The all new Brainport device essentially is made up of a small video camera, that is attached to sunglasses, that in turn is then calibrated with a a plastic “lolly pop”,  that is placed on the user’s tongue. This device then converts the visual images to electrical impulses pattern, that are delivered to the user’s tongue.

Craig Lundberg was picked up by the Ministry of Defense for this one of a kind experimental project and is currently formulating plans to buy the Brainport device for $27,518 and will initiate training programs on this device for other similar cases as well.

According to Craig Lundberg,

“You get lines and shapes of things, it sees in black and white so you get a two dimensional image on your tongue, it’s a bit like a pins and needles sensation. It’s only a prototype, but the potential to change my life is massive, it’s got a lot of potential to advance things for blind people. One of the things it has enabled me to do is pick up objects straight away, I can reach out and pick them up when before I would be fumbling around to feel for them.”

Via BBC UK & NeatORama

The concept of a virtual physician for your personal use isn’t a far fetched and in fact this trend of online medical care is fast catching up. Two of the major insurance organizations operating in the state of New York, from BlueCross BlueShield insurance have announced that, come this summer, their customers and employees will now be able to  enjoy the full benefits of a virtual doctor. This all new service will enable the users to connect to a doctor in real time by the means of a private chat network or VoIP.

This awesome and highly beneficial service being provided by BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and BlueShield of Northeastern New York, in association with American Well Inc. that is providing the technological assistance to the initiative. The users of this service will also be able to send IMs and conduct video chat with the physicians. The project known as Blue Cross’ Online Care service, is scheduled to be launched in the western New York area and the reach of this noble program is expected to reach to northeastern New York by the fourth quarter of this year. The company has also stated that, as in the second year of this service, those users who either do not have insurance or are underinsured, will also be take benefit from this service and will be charged a fee of $40 to $45.

One of the most fascinating features of the Blue Cross’ Online Care is the availability of three way conferencing,  wherein a physician can consult an online specialist in real time and conduct a three way conference with the patient. There is also the immensely useful ‘Virtual Waiting Room’ in the program, where a user can request to be queued in the virtual waiting room, i.e. when the physician is available, the user will be given an immediate call back.

According to Alphonso O’Neil-White (CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield ),

“The introduction of Online Care is in line with our strategic vision to make health care more accessible and less costly for the communities we serve. Online Care is an innovative solution that will allow us to bring high quality, informed and timely care to our members when and where they need it.”

Via Computer World

According to data, only 5% of the world’s population or some 154 million people benefit from anti-smoking laws. Additionally, statistics show that passive smoking is responsible for about 600,000 deaths a year. The anti-tobacco lobby is a lost battle especially in developing countries and emerging economies where smoke-free laws are not strictly implemented, if ever they do exist at all.

Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Margaret Chan denounced the “ruthless, devious” attitude of the tobacco industry in trying to gain market share in developing countries. According to Chan, the consumption of tobacco is currently progressing in the developing world. While large groups of the tobacco industry are in retreat in some parts of the world, they are very much on the march in other regions, she added. This lament marked her speech at the fifth anniversary of the WHO convention to combat smoking.

‘The 2005 convention bans advertising and sponsorship, advocates tobacco taxes, legislation to make public places smoke-free and other restrictions to stifle a growth in smoking which is blamed for increasing heart disease, strokes and cancers.’

The developing world is the ‘new frontier’ in expanding the tobacco global markets, with girls and women representing a very attractive potential market. This is also where poor sectors of the population are more vulnerable to the ill effects of smoking due to poverty and poor health care.

‘The global death toll attributed to tobacco could rise to eight million by 2030 at the current rate.’

Photo Courtesy of Alina Zienowicz
Wikimedia Commons

Via Yahoo! News

A significant new study that was recently undertaken by medical scientists, toxicologists, and epidemiologists Carol Christensen, Elizabeth Platz, Gabriella Andreott, Aaron Blair, Jane Hoppin, Stella Koutros, Charles Lynch, Dale Sandler, and Michael Alavanja entitled “Coumaphos Exposure and Incident Cancer among Male Participants in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS)” claims that pesticide exposure raises the risk of prostate cancer by as much as 65 percent among male professional pesticide applicators if they had a family history of the disease. The respondents in the research included 47,822 licensed pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina.

The chemical in question is the insecticide called coumaphos, an organophosphate livestock pesticide primarily used to control pests on beef and dairy cattle. More than 70,000 pounds of coumaphos were used on 6 million livestock annually in the United States, especially during the period 1990 to 1999. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not classify coumaphos as a carcinogen.

‘Approximately 8% of applicators reported use of coumaphos; 8.5% reported a family history of prostate cancer.’ The authors’ findings state that there is an observed positive association between exposure to coumaphos and prostate cancer among men who reported a family history of prostate cancer. The research identifies genetic susceptibility to prostate cancer as a factor that increases risk to the disease after occupational exposure to the coumaphos insecticide.

The study’s findings are presented in Environmental Health Perspectives.

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If you were wondering how you could possibly clean your hands often, you might be suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Certain people with OCD (not all) suffer from repetitive thoughts about contamination which makes them wash their hands several times over using soap and water. This often leads to bruised skin and terrible mental state.

Here is something could not only help the people with OCD, but also those who work in hospitals and at other places. Instead of suing soap and water several times over, one can now use put their hands inside a plasma sanitizer. Plasma is the same luminous gas found in TVs and neon signs, and at room temperature they kill bacteria and virus.

Gregor Morfill at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany created several prototypes. Apparently, it even works on athlete’s foot and hands. It will also kill fungi, and thus it would ward off diseases which are highly infectious. It is still in a prototype stage and may require a considerable time in order to be developed commercially. Let us just wait and watch!

