Medgadget » Telemedicine

Augmented Reality System Helps Astronauts Diagnose Medical Problems in Outer Space

Wouter Stomp — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:13:52 +0000

In space, nothing is as easy as it is on Earth, and an ill astronaut could pose a major problem to any space mission. For advanced diagnostis purposes, the International Space Station already carries an ultrasound device, but astronauts are generally not trained ultrasound operators. Also, a connection to ground-based expert help may involve unwieldy communication delays, so it is no surprise space agencies are looking into ways to make future space travellers more self-sufficient.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is working on an augmented reality system that will help astronauts better diagnose medical problems in space. The Computer Assisted Medical Diagnosis and Surgery System, CAMDASS as it is strangely called, is a wearable augmented reality system with a head-mounted display that merges actual and virtual reality by precisely combining computer-generated graphics with the wearer’s view.

Skylight Microscope-Smartphone Adapter Launching in March

Gavin Corley — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:53:45 +0000

SkyLight, a technology start-up which began life as a Kickstarter project, has announced the release of its namesake microscope-to-smartphone adapter this coming March. The minimalist SkyLight adapter can optically interface any smartphone device to any microscope via a series of simple sliding and locking fixtures, which help to position the smartphone’s camera over the microscope’s eyepiece lens.The adapter is made of lightweight plastics and weighs less than an iPhone.

The project was the brainchild of Andy Miller, a designer and engineer who, as an undergraduate, developed low cost microscopes for the developing world. According to the company, the SkyLight adapter was designed as a simple way to remotely connect doctors to patients in rural locations using existing microscopes and easy to use, increasingly available smartphones.

Corning Shows Us a Future Made of Glass

Scott Jung — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:12:10 +0000

Corning lately may be best known for their ultra-durable Gorilla Glass found on Apple products as well as other smartphones and computers, but it also has a historic and revered research and development arm that was responsible for the glass found in innovations that include the original Edison lightbulb and the first liquid crystal displays. Corning is also dedicated to supporting the life sciences industry: PYREX, for example, is a common glass found in today’s laboratories.

The 104-year old R&D research arm recently released a video of its glass-filled vision for the next 104 years. Some of the concepts presented are already in development, but one intriguing section in the middle of the video visualizes the use of Corning glass in the medical lab. We’ll start you off at the 3:07 mark and you’ll see glass used in futuristic, transparent medical terminals and tablets. You’ll also see glass (which is antimicrobial) used in a holographic examination table integrated with a cool-looking MRI scanner.

HeartCheck Pen Handheld ECG for At-Home Cardiac Monitoring

Gene Ostrovsky — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:32:54 +0000

CardioComm out of Victoria, Canada received marketing clearance from the FDA to bring its HeartCheck Pen Handheld ECG to the U.S.

The device can be used by the patients themselves at home and comes with software the allows recorded telemetry to be uploaded to the company’s C4 medical call service telemedicine group where physicians can analyze the data.

Hidalgo Unveils Equivital EQ02 LifeMonitor

Gene Ostrovsky — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:11:37 +0000

Hidalgo out of Cambridge, England has released its new wireless Equivital EQ02 LifeMonitor that can continuously record ECG, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and activity levels in patients. Data is analyzed using special software for PCs, web and mobile devices and can provide real-time results that can be immediately acted upon by clinicians.

Hidalgo’s technology has already been in use by UK’s Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue, Addenbrooke’s hospital, and the US Marine Corps in Iraq where wireless, mobile, and easy to use devices save the day.

Valencell’s V-LINC Sensor Technology Monitors Your Health Using Your Music Player’s Buds

Scott Jung — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:37:07 +0000

We all know that the ear is a multifunctional, anatomical marvel. We often take for granted its ability to allow us to eavesdrop, to rock out to the latest beats, to hold up our spectacles, and to be pierced over and over again. Last week at CES 2012 in Las Vegas, Raleigh, NC-based Valencell announced their sensor technology that uses the ear’s unique physiology to gather vital health and fitness data.

The technology is called V-LINC, and it’s being built into the ubiquitous set of earbuds that you probably use every day. According to Valencell, “V-LINC technology comprises the only earbud-based continuous heart rate monitoring technology proven accurate during virtually any exercise in virtually any physical environment or condition.” According to the V-LINC website, its earbud sensors are able to measure the following biometric data:

Withings Introduces the Smart Baby Scale; Ready to Keep the World Posted on Your Baby’s Growth

Wouter Stomp — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:05:12 +0000

If your company already released innovative “connected” versions of the body scale, blood pressure monitor and baby monitor, what’s next? For Withings, the answer is a smart baby scale. The Withings Smart Baby Scale is an internet-connected baby and toddler scale with WiFi, Bluetooth and Bluetooth Smart (Bluetooth Low Energy) connectivity. It has many of the same features as the adult body scale, and we can imagine the Twitter and Facebook integration on this device to be quite a bit more popular than on its adult counterpart.

The Smart Baby Scale is one of the devices that has been awarded with the CES Innovation Award and it will be available in the second quarter of 2012.

WSJ’s Walt Mossberg Tests Telcare Connected Blood Glucose Meter

Wouter Stomp — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:09:52 +0000

Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg has published an account of his experiences with the Telcare BGM 3G blood glucose meter. The BGM acts like a normal glucose meter but also embeds cellular connectivity that sends blood glucose data to Telcare’s servers, from where both doctor and patient can access them via the password-protected Web site or iPhone app. If necessary, doctors can send direct messages back to the glucose meter from the same interface.

Mossberg, himself a type 2 diabetic, found the meter “a refreshing change”, and “a significant step toward bringing consumer medical devices closer to the world of modern technology”. Main drawbacks were the high price and limited battery life.

AirStrip Receives CE Mark for Mobile Monitoring Solutions

Wouter Stomp — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:59:56 +0000

AirStrip Technologies has received European CE Mark certification for its mobile patient monitoring applications. The apps provide mobile access to vital live and historical patient data including waveforms, ECGs and other information and it received FDA clearance last August. Applications currently available include AirStrip OB, AirStrip Cardiology and AirStrip Patient Monitoring. AirStrip Cardiology was recently featured as the best US medical application for the iPhone as part of Apple’s App Store Rewind 2011.

Airstrip Cardiology and Patient Monitoring are available for iOS devices only, while Airstrip OB is available for almost all current mobile platforms including iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows Mobile. In addition to the physicians installing the apps on their mobile devices, the hospital must purchase the interface, server and individual subscriptions from AirStrip for the system to operate.

Macaw App Soars onto Smartphones, Aims to Be Ultimate Mobile Health Hub

Shiv Gaglani — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:56:41 +0000

We at Medgadget often report about cool new biometric sensors and gadgets that can monitor everything from blood glucose to ZQ (sleep score). Personal health monitoring is an exciting trend, though just like social networking, consumers will likely want a single convenient hub from which they can watch their health data and progress.

At the 2011 mHealth Summit this week, one app promises to make quite a, well, squawk in this arena. Produced by U.S. Preventive Medicine Inc. in a partnership with Qualcomm’s new wholly-owned subsidiary, Qualcomm Life (also announced this week; details to come), and designed by Fjord (responsible for the look of Flickr and Foursquare), Macaw is a health and fitness app that aims to be the “ultimate personal heath hub.” It is now available for free download for the iPhone and Android.