Artificial intelligence originally aspired to replace doctors. Researchers imagined robots that could ask you questions, run the answers through an algorithm that would learn with experience and tell whether you had the flu or a cold. However, those promises largely failed, as artificial intelligent algorithms were too rudimentary to perform those functions.
Continue reading… “AI’s Healing Power”
IBM’s Watson has done everything from winning at Jeopardy to cooking exotic meals, but it appears to have accomplished its greatest feat yet: saving a life. University of Tokyo doctors report that the artificial intelligence diagnosed a 60-year-old woman’s rare form of leukemia that had been incorrectly identified months earlier. The analytical machine took just 10 minutes to compare the patient’s genetic changes with a database of 20 million cancer research papers, delivering an accurate diagnosis and leading to proper treatment that had proven elusive. Watson has also identified another rare form of leukemia in another patient, the university says.
Continue reading… “IBM’s Watson saves a woman from leukemia”
Science fiction that features wires connecting brains to computers might now be obsolete. Wireless powered implants, each smaller than a grain of rice, could serve as “neural dust” that can one day scan and stimulate brain cells. Such research could one day help lead to next-generation brain-machine interfaces for controlling prosthetics, exoskeletons and robots, as well as “electroceuticals” to treat disorders of the brain and body.
Continue reading… “‘Neural Dust’ Could Monitor Your Brain Wirelessly”
A battery-free electronic patch that sticks onto skin like a temporary tattoo can be powered wirelessly by smartphones to help monitor health, researchers say.
A variety of wearable technology is on the market to monitor life signs, but these mostly possess hard components that have to be strapped onto the body. Scientists have been developing stretchable electronics that can fit better onto people, but these were limited by the size and weight of their batteries.
Continue reading… “Wearable Patch Can Help Monitor Health. No batteries required.”
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A startup that uses drones to deliver medicine and blood to remote areas of Rwanda is launching a similar program in the US. California-based Zipline will bring its drone delivery program to rural and remote communities in Maryland, Nevada, and Washington, including some Native American reservations. Zipline will announce its expansion at a White House workshop on unpiloted aerial vehicles (UAVs) Tuesday morning.
Continue reading… “Drones to start delivering blood and medicine in the US”
Scientists are working to take “wearable” technology to a whole new level. Or, more accurately, to new depths.
A group of Tufts University-led researchers recently announced that it created a first-of-its kind “smart” thread that can be sutured into human tissues. The goal? To collect data on tissue health, as well as monitor wounds or infections, all of which can be sent to a computer or phone.
Continue reading… “‘Smart’ Thread Could Be a Game-Changer for Doctors”
Surgeons in Holland implanted a transparent plastic skull in a woman whose skull has never stopped growing. The rare bone disease that was wrecking her vision and destroying her life has been been bested by a simple 3D printer. The team of surgeons, led by Dr. Bon Verweij at the University Medical Center in Utrecht, expect her new skull to last indefinitely.
Continue reading… “The first transparent 3D-printed skull has just been implanted”
Physicians are pretty good at detecting breast cancer. However, they certainly aren’t perfect. Human pathologists can accurately identify the disease with 96 percent accuracy by reviewing breast biopsy samples, without even coming in contact with the patient. That’s an extremely impressive rate, given that cancer misdiagnosis can occur up to 28 percent of the time, according to healthcare journal BMJ Quality and Safety.
Continue reading… “AI assistant can diagnose breast cancer with near perfect accuracy”
A blind woman in Texas is now the first person to undergo therapy based on a technology called optogenetics. The therapy will create light-sensing cells in one of her eyes and enable her to see again. Doctors don’t yet know if it worked, but the implications of an optogenetics trial could be significant for patients suffering from blindness, Parkinson’s, or schizophrenia.
Continue reading… “Woman from Texas is the first to undergo Optogenetic Therapy”
Doctors may have made a revolutionary breakthrough in the way we treat stroke patients. Patients in the trial study regained the ability to talk, walk and live normal lives, all thanks to a stem cell treatment.
Continue reading… “Stroke symptoms reversed in medical study”
The IRB at Anupam Hospital in India has approved Bioquark to recruit 20 patients who have been classed as clinically brain dead. The company is wanting to revive brain function and use brain and spinal cord stimulation, bioactive molecules and stem cells. Within just 15 days it is in hope that the results will be known.
Continue reading… “Can a dead brain person be brought to life?”
When people over 80 in Beijing take a bus, see a doctor or spend money, their activities are digitally tracked by the government. This is part of an effort to improve services for the country’s rapidly growing elderly population.
Continue reading… “Beijing tracks the elderly”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.