Via: NY Times

They have incorporated it into their design as a step towards healthy future of patients, or children. The place, has been designed through a tie up between the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Dan Pearlman Creative Agency. The center creates a fantastic narrative that guides patients on a journey to Elise Island, a safe place to play and rest hosted by Princess Elise.
The Evangelisches Konigin Elizabeth Krankenhaus is spread out in three colorful rooms. The three are – ‘Sandburg’ or sand castle, Palmehutte or palm hut, and Klipper meaning clipper ship. Flowing curves, colors such as green, blue, pink, those all-time children’s favourites, have been integral to the interiors.

Positive vibes have beent he key in creating the design for each room, with shape, color, materials, light, and fresh air in mind. Clearly, a lot of thought went into understand the needs of young patients. It is a sustainable design alongside having loads of creativity. The idea has also been to use creativity as a social resource.

Via: Dan Pearlman

For centuries now, the month of February has been known to be the shortest month of the year and it also marks the most loveable day of the year, with the celebration of Valentine’s Day on the 14th February of every year. However, for the year 2010, a new social movement, called The Halo Effect has something quite different in mind, as it is encouraging people across the globe to make it the month of good deeds. The initiative calls for the people to do one act of kindness or a good deed every day for the month of February and then share their experiences.

The motive of the Halo Effect is to make the people do some good for others for all the 28 days if February, thus spreading the word of joy and compassion across the world. The Halo Effect has been founded by Leanne Bucaro, who got the inspiration to start the event, from a ritual practiced in Africa, wherein, people devote 29 days to acts of kindness.

According to Ms. Bucaro,

“February is the month with a heart around it – it’s a month of love – it has Valentines Day. As Canadians, we are opening up our borders and our hearts to neighbours worldwide for the 2010 Olympic Games. At a time of year when most are experiencing the winter blues – The Halo Effect is nourishment for the soul. Anyone can take part in The Halo Effect. We encourage people to share their progress and describe how helping others makes them feel… blog, tweet or Facebook about your experiences, tell co-workers, family. Imagine the possibilities.”

The Halo Effect is one of a kind movement, where there the whole concept of the activity isn’t money related, but focuses entirely on the power of good of a human heart, and what people can do to make the lives of others a little better. It is an amazing initiative, as in today’s fast paced mechanized lifestyle, most of us have forgotten the compassionate side of humanity and we are being driven by money, technology and comfort, as our priorities.

According to Dr. Sanjeev Sharma (CEO, Wellpoint Health Services),

“It has been my observation as a physician that good deeds and charitable acts seem to assist an individual in finding physical, emotional and perhaps spiritual balance. Giving time to help others may have health benefits such as lowering blood pressure, regulating heart rate and boosting mood stability, which in turn can lead to a more happy and fulfilled life.”

Via PR Web

If you thought diapers were only for little babies then you could be wrong, think again! We have just discovered “Aipad,” one of the craziest products ever. It is a high-tech sensor-ready adult absorbent brief product by a Japanese company called Awajitec. In another word, it is an adult-diaper. Only Japan could think of such cool and yet bizarre products. However, it is ideal for bed-ridden adults who cannot do much on their own.

It is such a problem when they must answer to the nature’s call while they are virtually bed-ridden. It’s been a great challenge for the caretakers to attend to them. The Aipad has two lines of aluminum, which is connected by a clip with a small sensor unit. When the diaper is soaked; the sensor notifies it via radio waves. This alarms the caretakers that it’s time for a diaper change.

Truly, old age takes you back to the age of an infant, giving another chance to every human to be born again as a child. Interestingly, “ai” in Japanese means “love.” So, here is a lot of love for the old folks. I quite like this product for no apparent reason though.

Via: AsiaJin

Now even the cardiologists, while on work, can be an audience to the spectacular 3D view. It might not be for their source of entertainment, but they can now have a 3D view of the intricate structure of the human arteries. The conventional method of subjecting the patient to X-rays several times, to comprehend the jumble of the human arteries, is going to become obsolete.

In Washington, new software has been launched by a team of researchers, which can now easily provide a 3D view of the arteries and not only that it can effortlessly compute the length and branching of arteries along with the blockages present in them. This software uses X-rays to get the 3D view, but the frequency of using X-rays has been reduced greatly and thereby reducing the health hazards originating from the exposure to the radiation.
 
Currently, it has only been tested on 23 patients to fathom their arterial perplexity. This effort saving technique will be put to test at all the centers across the globe, very soon.
“This is very exciting technology that holds great promise,” says John Carroll, the director in the Division of Cardiology, University of Colorado.

via: news.yahoo

        physorg

After the earthquake that devastated Haiti and obliterated the country’s critical infrastructure, the non-profit medical aid organization, Doctors Without Borders, has now committed its personnel to the region, where there is an acute shortage of medical supplies, food, water etc. However, the widespread devastation has left little room for these doctors to operate, so they have finally come up with an ingenious solution to the problem. The solution being, inflatable medical tents also referred to as “plug and play hospitals”, that not only have the basic necessities of a clinic, but are fully equipped with generators and sanitation equipment.

As of now the organization has been able to construct nine tents, with each tent weighing 41 metric tons and the combined strength of the nine tents has given Haitians with 100 beds, that include areas for intensive care and surgery. A typical plug and play field hospital comprises of nine tents, with 100 beds, that are inclusive of ICU and recovery beds. Apart from these, the field hospital is also composed of an emergency tent, and two operations theaters.

Via Boing Boing & Doctors Without Borders