Education, Electronic Records, Nursing / 10.03.2021

medical-technology-nursingFor many years now, professional nursing has held a unique place in the American health care system. Nurses make up one of the largest health care professions in the U.S. with more than 3.1 million nurses working in diverse fields and settings. Although most nurses work in health care settings like hospitals, a nurse’s expertise expands well beyond the hospital walls. Working on their own and alongside other healthcare professionals, nurses promote the health of families, individuals, and communities. Nurses have always played an important role in healthcare settings. However, their role has changed a lot over the years. In the past, nurses had extraordinarily little formal medical training. In fact, nurses learned the medical skills they needed from their mothers or other women in the nursing profession. Today, the nursing profession has changed for the better. Not only are there extensive training programs available for nurses, but this role now comes with a level of prestige that was not there before. And this is not the only thing that has altered. Technology has also played a huge role in changing this profession for the better. Keep reading below to find out about the history of nursing and how technology has changed the role of nursing:

How Nursing Has Changed Over Time

Time has done a lot for many career paths. However, the nursing profession has seen more changes than most. Here are some of the ways the nursing profession has changed over time: Training – in the past, nurses were not required to have any formal education. However, nowadays nurses are no longer able to care for patients without passing the correct certification first. Setting – many years ago, nurses would take care of people in their homes or on the battlefield. Although some nurses still care for patients in their homes, nowadays, most nurses work in a hospital setting. Responsibilities – nursing responsibilities have come a long way from the early days when they used to look a lot like a household chore list. The change in responsibilities for nurses stems from several changes in the profession, including the changing views of women, more comprehensive training, and the growing demand for medical professionals. Culture – in the 20th century, nursing culture was known as being mainly made up of females who had a small amount of medical knowledge. While nursing culture has not changed completely, it has changed a lot over the years. In fact, research suggests that more men than ever are choosing to train in this profession. Patient care – patient care is more important than ever before. The advancements in technology have created an environment that makes patient care more helpful and efficient for patients. These advancements have altered almost every industry in the U.S. and the medical field is no different. (more…)
Author Interviews, CT Scanning, JAMA, Surgical Research, Technology / 21.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Christian Krautz, MD Department of Surgery, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen Nürnberg Erlangen, Germany  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: In this preclinical study that included 720 case evaluations, visualization with Cinematic Rendering allowed a more correct and faster comprehension of the surgical anatomy compared to conventional CT imaging independent from the level of surgical experience. Therefore,Cinematic Rendering is a tool that may assist HPB surgeons with preoperative preparation and intraoperative guidance through an improved interpretation of computed tomography imaging data. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research / 12.12.2018

MedicalResearch.comInterview with:

Zhen Gu, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Bioengineering
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Dr. Zhen Gu

Zhen Gu, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Bioengineering
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  What are the main findings?

Response: Despite improvements in surgical techniques, local residual tumor micro infiltration and circulating tumor cells continue causing tumor recurrence after resection. 

Calcium carbonate nanoparticles could scavenge H+ in the surgical wound, reserving the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and promoting the antitumor immuneresponses. 

(more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Technology / 04.10.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Waqaas Al-Siddiq Founder and CEO of Biotricity Inc MedicalResearch.com: In light of Apple's announcement that it will incorporate an EKG monitoring device into Apple watches in the near future, would you discuss your vision of the growing medical wearables market?  Response: First of all, the public is still largely confused as to what constitutes a medical wearable device. Apple’s new watch, with its EKG monitoring service, is not a medical wearable because it will not produce clinical-grade data needed for diagnosis or treatment. This is not to say that Apple’s watch isn’t helpful. Many people are not even aware that they have a heart problem, but if their Apple watch consistently tells them that they have an irregular heart rhythm, or arrhythmia, they could take that as a sign to go to a physician and get a professional diagnosis. A physician will then prescribe a medical wearable device, such as our Bioflux, to monitor the patient’s heart rhythm. Medical-grade wearable devices produce clinical-grade data that is accurate to within 90-95 percent or higher and are prescribed by physicians to make diagnoses and treatment plans. That being said, I envision that the medical wearables market will expand considerably with the advent of consumer-based wearables that facilitate health tracking. One of the biggest problems we have today is a lack of awareness. Anywhere between 2.7 and 6.1 million people in the U.S. suffer from atrial fibrillation - a condition that makes the heart beat irregularly - and many aren’t aware that they have the condition. Consumer-based health trackers like the Fitbit and the Apple Watch can help raise awareness and alert consumers to possible health issues, which will encourage them to see a physician for a thorough and professional examination and diagnosis. This, in turn, gives the medical wearable market a boost as more people will be diagnosed with the aid of a medical wearable. Another factor that is playing into this adoption trend is that next-generation medical wearables are increasingly becoming smaller and easier to use for both patients and physicians. So, I think that the future of medical wearables will see them firmly entrenched in mainstream practice and eventually become tools within the home for individuals with chronic issues.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, Technology, Urinary Tract Infections / 24.09.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: SMARTPHONE, M.D. A NEW APP TO DIAGNOSE URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS Michael J. Mahan PhD Professor, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Dept of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology University of California, Santa Barbara, CA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) cause nearly 10 million doctor visits each year in the United States. Women are much more likely to have a UTI than men, and are particularly harmful to pregnant women and can cause miscarriage. Thus, there is a medical need for rapid, low-cost, on-site testing — particularly in resource-limited settings. We developed a new app that enables a smartphone to identify (ID) bacteria causing UTIs in just one hour — a fraction of the time and cost of clinical diagnostics. (more…)
Author Interviews, Technology / 06.01.2017

