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The Virtual Autopsy Table from NorrköpingsVisualiseringscenter on Vimeo.

A consortium of Swedish tech and medical interests have banded together to develop a Virtual Autopsy Table. It’s a large touch-screen table that can utilize data from CT and MRI scans to allow doctors investigate all your hidden inside nook and crannies, scalpel-free.

The multi-touch interface allows doctors or researchers to virtually peel away various layers of body tissue as they digitally spelunk into the patient’s body. Of course, “Autopsy” is just one of the potential uses of the technology which will also aid in pre-surgical planning, examination, and educational uses.

You’ve got to imagine the Japanese are green with envy right now, as the BBC report not one, but two different drug vending machines are being tested out under Her Majesty’s watchful eye. The first of these experiments is run by supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, which has installed a pair of drug dispenser machines in its stores. They identify users by their fingerprint or a unique number, demand PIN verification too, and then finally accept your prescription. Then — and this is the really silly part — a pharmacist comes along, picks up your prescription, fills it out, and deposits it in the machine for you to pick up. So it’s impersonal and unnecessarily convoluted, great. PharmaTrust seems to have a slightly better idea with its videophone-equipped, ATM-style robo-vendor: it’s intended to allow pharmacists to approve prescriptions off-site and out of usual working hours by letting them speak to you via videophone. It could in fact be a big benefit in more remote areas, depending on how patients take to it — we’ll know more when the trial starts up in participating hospitals this winter.

Continue reading Drug vending machines start trial in UK, allow awkward videophone conversations with your pharmacist

Drug vending machines start trial in UK, allow awkward videophone conversations with your pharmacist originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 07:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Science has been figuring out ways to sidestep those dreaded finger pricks for years now, but it’s not often that we hear of such a permanent solution as this. A crew of researchers from The University of Tokyo and BEANS Research Institute are in the process of developing a newfangled blood sugar sensor that “reacts to glucose and lights up inside the body.” ‘Course, injecting dyes into humans in order to receive interpretable signals ain’t exactly new, but hydrogel is what makes this approach unique. As the story goes, this jelly-esque material can be implanted within the body, enabling blood sugar levels to be monitored and measured externally with no pain or irritation whatsoever. In theory, a monitoring system could trigger an alert as soon as the internal levels dipped or rose beyond a predetermined extreme, giving those with diabetes a maximum amount of time to get things back in balance. There’s nary a mention of when this goo will be green-lit by the FDA, but there’s definitely a video explaining everything just past the break.

Continue reading Implantable blood sugar sensor could eliminate daily finger pricks

Implantable blood sugar sensor could eliminate daily finger pricks originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 06:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Okay, so maybe we’re only half-kidding about the prospective of having home health robots that can barely multitask, but we’re hoping that Intel and GE at least have the heart to equip any domicile servants with a Core i3 or stronger. If you haven’t heard, the two aforesaid companies have joined hands this week to create a 50/50 joint venture, one that’ll result in the creation of a new healthcare company “focused on telehealth and independent living.” Financial terms aren’t being disclosed, but the goal is pretty simple: “to use technology to bring more effective healthcare into millions of homes and to improve the lives of seniors and people with chronic conditions.” It’s a bit unclear at this point what all the duo will be creating, but we wouldn’t be shocked to see medical tablets, Core i7 980X-based “medical monitoring PCs” and Moorestown-powered “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” neck pieces surface in the near future.

Continue reading Intel and GE form healthcare joint venture, sluggish Atom-powered home servants on the way

Intel and GE form healthcare joint venture, sluggish Atom-powered home servants on the way originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 06:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It may not do much to speed up wait times, but Fujitsu is at least doing its part to make the time outpatients spend at hospitals and clinics a bit easier. It’s announced a new wireless outpatient guidance system, which packs an electronic paper display, and accommodates a card that a patient would receive when they arrive for their appointment. When placed in the card reader, the device would automatically register the patient at the hospital or clinic, guide them to their destination, and continually inform them of their wait time and place in line. It’d also, of course, work anywhere there’s a wireless signal, so you’d be able to leave the waiting room without having to worry about missing your appointment. No word on any hospitals that have signed up to use it just yet, but the system will be commercially available in February of next year. Full press release after the break.

Continue reading Fujitsu’s wireless guidance system promises to free patients from the waiting room

Fujitsu’s wireless guidance system promises to free patients from the waiting room originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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