New Technologies: Diagnoses Using Cell Phones

Created initially to make wireless verbal and then digital communication available to everyone, now cell phones are being used for everything from watching movies to social networking to ordering food and movie tickets and even shopping. The application potentials are limitless and now even medical applications have jumped on the cell phone bandwagon. This means that similar to telemedicine, smart phones can relay important information from remote locations to medical specialists.

For example, frequently occurring, potentially life-threatening conditions such as apnea and pneumothorax can be easily ruled out by performing an ultrasound that visualizes a respiratory motion known as lung sliding. Institutions from around the world collaborated on a study that assessed how economically and practically this information could be obtained remotely over a cellular network. 1

In this study, remote expert sonographers taught remote providers with little to no ultrasound experience how to obtain the images needed to rule out apnea and pneumothorax. Through the use of handheld ultrasound units streaming images via Skype services on an iPhone, examinations were conducted between a series of remote sites and a base station. These included: two remote on-mountain sites, a small airplane in flight, and a Calgary household, with base sites located in Pisa, Rome, Philadelphia, and Calgary.

In every example, lung sliding could easily and quickly be seen. Furthermore, the respiratory motion was easily substantiated and documented through capture of color-power Doppler and M-mode images. Other ultrasound applications, such as the Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma examination, vascular anatomy, and a fetal wellness assessment were also demonstrated.

In another study, conducted in South Korea, a team of scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science of Technology2 demonstrated that touch screen technology can be used to detect biomolecular matter, in a similar way that standard medical tests are now conducted. Rather than spending hours waiting in lines at clinics and hospitals for tests, based on the idea that touch screens work by recognizing electronic signs based on the touch of a finger; the presence of DNA and particular proteins should be recognizable, as well.

Biochemicals, including proteins and DNA molecules, carry specific electronic charges and touch screens on smart phones work by sensing the electronic charges from the user's body on the screen. The Korean team’s experiments showed that touch screens can recognize the existence and the concentration of DNA molecules placed on them. They confirmed that touch screens are able to recognize DNA molecules with nearly 100 per cent accuracy just as large, conventional medical equipment can.

Eventually, the hope is that the touch screen will be able to identify bacteria or other disease from fluids as diverse as sputum, blood, saliva or even urine. And if along the way, researchers can find ways to overcome interference from things like sweat, moisture, etc., they'll be on the road to a whole new method of mobile diagnostics. Since putting blood or urine on a touch screen is undesirable, the sample would be placed on a strip, which would then be fed into the phone or a module attached to the phone through a designated entrance point.

1. “Simple, Almost Anywhere, With Almost Anyone: Remote Low-Cost Telementored Resuscitative Lung Ultrasound” The Journal of Trauma – December 2011

2. Dr Hyun-gyu Park and Dr Byongyeon Won - Korea Advanced Institute of Science of Technology - Angewandte Chemie Journal - January 2012

New Medical Uses for Flat Panel Digital X-Ray Technology

Digital flat panel x-ray detectors are an excellent example of how an established technology can enter into a new market. This is apparent in their use in medical imaging, where flat panel digital x-ray technology continues to show great promise in diagnostic and treatment capabilities.

Keeping this in mind, medical imaging has become the focus for flat panel digital applications and solutions, replacing traditional film radiography in hospitals and clinics as it improves efficiency, accuracy and productivity. For example, hospital technicians can position a patient, take an image and review it immediately. The technology takes only minutes to process information that with older technologies took hours or even days, delaying important and even life-saving treatments.

Medical Imaging Workstations Means More Effectiveness

The medical imaging workstation is situated in the field of information technology and has become an essential device in the clinical workflow of radiology departments. The images produced by digital x-ray computed radiography, direct digital radiography, computed tomography (CT) scanner, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, ultrasound or any of the other digital imaging tools are stored in the medical imaging’s workstation’s PACS (or picture archiving and communication system), and then may be retrieved, viewed and worked on, according to need.

The medical imaging workstation system was created in order to provide more economical and efficient storage of images, while giving quick access to rapid image retrieval, reports from multiple modalities and concurrent access from several different workstations at the same time. A PACS medical imaging workstation consists of four main mechanisms: imaging modalities such as CT and MRI, a protected system for the transmission of patient information, workstations for interpreting and reviewing images, and archives for the storage and retrieval of images and reports. Combined with already obtainable, as well as up-and-coming internet technology, PACS has the capability of distributing efficient, quick access to images, interpretations, and related data. PACS breaks down the physical and time barriers associated with traditional film-based image retrieval, distribution, and display, saving medical facilities both time and money.

In the past, before the existence of medical imaging workstations, everything had to be printed out on paper and film imaging necessitated expensive, toxic chemicals. In addition, thousands of patient records had to be stores in a hard copy format, which had to be organized and weren’t easy to access. Since PACS and other types of medical imaging workstations have been developed, medical facility efficiency has greatly improved, the time wasted on routine tasks has decreased and most importantly, the focus on caring for the patient has become easier as many tasks are automated.

This means that physicians and technicians consulting on a patient’s case can easily view the same images and communicate with each other. Most medical imaging workstations allow you to sort through thousands of digital images and work with the ones you want, while sharing them with others both onsite and offsite. Daily work can be backed-up and automatically and information from multiple workstations can be stored on a server both onsite and offsite.

Many medical imaging workstations also allow you to add text to digital images. High-resolution display monitors are used to guarantee high-quality presentation of the images, and a color display monitor is also available for use with the radiology information system (RIS), so that color images can be best viewed. The RIS part of the system allows you to schedule patients, order tests, and write reports, upgrading your radiology department for the ultimate in efficiency.