Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

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Your Cerebral Leanings – Which Way Do You List?

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 by

Make a list!I started out today with the task of posting a short note about a cool new use for one’s mobile phone.  As Sarah Perez recently wrote at ReadWriteWeb, STAR Analytical Services received a Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop software that can make a diagnosis based on the sound of a cough on a mobile phone.  This will be especially useful in countries where mobile phones are rampant but doctors are not.

I thought I would make a quick connection between this mobile application and our posts on the Fitbit Tracker (and here) and telehealth, something vague about the intersection of technology and health care and the exciting new ways our lives will be affected by all this.

However, one twist led to another, and before I knew it, the kernel of an entirely new essay had developed.  As Paul Graham said in an essay titled The List of N Things:

“The main point of essay writing, when done right, is the new ideas you have while doing it. A real essay, as the name implies, is dynamic: you don’t know what you’re going to write when you start. It will be about whatever you discover in the course of writing it. “

It may be more than coincidental, but this essay turns out to be about lists.  The Grand Challenges grant is part of a program that has funded over 300 projects, all focused on a list of 14 major global health challenges.  This list is modeled after the famous list of 23 unsolved mathematical problems that David Hilbert posed back in 1900.  Just as Hilbert’s list encouraged innovation in mathematics research, the Grand Challenges is aimed at “engaging creative minds across scientific disciplines — including those who have not traditionally taken part in health research — to work on solutions that could lead to breakthrough advances for those in the developing world.”

These “unsolved problems” lists are diametric to what Umberto Eco recently wrote about in The Vertigo of Lists: mankind’s desire to catalog and list in an attempt to create order and understanding.  Or are they?  While one consists of questions (Hilbert et. al) and the other of answers (Eco), they mirror each other.  What is implied in a list of unsolved problems are the solved ones.  On the other hand, a “catalog” list is supposed to be all-encompassing, but can it ever be?  Its ostensible completeness is inherently incomplete.

Where is this going?  I have strayed from a relatively concrete concept (analyze the sound of a cough on a cell phone) to an abstract discussion that for me yields a simple conclusion: great things can be achieved through the simple use of lists.  By developing a list of 14 challenges focused on seven goals, the Gates Foundation has succeeded in catalyzing hundreds of projects with contributions from creative minds that had previously never worked on global health issues.

How can we solve the U.S. health care problem today?  Create a list of challenges or objectives, and let creative minds come together to solve them.  These problems will not be solved through legislation in a combative, political arena.  How can we clean up our planet and end war?  Make a list.

Photo by Kristian D. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristiand/ / CC BY 2.0

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Latest Aerospace Technology: Refreshing Airliner Air

Friday, November 13th, 2009 by

airline airWe wrote about airline air quality back in July noting that rare cabin fume events can cause real issues for crew and passengers.  However, the more important part of that post was the discussion of the low quality of cabin air on all flights and what a passenger can do to help to minimize the effects of this.

It turns out that help is on the way in the form of three relatively new developments.  We first read about them  in The Economist back in September.

The first development is an active air management system built by Quest International (UK) Ltd.  According to their site it is certified for the Boeing 757 and two other airframes.  While HEPA filters can remove most particles, the Quest system claims to eradicate all viruses, bacteria, anthrax and other pathogens.  It also is cost-effective and reduces power consumption.

The second development is the trend towards using more carbon fiber in the airplanes’ fuselages.  This will allow for greater air pressure in the cabin as well as higher levels of humidity.  Fear of corrosion is one of the reasons cabin air is currently kept so dry.  As noted in our earlier post, this contributes to many problems for passengers.

The third development (for some jet makers) will be a switch back to using electrical generators to pressurize the cabin rather than using air bled from the jet engines.  This latter method created a trade-off for the airlines between air quality and fuel efficiency.  Going back to using electrical generators, as was done in the days of piston engines, will eliminate this trade-off and should result in noticeably better air quality.  The much-anticipated, and delayed* 787 Dreamliner will be the first plane for Boeing with this new feature.  Their web site even has a video titled “Feel Better.”

