New MIT microchip could mean partial loss of blindness
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a wireless implant that could restore partial vision to people who have lost their sight from retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration. The retinal prosthesis stimulates the nerve cells that normally carry visual input from the retina to the brain. It would not restore normal vision, but could help blind people more easily navigate a room or walk down a sidewalk, according to Shawn Kelly, a researcher in MIT’s Research Laboratory for Electronics. The early version of the device, expected to undergo human trials within the next three years, can remain implanted for up to 10 months. Eventually, researchers hope to create a version that lasts for up to 10 years, Kelly said. http://web.mit.edu/press/2009/microchip-blind-092309.html

Wireless environment now the norm in hospitals
Hospitals have become wide-open wireless environments, with medical facilities relying on such networks for everything from improved communications to real-time delivery of medical testing data and telemetry, according to a report in Telephony Online. Projects such as a recent joint effort between GE Healthcare and MobileAccess are enabling physicians to deal with a growing need for patient monitoring that has effectively turned many hospitals into large ICUs, and also overcome interference issues posed by multiple types of wireless systems at work within the same building, according to David Freeman, GE Healthcare’s general manager for parameters. The move to wireless is also cutting operating costs for hospitals, because a facility can reduce the number of employees needed to operate and maintain the systems. As such, hospitals’ use of wireless technology should continue to expand in coming years, according to Freeman.  http://telephonyonline.com/3g4g/news/hospitals-becoming-wireless-0923/

Call for presentations for ATA 2010 Expo closes today
The American Telemedicine Association’s call for presentations for the 15th Annual International Meeting & Exposition, scheduled for May 16-18, 2010, closes today. ATA seeks high-quality presentations on new and cutting-edge scientific research findings, significant advances in telemedicine technology and applications, and groundbreaking telemedicine programs, projects or initiatives. For more information, contact ATA Senior Program Director Jordana Bernard, (202) 223-3333, jbernard@americantelemed.org. www.americantelemed.org/i4a...

Study suggests improved cancer detection via ultrasounds
Ultrasound energy delivered to specific body regions can trigger a series of biochemical disease markers that may enable early detection of diseases such as cancer before symptoms appear, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Under traditional means, tumors are often not detected until they become sizable enough to cause recognizable symptoms or to be observed themselves as masses on an X-ray or CT scan, according to Gary Glazer, M.D., the study’s lead researcher. By then, the prognosis is much poorer than it might have been had the detection occurred earlier. Researchers note that the ultrasound detection process is not perfect; as some biomarkers from diseases such as early stage cancer are very limited in number. And, even when they are detected, it’s still not always clear from where in the body the biomarker originated. http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2009...

Telemedicine videoconferencing projects in Denmark
Denmark is piloting two videoconferencing-based telemedicine projects that it hopes to take nationwide by 2012. One project, already in use at Odense University Hospital, uses a videoconferencing system linked to multilingual operators, enabling foreign patients who don’t speak Danish to communicate with hospital staff. The second project uses videoconferencing tools to help healthcare providers remotely monitor patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Under the system, patients may stay at home while they submit reports and vital signs to nurses conducting their rounds. This project has already reduced hospital admissions by more than 50 percent in three months and reduced costs by about 5 percent, according to Pedersen Claus, international manager at the Danish Centre for Health Telematics. http://ehealtheurope.net/news/5242/...

NuPhysicia launches offshore telemedicine service in Brazil
NuPhysicia LLC and its video telemedicine subsidiary, InPlace Medical Solutions, have formed a Brazilian division to provide offshore telemedical care to South American customers. NuPhysicia Servicos Medicos Offshore LTDA will offer 24/7 services from its offices in Rio de Janiero, with Brazilian physicians providing care to personnel on offshore rigs and remote sites in the region, according to Dr. Oscar Boultinghouse, senior vice president of NuPhysicia LLC. As a global service, InPlace Medical routinely provides highly trained medics, physician examinations and oversight, advanced equipment, medical-quality videoconferencing, an electronic medical record system, and an enhanced medications inventory. Services are available to any location with Internet capability, according to Shannon Caldwell, executive director for offshore and remote services for NuPhysicia LLC. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/...

