January 25, 2007
Chips Go Molecular
Researchers from the California Institute of Technology and the University of California, Los Angeles have built a memory chip that is roughly the size of a white blood cell, about one-2,000th of an inch on a side.
Published in the Jan. 25 issue of the journal Nature, scientists show the successful demonstration of a large-scale, "ultra-dense" memory device that stores information using reconfigurable molecular switches. This research represents an important step toward the creation of molecular computers that are much smaller and could be more powerful than today’s silicon-based computers.
To build the chip, the researchers etched 400 parallel wires, each less than a millionth of an inch wide and separated by about one-750,000th of an inch from its neighbors. On top of the wires, they deposited a layer of the molecular switches, the dumbbells standing vertically, and then a second set of 400 wires turned 90 degrees to the first set.
The paper describes the fabrication and operation of a memory device. The memory is based on a series of perpendicular, crossing nanowires, similar to a tic-tac-toe board, with 400 bottom wires and another 400 crossing top wires. Sitting at each crossing of the tic-tac-toe structure and serving as the storage element are approximately 300 bistable rotaxane molecules. These molecules may be switched between two different states, and each junction of a crossbar can be addressed individually by controlling the voltages applied to the appropriate top and bottom crossing wires, forming a bit at each nanowire crossing.
The 160-kilobit molecular memory was fabricated at a density of 100,000,000,000 (1011) bits per square centimeter This is described as a density that has been predicted for commercial memory devices around the year 2020.
Not everything about the chip works yet. When the researchers tested a small part of it, they found that only 30 percent of the bits actually worked. But it is possible to use only the working parts of the chip, and the researchers successfully wrote and read information to those parts, though even there the success was temporary. The switches routinely broke after being flipped about 10 times.
While this research could affect the computer industry dramatically, it also may have a significant impact on very different uses of information technologies as well according to the researchers. Molecular switches will lead to other new technologies beyond molecular electronic computers. such as health care, alternative energy and homeland security.
The research was funded by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation.
Source: New York Times
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January 23, 2007
Technology Reality Check
Sometimes it is good to remind ourselves that we need to temper our dependence on technology with good human judgment. A recent bug in the direction system in Google Maps sent drivers into a tail-spin and instructed them to make over 200 U-turns to get from Pennsylvania to their destination in New Jersey. Google has fixed the problem and the drivers are cured of "blind faith" in technology. (click map to see larger image)
GPS navigator systems are also becoming more popular in cars and in portable versions but they too don't always get you where you expect to go. Occassionally, they don't find the best route or have software that is not updated and may send you into a blind alley.
In both the real and online world, a reality check can be helpful.
Source: Inside Google
January 19, 2007
Medicine Meets Virtual Reality Conference
The 2007 Medicine Meets Virtual Reality Conference (MMVR15) will be held on February 6 - 9, 2007 at The Hyatt Regency Long Beach, Long Beach, California. The title of this year's conference is "in vivo, in vitro, in silico: Designing the Next in Medicine"
About the Conference (from the website)
MMVR is the premier conference on emerging data-centered technologies for medical care and education.
MMVR is a multidisciplinary forum for computer scientists and engineers, physicians and surgeons, medical educators and students, military medicine specialists, and biomedical futurists. At MMVR, developers and end-users collaborate and innovate.
MMVR encourages a critical examination of current progress: from initial vision and prototypes, through assessment and validation, to clinical and academic utilization and commercialization. MMVR supports improved precision, efficiency, and outcomes in clinical diagnosis and therapy, medical education, and public health.
MMVR creates a vanguard community of thinkers that envisions and makes real the future of medicine. MMVR turns vision into proficy™.
in vivo, in vitro, in silico: Designing the Next in Medicine
Good design is critical to emerging medical technology. It eases problems of increasing complexity and data overload. It simplifies tasks to reduce confusion and error. It accelerates adoption and training by making tools intuitive. It comforts by giving engineering a friendly interface.
Good design is challenging. It demands collaboration between designers, engineers, and users. It requires extensive modeling and prototyping, observation and feedback, trial and error.
Given an expanding and aging population with rising health expectations, good design makes the difference between life and death - economically and even physically.
In addition to the traditional research topics, this year’s MMVR provides valuable insight into the role of design in a biomedical context.
The organizing committee is a distinguished group of individuals including AATP member Ian Alger.
This year’s three-day program includes 260 presentations: lecture, poster, workshop, and panel. Together they offer participants the opportunity to explore what’s next in information-based technologies for medical care and education.
For more information about MMVR15 click here.
January 18, 2007
Free E-Prescription Software for U.S. Physicians
According to Government Health IT, a coalition of nine technology companies, three major insurers and 12 health care provider organizations launched a five-year, $100 million project this week to provide e-prescribing software to every physician in the United States.
Free e-prescribing software provided by the National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative (NEPSI) should help drive doctors’ adoption of the technology, said Nancy Dickey, president of the Health Science Center and vice chancellor for health affairs at the Texas A&M University System. It is estimated that approximately one-fifth of doctors in the country currently use e-prescribing software.
