Tech Medicine Links for 12.5.8

Lexi-Comp now offers their line of medical applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. The databases offered include Lexi Drugs, a drug database; Harrison's Practice, a diagnosis and management tool; Lexi-infectious Disease, a guide to diagnosing and treating infections, and Lexi-Poisoning & Toxicology, which includes detailed information on drugs and toxins; as well as many other applications. (There are now over a hundred medical applications in the iTunes App Store.)

Here's a video showing how physicians at the University of Calgary are using the iPhone to view radiology images to improve patient care. The title is "This is your brain on an iPhone:"


Physicians at the Cleveland Clinic have picked the top 10 medical innovations for 2009. For more details, you can download a booklet from the 6th Annual Medical Innovation Summit here.

1. Use of Circulating Tumor Cell Technology:

Use of new technology to measure circulating tumor cells as a predictor of success of chemotherapy.

2. Warm Organ Perfusion Device:

Warm organ perfusion device to preserve organs for transplantation during transplant.

3. Diaphragm Pacing System:

Use of a diaphragm (phrenic nerve) stimulator to enable paralyzed
patients to breath without the assistance of a mechanical ventilator.

4. Multi-Spectral Imaging Systems:

Improvements in multi-spectral image analysis to assess multiple protein pathway configuration in a single sample/cell.

5. Percutaneous Mitral Valve Regurgitation Repair:

Use of a special clip to percutaneously repair mitral valve regurgitation (MVR).

6. New Strategies for Creating Vaccines for Avian Flu:

Use of new strategies for creating vaccines for avian flu, including
genetically-engineered virus-like particles (VLPs) as the basis for
vaccines.

7. LESS and NOTES Applications:

Laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) and Natural Orifice
Transluminal Endoscopy (NOTES) for nephrectomy, cystectomy,
prostatectomy, colon resection, and other applications.

8. Integration of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (Tractography):

Integration of diffusion tensor imaging (tractography) with surgical
navigation of the brain to minimize damage to fiber tracts during brain
surgery.

9. Doppler-Guided Uterine Artery Occlusion:

Doppler-guided non-invasive transvaginal uterine artery occlusion for treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids.

10. Private Sector National Health Information Exchange:

Use of a common exchange standard among participants to enable access through the Internet regardless of provider source.

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at the diagnostic performance of coronary angiography by 64-Row CT — that is, whether a CT scan can accurately predict whether a patient has a significant narrowing of the coronary arteries. The study showed that CT angiograms have a sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 90%, suggesting that the new test is not yet accurate enough to replace coronary angiography. The accompanying editorial is titled, "Pay Now, Benefits May Follow."

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Tech Medicine Links is a collection of selected developments in the world of technology and health care. Have a suggestion? Please email techmedicine@gmail.com.