It’s not all textbooks and anatomy labs for medical students these days. Advances in computer technology has opened up many new ways to help these future doctors.

Take for example this pilot study by the University of Florida, the Medical School of Georgia, and a couple of other universities.

They are using a ‘mixed reality human’ consisting of a life size computer avatar on a flat screen TV and a mannequin with a prosthetic breast.

Her name is Amanda Jones and her job is to help teach students how to perform breast exams, an intimate procedure that once could only be learned ‘on the job’. But now, thanks to Amanda, students can not only learn the correct examination procedure in a laboratory setting. But it’s not all about the physical.

Amanda talks - via a voice simulation system - and will maintain a conversation with the examiner, providing students with an opportunity to develop good doctor-patient communication skills.

The conversation is all unscripted. The student must draw Amanda’s medical history from her, asking questions and listening to her responses and concerns. And just like a real exam, this conversation takes place while the physical examination is being done.

And Amanda will know if the breast examination is not being done correctly. Sensors within the prosthetic breast provide pressure information depicted by colors on the virtual computer breast. The colors will change depending on whether or not the correct position is being palpated or not.

Amanda is also programmed to exhibit abnormal breast changes which the student should be able to discover through correct palpating and question asking techniques.

Definitely a win-win learning model for both medical students and their future patients.

(image source)

It looks like a real heart. It acts like a real heart. But in reality, it’s only a  super-realistic computer model.

Created by a team of doctors from the Heart Hospital in London, this virtual heart is perfect for medical students to get indepth knowledge of the heart’s anatomy.

It sure beats staring at a dull anatomy textbook or static model.

It can be viewed from both inside and out, rotated around any axis with a simple flick or click of the computer mouse or keyboard.  It can even be made to simulate irregular heart beats and mirror the effects of various conditions and diseases.

(source and image)

Think you know all about baby making?

After all, you know all about the ‘birds and the bees’.  Unfortunately, for some people, baby making’s not that easy. They have to think outside the square and use such methods as fertility drugs, IVF, surrogacy, and maybe even adoption.

But this couple seems to have come up with a unique way of baby making. It’s way out in left field. It will definitely make you laugh.

If only it was that easy for those who have trouble conceiving.

A University of Wisconsin biomedical engineering doctoral student posted a message on Twitter, a popular social media network, simply by thinking about it.

His  message “using EEG to send tweet” was the result of using a brain-computer interface system that consisted of a electrode-studded cap which was wired to the computer.

The student, Adam Wilson, wore the cap and then focused on the computer screen where the keyboard as displayed. (watch video)

Justin Williams, a UW-Madison assistant professor of biomedical engineering and Wilson’s adviser, describes how it works…

“The way this works is that all the letters come up, and each one of them flashes individually, And what your brain does is, if you’re looking at the ‘R’ on the screen and all the other letters are flashing, nothing happens. But when the ‘R’ flashes, your brain says, ‘Hey, wait a minute. Something’s different about what I was just paying attention to.’ And you see a momentary change in brain activity.”

Wilson’s ability to send a 23 character message via twitter is great news for patients suffering from ‘locked in’ syndrome due to diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), brain-stem stroke or high spinal cord injury. It offers possibilities in new and manageable ways for these patient’s to combine brain-computer interface technologies with modern communication tools.

(source)

I admit it. I spend way too much time on the computer.

If I’m not blogging about health issues here at Healthbolt, green issues at ecosalon, travel at Perceptive Travel, or travel writing at Write to Travel, I’m checking my emails, twitter and  RSS feeds.

So I find articles like ‘10 Ways to get Fit WHILE Blogging’ a real help. It not only reminds me that I need to exercise but also provides interesting, unique, and fun ways to do so while chained to the computer.

But knowing that I’m probably not the only one out there often chained to the computer, I thought I’d share their list of exercises with you…

1. Cyber Squats
2. RSS Raises
3. Move it! Break #1
4. Twitter Tummy Tone
5. Social Squeezes
6. 10 Minute Move it! Break #2
7. Inbox Incline
8. 10 Minute Move it! Break #3
9. Blogger Breather
10. Sign Off Stretches

Read the ‘10 Ways to get Fit WHILE Blogging’ article to find out what to do and how to do it.

