6 Ways Your Next Hospital Visit May Bring Technology Changes

 

The continuing advances in technology serve to improve patient care and alleviate the work load of hospital workers. While some of these devices are in current use, others are in trial periods in facilities across the country.

 

Bloodless Medicine

Though regulations make transfusions relatively safe, patients may opt out of receiving blood products because of religious beliefs or concerns about safety. The innovation of bloodless medicine implements medication and technology that salvages, cleanses and extends blood volume without the need for supplementation with blood. The various techniques used in the process include minimally invasive surgery, coagulating lasers or electro-cautery instrumentation and volume extenders.

 

Remote Monitoring

In a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 10 percent of the Intensive Care Unit beds in the country now have advanced systems that provide continual monitoring of critically ill patients. The systems consist of two-way television monitors and video cameras maintained at an operations center via computer, which enables nurses and physicians to monitor and interact with patients, families and other staff members.

 

Paperless Hospitals

Medical facilities are continually moving closer to becoming paperless environments. Advancements in technology include hospital automation consisting of computerized systems that create electronic forms. The systems have the capability of handling a multitude of information that extends from administration through patient care. Department and file filters ensure limited access to qualified personnel and printing options easily create hard copy replications of any file.

 

SafeStep Testing

The cost and prevalence of hospital acquired infections prompted manufacturer Getinge to create the SafeStep testing unit. The portable, hand held device is about the size of a phone and detects the presence of adenosine triphosphate, commonly called ATP. When present, the enzyme indicates living organisms. Staff members swab the areas requiring testing and insert the swab into the unit. Within 15 seconds, the device displays the results.

 

Infection Fighting Robots

Patients hospitalized at the Loyola University Health System may see three-foot tall, cylinder shaped robots rolling up and down the corridors. Equipped to emit ultraviolet light rays, the medical center uses the robots in unoccupied patient rooms and surgical suites to eliminate MRSA and other possible pathogens.

 

Closed Hospital Gowns

A hospital in Detroit recently began supplying patients with new gowns that completely close in the back and consist of a thicker material that provides added warmth. The gowns have snaps in the front that make the garment adjustable in size. Easily put on or removed, the gowns also allow for IV lines and medical equipment accessibility when needed.

 

Every year, engineers create technology that serves medical needs. The technology utilized in today’s hospitals was once only the product of minds that created science fiction.

 

Categories: bloodless medicine, changes, hospital, Medical, nbsp, patient care, Patients, safestep testing, staff members, technology, visit

Teens Who Text About Sex More Likely to Have Safe Sex

A study has found that teenagers who are not embarrassed about sending sexual texts are far more likely to protect their sexual wellness and wellbeing. Researchers said that using technology is a great way to get teenagers talking about potentially embarrassing topics, such as their sexual health. Teenagers who sent text messages about condoms were around four times more likely to have protected sex than those who did not, according to the study.

 

In addition, the study found that students who used technology to talk about sexual limits or pregnancy were doubly likely to use a condom when they had sex. This also applied when high school students talk about another form of birth control rather than condoms.

 

The study’s lead author uses the data to point out that not all use of technology is harmful. Most of the media attention points towards the risks and harms associated with technology use (for example, sexting) but in this case students who used their electronic tools to discuss sexual health were actually better prepared for real life scenarios.

 

Researchers think that it may be that technology allows teenagers to talk about subjects that would be embarrassing or awkward face to face.

 

The study was carried out on a group of 176 high school teenagers. Of the group 64 claimed to be sexually active, with more than half of them admitting that they consistently failed to use a condom.

 

These numbers, whilst shocking, are actually in line with statistics from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reports that 47 percent of U.S. high school students are having sex, and 40 percent are not using condoms.

 

Unsurprisingly, this leads to a very high teen pregnancy rate. If talking about condom use via text or IM on their mobile phones helps teens to take better precautions, then it is something to be celebrated.

Categories: condoms nbsp, high school, nbsp, Safe, school students, Sex, sexual, sexual health, study, technology, Teenagers, text

Have You Tried This Amazing Weight Loss and Fitness Gear?

Weight loss and fitness gadgets are the latest high-tech way to improve your wellness and wellbeing. With products from top fitness companies Fitbit, Jawbone and Nike, many people are now using wearable fitness products, clipped to their bras or underclothes. These track every move they make during the day, whether at work, running errands, in the bed or in the gym. The challenge is to get to 10,000 steps every day, and this often translates to direct results when stepping on the scales.

 

All fitness enthusiasts find themselves drawn to these types of products, eager to find out more about their daily fitness and even sleep routines. Trackers can be worn on the wrist, if you want to track it regularly throughout the day. The only downside to this idea is that sweat can make these devices itch and irritate the skin.

 

Nevertheless, the idea of trackers is often very appealing for people who are regularly active, and can serve as a great motivator to those who should be moving more in order to benefit their health. There is a school of thought that hypothesises that these devices will, in the future, be able to track health conditions in the elderly. The technology world is waiting with bated breath to find out exactly how these gadgets will be used in the future.

 

For example, it looks like wireless earbuds will soon be hitting the market. These will not only be able to allow you to listen to music without any need for wires, but they will also be able to track your heart rate when you are carrying out physical activities. When you are exercising, your target rate should be about 70 – 85 percent of your maximum heart rate, which varies according to your age.

