As usual there were a lot of things that happened during the week, and not all of it was pharmacy or technology related. Here’s a quick look at some of the stuff I found interesting.
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Author: Jerry Fahrni
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Researchers develop anti-counterfeiting RFID technology
Daily Headlines – University of Arkansas: “Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed a unique and robust method to prevent cloning of passive radio frequency identification tags. The technology, based on one or more unique physical attributes of individual tags rather than information stored on them, will prevent the production of counterfeit tags and thus greatly enhance both security and privacy for government agencies, businesses and consumers.†– The researchers found that different tags responded to a range of radio frequencies from 903 to 927 MHz, giving them unique characteristics that could be reproduced for identification purposes; electronic fingerprinting. According to the article, this electronic fingerprinting increases security without increasing the cost of producing RFID tags.
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The popularity of multitouch technology is growing
InformationWeek: “As touch-screen hardware and tools for developing multitouch applications become more prevalent, businesses of all kinds will want to leverage the technology. Get ready to see it in all sorts of apps, including those used in retail, stock trading, manufacturing, inventory management, healthcare, appliance repair, and delivery services. Touch-sensing interfaces aren’t new — operations as diverse as the U.S. Postal Service and McDonald’s are using them. But these systems are based on users making a single point of contact with the screen, and they don’t support gestures. Compare that with the emerging class of multitouch sensing that lets users interact with devices using more than one finger and employing a drag-and-drop capability. For instance, users pinch their thumb and forefinger together to shrink a photo. Users of MacBook Pro, with its multitouch trackpad for manipulating objects, are familiar with multitouch, but the technology is just gaining traction on other platforms. Besides Microsoft, Qt Software is supporting it with QTouchEvent and QGestureEvent classes in the Qt 4.6 framework.” – It looks like the only people not interested in multitouch technology are those in healthcare and the makers of my Droid, i.e. Motorola. Doh!
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Cool Technology for Pharmacy
Researchers from the Technische Universität München (TUM) have developed a small microchip that can automate the process of testing the activity of cancer drugs against a patient’s tumor cells.
The chip is just a few millimeters in size, but packed with sensors. Here, a ceramic version of the chip is shown. The microsensors on the chip record, among other things, changes in the acid content of the medium and the cells’ oxygen consumption; photographs of the process are also taken by a microscope fitted underneath the microtitre plate. All of the data merge in a computer that is connected to the system, and which provides an overview of the metabolic activity of the tumor cells and their vitality.
The robots and microtitre plates are kept in a climatic chamber, which, through precisely regulated temperature and humidity, provides an environment similar to that of the human body, and also protects the tumor cells against external influences that can falsify the test results.
After the tumor cells have been able to divide undisturbed for a few hours, the robot applies an anti-cancer substance. If their metabolic activity declines over the next day or two, the active substance was able to kill the tumor cells and the drug is effective. Using the microchips, twenty-four active substances or combinations of active substances can be tested simultaneously in this way.
The reason that such technology is so important is obvious; treatment with chemotherapy is dangerous and unpleasant for patients. The ability to automate the identification of an ideal chemotherapy regimen not only decreases the patient’s exposure to unnecessary chemotherapy, but speeds up the entire process as well.
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Motion J3400 Tablet PC Video
Our pharmacy department uses tablet PCs as a tool to get pharmacists out of the physical pharmacy and up on the floors where they belong. We use a combination of the Dell XT2 tablet and the Motion J3400. I’ve mentioned the J3400 a couple of times before, here and here. It is a nice, rugged tablet.
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New bendable magnetic interface from Microsoft
Technology Review (MIT): “At the base of the new device a “sensor tile” produces magnetic multiple fields above its surface. By detecting disturbances to these fields, the system can track the movement of a metal object across its surface, or the manipulation of a bladder filled with iron filings or a magnetic fluid. A user can drag a ball bearing across the surface to move a cursor across a computer’s screen, or manipulate a ferrous fluid-filled bladder to sculpt 3D virtual objects.†– Pretty cool stuff.The caption for the image at right: “Bladder control: Manipulating a magnetic fluid on top of the researchers’ “sensor tile” (top) offers a novel way to control a computer. The interface can be used to sculpt virtual shapes (bottom). Credit: Microsoft”
Bladder control: Manipulating a magnetic fluid on top of the researchers’ “sensor tile” (top) offers a novel way to control a computer. The interface can be used to sculpt virtual shapes (bottom).
Credit: Microsoft -
Quick Hit – What makes someone an expert?
I’ve often asked myself this question as I tend to deal with “experts†in various fields from both the pharmacy and IT world. I’ve met several individuals over my short 12 year career that I wouldn’t give two cents for their opinion, but somehow they’ve been crowned an expert in their field. I find it interesting that some people refuse to challenge an expert for fear of some unforeseen negative consequence. Haven’t you ever listen to someone else’s opinion on something and think to yourself “that doesn’t sound rightâ€, but were afraid to open your mouth and say something? Of course you have. We all have. I fell into the trap myself several weeks ago. I started following someone on Twitter because of who they were supposed to be; an expert in the world of cutting edge technology. What I found was a string of opinions that I got tired of reading secondary to their short-sided viewpoint. This particular individual would quickly dismiss other opinions as irrelevant and mock those that offered conflicting views. I found the person to be not only full of himself, but full of crap as well. I grew tired of the message, finally woke up and hit “unfollowâ€; done deal. I wish it was always that easy.So, back to my original query: who pinned the expert badge on this person? Do experts become experts because people refuse to challenge them? Does it have to do with level of education, school attended, profession, genetics, or [insert reason of choice here]? Who knows, maybe it’s a combination of everything. I can tell you from personal experience that titles and education are meaningless when it comes to raw intelligence and common sense. I work with people every day that aren’t experts in anything per se, but I trust their opinion on matters of great importance. I prefer to discuss issues with intelligent people and arrive at my own conclusions instead of getting bullied into someone else’s view. Then again maybe that’s just me.
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Use of pharmacy informatics resources in hospital pharmacies
I read an interesting article today in the November 1, 2009 issue of the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP). In the article the authors report the results of survey sent to 200 hospitals in the US developed to assess the use of various informatics resources by pharmacy departments. The survey consisted of two-sections with a total of 20 questions. Only hospitals with at least 100 beds were included, and of the 200 surveys mailed only 114 were returned More information on the specifics of the survey can be found at the AJHP website here.
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Lexi-Comp running on the Android OS
I just saw a Tweet from Lexi-Comp announcing that they have a demonstration video of their ON-HAND software running on the Android platform. And because I’m using a Motorola Droid as my mobile device of choice, this is very exciting news. See the video below. Additional information is also available at the Lexi-Comp website.