(image from sxc.hu /EdwinP)

It’s fun. I promise.

Well, it’s finally happened. A Nintendo Wii and it’s companions, Wii Sports and Wii Fit, arrived at the house today. And they’ve been the center of everyone’s attention ever since

After the initial set up, all Wii Sports and many of the Wii Fit exercises have been tried out by one and all.

And I can’t see it stopping any time soon.

So far, I’ve discovered that my Wii Fit age is way older that my real age, that my balance is non-existant, and that I’ve got a lot of work to do. But I’m not complaining - Wii Fit and Wii Sports make it look like improving my fitness is going to be nothing but fun.

Well, got to go.

I’m booked to play tennis in 10 minutes.

Hands up anyone who, when they are feeling unwell or concerned about a health issue, does a google search?

If you put your hand up, you are in the majority. Seems that these days, instead of heading to the doctor or the local pharmacist, we all head to the internet. It’s quick, convenient, helpful, and apparently, also trackable as a new google tracking tool proves.

Google debuted the Google Flu Trend Tool on Tuesday.

Working on the theory that it’s more likely to be a flu outbreak in places where flu-related search terms are currently popular, this tracking tool follows any increased flu-related search terms to determine where in the U.S. flu outbreaks may be occurring. This information is given to the federal government’s  CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) agency.

From a medical point of view, sounds like the perfect way for health professionals to keep up with current flu activity level in their own state or city.

But is it also an invasion of a person’s privacy?

If they can track people’s searches for ‘flu symptoms’ and ‘flu treatments’ what’s to stop them from tracking other searches such, say for example ‘AIDS symptoms and treatments’ or ‘SARS symptoms and treatments’?

A company statement says that the Flu Trends Tool can’t be used to identify individual users. But we all know that every single computer connected to the internet has it’s own unique protocol address which does reveal its exact location to Google.

It’s an interesting dilemma and one that, no doubt, will be debated by those concerned with privacy issues.

Would love to know what you all think.

Vote in the poll.

Leave a comment.

Let’s talk…

Okay, I can see some of you scratching your head, saying ’suffering from…what???’

So let me explain.

Discomgoogolation is the ‘feeling stressed or anxious at an inability to access the internet.’ The term is the result of combining “discombobulate,” which means to confuse or frustrate, and “Google”.

Apparently, there are an awful lot of discomgoogolation sufferers out there. A recent survey done in Britain almost half of those surveyed feel somewhat discomgoogolated when deprived of internet access and just over a quarter actually suffer from increased stress levels when not able to get online.

Psychologist Dr David Lewis, who dentified discomgoogolation by measuring heart rates and brainwave activity, says “It was surprising to see the stress this led to brain activity and blood pressure in participants both increase in response to being cut off from the internet.”

Other interesting findings from the survey include…

• that over 75% of  Britons feel they could not live without the internet
• 47% of those polled believed the internet was more important in people’s lives than religion
• one in five people paying the internet more attention than their partner

Looks like the internet may be taking over our lives…

One day, we may all have to stand up and say ‘Hello, my name is…. and I suffer from discomgoogolation.’

(source)

Bless the New York Times.com for publishing a list of the best online psychology tests. This is exactly the type of thing you need to sift through on a Friday when your mind cannot possibly focus on work. If your boss bitches, just tell them you’re learning about yourself in hopes that you can become an even more effective worker. Then make cross-eyes at him or her as they exit your office or cubicle. Proceed.

Once you dig into this list, you’ll find assessments such as:

* A Personality Test

* A Memory Test (I would so fail this one lately, I swear)

* Your reaction to faces (what you perceive to be attractive or not)

* Your personal biases (based on race, looks, etc)

And perhaps the piece de resistance…

* A Sanity Score Quiz (again, I seriously doubt this would have a positive outcome for me these days. Heh.)

Sounds like fun to me. And a great way to waste a little time spend a little time getting to know yourself.

Here’s the link to the NYT list, which has a link for each of the tests. Enjoy!