Sniff-activated sensor may return active lifestyles to paralyzed and disabled
Disabled persons, quadriplegics and others suffering from paralysis may be able to regain movement with a sniff-activated sensor, according to a study by Israeli researchers. The technology works by translating changes in nasal air pressure into electrical signals that are passed to a computer. Patients can sniff in certain patterns to select letters or numbers to compose text, or on the computer, to control the mouse. For getting around, sniffing controls the direction of the wheelchair, Bloomberg reports. Quadriplegic patients were able to use the device to navigate wheelchairs as well as healthy people. Two participants who were completely paralyzed but with intact mental function used the technology to communicate by choosing letters on a computer screen to write. The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Full Story

FCC, FDA join forces on plan to promote wireless technology in healthcare
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are partnering on a plan to promote wireless technology that cuts healthcare costs and improves patient care. According to FCC Chairperson Julius Genachowski and FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, the first-ever partnership - made in conjunction with the FCC's National Broadband Plan released last March - will help healthcare providers "transition from facility-centric care to patient-centric care." The National Broadband Plan notes that communications devices and networks allow doctors to treat patients anywhere or anytime, while improving quality and cutting costs. These devices increasingly rely on commercial wireless networks to relay information for patient health monitoring and decision support, the plan notes. The partnership calls for a review of the agencies' respective regulatory requirements to eliminate overlap and speed up provision of health services. Full Story

CMS sponsors $10 million project to validate use of imaging services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is funding a two-year $10 million demonstration of software packages designed to help physicians decide whether a patient needs a computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or other type of scan. The press around the overutilization of imaging services - and the potential harm that results - may have led to an evaluation of software to guide physicians on which tests they should order for a given patient, according to Joshua Cooper, senior director of government relations for the American College of Radiology. Reportedly, only five such software programs currently exist. CMS seeks 2,500 to 3,000 physicians from 500 to 650 practices nationwide to electronically supply data on their use of imaging services, beginning in January 2011. Physicians will be paid for their participation. Applications are due to CMS by Sept. 21.  Full Story   Further Information

U.S. approval sought for at-home patient monitoring system for diabetics
ALR Technologies Inc. (ALRT) is seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market an Internet-based blood glucose monitoring system in the United States. ALRT reports that its Health-e-Connect (HeC) system allows medical professionals to incorporate data uploaded from patients' glucometers and enables providers to compare user compliance and performance to pre-set targets, and alerts them when the patients fall out of range. HeC also allows data transfer from several different glucometers, including models made by Abbott, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson and Roche. ALRT plans to expand its platform to cover patients with other chronic diseases besides diabetes, the company reports. Full Story

Anybots goes to market with long-awaited telepresence robot
Mountain View, CA-based Anybots Inc. has officially placed its telepresence robot on the market. According to Anybots founder and Chief Executive Officer Trevor Blackwell, the company has begun taking preorders for the $15,000 units for shipment this fall. Other remote-camera robots already exist that link two distant locations by a high-definition hookup. But telepresence robots go one step further: They can move out of the conference room, down the hall, onto the factory floor, anywhere their motorized wheels can take them. Full Story

AirStrip receives FDA approval for cell phone-based patient monitoring system
Mobile medical software product maker AirStrip Technologies Inc. has received approval from the FDA to market its patient monitoring system in the United States. The company reports that the AirStrip Remote Patient Monitoring solution (RPM) allows clinicians remote access to critical patient data in virtual real time. Medical professionals can use smartphones to see vital signs, critical waveform data and other clinical information, which is sent directly from the hospital and can be accessed from virtually anywhere a cell-phone or other wireless connection is available. Initially developed for the Apple iPhone operating system, the system is now available to medical professionals who use the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, iPod touch, and the iPad. "Development of the expanded AirStrip RPM product for other smartphone brands is actively being pursued," Dr. Cameron Powell, President and CMO of AirStrip Technologies said. Full Story

