21st Century Health: Telecare & GSM Handsets

by KYLEALBERT on Aug 9, 2013 1:13 pmNo Comments

image courtesy of mattza (via Flickr)

Technology has always been at the forefront of everything: from making life easier to empowering us to be independent. But for the elderly, people with special needs and disabilities, living a normal life is extremely challenging. According to a statistic, around a billion people or roughly 15% of the worlds population are disabled. These people face challenges when finding employment, riding the public transportation system, and living by themselves. Several public and private organizations are bringing different types of technologies to help them out. One of these technologies is a GPS (Global Positioning System) mobile-based system for the sick and elderly called Telecare. So, what does it do and is it the best technology out there? Lets find out.

Remotely Caring for Someone

Since most of them want to live independently, Telecare enables their loved ones to remotely monitor them. They could be monitored through telephone-based systems or alarms within a certain range. Special electronic wrist bands or pendants with Call Button functions are worn by these people. For example: if a person suffering from dementia leaves his or her safety zone, a special alarm is triggered to inform the family member. Its faster and safer, reducing the chances of harm and mortality. In England, service providers like O2 are initiatingtelecare services to people who have long-term diseases, the elderly, and disabled. Their GPS-enable Pearl + device for their Help at Hand campaign aims to reach 7 million carers in the United Kingdom. Telecare has be en just a part of the technology designed to help these special people cope up with the rigors of their daily lives.

Bringing Mobility to Assistive Technology

Basically, assistive technology is any item that helps maintain, increase, or improve the lives of people with disabilities. However, the elderly and mentally challenged are now using telecare and assistive technologies. Aside from the electronic pendants and wristbands they wear, monitors, sensors, and detectors are now used in assistive technology. One example is the automated pill dispenser by PivoTell. It has different alarm settings to remind the person about his or her medication. Also, it can link a call to the family when the medicine wasnt taken on time. The Oysta Technologys Pearl handset is another form of assistive technology used for Telecare management. It uses GSM technology, similar to a quad band mobile phone, which can communicate through SMS and GPRS. Designed like a cellular phone, its small in size, lightweight, and it has four programmable speed dial buttons. Aside

from these features, it also has a Fall Detection sensor which sends out an alert if a person is down. Since the Pearl handset supports the GSM 850/900/1800/1900 bands, it can basically work anywhere on the planet. With the advent of assistive technology and Telecare services, more people with special needs and disabilities can now realize their dream of independence. Since technology is rapidly evolving, even health is slowly moving into the digital age. Rather than be trapped in their own homes or in residential care, technology is helping these people cope up and stay safe, inside and outside their homes. This gives them a chance to enjoy and catch a ray of sunshine.

http://www.sensaris.com/category/mobile-health-tech-info/

Healthcare Goes Mobile

With smartphones dominating the telecommunications market and tablets growing ever more popular in the medical setting, the latest advancement in healthcare is the advent of mHealth the use of mobile devices and applications in support of the practice of medicine. The technologies may be getting smaller and smaller, but the scope of their capabilities is very, very large. Research firm Juniper estimated that 44 million health-related applications were downloaded on mobile devices in 2011. Wonder what apps were purchased? You should and you should be even more interested in the ones being developed. Revolutionary patient education, health monitoring and medical condition management tools are entering the market, and some could have a hugely positive impact on the healthcare industry as a whole. Patient Education Studies show that U.S. healthcare costs resulting from poor health literacy add up to as much

as$238 billion per year. Lowering that total requires that a much greater focus be put on educating patients about their bodies, conditions and diagnoses. mHealth can to do that. App developer Orca Health is harnessing the advanced display capabilities of tablets and smartphones to increase health awareness. Orcas apps use interactive 3D graphics to let patients explore inside the human body with incredible detail. When using Orcas SpineDecide app, users can zoom in to inspect a single vertebra and spin it around for a 360 view. There are similar apps for the foot, eye and shoulder, among other body parts, and the company just unveiled KidsDental, which uses dynamic, entertaining graphics to teach children how to care for their teeth. Orcas apps make health education fun and interactive. More importantly, though, widespread adoption of tools like theirs could increase health literacy among consumers, which would lower the costs of healthcare. Health Monitoring Since mobile devices were designed for portability and can be with you at all times, theyre ideal tools for tracking biometric data. The trend of self-monitoring, which uses smartphone apps and wearable devices to collect and measure personal health data, is growing rapidly. Juniper estimates that by 2016, over 3 million people will be monitoring themselves over mobile networks. Tools like the FitBit and Jawbone UP track data on their wearers activity levels, sleep patterns and eating habits, and can challenge users to meet or exceed daily goals. The devices are popular with health and fitness buffs who not only want to live well, but know just how well theyre living. Mobile tools are also useful for those seeking to lose weight through dieting, since they can track food intake to encourage healthy eating. iPhone app MealSnap lets users take a picture of their meals and get back instant calorie count estimates. Fooducate reports the nutrition information of a packaged food product when you scan its barcode, then suggests healthier alternatives. Condition Management Other mobile tools under development could be especially useful for patients who suffer from medical conditions and need to monitor personal metrics in order to stay well.

