New Smartphone App For Doctor's Stethoscope

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New Smartphone App For Doctor's Stethoscope

A team of researchers and engineers have developed a new application for smartphones that could allow doctors using their mobiles to monitor patients' hearts. The i-Stethoscope uses sensors built-in the phone to check a person's heart. Data can be collected and shared with ease. But according to doctors, there are still some things the app cannot do, since it cannot substitute for the doctor-patient relationship. Eko Devices, the Berkeley, California-based company that developed the smartphone app, has received FDA 510(k) clearance for the companion smartphone app and for its smartphone-enabled stethoscope, called Eko Core.

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Digital Health Innovation: Handheld Device for Rapid Assessment of Vital Signs

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Digital Health Innovation: Handheld Device for Rapid Assessment of Vital Signs

A small trial of a portable device that can rapidly read a patient's vital signs shows it performs well compared with standard hospital monitors. The hand-held, battery-powered device - called MouthLab - is the invention of biomedical engineers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. The device, which picks up vital signs from the patient's lips and fingertips, could replace the cumbersome and restrictive equipment currently used in hospitals.

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MUSIC 'REDUCES PAIN AND ANXIETY' FOR SURGERY PATIENTS

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MUSIC 'REDUCES PAIN AND ANXIETY' FOR SURGERY PATIENTS

New study says listening to music before, during and after an operation can help reduce pain. Researchers at Queen Mary University of London said the patients who had listened to music had been less anxious after their surgery and had needed less pain relief. They said music had been effective even while patients had been under general anaesthetic. The Department of Health said doctors should consider the findings. The scientists want hospitals to suggest in NHS information leaflets that patients bring music devices and playlists into hospital with them.

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Feeling Depressed? Your Phone May Detect It

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Feeling Depressed? Your Phone May Detect It

Phone data could predict with 87% accuracy whether someone had depressive symptoms. Most of us are pretty attached to our phones, and researchers are starting to figure out what that connection can tell us about our health, including our mood. In fact, your phone may be able to tell if you’re depressed even better than a self-assessment of your own depression can, according to a small new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

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New FDA-Approved 3D Printed Drug: Personalized Medicine Has Arrived

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New FDA-Approved 3D Printed Drug: Personalized Medicine Has Arrived

Much excitement along with skepticism arose this week as the FDA approved the first 3D printed prescription drug to treat epilepsy. Produced by the drug maker, Aprecia Pharmaceuticals, the FDA has approved the drug named Spritam for both adults and children suffering from certain types of seizures caused by epilepsy. 3D printing is disrupting many production methods that date all the way back to the Industrial Revolution, from fashion and retail to computer science and healthcare. We’ve seen this concept of bio printing quickly come to life where instead of traditional “ink” the printers spray human cells. 

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Lessons Learned From Not Using Social Media

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Lessons Learned From Not Using Social Media

The health industry has been following the evolution of social media and its effect on our health and over the years many studies have been done to show the effect of it on our brain. Facebook made lead to depression due to social comparison. The LED light on our laptops  and iPads might be keeping us awake. We've been hearing about tech's effect on our health a lot. The question remains: how can we still use it in moderation, enjoy it but not overuse it? The concept is similar to how we eat. Here are some lessons learned. 

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5 Mobile Apps For Your Mental Health

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5 Mobile Apps For Your Mental Health

Some studies have shown that technology may have some negative effects on cognitive skills and even affect our ability to fall into a deep sleep. However, these 5 apps are being used by many people who claim they really help strengthen their cognitive skills and even relieve stress. Here's the top 5. 

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Vaccines Not Helping for Pneumonia Cases

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Vaccines Not Helping for Pneumonia Cases

Vaccines have been an important part of modern medicine, used as a preventive tool to protect us from disease like polio, tetanus, or small pox. These vaccines work by challenging one’s immune system with an inactive agent similar to the real pathogen. Thus, when faced with the real disease agent our body is able to effectively and efficiently mount an offensive to prevent illness. However a new study is showing that despite vaccines, pneumonia hospital visits still remain quite common. Here's why.

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Track Your Alcohol With This Smartphone App

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Track Your Alcohol With This Smartphone App

Alcohol Tracker is a smartphone app that lets users enter how many drinks they have each day. If a user drinks more than the maximum amount of alcohol recommended by certain health organizations, then the app will send a notification, warning that the recommended limit has been reached.

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FitBit may help boost activity in older women

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FitBit may help boost activity in older women

New study suggests the devices can help people become more active. In the study, women who wore a Fitbit saw a boost in their physical activity over a four-month period.  study involved about 50 women in their 50s and 60s who were overweight and generally not very active. About half of these women were given a Fitbit One, a fitness tracker that clips to a person's waistband and tracks a number of metrics: how many steps they take, the total distance they move, the number of floors they climb, the calories they burn, and the total number of minutes during the day that they are active. 

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Virtual Pillbox: Manage your pills with Medisafe

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Virtual Pillbox: Manage your pills with Medisafe

 About half of all Americans are prescribed medication they take regularly. And what's more, half of those don't even take it properly, whether it's forgetting, missing or taking too much of said medication. One study even estimated that mistakes with blood pressure medication alone are responsible for 89,000 premature deaths each year. This puts medication noncompliance up there in the top five causes of death. 

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Figure 1: The Instagram for Doctors

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Figure 1: The Instagram for Doctors

Figure 1 is a free medical photo-sharing app dubbed the “Instagram for Doctors," that's envisioning a new way for doctors and healthcare professionals to share knowledge and learn from one another’s experiences.

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Diagnosing STDs, through an app?

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Diagnosing STDs, through an app?

Planned Parenthood is launching an app that helps patients diagnose STD’s without actually having to go in to see the doctor face-to-face.  This will save people the awkward sex and STD conversation with their doctor, and maybe even make them more willing to get checked for potential infections.  Havin

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Newly Developed Artificial Limb Lets Amputees “Feel”

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Newly Developed Artificial Limb Lets Amputees “Feel”

Researchers have developed a “feeling” prosthetic leg which simulates some of the sensations that would normally be felt by a foot. It also works to help alleviate the phantom pain. Artificial limb created by Austrian scientist.

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Looking for a weight loss app? Here are 5 to consider

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Looking for a weight loss app? Here are 5 to consider

Keeping track of what to eat, how much to eat and how that affects your weight has never been easier thanks to thousands of diet and nutrition apps available for iPhones, Androids and tablets.  The problem is how to decipher which ones are really good and which ones are just so-so.

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Google Arm: Future of Telemedicine

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Google Arm: Future of Telemedicine

The development of robotics and integration into healthcare has enhanced life-saving processes. Robotics is integrated into surgical devices, radio imaging and other treatment methods. Enter Google Arm.

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6 Ideas for a Healthier Workspace

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6 Ideas for a Healthier Workspace

Standing desks, plants for your area, and a piece of fruit to encourage health snacking. Here are some ideas to make your workplace a little bit healthier. 

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Dangers of Light Bulbs

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Dangers of Light Bulbs

There are a million and one obvious positive aspects of light bulbs. However, recent advances in technology has created new types of light bulbs and a growing amount of evidence is showing that electric light bulbs may be affecting our health. 

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10 Health Apps Recommended by Physicians

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10 Health Apps Recommended by Physicians

Here are the top 10 health mobile apps doctors recommend most to their patients.  

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MRI-Powered Millirobots: the future of minimally invasive surgery?

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MRI-Powered Millirobots: the future of minimally invasive surgery?

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and University of Houston unveiled new technology that potentially uses magnetic energy. Generated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner that would navigates milli-sized robots throughout the body.

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