Flu tracking project

You have probably heard of the Google Flu Trends project (http://www.google.org/flutrends/), which aims to track flu epidemics in the USA by analysing search engine queries. (BTW, I wonder how accurately it would work, if at all, in the UK, for localising data, as my broadband Internet connection seems to bounce around most of northern England)

Our colleague Chris Paton reports on a similar project (in terms of the health issue addressed) called the Influenza Tracking Project. This aims to decrease the time lag in data/symptom reporting (similar to Google Flu Trends) and so potentially result in a more rapid preventative response to flu outbreaks. The project would do this by using social networks to facilitate the distribution of an online influenza questionnaire, and is based in earlier European work using questionnaires.

More information is on the National Institute for Health Innovation (NIHI - New Zealand) website (>>>) , which also gives contact details for Chen Luo, the medical student working on the project.

Electronic Arts to Enter Exercise-Gaming World

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/13/AR2008111300014.html

T-Mobile, Android, and Google Health?

I'm excited about the new T-Mobile G1 coming with Google's Android on it. That means we'll have a full, open source web compliant platform to develop not only health, but other applications. The browser and built-in tools will be fun to play with! T-Mobile is expanding its network to address deadzone or low service issues. One prognisticator claimed that at least 10% of the cell market would be on Android by 2010. That could be because of the other, supposed inside rumors.

That is the other good news, though rumor: The G1 is going to have a much lower price than iPhone, perhaps as low as $79 with a 2-year plan, and be sold in Sam's Clubs, Targets, Walmarts, and a few others, with even pay-per-minute plans. That could boost a lot of people getting and using them, especially the lower-income folks. Keep in mind these would be the people we'd want to target for health applications, especially, since the poor are unfortunately tied to more health issues (for lack of resources to manage).

I have little doubt it means GoogleHealth will be avialable on it. Imagine the things we can do for healthcare then... a true, mobile personal health record!

Video Games Improve Medication Compliance

Play video games can help with pediatric patient medication compliance (16% increase). From the August 2008 issue of Pediatrics, cited in a Yahoo! (Reuters):

In Re-Mission (http://www2.re-mission.net), developed by HopeLab, a Redwood City, California-based non-profit company, players control a tiny robot called Roxxi who moves around in a 3-D environment representing the inside of the body of a young cancer patient. Players can use Roxxi to blast cancer cells and control side effects, and winning the game requires taking chemotherapy drugs and antibiotics, using relaxation techniques, eating food, and keeping up with other types of self-care.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, August 2008.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080805/hl_nm/game_cancer_dc;_ylt=Ah1j5t0IB1cChOYyoe4T99Ks0NUE

Telehealth Technologies Addressing the Global Impending Nursing Shortage

Telehealth Technologies Addressing the Global Impending Nursing Shortage...

In addition to providing better care for patients at a distance, telehealth technology applications can provide a real means for the nursing profession to alleviate the impending nursing shortage. According to a report of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), there will be an unmet need for more than one million nurses in the United States by 2020.
http://www.nursingcenter.com/CareerCenter/static.asp?pageid=800469


Bob
repyke@infionline.net
repyke@medetel.lu

http://bob-thebobblog.blogspot.com/

HealthVault - A Healthy Idea?

e-Health meets social software from Microsoft. With HealthVault, all of your health information is in one place that you control….. what does everyone think ?

Source : OLWeekly