The U.S. Army announced that it will begin testing 85 smartphone apps, including ones designed to help medics share medical information in the field.
The Army first announced that it would consider battlefield smartphone apps in December, when it began conducting pilots to determine whether medical record applications running on Apple and Android devices would be helpful in the field.
The latest series of tests include apps that allow soldiers to track moods and emotional well-being and medics to report a wounded soldier’s information and GPS location.
Other apps include digital version of bulky instruction manuals and mobile phone drone piloting. Tests are set to take place at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and in Fort Blixx, Texas, MobiHealthNews reported.
- Wireless tech dominates in medical devices
Nearly 90 percent of global patents for heart-rate monitors feature a wireless component, as do about 70 percent of blood-glucose monitors, according to a recent report by CambridgeIP, a British research organization. Overall, wireless technologies are incorporated into nearly one-third of all medical device patents.Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) lead the report with the most patented wireless heart monitors, MobiHealthNews reported.
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Ethicon launches new Endopath Xcel trocar with self-cleaning lens
Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. announced the launch of their next-gen Endopath Xcel with Optiview self-cleaning lens technology.
During procedures endoscopes often become smudged and have to be removed periodically for cleaning. Debris can get stuck within the trocar’s shaft, even after cleaning, impairing the surgical view and causing interruptions in the procedure.
The lens features a flexible scraper that wipes bodily fluids and debris from the endoscope shaft and wicking channels draw fluids toward an absorbent ring.
- MyCare card stores medical data in a wallet-friendly device
A credit-card sized USB device is the first device of its kind to undergo trials in the U.K. The MyCare card, developed by researchers at City University London and Coventry University, stores patient medical data in a card that plugs into a computer USB slot to make medical data immediately available to emergency responders or personal care physicians.The card is designed for voluntary use by patients, and initial trials have been successful, according to the release. The development team now plans to work with health organizations to embark on a full-scale pilot program.
The card may be available to patients within three to four years.
Read more - GE Healthcare touts FDA clearance for AngioViz vascular imaging software
GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE) announced that its AngioViz application, which provides X-ray images of blood vessels in two dimensions, received clearance by the FDA. The software analyzes each pixel in the X-ray images to help physicians better perceive aspects of the blood’s flow.
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