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The most interesting latest news on the topic: Health & Safety |
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Datapalooza, a conference that pairs eager developers with a treasure-trove of government healthcare data, is aiming to spur mobile initiatives and create apps that impact our lives.
The Health Data Initiative, a public-private collaboration funded by the Institute of Medicine and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will host its third annual Datapalooza, set for June 5 to 6 in Washington D.C., to showcase the latest mHealth innovations forged with open health data. "It's a phenomenal time to be an innovator at the intersection of data and health care improvement," said Todd Park, chief technology officer of HHS about Datapalooza. "I'm incredibly excited by the rising tide of innovations we're seeing -- new products, services and features being invented by entrepreneurs across the country, fueled by open health data." The HHS provides access to the federal government's vast data collections on topics like hospital performance, community health, and FDA recalls, for example, and converts published data in PDF format or books into machine-readable formats, which include APIs for third-party developer use. At the yearly Health Datapalooza, the entrepreneurs discuss their best products and services. The innovators team up and compete on the stage, in an American Idol-style face-off. But instead of performing songs, these contestants present mHealth innovations mined from the Health Data Initiative's public release of data sets. The mobile healthcare, or mHealth, market is expected to reach $5 billion by 2014, and more than double by 2020, according to the Center for Technology and Aging. By aiming to put widespread access to healthcare within the reach of those who need it the most, mHealth is changing the traditional delivery of health care, allowing for more continuous, pervasive health care anytime, and opening up broader swaths of data to developers is expected to spur a growing number of innovations. For example, last year, the HHS unveiled two non-smoking apps for its mobile health initiative. QuitNowTXT and SmokeFreeTXT are part of the agency's $5 million investment in the Text4Health program, created in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute. The HHS is also pursuing public-private partnerships to create apps for pregnant women, children and those who need emergency care, understanding text messaging is widely available, inexpensive and allows for immediate delivery of information. Also, Johns Hopkins is sponsoring 49 different studies in support of the Global mHealth Initiative to identify the apps that best help patients, doctors and the medical community by comparing them to traditional methods. While many are aware of breakthrough medical technologies, the HHS estimates that roughly 95 percent of the potential entrepreneur pool isn't aware that these vast stores of data exist and can help with future innovations, so the agency is working to increase awareness. Companies like Google and Microsoft are pitching in, holding health-data-code-a-thons and Health 2.0 developer challenges. These corporate collaborations produced applications for managing chronic diseases, finding providers, and locating clinical trials -- all using the government's open data -- in a fraction of time it historically has taken. There is big push to coordinate the layers of government healthcare data into one open, comprehensive database that public innovators can manipulate. The thinking is these vast stores of data can be joined and used to promote public welfare, following the trail blazed by another government agency. Nearly three decades ago, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration decided to release its data to the public, and the move resulted in a flurry of innovations, like mobile apps, websites and forecasting research tools, which transformed weather into a booming industry. Datapalooza is designed to duplicate NOAA's success by opening reams of information for innovation to spur development of a wealth of medical tools and creations to help people improve their health and use the healthcare system more effectively. |
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People who text while driving are responsible for the accidents their distracted behavior causes -- but what about the people at the other end of the conversation, who aren't driving?
A New Jersey couple out for a motorcycle ride almost died after a young man texting while driving stopped paying attention to the lanes and sideswiped them. David and Linda Kuber each lost a leg and sustained life-threatening injuries. The driver, Kyle Best, pled guilty to the charges brought against him. But the matter still isn't over: the couple's lawyer is making a case against the woman sending messages to Best during the ill-fated drive, arguing that her actions are akin to aiding and abetting a crime. The lawyer argues that, based on the pattern of texts, Shannon Colonna knew Best was driving at the time of her texts and still expected him to respond, which encouraged him to break the law and cause the bloody accident. Distracted driving causes a substantial part of car accidents, and while erring drivers are often charged for their crimes, this case will set a precedent for assigning guilt to the people on the other end of the text conversation. If the court finds Colonna guilty, it could prompt other victims of distracted driving to file suits against the people who texted their vehicular assailants, bolstering convictions against these people. Colonna's lawyer argues she had no way of knowing when Best would read and respond to her text, but if the Kuber's lawyer can prove she knew he'd text back, they may have a successful suit. With lawmakers across the U.S. honing in on the dangers of texting while driving, and one town in New Jersey outlawing texting while walking to curb accidents that happen to hapless pedestrians, the country is gravely concerned about the distracting nature of smartphones. If the judge wants to make an example of Colonna, the verdict may influence a number of cases being brought against distracted drivers and jumpstart a change in the way courts find these drivers culpable, shifting some blame to the people texting them. Technology designed to re-route phone calls and texts for people on the move may gain traction, and people will likely think twice about hitting "send" if they don't know the whereabouts of the text recipient. The Kubers' lawyer raises some interesting questions, but it may be difficult to prove Colonna knew Best was in the car. In addition, as more young people use smartphones with mobile Facebook and Twitter apps, this case may raise more questions -- could people be held responsible for accidents that happen when a driver gets distracted by their tweet? The answer to that question will likely open up a gray area and complicate an already escalating issue. |
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Everyheartbeat.org aims to unite medicine and social networks, instantly connecting patients with doctors online to offer more personal, comprehensive care.