All in all, these developments should eliminate one of the most common complaints of flying.  Even though there are long security lines, cramped seats and woefully inadequate overhead bins (actually, it sounds like the 787 has improved these last two problems as well),  at least we may feel better when we land.

*Just in the news today, the Wall Street Journal had a detailed article about the past and current problems that Boeing’s commitment to composites has wrought.  It sounds like they are still hopeful to get its maiden flight in by December.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/as737700/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
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mPassport Paris – HTH Launches (Best Ever?) iPhone App

Friday, November 6th, 2009 by

mPassport Paris iPhone App

This is without a doubt the best iPhone app I have ever used built.  Did I say “best” app?  I meant “only.”  mPassport Paris is the first in a series of downloadable destination-based versions of HTH Worldwide’s mobile web tools. 

The app features detailed profiles of nearly 100 carefully selected, English-speaking, Paris-based physicians and dentists as well as an appointment scheduling concierge function that helps travelers arrange office visits with these providers on short notice. The application makes full use of the iPhone’s mapping and GPS tools to help visitors to Paris find the shortest route to convenient care.  It even allows users to choose a Paris landmark or neighborhood as their  point of departure; this feature  allows users to  plan ahead when reviewing their options. 

mPassport Paris also maps and profiles the local notable hospitals and pharmacies and provides brand name equivalents for over 350 common prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Built-in translation tools allow users to play audio of hundreds of key medical terms and phrases in French.

My take on the app (slightly biased, I admit) is that HTH took their time and built it well.  Everything is easy to find and use.  Convenient features  such as auto-saving recently viewed items, and  manual-saving for repeat viewing are built-in.  All of the information is downloaded onto your iPhone or iPod touch so that it works even without an Internet connection.  Of course, using the mapping features and Google Maps for walking or driving directions as well as sending an appointment request require a connection.

I noticed a couple of things that will get fixed in the next update.  The pushpins colors used for your location and the location of the doctor, hospital or pharmacy you are viewing get switched when you jump to Google Maps (red and green to green and red, respectively).  Also, when working with locations, it would be helpful to be able to see all of the Paris landmarks on the map at once.

The appointment scheduling function should have been built with push notifications for updates, but what do you expect for $2.99?  Actually, this price may not last forever (it’s an introductory special), so if you are planning to be in Paris soon, you should buy the app now.

If you’ve got an iPhone, take mPassport for a ride through Paris and share your thoughts with us. Where else would you find these tools and services valuable?

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Fitbit Won’t Fit New Year’s Resolutions

Thursday, October 29th, 2009 by

healthy travel companionEither Fitbit has a runaway hit on their hands, or they have run into production problems.  With no updates on their blog since September, we are left wondering why the shipping date for new orders keeps slipping.  Last week their site had mid-December as the ship date for new orders; today it says January 31st.  I am afraid that without the Fitbit Tracker to help, most New Year’s resolutions will have been broken by the time this cool activity tracker arrives.  Where is the openness that the blog used to display?  Come on guys, give us a little insight into what is happening.

If you just can’t wait for the Fitbit and don’t mind not tracking your sleeping habits, check out DirectLife from Philips.  It tracks all your movement throughout the day and once you upload the collected information to your computer, it will provide you with your activity patterns and give personalized advice and motivation.  The product is available in the U.S. and the Netherlands and through tomorrow, it is available for only $79. This price includes the first four months of membership. The normal membership fee is $12.50/month.

Do you think this kind of tool will work for you?

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Happiness Is a Sometime Thing—And We Can Prove It

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 by

Gross National HappinessMaybe you chose your recent vacation destination based on the results of the happy planet index.  And maybe, now that you’re on your way back to a sadder reality, you want to check and see how happy the rest of the nation is.  Thanks to a new Facebook application that counts and graphs the words people use in their status updates, you can actually track this information in the Facebook Gross National Happiness index. 