Categories: fitness, gear, Heart Rate, nbsp, products, rate, technology, track, Weight Loss

Best Ways to Get Fit Using the Latest Technology

Microsoft is the latest company to start trying to make an impact on your wellness and wellbeing through the medium of weight loss and fitness. Fitness tracking has become huge in the world of technology, and the Bing Health and Fitness Windows Phone app joins the queue.

 

This has been released as a beta through the Windows Phone store, but is not quite ready for mainstream use yet. It has been pre-released as a beta in order for Microsoft to test it and make it ready for the consumer market.

 

As a result of this, the app may only have limited functionality, or there may be known issues with it. For that reason, you should not download this app for public use whilst it is in the beta-testing phase. Nevertheless, this is unlikely to put off keen fitness enthusiasts with Windows Phones, who want to see what the app is all about.

 

The app combines health, fitness and nutrition-tracking features. Sort of a RunKeeper meets Fitbit meets MyFitnessPal, in some ways, synchronising all of your data across any Windows 8 devices. With this app you can set your daily calorie goal and then record what you eat, watching the calories get deducted from your total. There is nutritional information for 300,000 different foods programmed right in.

 

You can also choose from hundreds of different workouts and fitness exercises, which you are guided through using photos, videos and step-by-step instructions. In addition to this, you can use the GPS tracker on your phone to record the distance, time and pace of your workout, as well as the calories that you burn whilst you bike, walk, run or do a number of other cardiovascular activities.

 

When you are feeling ill, you can enter your symptoms into the device to get a free check via the Interactive Symptom Checker for possible health conditions that you may be suffering from.

Categories: beta, fitness, health, microsoft, nbsp, technology, windows, windows phone

7 Ways EMRs Streamline Health Care

The problem of health care is not just one of cost, it’s one of infrastructure. Simply put, hospitals and practices operate inefficiently. The paper transfer of medical records leaves too much room for error, and the patient suffers in the interim.

 

Health technology is in deployment, but will take time to truly become protocol for hospitals. In the interim, practices are discovering some amazing benefits to electronic medical record adoption.

 

Billing

Patient billing is a perpetual source of headache for hospitals, usually because it involves so many cogs. Staff must speak with insurance companies and provide verification of treatment before being notified of whether they qualify for payment, and then the patient is billed the remainder. The process is a hassle that will be made much simpler as electronic medical records become the industry standard. When doctors can accurately record a patient’s diagnosis as it happens, the room for dispute shrinks and the process becomes more efficient.

 

Prescriptions

Prescriptions will be filed digitally, but for now doctors can use EMRs to record patient medication usage and treatment recommendations. Doctors can currently use EMR technology to lookup pharmacies for a patient, make recommendations and track the patient’s medications schedule remotely. In the future, this data may include patient check-ins to accurately record times that medication has been taken.

 

Diagnosis

A patient’s diagnosis based around EMR technology will incorporate historical data about past conditions and family knowledge as well. Doctors will have a top-level perspective of a patient’s medical history and list of common allergies. The patient will be relied upon less for data, hopefully increasing the accuracy of a prognosis.

 

Treatments

Treating a patient off-site will become more accurate as EMR technology incorporates with applications in the home. Patietns can already use their smartphones to track how many calories they eat or how often they exercise, in the future we may see technology that tracks blood pressure or changes to glucose levels in real-time. These sources of data will help doctors diagnose a patient as they are medicated, resulting in a more accurate treatment schedule with predictable outcomes.

 

Scheduling

Patient scheduling currently integrates with a doctor’s calendar using medical scheduling software. Simple additions like color coding help prioritize a doctor’s schedule and give staff easy reference when a patient calls in. The hope is that this reduces time on the phone, allowing staff more time to focus on patient needs in the practice itself. In the future, patients may schedule or even fulfill appointments online using video chat software.

 

Accuracy

With more methods of collecting data comes greater accuracy in that data. A patient can carry a pedometer, but an app designed to track a patient’s walking and eating habits serves benefit to both parties. Instead of hitting a number, the goals are more quantifiable. Health professionals hope that patients will be more enthusiastic about their own care, but that they will use these tools correctly. The data collected is only useful if the patient is honest, like a GPS tracker that is driven rather than walked around a park.

 

Efficiency

With greater access to data, doctors spend less time chasing after patient data. Things like patient history and family genes will be part of that profile in the future, giving doctors an at-a-glance understanding of what’s wrong with a patient.

 

The practices that focus most on preparation stand to gain the most from the technology. Build your health infrastructure with your staff in mind, encourage inclusion and sponsor programs that teach how the technology works.

Categories: accurately record, care, data, electronic medical, EMR, emr technology, health, health care, medical records, nbsp, patient, technology

Are E-Commerce Engineers the Future of Healthcare?

Technology undoubtedly has more of an impact on your wellbeing than it ever has before, continually penetrating and transforming the world of healthcare and wellness as we know it. Technology provides many benefits to the medical profession, including email correspondence between doctors and patients, the electronic transmission of medical records, scheduling appointments and procedures, and maintaining communication with physicians, nurses, insurers, employers and workers. According to Rey Pasinli & Jason Taylor, the Executive Directors of leading merchant services provider Total-Apps, the main benefit of using technology in healthcare is that of convenience.