The Facebook-like medical network will allow people to upload their heartbeat data for expert analysis, according to Dr. Leslie Saxon of the University of South Carolina. The cardiologist says everyheartbeat.org can easily detect "all sorts of abnormalities" and will enable "unbelievably predictive analytics across populations" once the database grows large enough. "I imagine this as a medical iTunes," Saxon explained. "The sooner in medicine we let patients learn for themselves and start to look at their data and understand it, the more sophisticated our own dialogue will be." Saxon's creation, now in super-stealth mode with an expected launch in 2013, joins other social networks in uniting doctors with patients, in spite of difficulties like privacy concerns. Facebook apps, for example, now joins sick people with matching kidney and blood donors in hours and not the usual rate of days or weeks. Facebook and Twitter also host medical data at Minnesota's Mayo Clinic and Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Florida. Mayo's health care professionals have started using Facebook to schedule appointments, while Sarasota's patients simply tweet their doctors about health issues. But the founders of HealthTap, a private social network connecting patients with over 5,000 doctors, say patient confidentiality must be a priority if such systems are to succeed. Medical data is subject to highly stringent federal data regulations, and possible breaches or leaks are a major risk. "Facebook and Twitter are dangerous for doctors, but everyone wants to take part in social networking," said HealthTap CEO Ron Gutman, warning that even a slight privacy breach may cost doctors millions in lawsuits. A solution to this problem may lie in tightly controlled social networks like Doximity, which pre-screens its doctors to avoid disastrous hacks like those against Utah's Children's Health Insurance Program. The attack, which exposed 780,000 Social Security numbers, highlights the difficulties of maintaining a secure medical social network in the wild online world. But if everyheartbeat.org can overcome these challenges, it may prove an extremely useful tool for both patients and doctors in diagnosing heart conditions. |
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Stroke victims can now play a video game to regain motor control, thanks to improved medical technology that engages patients more fully than traditional therapy.
The "Circus Challenge" game tricks participants into exercising their arms while performing virtual acts like juggling, taming lions and walking the tightrope. Circus Challenge, a joint creation between scientists at England's Newcastle University and gaming developers at Limbs Alive, has already made a difference in one stroke patient's life. Danny Mann of Northumberland had so much fun pretending to swing on the trapeze that he barely noticed the exercise involved in the activity. "The therapy exercises I normally have to do are dull but necessary but this game is something different which encourages me to keep going with my therapy," he said. Janet Eyre, professor of Pediatric Neuroscience at Newcastle, suggests at-home gaming sessions like these may improve motor skills faster than traditional therapy. "The brain can re-learn control of the weak arm but this needs frequent therapy over many months and there are not enough therapists to provide this on a one-to-one basis," she explained. "With our video game, people get engrossed in the competition and action of the circus characters and forget that the purpose of the game is for therapy." This video game and others like it are striving to improve the lives of stroke patients, cerebral palsy victims and those on the autistic spectrum who have difficulty with movement and communication by challenging them with fun, but still focused, activities. The Webhab program, for example, combines Nintendo's Wii gaming system and cloud computing so therapists can remotely assist stroke patients in their own homes. "Pop Those Balloons," a Canadian medical video game, gently prevents stroke victims from "cheating" and reinforces exercising the impaired sides of their bodies. And Aeir Talk, an app created by Joe Hill for his two autistic sons, lets parents upload audio flashcards so children learn to associate words with a familiar voice. These medical apps and video games may eventually produce a new kind of "gamer" as the medical world intersects more with the entertainment medium for patient therapy. And that possibility is growing, as doctors, developers and governments alike begin to realize the benefits of using technology to promote motor and speech therapy. Circus Challenge's developers, for instance, plan to make their creation public later this year thanks to a $2.4 million grant from the British government. If the investment pays off, the invention could lead to other games that will allow stroke victims and others to enjoy -- and not dread -- their physical therapy sessions. |
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The theft of about 780,000 online medical records by unknown hackers from state computers in Utah is sounding alarm bells about the protections of sensitive data.
