delivered to the mastoid behind your ear, your body responds by shifting your balance toward the anode. The stronger the current, the more powerful its pull. If it is strong enough, it not only throws you off balance but alters the course of your movement.
The most persuasive commercial applications of this GVS device will most likely be in gaming; researchers put together a crude virtual racing game to demonstrate how GVS heightened the perception of centrifugal force as users watch the car wind its way around the track on a video screen. Using GVS for flight simulators are another area of interest. According to the researchers, "because GVS causes you to feel the same kinds of motion as a large-scale flight simulator, it could be a much simpler and more cost-effective way to train people."
August 03, 2005
Telemedicine Industry Growth
This week, Forbes has a review of the telemedicine industry. The article highlights some examples of successful implementation and describes ways that telemedicine makes use of communication software, imaging tools, remote controlled video cameras and robots.
Forbes describes that the goal is to facilitate consultations between patients and specialists, and to provide assistance to patients in rural or remote areas. The systems are expensive, but widespread adoption should lower prices
It is believed that this industry is poised for growth and the American Telemedicine Association, points out that federal grants and contracts for telehealth totaled about $270 million in 2003. The Forbes article also points out that although most privately held telemedicine companies were launched for use in a hospital environment, they also could assist in terrorist attacks or other disasters. It is with this in mind that a Senate committee last month introduced the Improve Interoperable Communications for First Responders Act, which would authorize a five-year, $3.3 billion budget for telehealth initiatives and an extra $126 million for research
About the Interoperable Communications for First Responders Act of 2005 (ICOM Act)