The program scans all Facebook profiles for status updates and counts selected positive and negative words. The word count and the time of the posts are analyzed to produce an index showing when people are at their happiest. The “when” of course correlates to a day of the week, a holiday or an event.  And results vary. Plan ahead and use this information to attempt to ensure that you are always surrounded by as much happiness as possible. A happy traveler is a healthy traveler!

While you are on Facebook checking this out, visit the Healthy Travel Blog fan page!

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Staying Fit While Traveling [Redux] – Fitbit Tracker Ships Soon

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 by

healthy travel - runningBack in March I wrote about MapMyRun and RunKeeper, two web sites that have companion iPhone apps that help track some of your fitness activities.  I still recommend these but have come across a new product that just started filling its pre-orders and will ship new orders beginning October 31st.

It is called the Fitbit Tracker and is a small, wireless device that measures the quantity and quality of physical activities like walking, running and sleeping.    You may ask why you would want something else to lug around when your phone can already do some of these things.  Good question.  Sometimes a single-purpose device is better than an all-in-one.  The Fitbit is much smaller and lighter than a cell phone, its battery lasts over 10 days on a single charge, it has a cool OLED display, oh and did I mention that it tracks your sleep?

Paired with the Tracker is a well thought-out web site that wirelessly and automatically captures all of the data from the device and also allows one to enter in additional information like food consumed, other activities that the Tracker won’t track (don’t take this swimming with you), one’s vital statistics and personal goals.  It looks to have all the requisite social features as well so that one can share and compare with others a la financial data on Mint.

I am intrigued with learning more about my sleeping habits and how much I walk during the course of a normal day.  I will finally see if the long walks down the corridor at work are a net positive or negative — as they often lead to a colleague’s candy jar.  It is $99 on their site and will be available in retail stores in the future.  There are some competitors in this space, but I think its combination of size, functionality and price make it a winner.  If anyone is looking for what to get me for the upcoming holidays, look no further (unless, you are willing to go for the new Beatles Box Set, stereo version please).

As an aside, I saw that Fitbit founder James Park has been blogging throughout the design and production process.  They have uncovered and addressed a multitude of problems (all normal in the course of introducing a new product in my opinion) over the last year or so.  It is a great view of what it takes to get a low cost consumer electronics product out the door and recommended reading for anyone interested in the subject.  It is too bad other companies aren’t as transparent.  Can you imagine this from Apple?

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21st Century House Calls – No doctor in the house, no problem

Monday, July 27th, 2009 by

telehealth1Cisco and UnitedHealth Group announced last week a new partnership to build the first national telehealth network.  Calling Connected Care “the house call for the 21st century,” United’s CEO Stephen Helmsley added that it will “make it easier for people to receive care where distance has been an obstacle.”

Some thoughts on this:

  • Will new technology reverse the need for medical tourism? Doctors are already performing procedures remotely using robotics. In fact, SRI International developed the first ‘telepresence surgery’ technology for the U.S. military way back in the 80s.
  • Will it help the affluent reach highly-paid doctors wherever they are, or is it a leveler for the underserved here in the U.S. and elsewhere? The latter seems to be one area that UnitedHealth Group is addressing with the concept of mobile telehealth clinics.
  • Will technology ever be able to replace the value of the human contact of a traditional doctor visit? Maybe not completely, but I bet it will come pretty close.

One thing is for sure, as digital bandwidth increases and gets less expensive, technologies like these will make sense in more and more situations.  It may not be too long until a traveler can use her smartphone and an Internet connection to receive high quality medical advice on the go with two-way video and audio.  The iPhone’s new support of third-party hardware integration has also been often cited as a natural place for healthcare devices to emerge.

Of course, there will always be the potential for tension between a telehealth opinion and the treatment options immediately available or the opinion of a hands-on physician. Let your imagination wander and let us know where you think telehealth will lead!

