Brigham and Women’s Hospital to pilot post-discharge app with heart patients

from mobihealthnews:

Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston will pilot iGetBetter’s apps to reduce hospital readmissions through remote patient monitoring and post-discharge patient engagement. The pilot will target patients that have heart disease, specifically those with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

“There is a great need for innovative approaches to relieve symptoms for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,” Dr. Neal Lakdawala, a BWH physician and the clinical lead on the pilot, said in a statement. “Disease manifestations can vary significantly on a day to day, and even minute to minute basis, but contemporary practice has not adapted to this aspect of disease. We are excited about the potential for this pilot, in which we will accelerate the pace of relief for patients using technology that allows them to report symptoms, vital signs, and step counts daily. This information will allow us to titrate their medications weekly and individualize treatment.”

Full text at:
http://mobihealthnews.com/42154/brigham-and-womens-hospital-to-pilot-post-discharge-app-with-heart-patients/

The Best Wearables Will Be The Ones You Throw Away

from FastCompany:

HOW DO YOU MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF WEARABLES? WHEN YOU DON’T NEED THEM AT ALL.

The market for wearable electronics seems to be exploding: forecasters estimate that we will see growth at a compound annual rate of 35% over the next five years with 148 million units shipped by 2019. The data appears impressive until you consider that only two years ago forecasters were predicting shipments of twice that amount—over 300 million by 2018. Why are the numbers declining?

Full text at:
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3044716/the-best-wearables-will-be-the-ones-you-throw-away

Boys win Lego award for robot reminding people to take medicines

from thejournal.ie:

A TEAM OF SCHOOLBOYS from Dublin have won a European award for building a robot and app to remind people to take vital medicines at regular intervals throughout the day.

The boys from Jobstown in Tallaght took a top award at the First Lego League robotics tournament in Paderborn in Germany, beating 52 teams from 34 countries to win an award specifically recognising their team spirit.

The team of seven boys – aged between 11 and 16 – designed and built a Lego robot, which worked with a smartphone app which alerted elderly people that it was the appropriate time to take their daily medication.

Full text at:

http://www.thejournal.ie/jobstown-teenagers-robot-medicines-913526-May2013/

Physician review of the iPhone AliveCor ECG heart monitor, the clinical reality of the device

from iMedicallApps:

By: Satish Misra MD and Iltifat Husain MD

Satish Misra MD is a 3rd year Resident Physician at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who will be starting a cardiology fellowship at Johns Hopkins in July of this year. He is the Managing Editor of iMedicalApps. Iltifat Husain MD is the founder and editor-in-chief of iMedicalApps and a second year Emergency Medicine Resident Physician at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

In our video review, we take a close look at the AliveCor heart monitor’s features and real life functionality. In the text portion of this review, we explain what the device can and cannot do — and attempt to bring clarity to this mobile heart monitor’s capabilities. For example, we touch on how the device does not replace a 12 lead ECG and will miss heart attacks — an impression the general media appears to think is not the case and something the device makers never touted the device can do in the first place. Overall, we walked away impressed with the elegance and simplicity of the device.

Full text at:

http://www.imedicalapps.com/2013/03/physician-review-iphone-alivecor-ecg-heart-monitor/

Dynamic New Software Improves Care of Aging Brain

from ScienceDaily:

Innovative medical records software developed by geriatricians and informaticians from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University Center for Aging Research will provide more personalized health care for older adult patients, a population at significant risk for mental health decline and disorders.

A new study published in eGEMs, a peer-reviewed online publication recently launched by the Electronic Data Methods Forum, unveils the enhanced Electronic Medical Record Aging Brain Care Software, an automated decision-support system that enables care coordinators to track the health of the aging brain and help meet the complex biopsychosocial needs of patients and their informal caregivers.

The eMR-ABC captures and monitors the cognitive, functional, behavioral and psychological symptoms of older adults suffering from dementia or depression. It also collects information on the burden placed on patients' family caregivers.

Full text at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130314141134.htm

Wearable Mobile System lets doctors wirelessly monitor patients

from gizmag

This wearable sensor pack uses Wi-Fi technology and is claimed to allow doctors using a tablet or smartphone to remotely monitor patient vital signs with the accuracy of an intensive care unit. The included sensors allow doctors to constantly monitor blood oxygen levels, blood pressure, heart rate, electrocardiogram readings and skin temperature with the accuracy of an intensive care unit, while allowing patients to stay in ordinary hospital rooms or move about.

The idea is to provide doctors with immediate, direct access to a patient’s vital signs whether at an ambulance scene or while the patient is walking about in hospital. This continuous monitoring removes some human error and gives fewer reasons to disturb patients. It also helps in the early detection of patient deterioration, which the current practice of taking vital sign readings every few hours often misses. Furthermore, the technology frees up expensive intensive care unit spaces and allows patients the enjoyment of more mobility.

Future expansion is planned, including monitoring patients after they’ve been discharged, the inclusion of a cuffless non-invasive blood pressure (cNIBP) sensor and the monitoring of patient posture or activity as a “new vital sign.”

Full text available at:

http://www.gizmag.com/visi-mobile-wireless-health-monitoring/25583/

Medical home diagnostic tools

from gizmag:

Using online medical resources to diagnose our various aches and pains is just as likely to send someone rushing to the doctor in the belief they have some incurable, life-threatening disease as it is to put any fears to rest. Medical startup Scanadu, which is based at the NASA-Ames Research Center, is set to provide a set of home diagnostic tools that are designed to let users monitor their health over time and provide a better indication of whether a trip to the doc is actually necessary.

While Scanadu continues working on a tricorder-like device capable of capturing key health metrics and diagnosing a set of 15 diseases in an attempt to claim the US10 million Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize, it has just revealed its first three consumer health products that are designed to put a doctor in your pocket.

Full text at:

http://www.gizmag.com/scanadu-scout-scanaflu-scanflo/25240/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=8727133184-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email