House passes stimulus package with $100B for healthcare

“Thats right, the U.S. House of Representatives voted late Wednesday evening to pass President Barack Obama’s stimulus package of federal tax cuts and spending worth $819 billion, with more than $100 billion earmarked for healthcare—designating an additional $87 billion to existing state Medicaid budgets and approximately $20 billion for healthcare IT.

The Senate Appropriations committee offered a few amendments to the bill, including provisions to ensure that long-term care facilities are eligible for funding and to provide hospitals that have already made a healthcare IT investment with loans if they meet federal privacy and compatibility standards, according to Government Health IT. The bill also included a provision to have the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiate a strategy to ensure healthcare providers do not receive funding through both Medicaid and Medicare.”

I reckon with 20 billion, the entire field of healthcare IT is set to evolve real fast in 2009

Technology Will Ease Healthcare Dilemma – Ulster Researchers

Hi-tech home-based health monitoring will be a vital part of the solution offered to alleviate some of the healthcare pressures posed by the world’s ageing population over the next 20 years.

That is the firm prediction of University of Ulster experts who have unveiled an initiative that will boost the already thriving intelligent-sensor technology sector on both sides of the border.

With the world population over 65 set to rocket from 600 million in the year 2000 to close to two billion by 2050, researchers say that health and social services will be stretched to the limit unless new approaches are adopted.

Cutting edge research in many disciplines is enhancing Ulster’s standing as a base for ground-breaking research.

The latest UK-wide Research Assessment Exercise has reported strong world-leading and internationally-leading quality research at Ulster, with areas such as Metallurgy and Materials, and Computer Science and Informatics, significantly climbing the UK university league tables.

As more people with a range of health problems live longer, specialist firms are developing health monitoring systems that people can use in their own homes.

“The drive is for independent living,” explains Professor Jim McLaughlin, Director of the Nanotechnology and Integrated Bioengineering Centre (NIBEC) at the University of Ulster.

Professor Chris Nugent, from the Computer Science Research Institute at Ulster, adds: “Both patients and healthcare professionals can benefit through patients having a more proactive involvement in the management and monitoring of their own health.”

A new world class cross-border Centre for Intelligent Point of Care Sensors, to be operated jointly by Ulster and Dublin City University (DCU), will drive all-island research and development in the sector. The Department of Employment and Learning (NI) has awarded Ulster £2million to develop the collaboration.

A specific element of the work will focus on point of care sensors for cardiovascular analysis. Point of care sensors are hand-held, wearable or transportable devices used in the home or hospital to provide on-the-spot analysis of patient vital signs and facilitate speedy analysis by health professionals.,

NIBEC has had marked success with spin-out companies producing wireless electrodes and vital signs devices which are now widely used to monitor electrocardigram (ecg) arrhythmias associated with heart disease.

Academics at Ulster say its thrust in sensory monitoring is helping to make engineering and computing a popular and sought-after undergraduate option, reversing a trend over recent years. Ulster’s electronics degrees attract increasing numbers of undergraduates who are quickly scooped up by Northern Ireland ICT firms hungry for talent to aid business growth.

Professor McLaughlin says: “What we are doing now, again, is bringing the University’s computing, engineering and sensor device skills together so as to address a major problem that faces many of our indigenous firms – industry’s need for electronic and highly skilled computing engineers. That is an absolute necessity. Parents and students are now getting the message that engineering is a hot subject because industry will employ heavily in that area.”

Professor McLaughlin is Director of the Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Research Institute. He says new partnerships with DCU will answer the medical device sector’s need for a forum of excellence in development of intelligent sensory technology. Professor McLaughlin jointly leads Ulster’s side of the project with Professor Nugent, who is Professor of Biomedical Engineering within the School of Computing and Mathematics.

The partners are the island’s two main centres in Intelligent Sensor Technology – namely, the NIBEC/ Computer Science Research Institute at Ulster and the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute, DCU. The project will blend Ulster’s software-electronic device strengths with DCU’s biochemical specialisms.

Professor Nugent, who is based in the Faculty of Computing and Engineering, says: “An all-Ireland forum will help the patient because it will create new solutions to aid with healthcare problems. One of our aims will be that people can take more control of their health within their own homes and will spend less time in hospital and GP surgeries. That will have the potential to save the health service money.”

DIY-type health awareness has been around for a long time. At its most basic, it has existed in the simple home thermometer or personal weighing scales. People now have access to self-testing systems for blood pressure, heart-rate, glucose and cholesterol.

Those systems are being refined all the time to ensure effective monitoring of vital signs, blood-waste management, data analysis, information flow and researchers are developing new devices that monitor movement, falls, Stroke factors and other indicators. With internet connectivity, GPs or other clinicians can observe a person’s condition and intervene with treatment as required.

Professor Nugent says: “Technology can offer one solution to the current healthcare challenges we are faced with. In the future, as we all grow older and need increased levels of healthcare support, healthcare systems will have to be reformed to deal with this. Technology is now being viewed as one possible solution to this problem. ”

Source : http://news.ulster.ac.uk/releases/2009/4218.html

IBM creates nanoscale MRI

Now this is cool.

According to research published Jan. 13 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, IBM’s research scientists, in collaboration with the Center for Probing the Nanoscale at Stanford University, have developed an MRI with a volume resolution 100 million times finer than conventional MRI. Yes, you read it right, “100 million times finer”.