Stretcher-mounted telemedicine system aids pediatric patient transport
A Cincinnati children's hospital medical director has developed a way to provide patient monitoring from the time the patient appears in an ambulance to when the youngster arrives in the hospital. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Director Dr. Hamilton Schwartz said it's not feasible for a doctor to be on hand with every transport, so Schwartz and his team modified the ambulance stretcher to include a patient monitoring system. The system mounts to stretchers with a standard IV pole and includes a touchscreen tablet computer, two high-definition cameras, a 3G aircard, a microphone, a ClearSteth Stethoscope and a Bluetooth wireless keyboard with headset. The doctor at the children's hospital awaiting the patient transfer connects to the equipment through a standard PC outfitted with special software and can control a camera that's attached to a mechanical arm and can move 360 degrees to view the patient. Each of the hospital's four ambulances is already outfitted with the system; Schwartz expects that it will be used with every patient transport in the next six months.   Full Story

Illinois corrections, university to pilot prison HIV and hepatitis treatment program
The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) have partnered on a pilot telemedicine program designed to treat HIV and Hepatitis C at three state correctional facilities. Each center has a screen with medical instruments connected to a UIC telemedicine unit. The university doctor can see the patient's heart and lungs, and skin abnormalities, and direct a prison medical staff member on the inmate's treatment as needed. State officials hope to expand the system by three prisons per month, according to the IDOC. The program could "possibly even expand into other areas where telemedicine can be utilized for our population," according to IDOC Medical Director Dr. Louis Shicker. Full Story

iPad's medical flexibility could make laptops a tool of the past
Apple's iPad has become an indispensable tool in healthcare, and that's just the start, according to a report by FutureMedica. Hospitals and physicians are now using the product and its various medical applications for everything from surgical aids to conversions to electronic medical records. Other popular uses include home consultations, more-efficient nursing practices and fine motor-tuning tools for physically disabled persons. Given its flexibility, the popular tablet PC could soon replace the laptop for everyday medical applications like checking X-ray images, EKG results, and patient monitoring programs. Full Story

Doctors in Oklahoma State, Baghdad begin 7,000-mile medical relationship
Doctors at the Oklahoma State University College of Health Sciences in Tulsa have begun a series of weekly teleconferences with counterparts at Kadhamiyah Teaching Hospital in Baghdad to provide medical care to the underserved 7,000 miles away. According to Dr. Stanley Grogg, OSU-Tulsa's interim provost and dean, OSU specialists will provide expertise, hear medical cases and help Iraqi doctors plan medical interventions for their patients. The Tulsa-Baghdad connection is the brainchild of Dr. Anil Kaul, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at OSU, who is on sabbatical in India to help evaluate the war-torn country's healthcare structure. Kaul has noticed that many Iraqi medical students use outdated medical textbooks have outdated medical information. OSU, meanwhile, has a sophisticated telemedicine system. "This is kind of extending that mission to make our medical students better physicians," Grogg said. Full Story

Federal grants available for technology to reduce hospital readmissions
The Center for Technology and Aging (CTA), Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are offering a series of grants for projects that promote use of technology to improve patient transitions from hospitals, rehabilitation centers or nursing facilities back to homes or other community settings. According to CTA director David Lindeman, such projects can reduce the number of hospital readmissions within 30 days of initial check-in. These cost Medicare $17.4 billion annually. The CTA's Technologies for Improving Post-Acute Care Transitions (Tech4Impact) grants to states that are awarded grants by AoA/CMS Option D: ADRCs Evidence-Based Care Transition Programs. The CTA application for states will be released by Sept. 30, and full proposals will be due Oct. 15. Grants are expected to commence by January 2011. Additional guidelines pertaining to the Tech4Impact grants are available at www.techandaging.org. Full Story

Almost all doctors now use smartphones but feel 'overwhelmed' by messages
Ninety-four percent of physicians are using smartphones to communicate, manage personal and business workflows, and access medical information - a 60 percent increase from 2006, according to a study by Menlo Park, CA-based Spyglass Consulting Group. According to Spyglass Managing Director Gregg Malkary, physician smartphone adoption is now occurring more rapidly than with the general public. However, 78 percent of physicians interviewed were experiencing difficulties accessing and communicating with colleagues in a timely manner, mostly because they are all busy mobile professionals who are not always available when they are needed, the report notes. And, physicians interviewed say they are "overwhelmed" by the daily volume of communications received from colleagues, care team members, and patients. They lack automated tools to manage voice mail, pager messages, SMS messages, and e-mail, resulting in critical communications that "easily fall through the cracks." Full Story

Movers & SHAKERS

• The Forum 10
  October 13-15, 2010 - Washington, D.C.
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• Global TeleHealth 2010
  November 10-12, 2010 - Perth, Western Australia
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