When I first heard of the concept of a dual screen laptop my initial thought was that it was a ridiculous idea. Then I spent a little time researching the product and have changed opinion. Now I’d like to put my hands on one.
The Kohjinsha DZ dual-screen laptop is much smaller then I expected, which is a good thing. The device offers two 10.1†screens, giving you some nice screen real estate when both are open. Additional features include biometric fingerprint identification, 1.3 megapixel webcam, up to 4 GB RAM, built in wireless, a 3-in-1 media slot and Windows 7 Home Premium. (more…)
CrunchGear reports on a new product called Lockface USB flash drive from Futen, a Japanese company. The flash drive uses facial recognition to identify its users. According to CrunchGear: “The first thing to do is to register a number of pictures of your face. After that, the Lockface verifies your face every time you need to access data on it (the verification process takes about a second). The USB drive doesn’t require extra software to be downloaded or installed. Alternatively, you can also use a password, completely ignoring the face recognition function of the device. It uses 256-bit AES to encrypt the data. Futen says the device has an error rate of about 2% (it verifies the “wrong†person in 1.91% of cases and won’t verify the right person in 1.98% of cases).†(more…)
Installing and using Citrix Receiver on your iPhone/iPod Touch
While at ASHP Midyear a colleague and friend of mine, @pillguy, was able to pull up the pharmacy system at his hospital using Citrix on his iPhone. At that moment I was attacked by a green monster and nearly consumed with envy. I can not yet match this feat of superiority with my Droid, but I’m hopeful. (more…)
My Cool Technology for Pharmacy this week strays a little from my normal hardware and software approach and focuses on the concept of RxNorm. The reason for this deviation is simple; my ignorance of RxNorm was never more evident than during my time at ASHP Midyear this week. I don’t like it when I lack understanding of what people are talking about, and this happened on a couple of occasions during discussions involving RxNorm. This was especially true during a presentation by Dr. Usha Desiraju of First DataBank. Dr. Desiraju’s presentation focused on the use of RxNorm and interoperability.
So I was forced to do a little reading. The entire idea seems simple enough, but like many good ideas implementation and acceptance is a little like trying to push the wrong end of two magnets together. In the simplest terms I can muster, think of RxNorm as a standardized language used to identify each unique medication across multiple systems. (more…)
Entering and making pediatric drips for pharmacists working in an adult hospital can be a real sphincter tightener. Pharmacists that aren’t accustomed to working with pediatric patients feel a little bit uneasy when an order shows up for a customized dopamine, dobutamine, etc. I remember working in a pediatric facility where we did this kind of thing all the time and no one gave it a second thought. We used a combination of two standardized concentrations, hi and low, for each commonly ordered drip. For code blue situations we often used the “Rule of 6’sâ€, which is now discouraged by the Joint Commission. (more…)
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.
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
There’s a running joke among pharmacists that we have medication to treat just about everything. It’s kind of like Apples “There’s an app for thatâ€, i.e. “There’s a pill for thatâ€. Well, we’re getting closer to making that statement a reality. The SmartPill is a diagnostic device in the shape of a giant capsule. It is taken by the patient and wirelessly transmits data to the physician as it journeys through the patient’s small and large bowel. (more…)
Everyone that works in a hospital knows how nasty computer keyboards can get. Well check out the Viogurad Self-Sanitizing keyboard.
From the Vioguard site:
The Vioguard keyboard is stored in a mechanized enclosure (which doubles as a monitor stand) when not in use. It safely floods the keyboard and track pad with germicidal ultraviolet light. When a user sits down at the workstation and activates the infrared motion sensor with the wave of a hand, the keyboard automatically extends into working position. When the user is finished, the keyboard automatically retracts back inside the enclosure and activates the germicidal ultraviolet lights. LED indicators are used to let the user know when the keyboard has been sanitized and is ready for use. The sanitization cycle can be interrupted anytime to ensure the keyboard is available as needed.
CrunchGear
