Smartphone News and Research

RSS

CRISPR may help in kidney-transplants by detecting viruses

An exciting new study published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering in April 2020 reports excellent results with a new test for two common viruses that infect kidney transplant patients. The levels of these viruses shoot up during the acute phase of rejection.

13 Apr 2020

Bluetooth helps battle COVID-19

As the novel coronavirus pandemic sweeps the globe, contact tracing has taken the spotlight as epidemiologists scramble to identify and isolate potential vectors for the disease. Limited technology has forced authorities to fall back on manual methods, which are both time-consuming and limited in reliability since they depend on the ability of the infected individual to remember all the places and persons he/she has been in contact with.

9 Apr 2020

New study to accelerate early detection of COVID-19 in healthcare professionals

The West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, WVU Medicine, and smart ring maker Oura Health today (April 8) announced a national study designed to accelerate early detection of the COVID-19 virus symptoms and contagiousness.

8 Apr 2020

Researches implant ultrathin, flexible brain interfaces with long lifetimes

Researchers have demonstrated neural implantation of an ultrathin, flexible neural interface with thousands of electrodes.

8 Apr 2020

Dispatch from a country doctor: Seeing patients differently in the time of coronavirus

Patients would often stop by River Bend Family Medicine just to gab with staff at the front desk or bring baked goods to Dr. Matt Hahn.

7 Apr 2020

App-based mindfulness training may help reduce physician anxiety, burnout

As novel coronavirus cases continue to increase across the nation, health professionals on the front lines face frightening realities, rising anxiety and the very real potential for burnout.

1 Apr 2020

Researchers working on a solution to improve facemasks used by NHS Staff

Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis the subject of personal protective equipment (PPE) has become a key discussion point.

1 Apr 2020

Coronavirus has upended our world. It’s OK to grieve.

On weekday evenings, sisters Lesley Laine and Lisa Ingle stage online happy hours from the Southern California home they share. It’s something they’ve been enjoying with local and faraway friends during this period of social distancing and self-isolation. And on a recent evening, I shared a toast with them.

27 Mar 2020

Smartphone data helps score US states on social distancing

On Tuesday, a data collection company took smartphone location data and used it to publish the world's first Social Distancing Scoreboard. This is the first, admittedly rough, attempt to virtually estimate how well states and counties in the US are complying with the official guidelines to stay at home.

25 Mar 2020

Critical guidance to identify COVID-19 patients at risk of drug-induced sudden cardiac death

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, continues to spread, leading to more than 20,000 deaths worldwide in less than four months. Efforts are progressing to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, but it's still likely 12 to 18 months away.

25 Mar 2020

Video consultations with GPs could help maintain continuity of care during social distancing

Patients and general practice staff are receptive to greater use of video consultations in general practice, however concerns about accessibility and technical challenges have been an obstacle to the technology being widely adopted, a University of Warwick study has found.

25 Mar 2020

Researchers examine efficiency of non-invasive brain stimulation for memory improvement

A group of scientists from the Research Center of Neurology and Skoltech showed that human working memory can be tweaked using non-invasive magnetic stimulation of the brain. Also, they discovered that the effect of magnetic stimulation weakens as the brain works on a cognitive task under stimulation.

25 Mar 2020

Does everyone over 60 need to take the same coronavirus precautions?

She knew it wasn't a good idea and her daughter would disapprove. Nonetheless, Barbara Figge Fox, 79, recently went to four stores in Princeton, New Jersey, to shop for canned goods, paper towels, fresh fruit, yogurt, and other items.

24 Mar 2020

UEA researchers launch new project to 3D print ventilator parts and masks

Researchers at the University of East Anglia have launched a project to 3D print ventilator parts, masks and other critical equipment to battle the Covid-19 virus.

23 Mar 2020

Technology effectively detects harsh side effect of breast cancer treatment

Some 20 percent of breast cancer survivors will suffer from lymphedema, a potentially severe side effect of treatment that makes arms swell with lymph. The disease is often overlooked, but commercially available app-based technology now makes early detection easier, allowing for proactive treatment.

16 Mar 2020

As youth suicides climb, anguished parents begin to speak out

Alec Murray was 13. He enjoyed camping, fishing and skiing. At home, it was video games, movies and books. Having just completed middle school with "almost straight A's," those grades were going to earn him an iPhone for his upcoming birthday.

10 Mar 2020

New federal rules will let patients put medical records on smartphones

Federal officials on Monday released groundbreaking rules that will let patients download their electronic health records and other health care data onto their smartphones.

9 Mar 2020

Improving lifestyle habits may be useful additions to management of atrial fibrillation

Weight loss, regular physical activity and other lifestyle changes are effective yet underused strategies that should be added to optimize management of atrial fibrillation (an abnormal heart rhythm), according to "Lifestyle and Risk Factor Modification for Reduction of Atrial Fibrillation," a new Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association published today in the Association's flagship journal Circulation.

9 Mar 2020

New training program can help patients get full benefit of digital mental health tools

Digital technologies, especially smartphone apps, have great promise for increasing access to care for patients with serious mental illness such as schizophrenia.

7 Mar 2020

Smartphone users have more headaches, find less relief from the medication

A new study published in the March 2020 issue of the journal Neurology Clinical Practice reports that smartphone use by people who have headaches is associated with greater use of medication but less relief, compared to those who do not use smartphones when they have headaches. This does not prove that smartphone use is responsible for the increased need for drugs or the relative intractability of the headaches, but shows a linkage.

4 Mar 2020