 

Pasinli and Taylor note that the convenience-enhancing technology ‘will continue to garner attention, particularly as the federal government begins to enforce the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), in which more information – more transactions, purchases and sales of health care-related items – will become commonplace. The key factor responsible for making these scenarios a reality depends on the quality of the e-commerce engineering experts – the merchant service provider – with the knowledge, expertise, infrastructure, compliance and innovation to achieve these tasks.’

 

‘Remember,’ Pasinli and Taylor urge. ‘The volume of activity, along with the necessary security to protect sensitive or confidential data, rests with working with technical leaders who understand this subject and its urgency for companies, employers, workers, insurers, hospitals, pharmacies and the many other organisations that play a role in the healthcare sector. All of these actors have a valuable contribution to make, but, if we are to make a successful transition to the web, if we are to customise solutions that make credit card processing (which will be the chief means of payment online) successful, then companies…must perform their own due diligence.’

 

But what qualifies Pasinli and Taylor to make such bold claims? ‘We write these words from our own collective wisdom, based on our appreciation of and anticipation for one of the most significant events in the history of e-commerce,’ they assert. ‘Think, for a moment, of the magnitude of this issue; tens of millions of people, as employees, patients or independent contractors, will be making more medical purchases online – and, on the other side of those transactions, are the engineering experts who will guarantee this experience is fast, simple, secure and reliable.’

 

Pasinli and Taylor continue, ‘In our work as Directors of Total-Apps, where we see the other side of the Internet, the proverbial back-end responsible for making this vast universe of otherwise chaotic and confusing dealings orderly, our advice to companies – our frank admonition for the promotion of corporate wellness – is, again, very clear: Everything relies on the credibility, intelligence and flexible solutions that a merchant service provider can offer. Again, this point bears repeating because, as consumers, medical patients and members of various online communities, we, as a society, tend to take the Internet for granted. In other words, few of us stop to consider the enormity of the technology – the instantaneous flow of information and the rapidity of responses, from individuals around the globe – that maintains the success of this virtual world.’

 

‘Our passion for this issue reflects our thorough understanding of the technology involved in making this ambition a reality,’ Pasinli and Taylor conclude. ‘But, more candidly, and with all due respect to other merchant service providers, we believe now is the time – for companies – for choosing. Now is the time to customize, implement and facilitate credit card payments, without compromising quality, exceeding costs or breaching security. Now is the time to act – boldly, but intelligently – and research the right merchant service provider to manage this broad portfolio of responsibilities. Based on these criteria, and with eagerness to make convenience (and ease-of-use) a top priority, we can reform healthcare, migrate more purchases online and make these transactions safe, swift and always secure.’

Categories: Convenience, credit card, engineering experts, healthcare, merchant service, nbsp pasinli, pasinli, service provider, taylor, technology, total apps

Constant Corporate Communication: Has 9 to 5 become 24/7?

These days, your corporate wellness is almost inextricably linked to your entire wellbeing; if things are going well at work your home life is better, while workplace stress sneakily feeds its way into your relationships and personal time. Somehow, work has infiltrated your entire life, whether it’s because of the constant emails to your smart phone, or the joint efforts of the media and your education which urges you to become as good as or better than the next person. It’s not the nine to five anymore; work is omnipresent.

 

It’s easy to see how this inability to escape the stresses of work can wreak havoc on your wellness; persistent high levels of stress can result in all kinds of health problems such as a weaker immune system, headaches, stiff muscles and even issues with your sexual health. Then there are the mental health problems; feelings of insecurity, exhaustion, difficulty concentrating and growing dependence on unhealthy coping mechanisms (e.g. smoking, drinking and overeating.) Put that all together, and you’ve got the recipe for a downfall.

 

According to Michael Hogg, author of The Age-Nostic Man: The Secrets of Anti-Ageing for Men, some employers believe that workers should reduce their own stress levels by making more of an effort to care for their own health and simplify their lives. ‘I have certainly seen cases where the chief cause of stress has been a company and the behaviour of its management,’ Hogg notes. ‘More men are realising that work is not the only source of fulfillment in their life, which can be a major help in fighting against stress. More of us are looking for greater flexibility just as much as women. However, with an ever-changing society, flexibility is becoming much more apparent and not always easy to organise.’

 

The truth is it’s not as simple as pointing the finger at your work and shouting “that’s the culprit”. You mental health is a balancing act which is affected by a number of different factors. For example, you may have been born with less favourable genes when it comes to mental health, or you may have experienced a major emotional trauma such as losing your job or a loved one. Then there’s the inward pressure you put on yourself – how often do you push yourself to achieve unattainable goals and targets? You may be surrounded by others who inadvertently add to your stress by pressuring you to achieve or do things. Your partner, family members or friends want the best for you, but may be taxing your mental health by encouraging this.

 

While there are these factors at play in your mental health, there are elements that you can control. As a society, we celebrate “hard workers” and, in this economy, working as hard as you can and getting enough money to support your family is certainly a concern. However, as this inward and outward pressure is taking its toll on your health and personal life, you need to find a happy medium. Hogg elucidates, ‘I did meet a business author and small-time entrepreneur recently who started his own business in his late 30s just so he could have greater control over his own work-life relationship. He had several opportunities to grow the small central operation but declined each time…Making it larger would mean him spending more time doing the things he didn’t want to do.’