Zultys unveils medical mobile communications tool
Telephony solutions provider Zultys Inc. has introduced its new MXmobile Unified Communications client for BlackBerry devices. The unit allows mobile workers – including healthcare professionals – to stay fully connected to their entire company and includes telepresence, voice mail, internal extension dialing, and corporate directory access. The mobile presence application also allows people to see which colleagues in the medical network are available and online, and the best way in which to reach them, according to Steve Morrison, vice president of marketing and product management at Zultys. The system also offers a mobile telephone number privacy option where a doctor may automatically instruct an office phone to call the doctor and then the patient. The next release in early 2010 will include support for the iPhone, Morrison said. http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/...

Bosch Healthcare wins Frost & Sullivan market leadership award
Patient monitoring system provider Robert Bosch Healthcare Inc. has received the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Market Strategy Leadership Award for exceptional marketing strategy involving Bosch’s Health Buddy system, the company announced. Bosch has “worked early on to champion the validation of telehealth programs,” primarily through association with large public agencies and corporate partners, according to Zachary Bujnoch, industry analyst for Frost & Sullivan. Partner groups include the Veterans Health Administration, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to Derek Newell, vice president of healthcare telemedicine at Bosch. The Health Buddy system assesses individuals with chronic conditions, gathering data about vital signs, symptoms, behavior, and the patient’s knowledge of their condition. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Robert-Bosch-Healthcare-1049963.html

Physician-patient relationship is evolving through technology
Online health data, Web-based communications, mobile health technologies, and electronic health records (EHRs) are transforming relationships between doctors and their patients, according to a report from HealthLeaders Media. Among HLM’s findings: Availability of online medical research is allowing patients to take charge of their own healthcare and have more faith in their doctors because they can verify what they are told; three-fourths of U.S. adults have looked up health information online; patients are starting to show more interest in contacting their doctors via e-mail, online chats, remote monitoring tools, and Web portals; and mobile phone tools are helping consumers monitor chronic conditions and send reports to their healthcare providers. Providers also use mobile phone-based items to transmit health data to other physicians. In the future, patients will expect doctors to use EHRs, especially portable ones that allow medical data to be easily shared with other doctors. http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/...

CBS: national EHR system already approved by Congress
As debate continues over how to reform healthcare, Congress has already approved and funded a plan for creation of a national electronic health record (EHR) system, according to a report on CBS’ “Sunday Morning.” The federal stimulus package includes $46 billion to help healthcare providers transition to EHRs, which experts say will prevent medical errors and increase care efficiency. Many larger healthcare providers, such as Kaiser Permanente, are well underway with their efforts, but many physicians are still hesitant due to cost, training needs and interoperability issues, according to the report. Ninety percent of hospitals and 83 percent of doctors still keep records on paper, something few other industries still do, the report notes. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/09...

Telehealth’s future may be made of robots
The future of telehealth – particularly in regards to senior care – is likely to involve robots in homecare roles, according to a report in Forbes. The report notes that the definition of telehealth has broadened significantly in recent years, to where the concept of using robots as caregivers is not so off-base. Congress is already considering a bill, HF-3200, that would establish an advisory committee on telehealth to determine whether robot use can be covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile, corporate giants such as General Electric, Intel, LifeSize, and Cisco have entered the healthcare market with robot-related technologies ranging from wireless, automatic at-home health sensors, to long-distance robotic assisted surgeries and health diagnostic stations. Personal care robots can’t be far behind: GeckoSystems of Atlanta hopes to market its line of eldercare robots in 2010, Forbes notes. http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/17/robots-health...

Health IT should improve care for low-income and minority populations
Low-income and minority populations could receive better healthcare through use of telemedicine and other health information technology tools, in part because such groups already have access to the technology, according to Garth Graham, deputy assistant secretary of minority health at the Department of Health and Human Services. Graham said the federal economic stimulus package requires healthcare providers to collect demographic information – including ethnicity, gender and race – to help document, then reduce disparities in care. Graham also recommends use of Web-based resources to promote various healthcare goals, as low-income and minority populations are likely to seek health information online. http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/...