Physician communication portal
A new clinical communication platform aims to improve health by connecting physicians and nurses. PerfectServe platform connects over 20,000 physicians and 50 hospitals. The platform is processing over 35 million communication transactions per year between physicians and nurses. This communication tools allows health systems to streamline clinician communication and possibly remove communication breakdowns which result in patient safety being negatively affected.
The system allows physicians to stay in contact and share data quick and easy. Nurses spend less time tracking physicians which improves patient care. The system provides convenient access to the portal through smart phone apps and tablets access. The system has many advantages in the clinical setting and can expend to provide additional services.
Surgeon assessment
The da Vinci robort is a devise that scales down a surgeons hand movement in order to allow him to perform operations using tiny incisions. This innovation allows for less tissue damage and a much quicker recovery period for patients. There are over 200,000 being used for surgical procedures today.
The newest innovation to the da Vinci Robot is the MScore which assesses the robot to more reliably predict whether new surgeons are ready to operate on patients. MScore compares the skills of novice surgeon to that of an experiences surgeon. This is a great tool for surgeon’s own assessment and continuing growth and skill.
3-D virtual anatomy
NYU School of Medicine designed a new and a more innovative approach for studying organs in cadavers. This approach involves a virtual cadaver projected on a screen in 3-D. With a simple click, all organs and veins are projected, allowing the capability to instantaneously navigate through the human body. The reviews of the virtual cadavers were mixed. Some students stated that dealing with a real human cadaver was difficult and often time neglects to cover all organs. The example given is dealing with a cadaver who has undergone multiple surgeries during its lifetime and is now missing its appendix and spleen. In this case the student is left without the knowledge of vital organ parts, while a virtual cadaver will always cover all organs and systems. Other students state that they believe that no computer will ever replace real cadavers. NYU administrators state that as of right now there are no plans to eliminate real cadavers as part of the curriculum but to simply use virtual cadavers to assist in the learning process.
Eight technologies for a healthier 2012
With the fast approach of the New Year, most of us have a New Year resolution. One of the biggest New Year’s resolutions is losing weight and with all the new technological advances, some say that this year may be much easier than the others to do so. The article states that the technology that may improve your health are tracking devises, exercise applications, and devices such as FitBit which counts the steps you take and calculates the calories you burn. While such devised may be extremely helpful in losing weight, the biggest contributor is motivation. Having the desire and will power are first on the list, and then technology which is used as an aide.
The future of medicine: 2012 edition
Livescience.com has a list of five expected medical advances for the year 2012, and they are:
- the use of vaccines in cancer treatment (not just for prevention)
- better vaccines for malaria
- better air quality regulations
- cheaper life-saving drugs
- clearer consumer information regarding health insurance plans and the nutritional content of food
What I like about this list is that it is partially focused on prevention/pro-action and not just reactive health care (which is frequently more expensive and less efficient). All good things: giving consumers more (and more comprehensible!) information regarding the food they purchase and eat, cheaper medication (such as drugs for diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease), clear summaries and comparisons of health care plans, a wider variety of cancer treatments (which may end up being less invasive and with fewer side effects), and better vaccines for life-threatening illnesses like malaria.
2012 may have a lot to look forward to!
3D printer used to make bone-like material
An amazing new medical inkjet was created by Washington State University; a 3D printer that creates bone-like structures. The bone like material can be used for a number of procedures such as dental and orthopedic work. Testing is still being done however; results have been promising, showing success in rats and rabbits. Amazing innovation!
Technology to bridge language barriers
Barriers such as access to care, no health insurance, and language create big dents in our health system and keeps patients from receiving the treatment they need. The Howard County General Hospital unveiled a tool that will stream videos to provide live interpretation services to patients. This service will be instantaneous and will cater to 170 languages including Spanish, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, and even deaf communities. The tablets access networks of interpreters and goes as far as reading patients body language and other visual cues to assist in accurate interpretations. This is a great tool to remove health barriers which prevent patients from receiving proper care.
What a concept: human-friendly hospital rooms
Michael Graves designed this bedside table with patients in mind
I've always found it a little odd that patients (disabled, blind, chronically ill, etc.) aren't consulted when hospitals, rehab facilities and doctor's offices are designed. I actually wonder if they're considered at all. I've gone to dermatologist appointments in the winter in a brand-new state of the art building that is frankly, too cold to be in fully clothed. Rooms with walls made of glass, floors of icy tile, and soaring 15+ foot ceilings aren't the best place to have a full body scan. I can't imagine being a patient going through chemo or radiation and having to be in that building multiple times a week. While I think natural light and colorful artwork definitely helps overall health and healing in an aesthetic way, there are other things to consider (like having rugs in the rooms where barefoot patients are waiting for 40 minutes to see a doctor in the middle of winter).
Renowned architect Michael Graves gave a talk regarding hospital and exam room design at the 2011 TEDMED conference, where he highlighted a lot of these issues, and gave numerous ideas for improvement and change. This article and the video of the talk itself (also at the link) are worth visiting, because it gives the perspective of a patient who is also a designer - one, in fact, who has spent his life integrating form and function. He is one of few people in the position to be able to see both sides of this issue, and be the one to know how to fix it. Now paralyzed and wheelchair-bound from an extremely rare infection, Graves can look around and see where current hospital and rehab center design has gone wrong. It may be that he is the one to show how to keep the bright, colorful and sensory-pleasing elements of current modern architecture, and incorporate sensible, patient-friendly features as well.
Breakthrough medical gadgets: The future of healthcare hardware
In today’s society, our technological abilities advance on a daily basis and health technology is no exception. A group of developers gathered for a meeting to present some of the new innovative gadgets and healthcare hardware. The gadgets have potential to changemedical training and improve health with a simple click of a button. Some of the gadgets described in the article include the Xiaflex Injection Trainer-rubber dummy models that assist in training physicians with procedures such as injecting enzymes into diseased tendons, the AccuVien AV 300 which scans for thick blood vessels and projects them onto a patient’s skin allowing professionals to easily locate vessels, the EarlySense Monitoring system which is a bed that monitors your vital signs and alert nurses when someone who is not allowed up has gotten out of bed, and many others
Many of these items are already present in hospitals and have begun to assist health professionals. It is interesting to watch the progression of these gadgets as well as the production of new ones and how they will change our healthcare system.
New social media tool for students and surgeons
Surgery Theater is the first online social media educational portal for all surgical procedures. The site can be used to watch live surgical procedures and conferences, medical document sharing, exploring new surgical techniques, and receiving information on the most up-to-date surgical innovations. This is a great medical education resource for students but can also be used for patients looking to get more information on upcoming surgical procedure. This is a great new educational tool for surgeons, students, and patients.