 

You don’t have to quit and start a business just to get a better work-life balance. This weekend, try to cut yourself off from all technology, and take the time to think and re-set your priorities. List the things that make up your life, and prioritise them in terms of what will be important to you over the next 10 years. You won’t have solved your problems by Sunday evening, but focusing on what’s important to you will help to frame your future behaviours.

Categories: health, health problems, life, Mental Health, Priorities, Stress, technology, time, work, work life

Is there a Specific Solution to Your Job Stress Situation?

‘Chronic job strain can put both your physical and emotional health at risk,’ says Paul J. Rosch, MD, the president of the American Institute of Stress, but when corporate wellness experts and the like talk about this strain, they tend to forget that we’re all individuals, and whack it all under the big umbrella term of “work stress”. There is a myriad of different causes of work stress, which require a variety of solutions. So, which of these specific situations is affecting your wellbeing both in and out of the workplace?

 

1. Overworked and underpaid: You get in, you sit down and you keep working right up until the last minute. However, even though you’re putting in every minute of every hour of the working day, you have no say in how you do things, what type of projects you work on or on your own schedule. Peter L. Schnall, MD, an occupational stress expert at the University of California, notes that “high-demand, low-control” jobs cause a great deal of strain to your mental wellness, but research suggests that you can ease the stress by finding ways to get more involved in decision-making.

 

2. Stalled career climber: Even though you’ve been working away and trying to get noticed, all you’ve managed to do is make your boss look good without them realising you did all the hard graft. You’re yet to receive a raise, a promotion, or even sufficient recognition for your blood, sweat and tears, and this is the perfect cocktail for stress, especially if you’re a very driven and ambitious person. Instead of stewing about these so-called “effort-reward imbalances” try talking to your boss about your career goals. You might not get a promotion there and then but at least everyone is then on the same page, and your boss can give you some insight about how to improve your situation.

 

3. Desert island desk-jockey: In an office full of colleagues and supervisors, you feel totally alone. You don’t feel like you can go to your boss for help or guidance, and you don’t have a trusted ally to turn to when you need a good vent. In order to do your job well, if at all, you need a good support system that includes practical support from your bosses and emotional support from colleagues. This means you need to communicate your needs more effectively, being more specific and persuasive with your boss and making the effort to connect with your co-workers.

 

4. The office doormat: You’re on the front-line, dealing with demanding and even nasty customers, but you’re now allowed to fight back. Instead, you have to take it all in your stride and maintain a facade of professionalism, calm, and courtesy, no matter how much they verbally abuse you. Dr Schnall explains, ‘When there’s a discrepancy between your internal state and the roles you’re expected to play at work, you experience what researchers call “emotional labour.”’ Again, you should talk to your boss about advice or additional training on how to handle difficult customers without taking it personally and feeling demoralised.

 

5. Terrorised by technology: Thanks to the internet and the nifty little smartphone your company so generously provided, you are now within reach 24/7, and don’t your colleagues know it! There’s no leaving work at the office anymore; you can’t even distinguish between your work and personal life. Dr Rosch notes, ‘Technostress is an important and growing issue,’ and you can forget that you control your phone, and not the other way around. Turn off email notifications on your phone and set aside three times in your day (during working hours) that you will check your inbox.

Categories: boss, career progression, Doormat, nbsp, Stress, technology, work, work stress, working

Not Getting Any: Four Reasons Why You’ve Stopped Having Sex

After you’ve been in a relationship for a while, your sexual wellness tends to wilt. However, not having sex shouldn’t be a “normal” part of life; it’s a real sexual health issue. It’s never time to give up on sex, so let’s look at why you’re not getting any.

 

1. Your bedroom is more “boardroom” than “boudoir”.

Your bed is a sacred place, reserved for the two greatest things in life; sex and sleep. So how are you going to get in the mood if you’re typing away on your laptop while your partner reads the newspaper? Anita H. Clayton, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia and author of Satisfaction: Women, Sex, and the Quest for Intimacy, recommends making the bedroom a no-technology zone, and giving sex the priority it deserves – even if it means scheduling it in!

 

2. Your medications are sapping your sex drive.

If you take oral contraceptives (OCs) so you can have worry-free sex, the oestrogen content of those magic little pills might be lowering your libido, says Michael Krychman, MD, medical director of sexual medicine at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, California. Other medications, such as antidepressants and those that reduce blood pressure, anxiety and acid reflux, may also stall your sex drive, so talk to your GP about the sexual side effects of all of your drugs, and consider alternatives.

 

3. You’re too busy.

Not only are you trying to cram a 30-hour day into 12, but the chronic stresses of modern life can also take its toll on your sexual wellbeing, triggering a cascade of hormonal changes that mess with your body’s sexual-response cycle. Sex therapist Linda De Villers, PhD, advises taking a soothing bath with a few drops of ylang-ylang essential oil. This allows you to shift out of that busy mindset, take a break from technology and get those sexual feelings heightened with that arousing aroma.

 

4. You don’t want to get your body out.

According to Clayton, ‘Emotionally, we’ve bought into the media’s idealisation of what is really sexy. The message is; you have to look a certain way in order to have really good sex.’ However, De Villers argues, ‘Women have a talent for disliking the very things about themselves that other people find very attractive.’ So ask your partner what he likes about your body – chances are he’s going gaga over the very part of you that you’re trying to hide.