Junipers research found theres a high demand for mHealth products for cardiac outpatients; experts predict that a multitude of heart-health apps will emerge in 2012. Today, the AliveCortracks its users heart rate data using smartphones, but its not yet available in the U.S. Theres also a large market for mobile tools that aid in managing chronic diseases, like diabetes and COPD, and ensuring patients get proper treatment. A wireless glucose meter from Telcare, the BGM, debuted at this years Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to rave reviews. The device works like a traditional blood sugar meter but also sends measurement results to a secure online database immediately following testing. Telcares tool electronically aggregates the glucose readings, which diabetics today usually just write down, and enables physicians to access that data remotely at their earliest convenience. This ensures doctors can review accurate readings since patients cant report false numbers and may hold patients more accountable to test at appropriate intervals.

Healthcare goes mobile with apps, devices

AFP | Feb 20, 2014, 01.37PM IST

Mobile health is changing both the way doctors practice medicine, and the way patients handle medical decisions.

WASHINGTON: Thanks to smartphones, email, video games and photo sharing are available at the touch of a finger. But attach a special case and that same phone can produce an electrocardiogram (EKG) from the electrical impulses in your hand and send it to a doctor. "It's a neat little device," says EB Fox, who uses a heart monitor and app from AliveCor to keep track of his arrhythmia. The 57-year-old North Carolina resident says he has been using the device since October. If he thinks there is a problem, he can email a reading to his doctor for an evaluation.

"I have no doubt it's saved me one doctor's visit at least," said Fox. The heart monitor is just one example of progress in the booming mobile health -- or mHealth -- industry, which is changing both the way doctors practice medicine, and the way patients handle medical decisions. "Mobile apps are one of many mHealth tools that are helping to engage consumers and patients in their own health care," David Collins, senior director of the mobile division at the non-profit Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, told AFP. Slashing health care costs Doctors and developers alike are hoping that these mobile apps and devices will lead to lower health care costs. Health care businesses such as hospitals and insurance companies traditionally focus on quantity, counting the number of patients seen and procedures done. But as the system shifts and firms try to quantify the quality of care, factors such as whether a patient returns to the hospital within 30 days of treatment come into play, and can affect insurance payouts for care. The idea is that if patients track their own health, using mobile apps and other tools, the extra data can reduce the numbers of doctor's visits, and make each one more effective. The Scripps Translational Science Institute in California is in the middle of a study examining the relationship between medical costs and mobile medical devices, specifically in patients with chronic conditions. Participants receive an iPhone and either a blood pressure monitor, heart monitor, or glucose meter to track their high blood pressure, arrhythmia, or diabetes for six months. Lead researcher Cinnamon Bloss said the team will be looking to see if by monitoring their own symptoms, patients can avoid unnecessary trips to the doctor or emergency room, as Fox has. Patient compliance not easy A few months into the study, Bloss has already noticed one longstanding problem that persists despite the ease of using mobile apps -- patient compliance. "We're offering a free phone and device for a disease they already have, but many people don't want to be bothered, don't want to take the time," Bloss said.

And according to Iltifat Husain, the founder of the app review website iMedicalApps.com, a lack of adherence to treatment plans can have significant financial and health-related consequences. "Patients who are non-compliant end up costing us billions of dollars in the health care system. I see it on a daily basis," he said at an event at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "I'll see it in patients who come in in essentially a diabetic coma because they weren't taking their medications appropriately." Better apps As smartphones are increasingly a part of everyday life, even for older Americans, Husain says mobile health tools are improving. "The quality of medical apps has grown tremendously in the last year or two, due to people having a higher medical app literacy," he told AFP. That's also due to the guidelines released by the US Food and Drug Administration in September last year, which Husain said were helping to ward off the release of dodgy apps that could put patients at risk. "Initially you had the Wild West -- now you have a sheriff who's come to town," Husain said. But in a rapidly growing field that allows massive amounts of data to be collected, Husain offered a few words of caution. "Just because we can monitor vital signs and other things doesn't necessarily mean we should. It doesn't necessarily mean that it leads to a better outcome," he warned. "As a society, we need to figure out if we're willing to change the fundamental physicianpatient relationship."