Knowledge modules, speech interfaces, robotics, analytics, and the Internet of Things demonstrate advances in intelligent computing in industries such as transportation, retail, and financial services. What role have they taken on the healthcare stage?
Cloud computing offers various benefits but also entails some risks. Nevertheless hospitals need to adopt new ways to simplify work processes and enhance care.
Cases of cybercrime are growing every year, demonstrating a threat scenario not just in the private area, for banks or companies, but also for insurance companies, because criminals steal data and whole databanks with private information. At this years’ HIMSS, Stephen Cobb, Senior Security Researcher at ESET North America, speaks about the growing risk and the need to manage such health IT…
Digital transformation is in full swing. Yet digitization remains theoretical in healthcare and not just in Germany. Given the influx of new information technology contributions, the subject of health definitely needs to be reevaluated. As a driver and creator of digital transformation, HIMSS has made this task its mission. The HIMSS Communities play an essential role in this. Report: Melanie…
Two years ago European Hospital spoke with Hans Vandewyngaerde, President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) for Agfa HealthCare, about a sweeping vision the company called ‘Images without Boundaries’. The idea was to build a capability to share images from anywhere to anyone involved in a patient’s care.
One thing is certain in big data discussions: Intelligent machines will change our world considerably. What is less certain is exactly how these changes will look. Although networked data processing offers many opportunities, its development is still in the early stages.
MRI, CT, pathology: doctors have to consider medical image data – increasing in both amount and complexity – to perform diagnoses and monitor therapy. The Fraunhofer Institute for Medical Image Computing MEVIS in Bremen is creating a new approach to provide effective assistance.
Experts at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) – an organization promoting research, risk assessment, knowledge sharing and best practices in the fight against infectious diseases – are developing tools to monitor the spread of the Zika virus and are conducting research to gather more solid data to better assess the risks associated with the…
The second annual COCIR* eHealth Summit took place last week in Brussels, Belgium, in cooperation with the European Commission and in partnership with European Hospital and Healthcare Foundation (HOPE) and the European Patients Forum (EPF). This year high level speakers and participants shared their insights on integrated care as a response to some of the most pressing challenges currently faced…
Investment in health has been paralysed in the peninsula for the past few years, but Spain will soon have the largest picture archiving and communications system (PACS) in Europe. Accenture and Carestream are currently implementing a joint project in Andalucia, framed within the bilateral cooperation agreement between the Andalucian Health Service and the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism,…
After evaluating content on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis on almost 200 websites, researchers with medical backgrounds found that the information on IPF from these sites was often incomplete, inaccurate and outdated. The study, "Accuracy and Reliability of Internet Resources for Information on Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis" highlights the need for the medical community to continually…
Internet based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help people affected by body dysmorphic disorder, finds a study published by The BMJ today. This is the largest clinical trial of body dysmorphic disorder ever conducted, and the first to evaluate the effect of an internet based programme for the condition.
During the COCIR 2nd Annual eHealth Summit, Nicole Denjoy, COCIR Secretary General and Jan Van Emelen, Voka Chairman of Mobile Health, presented a new partnership on mHealth. This partnership is part of the sustained effort initiated by the Voka Health Community a year ago, to accelerate mHealth adoption in Belgium and boost large-scale deployments through concerted action and multi-stakeholder…
Leading cardiologist Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, has developed a free mobile application called “Circle of Health” to empower individuals around the globe to take action to comprehensively assess and enhance their daily overall heart health. Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of mortality in the world. Dr. Fuster has created “Circle of Health” for the daily promotion of…
More than 50 million Americans live in rural areas, and many have limited access to health care. For someone living far from an urban area, local specialty care for complex health issues is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. For years, telemedicine programs across the country have connected rural patients to specialists in urban settings. Now, a study by University of Missouri School of…
What doesn't kill you could cure you. A growing interest in the therapeutic value of animal venom has led a pair of Columbia University data scientists to create the first catalog of known animal toxins and their physiological effects on humans.
As part of the MEDICA 2015, the world’s largest medical trade fair with almost 5,000 exhibitors from 70 nations, the “MEDICA App COMPETITION” for the best medical app has been held live for the fourth time already.
Telemedicine is taking strides throughout Europe. While in Germany telemedicine projects appear to be off to a slow start (see the electronic health card), in other countries progress is going full throttle. In September, at the German-Dutch symposium ‘Using optimisation potential: Telemedicine and procurement management’ a number of Dutch approaches were presented. Report: Sylvia Schulz
Although there are many telemedically supported care concepts in Germany, most are still model projects. So far, only a minority has become part of nationwide, standard medical care. Methodically solid and thoroughly published evaluations can help to make the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of telemedicine applications more transparent for decision makers. With their recently developed…
For years discussions have been rife regarding the economic efficiency and efficiency of information and communication technology. In Germany the need is to catch up with the interoperability of technical standards and cross-industry approaches. Report: Anja Behringer
While Swatch and Rolex count the hours until their smart watches overwhelm the time market, medical informatics researchers have already been working on solutions to improve healthcare. Some demonstrated their work on a medication reminder application during the Medical Informatics Europe conference in Madrid. Report: Mélisande Rouger
Systems medicine – the interdisciplinary field incorporating biochemical, physiological and environmental interactions in the study of human body systems as part of an integrated whole – draws heavily on the technological advances in information technology (IT). New ways to use data impact on healthcare and society, says Professor Dr Heyo Kroemer, Dean of the Medical School, Georg August…
It’s a race against the clock; every hour counts in efforts to halt the spread of a disease, but identifying anyone with whom the infected patient has had contact is time-consuming, with Contact Officers generally collecting data on paper. Now, however, scientists from the Nigerian Field Epidemiology Laboratory & Training Programme, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, the Hasso…
Systems biology allows the mathematical visualisation through graphs and networks of complex body processes such as disease development. The aim is to improve understanding processes and triggers of diseases, so as to access and repair a damaged network. ‘We are still approaching this issue with a lot of naivety and underestimate the complexity of biological systems, and therefore of…
Approximately 16 million American adults are affected by depression. However, many patients see a psychiatrist only once every two to three months. Recognizing that patients often forget how their moods vary between visits, a team from the University of Missouri, Missouri University of Science and Technology and the Tiger Institute for Health Innovation has developed a smartphone application that…