“Technologies for Active Aging offers novel answers to a range of aging issues, from safety and mobility to cognition and continence. Written for the non-technical reader, the book examines the potential of information and communicative technologies such as pervasive computing, smart environments, and robotics to enhance seniors’ quality of life and encourage independent living, better care and self-care, and social participation.” We can’t give a recommendation as we have not read it, but it is edited by two respected people in the field: Andrew Sixsmith of Simon Fraser University, and Gloria Gutman of the Gerontology Research Centre, both based in Vancouver. Technologies for Active Aging (PDF flyer). US Amazon link. UK Amazon link.
UK Community Led Care Conference – TTA reader discount
24 September 2013, Manchester, UK
We were just about to give you, Dear Reader, a heads-up on the Community Led Care – Meeting Needs Closer to Home conference when the organisers came through with a £45 public sector members discount, especially for you. The conference will cover:
- Changing the ‘default setting’ for Healthcare Delivery
- The Challenges of Providing a Truly Integrated Community Health Service
- The Role Technology can play in Supporting Care in the Community
Click here for full details. To receive the Telehealth and Telecare Aware discount, enter TELEPUB in the appropriate box when registering online or mention it if booking by phone: +44 (0)161 831 7111 (Ask for Christopher Sheridan on ext 282)
Piezo-resistive fibers for continuous BP monitoring?
Switzerland-based company STBL Medical Research AG has developed a new ‘blood pressure watch’ that relies on a wristband made from piezo-resistive fibres. These fibres measure the contact pressure of the device on the skin to overcome the problem of the device slipping on the wrist or muscle tension that can affect the measurements. The device is currently undergoing clinical trials. Piezo-resistive fibers enable “blood pressure watch” with continuous monitoring Gizmag – note the comments too.
Stimulating whole system redesign: Organizational lessons from the WSD (UK)
The seventh of 15 expected academic papers arising from the study of the Whole System Demonstrator (WSD) programme has just been published in the Journal of Health Services Research & Policy. The big takeaway is that local ‘ownership’ of new services DID lead to more collaborative practices across the care system BUT that the concept of whole system redesign around remote care is currently unrealistic. With headings such as ‘Misalignment between vision and enactment’, ‘Wider barriers’ and ‘Whole system working: Ambiguity and diversity’ one can see that the underlying analysis is more nuanced than the main conclusion might suggest. Stimulating whole system redesign: Lessons from an organizational analysis of the Whole System Demonstrator programme by Theopisti Chrysanthaki1, Jane Hendy and James Barlow, all of Imperial College, London is also available as a free 10-page PDF download.
A complete list of the WSD papers, updated as they are published, is being maintained here by Mike Clark, to whom thanks for the heads-up on this publication.
Health + Care conference (UK)
A month ago we brought you a preview of some of the telehealth and telecare elements of the Health + Care conference taking place in London today. For readers interested in keeping an eye on what is happening there The Guardian is running a live blog. There is also a press release from Tunstall.
The Guardian now has an extended version of the pre-event video (4 minutes) that demonstrates some of the technologies more thoroughly. How technology can be used in health and social care. Worth watching for its update. Hat tip to Mike Clark.
London Telecare group: new advertising initiative (UK)
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/londontelecare-jun13.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]The London Telecare group (an association of telecare provider services around the capital) has a long history of generating publicity for telecare via bus shelter spots donated by the advertising industry. [TTA July 2006] Now it is moving into print with an advert to appear on June 23rd in the Mail on Sunday’s ‘Senior Lifestyles’ supplement, covering the London and Carlton TV areas. John Chambers, for London Telecare, says “There are very few companies or organisations creating awareness of the telecare and telehealth services available from local authorities and the private sector. Without advertising, it’s no surprise that the public is still largely unaware…that’s something we have tried to turn around and, with very limited resources, our London and South East members have supported our poster campaigns in the past, which gained over £2m in media value using free unsold sites. Now we have devised a press advertisement designed to make people aware of what’s available. We hope that others will take note and follow our lead with greater resources and, hopefully, government funding. ‘Everyone should know!'”
inHealthcare supports and tele-monitors the health of rowing team (UK)
The gruelling GB ROW 2013 race event, where six crews of four people row 2000 miles around Britain unaided for 26 days in an attempt to break the world record, started on 1 June. One of the teams, The Islanders, is being sponsored by telehealth supplier inHealthcare which is helping team member and medic Alan Morgan to monitor his blood pressure and oxygen saturation readings to see how his body is responding to the challenge. No physical contact with support vessels or the shore is allowed. The race is not just a battle for the world record but a battle against the pain barrier as the four men overcome muscle pain, blisters and exhaustion. More info on inHealthcare’s sponsorship. Hour-by-hour updates on the teams and how they are coping.
Related TTA item: Telefonica sponsors diabetic’s Everest climb.
DocCom now on procurement framework agreement (UK)
DocCom, which we reported in February, has developed hospital-based social networking software and has been awarded a grant of £207,000 by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) to accelerate its development, has now been put on the UK Government’s latest cloud procurement framework for cloud-based services, G-Cloud iii. Procurement frameworks make it quicker and easier for organisations such as NHS bodies to place orders with preferred providers because they do not have to apply the governance disciplines, or incur the costs, of competitive tendering each time. Press release.