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lukas Bereuter, PhD Candidate University of Bern ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research Bern, Switzerland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Today, most electronic implants are powered by primary batteries. After battery depletion, the whole implant has to be replaced by a surgery. This causes repeated interventions in a patients’ life, which bears the risk of complications and is costly. To overcome this problem, several groups presented prototypes of implants that are powered by solar cells that are implanted under the skin. However, precise knowledge of the actual light exposure and expectable power output of such an implant in everyday life was lacking so far. With this study, we investigated the real-life feasibility of a solar-powered implant for the first time. For this, we developed portable light measurement devices that feature solar cells and continuously measure a subcutaneous solar cell’s output power when powered by AGM Solar Batteries. The measurement devices were worn by volunteers in their daily routine in summer, autumn and winter. The study showed, that subcutaneously implanted solar cells could generate enough power in everyday-life to fully power e.g. a cardiac pacemaker. (more…)
Author Interviews, Ophthalmology, Technology / 20.11.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Andrew Bastawrous, Ophthalmologist Rolex Awards for Enterprise United Kingdom Dr. Bastawrous’ smartphone-based portable eye examination system, Peek Vision, allows patients in low resource setting, to be screened for vision problems and eye diseases, enabling accurate diagnosis and treatment. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for Peek Vision? What are the main findings of your work with this system? Response: Mama Paul has been blind for almost 20 years, most of her time is spent within the safety of her tiny home. It is basic, but in her mind’s eye she can still picture where the door is, her son - Paul, lives next door and is always willing to help. Losing sight is the sense most people fear losing most. I am severely visually impaired, I am also fortunate to have perfect vision when wearing corrective glasses or contact lenses and privileged to be in the profession of ophthalmology where centuries of research and practice have brought us to a time when so much of blindness is now curable or preventable. There is no feeling like it: when the eye patch comes off someone who hasn’t seen for years, the sheer wonder as they take in their surroundings and their anticipation to see faces that have become voices and places that have become memories. Back in 2011, as I pondered and planned for the challenges that lay ahead of us in Kenya, I had the continual thought that there must be an easier way to reach people, a way that is less expensive, less resource hungry and therefore could be used on a much wider scale. In Kenya, and much of Africa, more people have access to a mobile phone than they do clean running water. It had to be possible to harness this connectivity. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Technology / 23.09.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: biotricityWaqaas Al-Siddiq, Founder and CEO of Biotricity MedicalResearch.com: Would you tell us a little about yourself? How did you get interested in combining healthcare with technology? Response: I am the president and CEO of biotricity which is a healthcare technology company dedicated to providing diagnostic and post-diagnostic solutions for both the physician and consumer for long-term chronic care management. I got interested in combining healthcare and technology while I was doing research for monitoring remote environments in critical scenarios. I thought that it would be very interesting to apply that to healthcare because it’s a problem that no one has figured out how to solve yet. And it’s a problem that is driving healthcare costs out of control. (more…)
Author Interviews, Ophthalmology / 11.11.2014

Dr. Andrea Russo Medico Chirurgo - Specialista in Oculistica Università degli Studi di Brescia Brescia ItalyMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Andrea Russo Medico Chirurgo - Specialista in Oculistica Università degli Studi di Brescia Brescia Italy Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Russo: When I finished my residency program in Ophthalmology two years ago I realized that many patients were referred to me to assess and classify diabetic and hypertensive retinopathy. Therefore, I started wondering if there was an ophthalmoscopy method to make General Practitioners and Internist Physicians independent for these screening retinal assessments. I thought that we all own a personal computer connected with a (high quality) camera in our pocket and therefore smartphone ophthalmoscopy was feasible. Both the indirect and direct ophthalmoscopy techniques were suitable, however the latter was much easier to obtain. Furthermore, direct ophthalmoscopy can exploit smartphones’ autofocus and flash LED light making the required optics very simple and inexpensive. I purchased my 3D printer and started realizing very first working prototypes. A few months were required to improve the light path to eliminate internal and corneal reflections. Finally, I patented the optical solution and joined my partner Si14 S.p.A. (Padova, Italy) for the industrialization process. The main findings are that that smartphone ophthalmoscopy with the D-Eye system can accurately detect retinal lesions for grading diabetic retinopathy. Furthermore, we noticed an amazing convenience in the assessment of babies, since they seem to be spontaneously attracted by the non-disturbing light emitted by the device, making the fundus acquisition straightforward. The advantages of smartphone-based retinal image acquisition for remote, non-hospital settings include portability and immediate upload/analysis. Indeed, telemedicine has the potential to reach patients and communities that currently receive negligible or suboptimal eye care as a result of geographic or sociocultural barriers, or both. (more…)