Categories: body, Body Confidence, Busy, life, nbsp, Sex, Sex Drive, sexual, technology

Could New Anti-Aging Treatment Help to Restore Youth?

A fantastic new advancement in the field of anti-aging could possibly blow about everything else out of the water. Hybrid Energy skin technology is a wellness-related treatment that works on the principal of fractional radio technology. It claims to fill and plump the skin and remove fine lines, wrinkles and acne scars, all in a non-invasive way. But is this really the new wonder treatment that it appears to be?

 

The cutting edge technology has only been available for a few months so far, but the demand for the service is already very high indeed. The technology has been around for a while and the new machine uses a combination of techniques to add new volume to previously tired skin. It plumps and refills skin, making for a fuller and smoother complexion with no indentations or scars. It is also not damaging for the well-being of the skin the way more invasive treatments such as Botox or surgical treatments such as face-lifts are.

 

In contrast to more serious surgical treatments, this is a walk in/ walk out type of procedure that can easily be carried out in a short space of time in a day treatment facility. The procedure is painless and usually lasts for around 45 minutes, after which you can walk out confidently feeling radiant and youthful. No foreign substances are introduced into the body and instead the technology works with the body’s own natural defence mechanisms to produce a natural effect.

 

Not only will you be able to walk out looking better than you did before your treatment, but the treatment continues to work for a period of weeks, so that up to three weeks later you may still notice a significant difference in the way you look.

Categories: anti aging, radio, skin, surgical treatments, technology, treatment, Treatments, walk, youth

How Does Technology Impact Our Wellbeing?

Many people worry about the effects of mobile phones on our health, as they are so widespread now – in 2011, it was estimated that around five billion people used a mobile phone. Medical research suggests that even small health risks associated with this technology could lead to significant public health concerns. In order to assess whether you’re willing to undertake these risks, you should be aware of the possible side effects that mobile phones bring. Mobiles use base stations and radio frequency radiation to communicate – if this is high enough, it can have a thermal effect, which means that it raises the body temperature. There are concerns from some people that low levels of this RF radiation emitted from mobile phones could lead to headaches and brain tumours when usage is continued over a number of years. There has been intensive research carried out which shows no conclusive evidence that mobile phones are damaging to our health in the short or long term. In May 2011, however, the World Health Organisation stated that RF radiation could be possibly carcinogenic to humans, after a study showed that there was an increased risk of glioma – a type of brain cancer. The risk of RF radiation depends on how long you use the phone, how close you hold the phone to your body, and the distance you are to the base station – if there is a weak signal from the base station, the phone will increase its radiation level to compensate.

 

There have been a number of studies into the effects of RF radiation on the body. For example, it has been shown that the radiation from a mobile has the biological effect of raising the temperature in a localised area on the brain by a fraction of a degree – this doesn’t automatically carry any risks to your health, though. The body can adjust to the variations of temperature to keep itself safe from damage. Phones have been connected to cancer scares as well, but because RF radiation is a form of non-ionising radiation it can’t affect the risk of cancer. There are a number of myths surrounding mobile phone use, but many of them are unfounded.

 

One such myth is that using a hands-free device will make you safe from the radiation that mobile phones emit – this isn’t true though, as all mobiles emit low levels of radiation so even if it isn’t pressed against your body, you will still be exposed to them. Most experts agree that keeping your phone away from your body when you can will help to reduce the risk of any health problems attributed to the technology. Using your phone sparingly and sensibly is the best course of action. This is because the longer you are exposed to the radiation, the more risks you’re taking with your health. It’s thought that taking shorter calls instead of long ones could reduce the amount of radiation you’re exposed to, but this isn’t necessarily true – there is a surge of radiation every time you dial a new number, so taking lots of short calls means that you’re exposing yourself to more. Metal-rimmed glasses, earrings and fillings can actually increase your radiation levels around the eye by up to 20pc – researchers are unsure what the health consequences might be from this though. And if you’re pregnant, some scientists think that absorbing radiation through the torso could affect your unborn baby – because of this, it’s probably best to avoid keeping your phone in your pocket or holding it near your unborn child.

Categories: mobile phones, radiation, technology

Microsoft Works to Help Deaf Gamers

A team of top researchers at Microsoft are working with Chinese coding experts to tap the Xbox 360 Kinect motion sensor’s body-tracking capabilities to create sign language recognition capabilities for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. This could be a brilliant step forward as they could create a great way for deaf gamers to communicate more easily. The members of the Microsoft Research Asia team have created a new paper called the Sign Language Recognition and Translation with Kinect  and co-authored it with a number of researchers at the Institute of Computing Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The paper explains that although sign language recognition has been researched and considered as a possibility for many years. However, it also shed light on the fact that it has been difficult to achieve accurately in conditions that are not completely exact, where there are background and lighting issues that can vary considerably and make it impossible to work correctly. In the pat it was true that special “data gloves” and web cams have been required to make the technology work correctly, but they are now considered to be too expensive to be a viable possibility according the paper. However, as the report explains: Fortunately, Kinect is able to provide depth and colour data simultaneously, based on which the hand and body action can be tracked more accurate and easier. Therefore, 3D motion trajectory of each sign language vocabulary is aligned and matched between probe and gallery to get the recognised result. This could be a very good thing for gamers who are dear or have trouble hearing. The software could make communication much easier in games and even have more broad and encompassing real world applications. As not a lot of investment is put into creating the kind of software that makes gaming more accessible for people with hearing difficulties it’s hoped that this step forward could make a massive difference and encourage further innovation within the field. Further research and studies will take place to see what more can be done to assist deaf people live a ‘normal’ life.

