Health It

No doubt, fight against deadly HIV/AIDS is in full swing. However, it would not be wrong to say that to a great extent the energy, the efforts and the money that has been used to stave off this disease have not turned out fecund. However, now supercomputers are here to try their hands in our fight against HIV/AIDS. Actually, these supercomputers, which have been donated by Intel, would reveal that how a person gets infected form another person by tracking movement of the virus throughout the body. Means, now the fight against HIV/AIDS is soon going to be high-tech, which I hope will bring out quite positive results that we are waiting for eagerly. Via: Uber Gizmo

Thanks to the researchers of the University of Washington as they have developed a brain patch that effectively heals some of the injuries that brain incur because of strokes. Interestingly, the results that have sprung out of the preliminary study are quite amazing. Telling more about this computer chip Dr. Eb Fetz said, ‘It basically produces an artificial connection between one part of the brain and the other.’ Really, this very significant study is surely going to come up as a great relief for the patients who incur brain damage due to stroke or some other reasons. It is good that treatment for patients, especially for heart patients is becoming more and more technical.

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. Via: Earth Times

A new software called ‘NxOpinion’ is about to step in the market by the mid-2007 that aims at helping doctors practicing, especially in the underdeveloped countries where health care facilities are not so standardized and among such countries India, China, Ghana and South America can easily be included. In developing countries, many patients die due to lack of proper diagnosis and with the advent of this new software ‘NxOpinion’, thousands of people may hope to live longer. Via: postchronicle

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. 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.

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. Via: Business Wire

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. Image Via: Daily mail

It is well known that sleep is requisite for better health but if we pass gentle electric current through the sleeping brain then it may boost up memory too, a new study has unveiled this fact. Researchers have divulged this fact after studying some students and found that this method helped them improving their memory. I firmly believe that this new finding will be very helpful for the patients with memory loss. Via: medicinenet

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. Source.