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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GOOGLE TO COLLABORATE ON 'NEXT-GENERATION' GLUCOSE MONITORING DEVICES

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GOOGLE TO COLLABORATE ON 'NEXT-GENERATION' GLUCOSE MONITORING DEVICES

The life sciences team at Google will be joining forces with DexCom, a company specializing in glucose monitoring devices, to develop a new low-cost bandage-sized sensor for people with diabetes. In addition to being small and low-cost, the new wearable sensor will be disposable and usable by people with all types of diabetes. The device will be connected to The Cloud and provide real-time information. DexCom state that the aim of the partnership is to develop next-generation continuous glucose monitoring products that will be "substantially smaller and much less expensive than existing technologies."

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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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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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Paralyzed Patient Makes Natural Movements Using Robotics and Power of Thought

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Paralyzed Patient Makes Natural Movements Using Robotics and Power of Thought

34 year old Erik Sorto had been paralyzed from the neck down for the past 13 years. He suffered a spinal cord injury due to a gunshot 10 years earlier. Millions of individuals have lost the ability to sense and move their bodies, through illness or injury.

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Hate Needles? Potential 3-D Printed Device May Be Alternative

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Hate Needles? Potential 3-D Printed Device May Be Alternative

Research in the Journal of Family Practice identified that at least 20% of Americans have needle phobia. This can result in many critical preventive procedures like vaccines and flu shots being avoided. Many experts deem this as a public health issue. 

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3D Printed Body Parts: The Next Revolution in Healthcare?

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3D Printed Body Parts: The Next Revolution in Healthcare?

The age of bio-printing is here. Biomedical engineering is taking healthcare by storm and giving doctors insight into a whole new world of treatment. 3D printed body parts in particular are intriguing, when it comes to both surgery, replacing cancerous organs, treating those with amputations and beyond. 

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9 Apple Watch Health Apps to Achieve your Goals

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9 Apple Watch Health Apps to Achieve your Goals

Health apps built for the Apple Watch may actually help you achieve your health goals. Here are 9 of our favorites. 

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7 Health Innovations from Doctor Google

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7 Health Innovations from Doctor Google

As we all know, Google is an innovator. Google's technology spans all industries and now they're hitting healthcare in a big way. We explore 7 ways they're innovating in the digital health space.

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Video: The future of how we visit the doctor?

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Video: The future of how we visit the doctor?

Is the future of going to the doctor virtual? Leaders across the healthcare sector believe so. We explore.

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Heavy Facebook Use May Lead to Depression

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Heavy Facebook Use May Lead to Depression

There are 1.4 billion monthly active users on Facebook. On average, a person spends 20 minutes a day on Facebook. Too much time? Many experts continue to debate tech overuse and it's effect on our health. To further the debate, now a study has been released showing a link between depression and Facebook overuse.  

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Apple & IBM Release 4 IOS Enterprise Healthcare Apps

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Apple & IBM Release 4 IOS Enterprise Healthcare Apps

The IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps is designed to deliver unprecedented support that allows hospitals and home-based healthcare workers to coordinate patient care and reduce costs for everyone. We explore.

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'MusicGlove' Helps Stroke Patients Use Their Hands Again

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'MusicGlove' Helps Stroke Patients Use Their Hands Again

A new wearable technology could improve the stroke recovery process. And it's really cool. 

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Will There Be A New Robot?

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Will There Be A New Robot?

Google has teamed up with Johnson & Johnson to create the next robotic-assisted surgery system. Currently the gold standard in robotic surgery is the da Vinci Surgical System. Will this new platform live up? We explore. 

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Behind Apple's Researchkit

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Behind Apple's Researchkit

Researchkit has everyone talking in the healthcare industry. Apple’s new clinical research software is an open-source software framework designed for both medical and health researchers to create apps to be used by researchers and patients in studies. 

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Apple Watch Health Kit: Prevention Game Changer?

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Apple Watch Health Kit: Prevention Game Changer?

The Apple Watch Health Kit has everyone in the health industry talking. Putting the ability to track glucose levels, amount of time sitting and more on your wrist could be a game changer in terms of prevention and healthy living. Here's what you need to know about Health Kit

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Nerve Grafts from ‘Bionic Reconstruction’ Could Improve Robotic Surgery

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Nerve Grafts from ‘Bionic Reconstruction’ Could Improve Robotic Surgery

Three male amputees from Austria have successfully received robotic hands as a replacement for their injured hands. These men were the first to have doctors perform bionic hand reconstruction on amputees.

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