But let’s take a look at how it is going to work. First, the 3D trajectory of the signer’s hands is mapped using a Kinect Windows SDK, then a resampling is done so that the software can fully understand what the signer is attempted to. It does this by taking account of differences in hand speed. The result is then scored and matched with the closest result from a list of gallery trajectories to be able to convey meanings. The coders are then able to use their 3D trajectory matching algorithm to build a sign language recognition and translation system with two primary functions. First it can translate sign language into text or speech, and secondly it can translate text into sign language through a computer-generated avatar. This will make speaking using sign language possible and allow deaf gamers to converse with others. It’s true that issues such as language accessibility for hard-of-hearing gamers is not an issue that is often thought about. And these kinds of technologies are often not given the platform they deserve. However, work like this with the potential for transforming people’s lives in a meaningful way, not just by making their smartphone apps easier to find, could help redress the balance. This is a very good thing for the gaming community as it makes games and gaming more accessible and could help to improve the lives of those people who would like to be involved.

Categories: deaf, gaming, technology

How is the Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Changing?

A new study carried out by Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) and INOVA Diagnostics has resulted in the completion of a worldwide license agreement for new technology which could detect antibodies to carbamylated proteins (anti-CarP). For Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferers, this could be a fantastic advancement that could help with diagnoses in the future. Researchers agree that the detection of auto-antibodies in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients could help to provide an important insight into the processes which initiate and progress the condition. Since the anti-CarP antibodies can also be detected in patients who no longer have serological markers, researchers are confident that this new insight could be hugely beneficial.

 

New treatment options mean that it’s now possible to apply early and aggressive treatments to this condition, and understanding which patients would benefit most from those interventions could help to boost the efficiency of them. In trying to understand the disease, researchers hope to unravel how the presence of auto-antibodies like anti-CarP contribute to the condition and how novel strategies can help to prevent the onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Experts believe that anti-CarP technologies represent a significant advancement in the diagnosis of RA, which helps to close the serological gap which currently exists with biomarkers.

 

A study published last year by the team at LUMC highlighted that IgG and IgA antibodies recognising carbanylated antigens were present in nearly half of the RA patients tested. In addition to this, anti-CarP antibodies were discovered to be predictive of a more severe course of the disease when measured by a radiological progression in ACPA negative RA patients. Rheumatoid Arthritis is a debilitating disease which affects millions of people each day – a new technology which could help identify the problem earlier could be a huge benefit to many people.

Categories: new study, Rheumatoid Arthritis, technology

What Do You Need to Do to Maintain a Work-Life Balance?

For Ann Laurie Fratticcioli, owner of Time Well Spent – a Concierge and Personal Errand Services based in Central New Jersey – the work-life balance debate has come to the forefront. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In talks about how women should stop holding themselves back from reaching their full corporate wellness potential, and who could forget Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer recently laying down the law with her policy of no telecommuting, and offering expanded maternity leave benefits?

According to Fratticcioli, ‘Reactions, both in agreement and disagreement, have been passionate. So where does that leave you and me? Should we strive to achieve work-life balance? Is it possible? Does it even exist? I think work-life balance is definitely attainable, but every individual’s definition of work-life balance is different. It’s a personal choice we make about how we want to live our lives.’

Fratticcioli notes that you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t think it’s realistic to draw a line in the sand and say, “This is work, this is my personal life, and never the twain shall meet.” However, she argues that this line has been permanently blurred thanks to technology, and so it is near-impossible to keep your personal life from invading our professional life and vice versa.

‘For those who complain about people bringing work home too often, let’s be honest,’ Fratticcioli says. ‘We were scheduling doctor’s appointments, figuring out soccer practice carpools and writing out bills from the office long before we started answering work emails on our smartphones at home. It goes both ways.’ She adds, ‘How we define work-life balance is a personal choice because we all have different priorities. What’s acceptable or unacceptable – to you, your family, and your professional goals?’

Fratticcioli comments that you need to set up certain boundaries in order to protect family wellness, and your own personal wellbeing. She throws down the gauntlet: ‘What time should you be home from work? When is it time to put the smartphone away? Is it okay to keep it on as long as you don’t answer calls or respond to emails?…More importantly, how far are you willing to go to maintain your definition of work-life balance? Are you willing to tell your boss that you’re unavailable during certain times at home? Are you willing to look for a new job if your current job simply won’t allow for the balance you need?’

Categories: Boundaries, Personal Choice, technology

Why Should You Talk Openly About Sex with Your Teenager?

Believe it or not, there was a time – only a decade ago – when Facebook and Twitter did not exist and mobile phones were owned primarily by adults. Today’s teenagers are now being called the “mobile generation,” with 75% owning a mobile phone – 84% of whom sleep with it turned on by their bed. But what’s that got to do with sexual health?

