News • Dermatology diagnostics
AI-powered app to speed up skin cancer diagnoses
A mobile application assists in recording skin lesions and sends them to dermatology departments in hospitals, speeding up diagnosis of skin cancer.
Article • Chatbots & co
E-mental health: A solution for a rising challenge
E-mental health services could provide a response to these challenges and offer effective ways for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and aftercare.
News • Cutting risk of death
Machine learning rapidly detects sepsis
Researchers used artificial intelligence to identify sets of genes that predict whether a patient will acquire severe sepsis.
News • Virtual reality
VR archery is “Braille” for orientation of blind people
Virtual reality helps to understand how blind people move and orient themselves in space. In the future it may become a serious game able to rehabilitate blind people’s orientation skills
Article • Experts point out lack of diverse data
AI in skin cancer detection: darker skin, inferior results?
Does artificial intelligence (AI) need more diversity? This aspect is brought up by experts in the context of AI systems to diagnose skin cancer. Their concern: images used to train such programs do not include data on a wide range of skin colours, leading to inferior results when diagnosing non-white patients.
Article • Subset of wearables
From the wrist into the ear – the potential of hearables
Progress in miniaturising sensor technology has opened up new possibilities for monitoring vital signs outside the hospital environment. A subset of wearables are the so-called hearables – in-ear devices that are well suited for long-term monitoring as they are non-invasive, inconspicuous and easy to fasten. Hearables offer two major benefits: their proximity to the torso and vascular system of…
News • Monitoring after surgery
Smart sutures to monitor deep surgical wounds
To detect wound complications as soon as they happen, a team of researchers has invented a smart suture that is battery-free and can wirelessly sense and transmit information from deep surgical sites.
News • Intelligent algorithms
The gait lab for the pocket – app-based fall prevention
Every day, elderly people fall – be it at home or in care facilities. Med-tech start-up Lindera developed an app that allows motion analysis via a smartphone camera to minimize the risk of falling.
Article • Game elements
Gamification in diabetes care
The number of gamified mobile applications is rising rapidly—especially in healthcare. Gamified apps or devices are used in many fields, from mental health therapy to stroke rehab to managing metabolic conditions. This article illustrates how gamification is employed in diabetes care.
News • Blood clot screening
AI could help detect pulmonary embolisms with ECG data
A new pilot study suggests that machine learning algorithms which fuse electrocardiogram (ECG) and electronic health record data may help doctors screen for dangerous, lung-clogging blot clots.
News • Machine learning
Covid-19 diagnosis with improved accuracy, preserved privacy
Researchers in the UK and China have developed an AI model that can diagnose Covid-19 as well as a panel of professional radiologists, while preserving the privacy of patient data.
News • Additive manufacturing
3D printed medication activated by smartphone screen
The light from a smartphone screen can be used to print medications, in a new 3D printing technique developed by UCL researchers.
Article • Key technologies
Artificial intelligence in medicine will prevail
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing our healthcare systems. It can help us detect diseases earlier, improve patient care and reduce healthcare costs. However, there is still a lack of trust, of rules and safety regulations and of broad data pools. How can we use AI successfully in healthcare systems and what role will it play in the future?
Article • Remote patient monitoring
Wearables must demonstrate efficacy in respiratory care
Wearables are a trend in respiratory care and many products are being developed to monitor patients remotely. But how much can these tools really help clinicians? An Italian expert discussed current solutions and challenges to their development.
Article • Underestimated risk
Cybersecurity threat to remote monitoring devices
Remote monitoring devices and pacemakers supporting patients with conditions such as heart failure could be vulnerable to cyberattack, according to a leading cardiology expert.
Article • IT security
Cyberattacks on critical infrastructures on the rise
Some ten years ago, it was unthinkable that virtually all company data was stored in the cloud. Now it’s what almost every company does. However, the increasing complexity of corporate IT infrastructures also comes at a price. The sheer size and complexity of the systems makes it difficult to keep track of everything that is going on digitally. And this leads to more and more successful…
Article • Pre-, post- and interoperative
Wearable devices in the surgical environment
Wearable technology has become an important part of medicine, from tracking vital signs to disease diagnosis. In surgery, wearable technologies can now assist, augment, and provide a means of patient assessment before, during and after surgical procedures. Wearable technologies are applied before the patient even reaches the operating room, for example in prehabilitation, i.e. pre-treatment…
Article • Digital infrastructure
Update: 5G in German healthcare
This September, the symposium 5G4Healthcare, organised by the Technical University of Applied Sciences (Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule - OTH) Amberg-Weiden, Germany, explored how 5G can contribute to greater efficiency in healthcare. The event was based on the insights from the 5G4Healthcare project at OTH. Launched in 2020, it is one of six research projects in the 5G innovation programme…
News • Health IT Forum at Medica 2021
A glimpse into the future of digitalised medicine
"Virtual Care & Digital Therapeutics", "Medical Artificial Intelligence & Robotics", "Fields of Innovation" and "Societal aspects of digitized healthcare" are the topics of this year's Health IT Forum at Medica. New this year: In line with the hybrid event concept of the trade fair, the Expert Panels, Tech Talks and Deep Dive Sessions can be…
Article • Extended realities in the OR
‘XR is fusing surgical reality with medical images’
Leading medical XR experts gathered at Shift Medical to discuss developments on the use of immersive technologies in medicine. We interviewed Doctor Egidijus Pelanis of Oslo University Hospital, about applying extended realities in the operating room.
Article • IT security
Cyber attack: Be prepared!
Ransomware attacks are a highly profitable and flourishing business in the 21st century. They can have a drastic impact on hospitals, clinical laboratories, and patients. The Sophos Group, a British security hard/software company, has reported survey responses from 328 healthcare IT managers in 30 countries.
News • Addressing coronavirus vaccine hesitancy
Covid-19: Could a chatbot help overcome vaccine concerns?
French researchers have found that addressing concerns related to the Covid-19 vaccination via a chatbot interface might be capable of swaying the vaccine-hesitant. Vaccine hesitancy is one of the major challenges in containing the Covid-19 pandemic. Previous studies have revealed that mass communication—through short messages relayed by television or radio—is not a very effective means of…
Article • Health IT
Interoperability: Insights from Down Under
With interoperability stalled, stakeholders are seeking new ways to create an interoperable ecosystem. IT specialist Jason Steen describes the state of interoperability in Australia and calls for more governmental commitment and international standards.
Article • Cyberattacks and countermeasures
Healthcare cybersecurity in the EU and US: a technical, regulatory or political issue?
The pandemic has put a spotlight on the increasing role of cyberattacks and weaknesses in healthcare. In healthcare as in other industries, cybercrime does not stop at national borders. With this idea in mind, the US consulate general in Düsseldorf and the US embassy in Vienna recently invited interested parties to their Cybersecurity in Healthcare Briefing.
Article • IT security
IAM: Even biometrics can be hacked
Of all the methods used in identity and access management (IAM), biometrics is arguably the oldest: it has been around long before IAM was a “thing”. Humans are naturally optimized for recognizing fellow humans’ faces, voices and other biometric features. However, even biometric recognition between humans is less than perfect, as countless cases of successful impersonators and impostors…