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Tips for using Wi-Fi Safely while Traveling

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 by

freewifi2A HealthyTravelBlog reader recently wrote us to follow up on our post Going Mobile: Global Travelers and Communication Technology.  It turns out he represents Symantec’s Norton Internet Security products.  Although there are some blatant plugs for Symantec, his (and Symantec’s) advice is important, so we decided to post it in full:

My name is Gerritt Hoekman and I work for Edelman, a PR firm. I’ve been researching travel-focused Web sites that offer their readers practical tips on travelling and saw your post on global travelers and communication technology.

I’m sure you’re as aware as anyone that laptops and smartphones are now as much travel necessities as sunscreen and books have been in the past. To get online while travelling, people are increasingly taking advantage of Wi-Fi networks – at airports, hotels, even while in the air, as more and more planes offer passengers Wi-Fi connections in-flight.

Someone’s perfect vacation could be ruined in an instant by cyber-criminals looking to rob them of their personal information. Imagine stepping off the plane, ready to start your vacation, only to realize that between “here” and “there” your bank account has been wiped out and your credit card information stolen. While offering convenience and flexibility, these networks are also easy entry points for crooks looking to steal your money, account information and identity.

With summer in full swing and travel plans on the horizon for many of us, one of my clients, Norton from Symantec – a world leader in online security – has put together a list of five easy tips to help people keep safe while using wireless (Wi-Fi) connections while traveling. 

1.       Pay attention to your surroundings – Remember, if you can read his magazine, the guy sitting next to you on the plane can also read your laptop screen! Just because you’re on vacation, doesn’t mean you’re not still in public

2.       Beware of “Evil Twins” – Some Wi-Fi networks can appear to be legitimate, but are NOT. Criminals can create “dummy” networks or Web sites that contain the name of the airline, hotel or airport, but actually will direct your information to their own computer. If you always use the access keys provided by the airline, hotel, or airport, you’ll be protected

3.       Always assume your Wi-Fi connections are being eavesdropped on – Never enter sensitive data (bank account information, social security numbers, etc.) when browsing the Web via a Wi-Fi network

4.       Set any Bluetooth devices to “hidden”, not “discoverable” – If you do not use the Bluetooth function, turn it off altogether

5.       Keep your security software current and active – Remember, mobile PCs are vulnerable to the same viruses, Trojans, and worms as your home computer. Norton Internet Security 2009, is an award-winning product that provides exceptional protection for wireless networks

Thanks, Gerritt. We appreciate your insight.  I know from personal experience that sometimes the desire to get online during a trip can make even the most security-conscious among us drop his or her guard.  I also know that airports, train stations, highway rest stops and hotel lobbies are prime areas for both cyber-criminals and the old fashioned kind to hang out.  Don’t let your need to get connected let you connect to the dark side.  When in doubt, buy a newspaper, a nice cup of coffee and just relax.  Hopefully, you are on vacation.

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The Safe and Healthy Traveler’s Guide to Packing: Part One

Thursday, June 11th, 2009 by

iphonePacking for a trip used to be easy.  I would wake up the morning of the trip, grab a suitcase, throw in more clothes than I needed, dump all of the things on my bathroom sink into my Dopp kit*, sign a stack of traveler’s checks and, of course, write all of their serial numbers in that small, separate booklet just in case and last, but not least, make sure I had my itinerary or at least a semblance of one.

Two items (are they newspaper articles or blog posts? – does it even matter anymore?) in yesterday’s ‘papers’ caught my attention relative to planning for an international trip.  First, the Wall Street Journal’s Laura Landro writes about the importance of pre-travel vaccinations in Taking the Bite Out of Travel.  While we have blogged a lot about the H1N1 virus, it is still far more likely that you will catch an infectious disease when traveling to certain destinations.  This risk is multiplied if you forego seeing a travel-medicine specialist well before your departure date and fail to get the recommended vaccines or prophylactic medications.   

