Health IT

There are nearly 600 hundred children born from frozen eggs all over the world. British lifted the ban on this technique in January 2000. New Zealand government is yet to give legal approval to this procedure soon. Some 25 women in New Zealand have frozen their eggs since 2005. The influential Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology, set up 2004 has finally given its recommendation in favour of this revolutionary technique.

If the experts are successful in incorporating the new computing technologies and the evolution of a ‘virtual man’ to predict the effects of new drugs before they enter clinical trials, this will definitely be very useful in finding solutions to thousands of diseases in the world. The recent report of consultancy Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) is another encouraging development to the ailing population who is losing its eagerness to survive due to the scarcity of the available treatments in the market.

Don’t get amazed if soon experts come out with technology capable of providing radiologists with 3D mouse, using which it would be possible for them to feel organs just through a display screen. The possibility of such development has leapt out because Erik Vidholm at Uppsala University is striving hard to bring this possibility to its fruition. The focus of Erick Vidholm mission, based on haptics, is to replace the mouse and keyboard with a pen-like 3D mouse, which would enable user to feel the virtual organs, more precisely. This move, in the form of medical advancement, would certainly begin a new chapter for the betterment of millions of patients, especially with internal physical ailments.

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As of now, we have seen cops pull up criminal records or rap sheets in their vehicle computer systems. In a similar fashion, ambulances can now search and check out the patient’s medical records en route to the hospital. Thanks to the NEC WiMax system. This life saving system is still in the final stages of development and is about to be displayed at the WiMax Forum. This is a part of M-Taiwan project.

WiMax will now be able to achieve about 6 Mbps per second. Apparently, this will be the only existing high speed data network as of now that will work in high speed ambulances. How will this service be used? Well, the service helps in pulling up electronic copies of x ray plates and other medical records. This data is imperative for saving the patient’s life.

The NEC WiMax R & D center will open by the end of 2007 in collaboration with the Taiwanese government. Once the system is fully completed, it will be mostly used in Taiwan. I hope the Taiwanese government will release the valuable resources at a minimal cost to the world on humanitarian grounds. Although, I seriously doubt it.

Now, patients can check medical records through their mobile phone. A division of Bio-Imaging Technologies, Inc., CapMed, has acquired the technology, which provides mobile phone based medical records. The company has acquired patent pending technology, ICE First technology of Juke Systems Inc., a developer of mobile phone applications, based in Darien, Connecticut.

The technology is compatible with a number of cell phone systems, Nokia, Palm, Blackberry, Motorola, LG and Samsung, and eventually, Apple’s iPhone. This acquisition will allow healthcare consumers to access their medical, health and medical insurance information from their mobile phones. Users can store their routine and emergency heath information in their mobile phones. The technology also allows users to easily update their their information through a website database, www.ICEFirst.com, which is accessible from any computer.

Users can rely on ICE First technology, while filling or updating health and medical forms required by physician practices, schools, and employers. The new mobile phone based PHR application shows the last updated date and also sends electronic alerts and reminders to healthcare customers regarding their updating of information on regular basis.

Healthcare customers can access their emergency and routine healthcare information for themselves and up to 10 family members. The ICE First technology is available for individual patients and healthcare users can download the technology through an annual subscription or through ponsorship of the technology from hospitals, health systems, associations, medical groups or health plans.

Image Credit: RHSmith & MS Mobiles

Via: Business Wire

Open Source Health Care Alliance (OSHCA) is a non-profit organization whose objective is to promote the use of Open Source Software in the health care industry. The organization guides the health sector in taking advantage of the various benefits of using Open Source Software. It has worldwide patronage from people who recommend Open Source Software Concepts in Health Care.

According to its secretary, Joseph D. Dal Molin, the proprietary software systems in health-care make it difficult to share medical information and integrate systems. He said:

“To provide quality health-care services, health-care providers need to share information whenever they require. In a closed environment, the interfacing issue between disparate systems has been an obstacle for communication and information sharing.”

He added that the proprietary software model will not suit the health sector as health-care systems are unpredictable and hence require flexible and cost effective Open source software solutions, so that the health care industry need not depend on a single vendor. Molin believes that using open source software will help easy transfer of technology across people and that Open Source software is best way to share various medical-related information.

Via: technewsworld.com

With fast moving life, laptops are no longer a luxury but a necessity and thanks to the price fall, which has increased users’ access to this wireless technology. However, all that came with laptops isn’t good but some bad has also managed to seep into our lives, with back problems, becoming common, as laptops are killing our spines

It is quite strange to know that girls as young as 12 are being diagnosed with nerve damage caused by slouching over screens for hours. Actually, while sitting before a laptop our body instinctively adopts a poor posture, giving way to several problems associated with necks, shoulders, spines, etc. Confirming this fact further back specialists unveils that four in five patients working on portable PCs or laptops sustain chronic nerve damage, sooner or later.