“By extending MRI to more fine resolution, the scientists have created a microscope that, with further development, may ultimately be powerful enough to unravel the structure and interactions of proteins, paving the way for personalized healthcare and targeted medicine. The achievement stands to impact the study of materials—from proteins to integrated circuits—for which a detailed understanding of atomic structure is essential. “

So how is this made possible?, will the technique used is call MR force microscopy (MRFM), which relies on detecting ultrasmall magnetic forces. In addition to its high resolution, the researchers said that imaging technique has the further advantages that it is chemically specific, can “see” below surfaces and, unlike electron microscopy, is non-destructive to sensitive biological materials.

More details of this ground breaking technology can be read here.

iPod doubles as radiography teaching tool

Students at a U.K. university are using iPods as part of their diagnostic radiography training.

Student radiographers, who move from the classroom to the clinical setting and come face-to-face with real patients, have to learn many patient-positioning techniques quickly and accurately.

The University of Derby in England has issued an iPod to 35 undergraduate diagnostic radiography students. The device features a DVD of radiographic techniques, demonstrating how to correctly position patients for an x-ray.

The iPod delivers purpose-made video footage and graphic animations with commentary on how the positioning techniques of the upper and lower limbs, skull and chest should be carried out, according to the university.

The initiative builds on a similar project developed in the university’s radiography department to help students learn more about the human skull by creating an online virtual reality model of the skull.

“We are always looking for innovative ways to deliver education to students. By embracing iPod technology we’ve enabled them to access their learning materials wherever they are,” said Chris O’Reilly, e-learning development coordinator for radiography within the faculty of education, health and sciences at the university.

The original article can be found here

Why 1.5T MRI is Leading the Pack

This is one article title that caught my attention instantly – “Why 1.5T MRI is Leading the Pack”.

Perfectly valid question, and my answer to it was – ‘because its cheaper (than 3T) and gets the job done”, well apparently, I was only half correct.

According to Alan R. Moody (radiologist in chief, department of diagnostic imaging, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto), even though 3T systems can scan faster or at higher resolution than 1.5T scanners, the proven, reliable imaging strength and quality of 1.5T are what many medical imaging professionals continue to compare everything else to.

“While 3T is excellent for neurological and musculoskeletal applications, it lags behind 1.5T in abdominal imaging and cardiac imaging, which are areas in which “we tend to put the majority of our work for the 1.5T,” he notes. Another challenge of higher strength magnets is the interaction with metal implants such as stents, aneurysm clips and even prosthetic devices. With 1.5T, patients who have these safety concerns are not an issue and can be imaged without an increase in metal artifact.

Another limitation of 3T, and thus a benefit of 1.5T, is related to its energy deposition. 3T might enable faster and higher resolution imaging, however, the restriction is in how much energy can be put back into the patient. “With 3T you have to ease back on the throttle, and you potentially lose some of the advantages you had of ramping up to that field strength in the first place,” Moody says, who adds that there seems to be a slight plateauing of that linear progression of the low field strength. Instead of racing to the next level in magnet strength, the imaging community has hit a plateau, staying strong with 1.5T MRI for its applicability across imaging applications.”

I guess bigger isn’t always better

Hospitals advised to end mobile phone bans

The question of the usage of mobile phones (as well as wireless equipment) in hospitals is always an interesting one.

According to this article, England’s Department of Health has issued new guidelines to hospitals, advising them to consider allowing “more liberal use of mobile phones”.

Under the new guidelines areas of hospitals where mobile phone use is banned could become the exception rather than the norm. Bans will remain in place in areas where critical care equipment is susceptible to electro magnetic interference.

“The MHRA recognises that mobile phones provide a practical way for patients to keep in touch with friends and relatives during their hospital stay. We welcome the clarification in guidance on the use of mobile phones in non critical areas.”explains Clive Bray, director of Device Technology and Safety at the MHRA.

However, it seems that in addition to pure convenience (of communication)  the use of mobile phone can actually improve health monitoring.

According to this article,  researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have developed a cell phone prototype that can monitor the condition of HIV and malaria patients, as well as test water quality in undeveloped areas or disaster sites.

Known as LUCAS (Lensless Ultra-wide-field Cell monitoring Array platform based on Shadow imaging), has now been installed in both a cell phone and a webcam. Both devices acquire an image in the same way, using a short wavelength blue light to illuminate a blood, saliva or other fluid sample. LUCAS captures an image of the microparticles in the solution using a sensor array.

With the convergance of technologies, alot of commercial technologies can be utilise as alternatives (or low cost) to exisiting commercial variantes. I look forward to what 2009 has to bring in these area.

Ramblings: My first post for the new year

I guess I am slightly behind schedule for my first post in the new year but rest assured, I am not taking a break from binaryHealthCare.com

On the contrary, 2009 is the ‘year of change’ for binaryHealthCare ! (more to be shared in the days to come, stay tuned )

So why have I not made a blog entry till now? Well, as with every other January, I’m caught up with the usual managerial planning plus travel in my day job but its all good.

Offline (out of cyber space) , I have made plans, establish contacts and also work on CHIU (www.DoYouCHIU.asia) and in my day job, I have taken up more responsibilities in the technical and strategic marketing aspect in addition to my current role.

So rest assured folks (and I appreciate all the emails from you guys), I’m still around and have plans to take binaryHealthCare, CHIU and the overall mission of raising the awareness and adoption of Healthcare Informatics in Asia to a higher level.

Would it be easy – No.
Will I be (very very) busy – Yes.
Am I still going to do it – Oh Ya

Stay tune folks, and remember, you can be part of this initiative.