With all this new technology has come a constant barrage of sexual imagery. Your teenager’s sexual wellness, and overall wellbeing, is being shaped by advertising, prime time television and all forms of popular media, creating new obstacles to “the talk” that weren’t there just a decade ago. As a result, parents, teachers and members of the community need to come together to work with today’s young people and understand the world our teens are facing. Research shows that teens who report having open conversations with their parents about sex are more likely to delay sex, have fewer partners and use condoms and other birth control methods when they do have sex.

Because of this, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains’ Responsible Sex Education Institute, in partnership with the Healthy Colorado Youth Alliance, hosted a panel discussion entitled Sexual Health in the Digital Age at the Denver School of Science and Technology last year. Perhaps it wasn’t the pithiest of titles, but, in 2011 alone, the Responsible Sex Education Institute presented over 1,000 educational presentations to almost 18,000 participants – they must be doing something right!

Made up of experts from throughout the community, the panel met to speak to the obstacles and opportunities presented by technology, and how that technology can be used to advance sexual health, address teen pregnancy rates and in turn address high school graduation rates in US communities. With an estimated 750,000 American teens (15-19) becoming pregnant each year, the United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy among comparable countries, and the statistics pertaining to STDs are just as alarming. One in two sexually active young people contract an STD before the age of 25, but as we’re hardly producing monks and nuns back in Blighty, is there something we can learn from Colorado’s initiative?

Why Should You Talk Openly About Sex with Your Teenager?

Categories: education institute, responsible sex, sex education, sexual, sexual health, technology, Teen pregnancy, teens, the talk, young people

Breakthrough Methods to Help You Deal With Diabetes

Having diabetes is not a competition – but curing it could be, with a new competition offering a top prize of $100,000. The Data Design Diabetes Challenge is an innovative new way of incentivising companies to think about using technology to break down the barriers to controlling diabetes. Although this is a competition, it has serious undertones which could have long-lasting effects on the wellness of diabetes sufferers the world over.

The challenge offers this large cash sum to start-up companies that are coming up with revolutionary new ways to cut down on the enormous diabetes epidemic that is threatening the wellbeing of millions of people in the developed world.

These companies could do things like using algorithms to find better meals, or predicting which patients are most at risk from not using their medication properly – all using technology.

Dealing with the diabetes epidemic is considered a top priority, as almost 8.3 percent of the population in the USA alone is suffering from the disease, and the cost to the economy is enormous, with many millions more people now  at risk of diabetes, due to their lifestyles and other factors.

The competition is run by drugmaker Sanofi US and has run for several years now, looking to track down the best data-driven solutions to diabetes. They are careful not to source ideas that are simply ‘flash in the pan’ which will not come to anything, but more deeply rooted, well-thought-out ideas that will actually go on to help reduce incidences of diabetes and save lives.

Finalists for this year’s competition include GoCap, a high-tech cap that can be put onto pre-filled insulin pens, that are able to track the time and dosage and then communicate this information to glucometers and cell phones, making the potential for patient analysis enormous, and Connect & Coach, a software application which provides Diabetes Self-Management Education alongside Medical Nutrition Therapy in communities, which can be used in pharmacies and supermarkets.

Breakthrough Methods to Help You Deal With Diabetes

Categories: Companies, Competition, Diabetes, diabetes epidemic, enormous, risk, software, technology

How to Stop Five things From Ruining Your Sex Life

Whether the mood just isn’t right, or you’ve got an early start in the morning, sometimes sex can be the last thing you want when you crawl into bed, but what about those times when, seemingly inexplicably, you don’t get the intimacy you were after? Is there something about you that is a massive turn off? Of course not, you’re great! However, five things in your room are the secret culprits that are ruining your sex life.

Firstly, take a look at your bed sheets. Are they pink and flowery or covered with images of characters from Glee?  Sorry, but they have to go. If you want to take care of your sexual wellbeing, you first need someone who’s willing to jump into bed with you, and that means not leaving a barrier of Cory Monteith on the bed. For a hot sex life, you need a boudoir, not a teenage bedroom. That doesn’t mean going all out with black satin sheets and mirrors on the ceiling, but sometimes plain, clean crisp sheets can be just as inviting.

When you’re sitting in your new, adult bed, take a look at the floor. Is there dirty laundry where your carpet used to be? Pick it up this instant. Whether it’s a partner you live with, or you’re bringing home someone new, no one wants to go to bed with a girl who lives in a dump. You need to create an inviting, tidy environment, which also means making the bed in the morning.

Next, you may be a Facebook favourite or a top tweeter, but your phone has no place in bed. Put it down, and back away from the phone. Your sexual wellness depends on it! While we’re on technology, number four on this list is that lovely square box where all your imaginary friends live. That’s right, TV. Why wait until you’re falling asleep in front of reruns of fictional characters, when there’s a very real person who might want to have sex with you? Don’t wait until you have to drag yourself into bed, but jump in before that stage, so you won’t be too tired.

Finally, when you are getting into bed, have another think about those fluffy pyjamas. Yes, there’s nothing you love more than a good pair of cosy pjs, but do you love them because they make you look oh so sexy? Didn’t think so. If you’re trying to spice up your sex life, try a simple, silk slip or, even better, go naked! It may not be a corset and fishnets, but anything (or wearing nothing!) is much more of a passion-starter than your jammies.