The goal of the e-prescribing initiative is to eliminate common errors associated with handwritten prescriptions, including wrong drugs sold because a pharmacist can't read a doctor's writing, and a lack of drug interaction checks
Many doctors have complained of the cost of implementing an e-prescribing system, but e-prescribing vendor Allscripts is making its eRX Now software available as a Web-based service, accessible with any PC, mobile phone, or PDA connected to the Internet. About 20,000 U.S. doctors currently use eRX Now, according to Allscripts.
Some doctors have also raised concerns about the amount of training needed for office workers, but it is estimated that most people with any computer experience should be able to understand eRX Now in less than 30 minutes
National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative
IOM Report on Preventing Medication Errors (pdf)
January 16, 2007
Speaking Language Translator
Taking a page from Star Trek and its universal translator, Franklin has recently unveiled a palm-sized 12-language speaking global translator. The Speaking Global Translator contains over 450,000 words and 12,000 phrases, and speaks 115,000 words in recorded human voice. It is described as 'ideal for communicating on almost any continent with 12 languages and translations to and from Chinese (Mandarin), Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.' By entering a word in your native language this language tool will speak and show the translation in your language and the language you seek. A voice recording feature allows you to record custom words and phrases appropriate to travel or business needs. Spell correction feature finds even misspelled words. 7-line screen aids visibility in this lightweight unit.
Other features include:
* An MP3 Player to download and play MP3 files; enjoy music and more while looking up words and phrases
* Audio Player, Earbuds and AC adaptor
* Five games
* Chinese, Japanese & Korean are displayed phonetically using the Roman alphabet, and in Asian characters
* Organizer, local/world clock, calculator, currency and metric converter
* USB Connection
* 1 rechargeable battery included
It is described as an ideal travel companion however, imagine its use in emergency rooms, hospitals, clinics and doctors offices where language is often a barrier to comprehensive care.
Franklin Speaking Global Translator
January 15, 2007
Virtual Office Visits
You woke up not feeling well but don't wish to take time off from work to drive to your doctor's office to wait for over an hour to see him for 10 minutes. Maybe you can just email him and have a virtual visit?
A new 'proof of concept' pilot project funded by the American Academy of Family Physicians' (AAFP) called TransforMED offers this "house call of the future." It is just one of the new ways of practicing medicine in 36 medical offices across the country that are participating in a two-year experiment to revive the family doctor with a 21st-century update.
In addition to virtual office visits, patients will get old-fashioned customer service such as same-day scheduling even for checkups and group support sessions for people with chronic diseases. The purpose is to make practices more patient-centered and physician-friendly.
Skyrocketing medical costs and a lack of new family physicians are problems that the $8 million American Academy of Family Physicians' TransforMED project hopes to cure. Traditional physician offices may leave 20 percent of appointment slots free for same-day appointments. These practices leave 60 percent open.
Another approach is group visits for chronic disease management. For example, a group of eight to 10 people with diabetes may attend a session on a disease topic, like eye or foot care, and then have labs taken and meet briefly with the physician.Group visits can dramatically improve patient health in part because they like to talk to and learn from one another about what works in living with the disease.
Another component of the program is software that enables the doctor to have access to the latest information about treating an illness rather than having to rely on memory or outdated training.
Other software enables doctors to track patient care through insurance claims data, including whether prescriptions being filled and visits to other physicians, for more complete continuity of care.
Learn more:
January 11, 2007
GPS Footwear
The latest Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has been developed to track individuals anywhere on the planet. A recent article in the Miami Herald points out that you can forget to carry your phone, and you can forget to wear a watch but you can't leave the house and forget to put on your shoes. A Miami company has developed shoes embedded with GPS technology that can locate the wearer anywhere in the world. The design allows wearers to press a button hidden near the shoe's lace to send a distress signal.
The use of GPS technology has been in place for such uses as tracking dementia patients with a geopositioning phone-braclet. The rate of Alzheimer's patients that "wander" or "stray" is almost 60%, with a high death rate when they are not found quickly. GPS has been a solution to the problems that families, caregivers and police authorities must deal with.
The technology can be adapted to constantly detect the whereabouts of critical service personnel such as EMS, firefighters, or even to monitor children. The shoes are called Quantum Satellite Technology and will be available in stores in March.
Quantum Satellite Technology Shoes
January 03, 2007
Consumer's Role in Health IT Grows
According to Modern Healthcare Online, next big thing in healthcare information technology in 2007, will be the role of consumers.
The foundation for such a move was set down in 2006 where coalitions of major employers and payers unveiled ambitious plans to try to empower their employees and plan members with personal health records. They also encouraged development of data-dependent quality improvement programs, and private and public sector pay-for-performance schemes.
The new trend shows more and more development around tools for the consumers, especially from employers, trying to use the consumer to be the vehicle to bring about change in healthcare.
One project called the Dossia project is just the first of many. It is a PHR joint-development effort launched in early December by corporate giants Applied Materials, BP America, Intel Corp., Pitney Bowes and Wal-Mart. Also last month, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and America's Health Insurance Plans revealed their own PHR project.
The Markle Foundation recently released results of a consumer survey that mirror those of surveys taken in 1999 and 2005 by the California HealthCare Foundation that indicate consumers are loath to share their personal clinical information with their employers or their insurers.
The degree of change will be affected by issues of privacy, convenience and cost. The Internet has attracted healthcare consumers who wish to gather health information online. It will only be a matter of time before they seek healthcare services online.