Desktop computers are designed in such a way that ensure a healthy body posture while working on it, however, quite opposite is the case with laptops, as perching a laptop on the legs and then staring down at the monitor, and puts unnecessary strain on neck, spine and legs, giving way to several health related problems.

How countries like Britain are fast turning into a nation of slouch potatoes due to boom in the number of laptop users could be explained through the delineation, presented by London-based chiropractor Michael Durntall, in his words:

I also see many people in their twenties and thirties with a dowager’s hump - a rounding at the base of the neck - after only a few years of looking down at a small screen while sitting slumped on a chair for long periods.

Studies have also proved that long working on laptops prevents the nerves and tendons from moving freely, as they normally moves, which increases susceptibility to nerve injuries. In addition, other health hazards that laptop use has been accredited with can also not be left unmentioned, like-

• Laptop Computers May Affect Male Fertility

• Laptops ‘pose health risk to children’

So, in brief, it could be asserted that where advent of wireless technology, in the form of laptop, has revolutionized the way we live, it has also exposed us to some severe threats, befalling on us in the form of neck, shoulder and spine related problems.

Therefore, dire need of rational approach towards laptop’s use is seriously required; otherwise, it won’t take too long to turn this world, inhibited by dowager’s humped people.

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Via: Daily mail

Kronos Inc. has unveiled the Workforce Central 6.0, the global workforce management software for manufactures, retailers and healthcare providers. The Workforce Central 6.0 allows manufactures and other companies to better understand of employee absence and other problems.

The offers greater visibility to businesses executives into their global workforce. It allows manufactures improved visibility into workforce performance on an individual, geographic, shift, or job basis. The features job basis Workforce Central 6.0 are given below:

1) It has centralized location for labor data, which enables managers to monitor and compare workforce performance across geographies.
2) It has industry-specific key performance indicators (KPIs), like the Overall Labor Efficiency (OLE) KPI for manufacturing. OLE looks at workforce availability, performance, and quality factors ensures that manufacturers are successfully balancing all three rather than focusing on a particular area at the expense of another.
3) The Workforce Central 6.0 has enhanced scheduling automation features.
4) It has an updated user interface for better navigation and ease of use by a variety of roles in the organization.

Peter George, chief technology officer at Kronos, said,

Manufacturers in particular are struggling to compete under the intense pressure of globalization, increased compliance burdens, and rising labor costs. Savvy workforce management has become a way for manufacturers to differentiate themselves.

Image Credit: Lesinmeubles

Via: Managing & Automation

With health, today, being the biggest concern for many across the world, and with the trend for going eco-friendly as well increasing, LG Electronics is now making a fresh entry into health and environment conscious world, after creating a dent, in its own right, in the international market of hi-tech appliances.

The Korean electronics firm, with its recent launch of “LG HealthCare Campaign,” is introducing its health and environment conscious collections ranging from air conditioner to refrigerators.

Its new eco-friendly air conditioner is equipped with bio-enzyme-based filters. And the refrigerators claim to keep fruits and vegetables longer and fresh. Its brand new ovens are said to be nutrition-conscious.

According to a release by the company,

People are increasingly concerned by the significant environmental changes caused by rapid construction and development.

Trying to meet the present market demands and contours, Ki-Wan Kim, LG’s regional president said,

In the Middle East region, health concerns are dramatically escalating due to many factors including the construction boom, increasing traffic and changes in diet. LG is expected to lead this new category of health-conscious home appliances here.

Besides, air conditioners, refrigerators and light wave ovens, the brand new, full health-oriented product line of LG includes, vacuum cleaners, washing machines and air purifiers. It’s all game for environment and health conscious people.

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A new system developed by a telecommunications engineer in Spain is on the way to become a boon in the medical world. The system makes it possible to establish contact between the patient and the doctors with the help of interactive digital television, allowing patients to be treated and monitored in their homes.

ATS-Interactive, the system designed by Alejandro Fanjul Fernandez, is getting positive response from a number of companies and government bodies. After doing a series of check-ups, the system opens a channel of communication between the health care professional and the patient.

The system makes it possible for the doctors to monitor their patients at any time without the patient having to visit the doctor. The doctors can easily check their patients’ progress by measuring the weight, pulse, blood pressure and glucose level which is inbuilt in the system.

It is useful in monitoring post-operative patients and elderly people who require very little medical attention and can carry out their tasks independantly and hence they can be monitored at their homes.

An application known as ‘interactive dosifier’ makes the system more useful. ‘Interactive dosifier’ works as a reminder and each time the patient has to take a medicine, the system sounds an alert and a nurse appears on the TV screen to tell exactly which medicine has to be taken.

The system does not interrupt with your TV viewing as the program can be minimized or sent in the background, which will emerge only for a reminder or when the patient wants to communicate. The patient can also send email or interactive message to the doctor via his TV.

The mobility of the patient is not restricted as the system identifies the patient through a smart card which can be used at any location where the application is available.