Last month, hackers stole the data of hundreds of thousands of Medicaid recipients and participants from Utah's Children's Health Insurance Program, including the Social Security numbers of about 280,000 of them. Child records are specifically valuable to criminals because their lack of a credit report or bank account makes it difficult to monitor them for identity theft, leaving their data open for exploitation for years before it is uncovered. Utah's Department of Health said it was cooperating with the F.B.I. on its breach and working to notify victims, suggesting that Utah's Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Plan recipients, as well as anyone whose health-care provider might have submitted information to the state for Medicaid coverage within the last four months, monitor their credit and bank accounts. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert this week called the compromise a "completely unacceptable breach of trust," offered an apology and announced a "comprehensive" response to the massive data breach, including the resignation of Stephen Fletcher, director of the state's Department of Technology Services. The state also offered victims free credit monitoring. These kinds of patient data breaches are surging, underscoring the need for greater privacy protection. According to the Ponemon Institute, data hacks in healthcare rose more than 30 percent this year, with 96 percent of healthcare organizations reporting at least one breach involving patient information over the past two years. As part of a 2009 stimulus bill, the U.S. government pays incentives to doctors and hospitals that adopt electronic health records. As a result, more than half of office-based physicians now use digitized records and the number is steadily growing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Electronic medical records are a treasure trove of personal information, as the Utah breach reflects, including names, Social Security number, birth date, insurance information and personal health details, making them a prime target for hacking and theft. Utah officials report hackers were able to break into a Medicaid eligibility server, used to validate claims of retirees and others, in part because the security tools on the computer server were not installed properly. Also, much of the vulnerable data should have been deleted from the server once the claim was validated, but they were retained as records. Some of the exposed data was indecipherable, or disconnected from a name, making it hard to assess the full damage. Investigators have traced the hackers' IP address to Eastern Europe, but haven't identified any suspects. Hospitals and physicians are likely to search for better ways to bridge the gap between security practices and digitized data. More than 80 percent of physicians now use a smartphone, according to Manhattan Research, to do more patient-focused activities, such as communicating with patients via text messages, checking EKG or other test results and sending patient alerts and reminders, adding to the complexity of the protection issue. Hospitals, consulting firms, insurers and other big organizations that handle digitized, sensitive patient information expect to increase privacy protection, providing an emerging market for enterprise-class, healthcare-specific device and records security amid growing consumer awareness. "The people of Utah rightly believe that their government will protect them, their families and their personal data," Herbert said. "As a state government, we failed to honor that commitment. For that, as your governor and as a Utah [citizen], I am deeply sorry." Credit monitoring and commitment to improve are two consolations for those affected by the Utah breach, but will hardly be enough as medical records zoom towards digitization and hackers hone their skills. |
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Phones come in handy in a crisis, as long as they work, an obstacle Japan is striving to develop with networks that work in the most extreme of conditions.
Japan built its burgeoning "disaster-proof" mobile network to withstand natural disasters by quickly diverting traffic from compromised stations and preventing network overload. The country, whose interest in improving its networks, stems from the 2011 tsunami, which knocked out communication when people desperately needed it. As a result, Telecom companies NTT Docomo and KDDI are spearheading projects, but separately, so the Japanese government is pushing them to cooperate and get the networks up and running as soon as possible. In disasters, mobile service is often more reliable than landlines, and more accessible to people caught away from home during an emergency. During the Japanese tsunami, as well as the tornadoes in the U.S. last summer and a bevy of other crisis incidents, people relied on cell service and social media to communicate with family, friends and rescue teams. Japan, an island is prone to natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes, will benefit from the sturdier emergency network, and its actions may inspire other nations to concentrate on making emergency communication more reliable. A disaster-proof system in the U.S., however, is more difficult to create. The fiercely-competitive relationships between carriers in the U.S. hinders similar projects and the government is less likely to demand network-building cooperation. In addition, the spectrum squeeze makes it difficult for U.S. carriers to devote bandwidth to establishing comprehensive re-routing systems. For example, LightSquared's proposed merger with Sprint would have given Sprint access to more satellite-based network resources, but U.S. regulators blocked the deal due to potential interferences with GPS systems. Meanwhile, the FAA warned that GPS disturbance may actually decrease safety, by interfering with aviation signals, even though LightSquared insisted it could fix the interference issues and still run its towers. At the same time, unless the government places primacy on letting carriers use such satellites to bolster their networks, the U.S. will have trouble carrying out a project along the same lines as Japan and keeping citizens in contact during emergencies. AT&T introduced a series of "Remote Mobility Zone" kits, which connects cell service with satellites in case of emergency, but these cost upwards of $15,000, making them too expensive for most consumers. The U.S., which experiences devastating hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes, needs a foolproof communication system for people just as much as Japan. Researchers in the U.S. developed a mobile app that uses Bluetooth short-range radio technology to reroute data during service interruptions, but that method wouldn't be as widespread as a carrier-backed emergency system. The U.S. is developing emergency mobile services, such as a disaster response text alert system, but if the infrastructure to transmit these messages is damaged, systems like these are useless. Given the climate in Congress and among carriers in the U.S., AT&T, Verizon and other major carriers are unlikely to work together on a project on same scale as in Japan. But, if a widescale natural disaster strikes, and people are left without service, similar to Hurricane Katrina, regulators and carriers will face criticism as to why they didn't harness the technologies available in other countries, such as Japan. |
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For soldiers fighting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, popular game Tetris is as helpful as therapy or medication.