Updated: Specialist housing does not reflect what most older people want (UK)
Please see the update added to the original item: Specialist housing does not reflect what most older people want (UK)
GP Online starts new commissioning website (UK)
GP Online already has a long reach into the consciousness of UK GPs and now the publishers have launched a new website focusing on commissioning matters. For any telehealth companies or organisations that want to win the hearts and minds of GP commissioners, this new site will surely be one to nourish with good information and, possibly, advertising. www.insidecommissioning.co.uk
W/Me tracking wellness and ‘real age’ via stress
The W/Me wristband developed by California-based (where else?) Phyode turns colors based on key physical manifestations of mood, with the goal of helping wearers control them. It translates the data it collects into three scores: mental state, agility, and ANS age readable on a smartphone via Bluetooth. Mental state can be either passive, excitable, pessimistic, anxious, or ideally, balanced somewhere in the middle. Since this Editor can see exceptions in places like NYC and LA, one wonders if they are on a different scale. Perfect for your favorite QS-er along with their Jawbone or FitBit. W/Me is on Kickstarter and oversubscribed for a ship date of August. Articles: PSFK/Boehringer Ingelheim blog, TechCrunch. Hat tip to TANN Ireland’s Toni Bunting.
‘Warrior Web’ becoming a ‘for realsie thing’
Interesting introduction in this Armed with Science article from the US Department of Defense describing DARPA’s ‘Warrior Web’ or ‘mech suit’ that is a soft, lightweight exoskeleton designed to help the average warrior humping 100-lb. equipment loads in rough terrain. In the Army, ‘for realsie’ means advanced prototype testing, this by the Army Research Laboratory Human Research and Engineering Directorate (ARL HRED, another one of those acronyms) in a five-month series of tests to evaluate multiple prototypes. Real progress and adoption here will have knock-on effects for advancing civilian development of assistance devices for the disabled and elderly. Includes 0:17 demo video. Warrior Web Prototype Takes First Steps
Harvard frets on 40,000 unvetted health apps–should we?
The Harvard Health Letter rails on that there is still no ‘trusted provider’ or vetting of consumer health apps. It sternly wags its finger to us on lack of regulation and no proof, beyond user reviews or forums, of effectiveness. There was the promise of Happtique to ‘curate’ health apps directly for consumers which is either permanently or temporarily on hold. Health Tap still has not yet filled the gap [TTA 31 May]. According to the HHL, trackers and calculators are the safest road to this kind of information. The article turns a decidedly dim eye on diagnostic tools such as phones for telederm consults. Consumers also should look at the brand–who produces the app, how often the app is updated, and if it provides references for the information it offers. The rest of the advice is fairly standard: consumers should buy well-known health brands, such as government agencies and research universities, and non-diagnostic usages. Hopefully most consumers will get the picture and we won’t have to fret on them. Some health-related apps should be avoided (Chicago Tribune.)
Robots with your face
Better than ‘Eyes Without A Face’ though… The RP-VITA robot developed by iRobot (the Roomba company) is moving beyond telepresence robots which have to be actively directed or pushed, to individually and automatically self-navigate via a combination of embedded hospital maps and simple iPad instructions to go to a particular department or room. The face is the doctor’s and less work for him directing the robot. Robots with your face want to invade workplaces and hospitals (Fortune) Hat tip to Toni Bunting, reader and TANN Ireland editor.
Earlier in TTA on RP-VITA: One big step for iRobot, one small step for doctorkind, Your robot news for an Olympics weekend
Google Glass-type extra help for the vision impaired
Developed by Israeli startup OrCam, these glasses promise a boost for people with impaired vision in a Google Glass-type form factor. The glasses conceal a minute audio/visual pickup, connected to a pocket-sized PC which can read “text in the wild” such as bus numbers, newspaper articles, and traffic lights. OrCam can also be set up to recognize faces, products and places which are pre-programmed, or can store new ones such as family, friends and credit cards, by the user shaking it or waving a hand, then following directions for storage. Google Glass for visually impaired reads street signs aloud (PSFK). (Hat tip to TANN Ireland Editor and TTA reader Toni Bunting) Ed. note: suddenly, any glasses-type wearable is compared with a product that is barely out!
Concussion monitoring in test in NY high school (US)
Following our coverage of CTE and mTBI (mild traumatic brain injury) at the GCRI presentation last week, a small-town football team is one of the first to pilot, albeit for three days, a new concussion detection technology developed by i1Biometrics. The Middletown, NY high school tested their Impact Sensing Mouth Guard that measures hits to better assess the likelihood of cumulative blows and outright head injuries. The mouth guards recognize cheek tissue for activation, and function as a standard mouth guard plus accelerometer and gyroscope to detect the hard-to-determine rotational acceleration. Data is then transmitted wirelessly to a monitoring station (laptop) where trainers can analyze the data. The i1Biometrics system will be further tested this fall at Purdue and the University of South Carolina. Article (Times Herald Record); i1 Biometrics website.
Most Recent Comments