Fernandez is also exploring the possibilities of introducing the system on mobile phones having DVB-H technology. And the work on making the system sensor-based is also on the way.

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Computer workouts, tailored especially to train the brain have showed comparatively better results in fighting age-related mental decline than classic computer games, scientists in Chicago came out with this magnificent finding.

This finding is based on the study, funded by a grant from game maker CogniFit Ltd., in which about 121 volunteers, over 50 years of age were studied for about three months after being ramified into groups. Some groups played on traditional computer videogames while some played on MindFit training program.

Finally, researchers concluded that group using the MindFit program showed significant improvement in spatial short-term memory, which controls learning and focused attention. Throwing light on the findings of this study Dr. Nir Giladi, a neurologist at Tel Aviv University in Isreal said:

These areas would be especially helpful with things like driving or preventing falls, a major source of injury in the elderly.

This finding is quite significant which shows that gradually role of computer is growing in our life and interestingly, on health issues too computers and computers games have made their presence felt. Here is a glimpse of such findings:-

• 3-D Video Game Traces out Brain Dysfunction: Scientists

• Want to Gain Surgical Skills? Play Videogames!

• Computer Games Are Good For Your Health

• Computer Games - Health Benefits

• Videogame ‘Body Mechanics’: An Ultimate Solution to Fight Obesity

Via: Reuters

Believe it or not, but it is true that 3D video games may help uncover brain dysfunction. Researchers have reached this conclusion after studying 30 depressed patients and 19 people without mood disorders. This study has led researchers to believe that by using 3-D game for tracking mental disorders is a much better option than using traditional methods.

Giving reason behind this the results of the study suggests that hippocampus, which is a part of brain, didn’t work as efficiently while playing 3-D video games as the brain of people without mood disorders did.

Interestingly, previous studies had also found abnormality in the hippocampus of depressed people. However, those previous studies had shown that hippocampus in depressed people is smaller than people without mood disorders. Well, this new study has tried to look at the whole study in a somewhat different manner; still we can say that it is a major achievement, which would definitely help people, especially depressed people.Here it is worth mentioning that that in the recent years role of videogames has escalated, especially in medical field, since for kinds of treatment videogames are being used. To understand it in a much better way give a look here:-

1. Virtual Reality Gaming: The Higher You Are, the Easier You Fall!

2. Want to Gain Surgical Skills? Play Videogame!

Image credit: BBC

Via: CBC

After videogames like Dance Dance Revolution, Step2play and Smart cycle, it is turn of Body Mechanics to enter the arena for fighting obesity.

The way it works is really interesting. According to its makers, ‘Body Mechanics’ teaches youngsters how to avoid being overweight by joining forces with a team of superheroes who battle villains with names like Col Estorol and Betes II. You can also say that playing on this videogame is just like killing two birds with one stone because where it entertains, it also guides how to fight obesity.

Interestingly, this is not the first time when any videogame has come with the aim of fighting obesity but several times earlier too people have relied on videogames to fight obesity.

Via: Yahoo

If you want to improve your eye-sight then playing high-action video games is not a bad idea. Yes! You read it right. Actually, video games, containing high levels of action have been found bestowing good impact on our vision.

This interesting revelation came came to the fore after researchers at the University of Rochester found that people who played action video games for a few hours a day over the course of a month improved their ability to identify letter presented in clutter, which is a visual acuity test similar to one used in regular ophthalmology clinics by 20 percent.

Giving idea that how playing high-action video games helps improving vision Bavelier, professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester observes:

When people play action games, they’re changing the brain’s pathway responsible for visual process’these games push the human visual system to the limits and the brain adapts to it. That learning carries over into other activities and possibly everyday life.

This disclosure is significant and interesting too and if we call it a recreational method to improve eye-sight even then there would be no stultification. Moreover, it is just another advantage that has been accredited to videogames since several other studies have already proved that there are many more advantages. Here is a look:-

1. Video games have health benefits

2. Computer games ‘do have benefits’

3. Video game fans dance off extra pounds

4. PopCap to Investigate Cognitive Benefits of Gaming

However, some studies have also dubbed video games harmful for mental as well as physical health, stating that video games give rise to violent behavior among kids, video games are addictive.

Image credit: BBC

Via: NBC5

This is not for the first time when any study has come out uncovering the idea that praying may play a significant role in keeping you healthy. As far as this report is concerned, it states that patients who pray regularly, no matter in temples, mosques or even online, they gained better health.

Researchers believe that putting trust in God makes people feel less stressed and spirituality makes people believe in afterlife that wipe out the fear of death, etc. Moreover, we should not forget that prayer and spirituality have been considered a major source to derive peace and happiness for centuries. At the same time, studies conducted earlier to find out the impact of prayer on health have also propagated the fact that prayer has a positive impact on our health but at the same time we should not forget that there is no depravity of such studies too that have bring out the views countering the above stated.

Image credit: Nature

Via: Earth Times