A research team at Oxford University discovered playing Tetris alleviates symptoms of PTSD, including flashbacks, by interrupting the process of storing painful memories in the brain. "Tetris therapy" doesn't erase or suppress the memory, but because Tetris engages the same parts of the brain used for imprint vivid mental images, playing the game soon after trauma may interfere with the mind using those areas to store extensive, detailed recollections. The Tetris therapy could be especially helpful for soldiers in combat zones trying to stop reliving painful experiences, as accessing the game is easier than making time for extensive talking therapy, or risk the side effects of pharmaceutical drugs used to treat PTSD. The U.S. Army could use the popular game to treat returning and deployed soldiers. Smartphone use in the Army is on the rise, and since Tetris is available as an app and on portable gaming devices, troops will have access to the game, even from remote outposts. This isn't the first time research suggested video games can help people with psychological or neurological conditions. Autism researchers credit social games on iPads with helping people develop social skills and communicate more clearly, while studies show app games like "Angry Birds" help elderly people stay mentally keen. There are already apps on the market to monitor stressed-out mobile phone users, like iHeal, which is designed to prevent drug relapses but can also be used to gauge PTSD patients' health, helping them know when to seek care. These monitoring apps could be used to see if Tetris therapy is working, by comparing the stats of people who are regularly playing Tetris to combat symptoms with those who do not. Video games are sometimes maligned for turning the mind to mush, but this study, along with others, illustrates how they can positively rewire the brain and supplement more traditional treatments for mental disorders. |
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Facebook can share their status as an organ donor with a new Timeline feature, demonstrating the site's massive potential for good.
Beyond sharing their status with friends, interested users can also find information about how to register as a donor on Facebook, and set the status to public so the medical community has access to the data. Although raising awareness is the feature's primary goal, its introduction highlights the social network's capacity to facilitate lifesaving procedures, since it may not be long until the function actually connects people in need with available organs. Users considering kidney, blood or bone marrow donation can actively seek people in need, while people are already organizing searches on Facebook for these willing donors, speeding up the process of locating life-saving connections. For essential organs, such as the heart, lungs or liver, it gets trickier, but using Facebook is still possible. Although critically sick patients and their loved ones may not want to think about the possibility they will not pull through, if terminal patients set their organ donor status to public, the medical community may be able to harness the feature to find local organ donors when the time is right. Already, people use informal Facebook networking to find willing donors, reaching out to their friends and extended networks. Socialblood.org, a Facebook app matching blood donors with rare types, also connects recipients and donors through the site. This sort of feature illustrates Facebook can work for more serious purposes beyond "slactivism," or a culture of clicking on altruistic links without actually doing anything. For example, Facebook engendered an upswing in people discussing and "liking" political articles and NGO pages about the relative merits of Kony2012, but it does not diminish real activism, and in this case, it provides a life-saving service sustained by its users' integrity. Facebook is a platform for social connectivity, and it can be abused through cyber-bullying and over-sharing -- but others use it to organize protests, check in with loved ones in emergencies, contact authorities about crimes, and now hunt for critical health resources. The platform is not inherently good or bad, and its embrace of organ donation match-ups demonstrates how the site can positively impact society. |
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Regulators are debating the merits of a nationwide ban on distracted driving, sparking debate over whether a block across the U.S. goes too far, or if state and industry efforts can counter the rising problem.