Telemedicine takes on growing cases of swine flu
Telemedicine systems provider Polycom is playing a key role in helping health officials in Mexico battle an anticipated rise in cases of H1N1 or “swine flu” by providing mobile healthcare units and tele-education services to residents, according to government officials. According to the Ministry of Health, the Pleasanton, CA-based company’s videoconferencing network will help 1,500 physicians talk face-to-face with the health department to determine the source of the flu, how it is spreading, and what treatment options exist. The government began using Polycom’s CENETEC system in April when H1N1 cases first began appearing and had some success, according to Adrian Pacheco, assistant director of telemedicine at Mexico’s health ministry. But the real test will be during the coming flu season, he said. CENETEC regularly conducts multipoint video conferences with 16 health centers, hospitals, and universities nationwide. http://hdvoice.tmcnet.com/topics/...

Princeton undergrad to develop Web-based diabetes tracker
The Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT) and the Gelfand Family Charitable Trust have awarded a Princeton undergraduate $100,000 to develop a Web-based iPhone application for diabetics. Matthew Connor, a junior majoring in operations research and financial engineering, came up with the concept after watching friends and family struggle to keep track of their food consumption, blood sugar, and insulin intake. Most people now carry cell phones, he reasoned, which led to Connor and his brother, Michael Connor, a 2007 graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, creating a prototype. The duo will now develop the iAbetics Web 2.0 Diabetes Management System, a Web site that will interact with that iPhone prototype. Matthew Connor was the only undergraduate to win funding in the competition, which seeks to support effective medical technologies that can rapidly be put to use. http://www.princeton.edu/engineering/news/archive/?id=1197

Zargis to market Signal X6 to Army after FDA clearance  
Zargis Medical Corp. has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its Signal X6 telemedicine device in America, the company announced. The approval allows the company to begin delivering seven of the devices to the U.S. Army for deployment in six Department of Defense medical facilities. Signal X6 simultaneously records heart and lung sounds from six body-applied adhesive sensors. The records can be evaluated locally or transmitted through the Internet for remote evaluation, according to Zargis Chief Executive Officer John Kallassy. Zargis is a spin-off from Siemens Corporate Research and a subsidiary of Speedus Corp. http://www.speedus.com/press_article.php?id=182

Canadian radiology to go filmless by 2010
Efforts to digitize radiology departments at hospitals throughout Canada are nearly complete, meaning the nation’s medical facilities should be effectively filmless by 2010, according to Agfa HealthCare Canada Vice President Dave Wilson. Agfa, which in late 2006 was selected as the preferred Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) vendor by the Quebec government, rolled out digital radiology equipment at 51 sites in 18 months, and at this time, the bulk of the PACS radiology projects across Canada are finished or nearly complete, Wilson said. Agfa holds about 60 percent of the market share in Canada. The next step is to populate the radiology data into the nation’s electronic health system, which is “only a matter of time,” Wilson added. http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=CEFF62AE-1A64-6A71-CE2678C71CB404F4

Baucus health reform bill holds promise for telemedicine
While not directly tackling some of the recommendations made by the telemedicine industry, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee’s most recent health reform bill has potential future benefits for the industry, American Telemedicine Association Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Linkous said. The bill by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), which has taken criticism for its broad approach to health reform, does address areas directly related to use of telecommunication technology and health, and “opens the door for more specific provisions that may get added later,” Linkous said. Addressed areas include required pilot programs to reduce hospital readmissions, which should lead to increased use of remote patient monitoring; granting Medicare beneficiaries access to a comprehensive health risk assessment by 2011, which could be accomplished through an interactive or Web-based program; and use of a medical home with virtual services offered through health technology. http://americantelemed.blogspot.com/2009/...     http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/leg/...

IBM receives White House honor for IT supercomputer
IBM has received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation for its Blue Gene family of information technology supercomputers and will be honored in a special ceremony at the White House on Oct. 7, the company announced. Blue Gene allows high-speed problem solving of issues in life sciences, medicine, astronomy, climate simulations, energy efficiency, modeling, and other areas; it has become the standard for computing throughout the IT industry, the company reports. IBM has earned the NMTI on eight other occasions and was the only company to receive the award this year. http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/28423.wss

Researchers develop cells that can be remotely controlled by light
University of California at San Francisco researchers have developed genetically coded mouse cells that can be trained to follow a light beam or stop on command like microscopic robots. This is the first time researchers have been able to effectively import a light-controlled on-off switch from plants into animal cells to instantly control various cell functions, and could lead to tremendous findings in cancer, cardiovascular and nerve growth research, according to Wendell Lim, PhD., who co-authored a paper on the study. The findings, along with those in a paper on similar research by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, appear in the Sept. 13 advance online publication of the journal Nature. http://bioopticsworld.com/display_article...   http://www.nature.com/nature/journal...

Doctors use blind woman’s tooth to restore vision
Doctors at Miller School of Medicine (MSM)’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami have restored sight to a 60-year-old woman by creating a prosthetic lens from one of her teeth. Sharron “Kay” Thornton, blinded by severe corneal scarring due to Stevens-Johnson syndrome, now has 20/60 vision in her left eye following the first-ever modified osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (MOOKP) procedure in the U.S., according to cornea specialist Victor L. Perez, who brought MOOKP to America after it was developed in Italy. The multi-step surgery was completed Sept. 4 but officially began six months earlier when MSM doctors extracted one of Thornton’s teeth and surrounding bone. A 1/8-inch lens was eventually inserted into the modified tooth and allowed to bio-integrate or fuse into one unit before it could be implanted into the eye. http://www.med.miami.edu/news/view.asp?id=1172

Social Security to create internal EHR in 2010 
The Social Security Administration (SSA) plans to create an electronic health record (EHR) system for its health clinic employees, where medical records are still primarily kept on paper. The agency plans to test a pilot version of the system at six of its health units at its Baltimore headquarters in early 2010 and wants to deploy the system at its 30 health centers nationwide by the end of that year. Earlier this month, SSA posted a request for quotes for contract services to provide the software, hosting of data, redesign of business processes and training for use of an EHR at the agency; proposals were accepted until Sept. 18. The contract, when awarded, will be for one year, with options for two more years. https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity...

Many consumers lack knowledge of health IT benefits
Consumers have a limited understanding of how electronic health records (EHRs) will improve the quality of their medical care, according to a report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Study respondents said they believed health IT could improve healthcare through better efficiency, increased convenience, and reduced errors caused by poor handwriting. But health IT overall does not appear to be important to consumers because there is no perceived connection between it and healthcare quality, according to the report. Many respondents also expressed concerns about whether EHRs will affect the security of their medical records. The study recommends use of educational campaigns to boost public understanding of health IT. http://healthit.ahrq.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway...

Telemedicine alarm thwarts home burglary
A telemedicine system provided by Invicta Telecare—and quick thinking by one of Invicta’s employees—helped thwart a burglary at a home in Maidstone, United Kingdom. According to Invicta Telecare Operations Director Wendy Turner, thieves inadvertently pulled the system’s emergency cord while they were ransacking the home. The burglars probably mistook the cord for a light switch, Turner said. When the alarm went off, Invicta employee Lauren Measter attempted to contact the home’s elderly resident. Instead of a response from him, she heard the burglars talking about leaving the premises immediately after realizing what they had done. Measter called the police, who found a broken window into the home. They later found a pair of discarded gloves and a cash box not far from the site. Invicta paid to repair the resident’s window, Turner said. http://www.invictatelecare.co.uk/Default....