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How to Stop Five things From Ruining Your Sex Life

Categories: Bed Sheets, Dirty Laundry, technology

The Medical Uses Of The Mobile Phone

The mobile phone is ubiquitous part of our lives that we often take for granted. It’s impossible to walk down a street without seeing someone calling, texting, gaming or checking their emails. This is becoming increasingly true across the world as well. According to the International Telecommunications Union of the United Nations, there were almost six billion mobile phone subscriptions by the end of 2011 – the same year the world’s population hit seven billion. Obviously many of these are from the richest nations and include people who have had multiple mobile phone subscriptions. Nevertheless the figure is very impressive.

The popularity and wide-spread ownership of mobile phones has not gone unnoticed by the medical establishment and global health experts. These experts, along with a number of entrepreneurs and technological innovators, have formed a movement commonly known as mobile health or mHealth, which has the objective to harness the potential of mobiles to improve health and wellbeing across the world.

The mHealth movement can be defined as medical and public health practices which are supported by mobile technologies, such as mobile phones, tablets, personal digital assistants and other wireless devices. Patients, providers, health administrators, and public health advocates can all use the mHealth system to strengthen health practices by improving the services they provide and expanding their overall reach.

There are many opportunities for mHealth to transform healthcare systems, particularly in developing countries and the Middle East. In these places public health information and access to health services are often limited by the lack of facilities, trained personnel and supplies. It is hoped that mHealth can play a huge part in using technology to revolutionise people’s treatments.

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The Medical Uses Of The Mobile Phone

Categories: mhealth, mobile phone, technology

How Can Eco-Friendly Technology Restructure the Environment?

You may think that eco-friendly, or environmentally friendly, goods and services only cause a minimum amount of damage to the wellbeing of the planet, but actually eco-friendly technology works to sustain and improve environmental wellness.

Of all the things macro organisms that are capable of damaging the environment, humans are responsible for 99% of pollution, and it seems as though pollution has become synonymous with affluent living. Those who live in the countryside and villages, and aboriginals living in forests, are largely eco-friendly, and we need to take a leaf out of the book of these kind of communities, who have natural, eco-friendly technologies imbedded in their psyche.

Luckily, more and more products and services are sprouting from eco-friendly technology. For example, you can now purchase energy-saving mobile phone chargers which automatically switch off once your battery is fully charged. This could save a whopping 90% of electrical energy, compared to your regular adapter.

You can also find eco-friendly technology in ink cartridges made from recycled cardboard.  These cartridges use as little plastic as possible, so they are able to decompose easily and quickly. Manufacturers also reduce the packaging as much as possible, and the interior of the cartridge is lined with biodegradable lamination to restrict any leakage.

Speaking of waste, a recycled Wet and Dry Log Maker allows you to pack household junk, such as newspapers, paper mail, wood clipping and shredding, tea bags and even wet combustible material, into a compact dense log. That way, instead of burning woods cut from precious green trees, you can burn household waste with this log maker, which is made from 100% recycled plastic material.

So that’s a few in-house eco-friendly technologies, but what about your car? Vehicular emission has been the biggest cause of damage to the health of the environment, but riding a bike sometimes isn’t an option. Though bicycling short distances is constantly recommended, since it saves precious fuel energy, has zero pollution implicit, and above all, it is a resounding step towards a healthy lifestyle, this may not be an option if you are hindered by difficult terrain, health problems, or old age. However, bikes have now also been given an eco-technology makeover, meaning that electrically operated bicycles are swarming the market, and can help you to play your part in restructuring the environment.

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How Can Eco-Friendly Technology Restructure the Environment?

Categories: eco-friendly, environment, technology

The Mobile Device Which Could Save The World From HIV

One of the biggest issues facing the world today is the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The problem isn’t the condition itself, it’s how destitute the countries which are worst effected are. This relative level of poverty means that the countries themselves are incapable of paying for and then maintaining the systems required to combat the diseases. Things like advanced health facilities, well qualified practitioners of healthcare and educations are severely lacking and without them the treatment of illnesses as serious as HIV or AIDS becomes much more difficult.

Most of the treatment of diseases like HIV and AIDS is carried out by foreign volunteers. These people generally aren’t paid and put huge amounts of hours into saving lives. A lot of what they do is life threatening as many locals aren’t fond of this outside aid. A lot of what’s necessary for the proper treatment of conditions requires the use of a lab. It doesn’t matter how many volunteers you have if you can’t then test the samples you gather. This used to mean transporting samples back to the nearest lab which could be hundreds of miles away. This was costly and time consuming.

A new device has been released recently which is due to totally change that. It’s a hand held mobile device which can test for HIV using a finger prick. It takes around 15 minutes for the device to determine whether a patient has AIDS or not and has around about the same accuracy as testing in the lab has. The devices are all linked with a central sever which does all the actual analysis and records the data. This means doctors and health practitioners worldwide will have immediate access to the results, meaning they’ll be able to chart trends without too much difficulty.

It will be a short time before we see devices like this put into full use. The fact is that they could change everything and start to make the war on HIV and AIDS look less like a losing fight!

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The Mobile Device Which Could Save The World From HIV

Categories: aids, HIV, technology