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wants a federal ban on using cell phones on the road, calling for increased ticketing with a proposed nationwide law. Legislators are pushing for stricter law enforcement in a number of states, but LaHood's nationwide ban would give the country a unified, blanket law. LaHood, comparing the distracted driving epidemic to drunk driving, announced his intentions at a distracted-driving summit amid victims of accidents caused by reckless in-car cell phone use, but his proposal will not go through without opposition from powerful lobbying interests, who say significant efforts are already underway at the state and industry level. Aren't States Doing Enough? Gary Biller, president of the National Motorists Association (NMA) opposes federal legislation, pointing out state-specific laws will have the same effect. New York, California and a number of other states have outlawed phone use on the road, but this ban would extend to all 50 states. California's campaign, for example, included ramped up ticketing and highway signs comparing distracted drivers to zombies, and accident rates have dropped. However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration called for beefed up federal guidelines for automakers to discourage cars built with features that encourage cell phone use, giving LaHood's proposition a boost on the national level. Auto Makers and Other Industry Efforts to Combat Distracted Driving The auto industry is unlikely to embrace LaHood's proposal, since it runs counter to automakers' intentions to incorporate the technology into their vehicles. The auto industry, while supportive of lawmakers' efforts to make the roads safer, is already making inroads using smartphone technology to alleviate traffic and develop smarter cars. A number of apps guiding motorists through congested areas have hit the market, and the trend towards cars integrating smartphone technology is unlikely to cease. A ban on using cell phones in vehicles may produce tension between automakers who want to keep pace with innovative mobile technology and legislators who want to safeguard against the effects of technology and public safety. Carriers, for their part, helping to discourage distracted driving with motion-sensitive apps available to re-route calls to users in transit, including offerings from AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. Is It Enough? No one argues distracted driving is a serious issue, but the scale of LaHood's proposed ban may be startling for industry and lawmakers to mull over. LaHood's proposed ban may negate the potential benefits arising from incorporating technology into cars and driving, and prove problematic for automakers trying to make their cars stand out from the crowd with smartphone-integrated accessories. However, distracted driving persists despite increased penalties and crackdowns, with no existing solution able to curb an increasingly serious problem. |
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Go ahead and use your cell phone: it won't cause cancer, says the U.K.'s top health experts, diminshing worries that people endanger their lives by staying connected.
Scientists with the country's Health Protection Agency have concluded that everyone in the U.K. gets exposed to "universal and continuous" low-level radio frequencies from cell phones, Wi-Fi, televisions and radios. Despite the constant exposure, the scientists said, they did not find any definite links between the frequencies and cancer or other problems with brain function or infertility. There are many studies on the safety of mobile phones, according to the BBC, but the HPA's study is by far the most expansive. It also contradicts a World Health Organization project that determined cell phones cause certain types of brain cancer. Early last year, 31 scientists from 14 countries urged the WHO to re-examine its guidelines for safe mobile phone use. However, while the U.K. scientists said there's no conclusive evidence cell phone radiation is dangerous, the scientists recommended research continues on cell phones' long-term effects. In addition, the HPA suggested that "excessive use of mobile phones by children should be discouraged," striking a slightly cautionary note. The debate about the dangers of cell phones has been going on almost ever since the advents of mobile devices. For example, in 2004, Swedish scientists said that people who use cell phones for 10 or more years could end up having tumors, and in 2007, scientists said 10 minutes of cell phone use can cause changes in a person's brain. But as more people started using cell phones without ill effects, new studies debunked the earlier ones. Last year, Danish researchers found no evidence of a link between cell phone use and cancer. They concluded, after following 350,000 adults 30 years of age and older for more than a decade, there was no difference in cancer rates between people who used a cell phone and those who did not, including no risk of developing a brain tumor at the site where a cell phone is held close to the head. Since there are so many differences of opinion -- including in the U.K. scientists' report itself -- researchers will likely be divided for years to come about whether cell phones cause brain cancer or other diseases. In addition, as cell phone use grows as people give up their landlines and switch to mobile devices, scientific studies about phones' dangers will likely shift, and researchers may change their opinion as researchers are able to study more users. Finally, "recall bias" limits some studies, as cancer sufferers can have a tendency to over-report behaviors such as cell-phone use as they search for the reasons behind their condition, a factor that can skew survey data. When it comes to cell phone use and cancer, there is still no certainty about which side of the debate the evidence may ultimately land heaviest on -- and until there's a definitive answer, it may be prudent for people to remember that too much of anything usually isn't a good thing. |
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