On a completely different subject, The New York Times article, Smartphone Rises Fast From Gadget to Necessity, makes it clear that these devices are not going away, and although it does not discuss travel explicitly, smartphones have become a must-have item for international travel.  In one fell swoop, a smartphone can serve as a hand-held GPS, a gateway to the Internet, a phone (duh), an MP3 player for audio tours, a calculator for currency conversion and an alarm clock.  Of course, if you are willing to spend some time in your phone’s app store, you can find even more functionality specifically tailored to your trip.  Did I mention that the new iPhone 3G S will have a built-in compass (like T-Mobile’s G1 Android phone)?

Both of these articles relate to the complexity of international travel – one on the dangers and corresponding precautions that should be taken ahead of your trip, the other to a tool that can greatly aid you during your travels by keeping you informed and connected. 

Stay tuned for Part Two in our What to Pack series where we will focus on putting together your own medical kit.

* Dopp kit – named after Charles Doppelt, a leather-goods maker from Chicago, the Dopp kit was popularized during World War II when they were issued to the U.S. armed forces.  In the U.K., they are called ‘sponge bags.’

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Going Mobile: Global Travelers and Communication Technology

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 by

commgadgets1As a domestic and international road warrior (I’m off to Kuala Lumpur), I can attest to how technology has made me a more informed traveler.  The Internet makes research easier and opens access to more information, but in the past access depended on a desktop or laptop.  Today, mobile devices have changed everything.

Now with the aid of mobile technology, most people can have the experience of finding exactly what they are looking for as they are walking down the street! A few pieces of hardware and software that I use exclusively when I travel, especially internationally, make the transition seamless as I travel from cities I know well to cities I am visiting for the first time.

For hardware, I have a couple of devices I always travel with: one is my Blackberry 8830 World Edition. The beauty of this device, first and foremost, is that it is a Blackberry, still arguably the best mobile platform for email. This particular model uses the CDMA protocol in the U.S. and the GSM protocol when overseas, two distinct technologies that do not integrate with each other. Having this dual-mode phone allows me to use one device worldwide and makes it unnecessary to have to replace the SIM card with a local one once I arrive in a new country, I get to keep my U.S. number; of course, I still have worry about the specter of obscene roaming charges.

The other device I always travel with is my iPod Touch – while not an iPhone, it does everything an iPhone does except make calls and take pictures. The explosion of the Apple apps store has made this a ‘don’t leave home without it’ item.  I use a free Wi-Fi finder and translation software, but there are many other useful apps for travelers like destination guides and even the Google Maps app. Unfortunately, very few of these are focused on health and safety.

For other software to keep me up-to-date and in touch with what’s going on in the world, I use two programs in particular: Worldmate Live and FlightAware. WorldMate Live on the Blackberry is an all encompassing program that allows you to keep all hotel, flight and rent-a-car data in one location, and synchronize it with my Outlook calendar. The program has tools like currency converters, worldwide weather, world clocks, and also allows me to export itinerary e-mails from my travel agent directly to my smartphone where it displays all the details of my trips in a day-by-day format with details of each travel segment. The program has a free version and $99 a year pay version that’ll give you real-time flight status and schedules.

But for the best status of where my plane is at any given moment, I prefer www.flightaware.com. The data from flightaware.com is usually either real-time or delayed up to only 5 or 6 minutes. Using this site is very insightful when you really want to know how late your flight might be since it can tell you where the plane actually is in the air or if it has even left the airport at the other end. Currently, FlightAware can only track aircraft that are being tracked by the FAA, which means t only in the United States. Not always perfect, but sometimes this is much more than you get at some airports about the status of your flight.  You may also want to check out the combination of TripIt and FlightTrack Pro.  Worldmate has more features, but TripIt may fill your needs for less.

Surprisingly, most of the software to help during your travels is inexpensive or free. One interesting option is a service called mPassport, which makes finding quality medical care-especially in developing countries where I often travel-as easy as turning on my phone. Best of all, technology like this saves me time and gives me piece of mind.  What more could I ask for?

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