Copyright 2008 Medical News Today Latest IT / Internet / E-mail News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/it/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/116020.php House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) and ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas) on Tuesday released a revised version of a bill (HR 6357) that aims to promote nationwide adoption of an electronic health record system, CongressDaily reports. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/116026.php The South Carolina Health Information Exchange this month launched a no-cost Web tool that will give health care providers access to the medical histories of state Medicaid beneficiaries, the Charleston Post and Courier reports. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/116013.php In an effort to maintain the support of the health care business community, sponsors of a health information technology bill (HR 6357) aimed at creating a nationwide system of electronic medical records recently added significant privacy revisions, CongressDaily reports. The legislation, sponsored by Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/116048.php Newly developed software will help to allay patients' fears about who has access to their confidential data. Research published in the open access journal BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making describes a computer program capable of deleting details from medical records which may identify patients, while leaving important medical information intact. Patient records that are to be shared within the research community must have any identifying information removed. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115997.php For decades, researchers have dreamed of creating robots with human-like abilities. Now an interdisciplinary team of European researchers has developed a robotic arm and hand that moves and 'senses' like a human, and is controlled by a human-inspired electronic 'brain'. Can a real C-3PO be far behind? "Hollywood did a bad job for us," says Patrick van der Smagt, the coordinator of Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115995.php MedHelp announced today a collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine, where specialists from Johns Hopkins will personally answer questions on a number of health topics on the MedHelp website, starting immediately with two questions a day each on Brain Tumors and Trigeminal Neuralgia. This collaboration brings Johns Hopkins' medical expertise to MedHelp's online healthcare community, the largest in the world with over 5.5 million unique visitors each month. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115994.php The Wellcome Trust has awarded 4.7 million pounds [5.8 million euros] to EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute [EMBL-EBI] to support the transfer of a large collection of information on the properties and activities of drugs and a large set of drug-like small molecules from the publicly listed company Galapagos NV to the public domain. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115904.php Papers delivered at three conferences in the US and Europe this summer report on new research at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering studying interactions of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with bubble-blowing robots. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115932.php Newly developed MIT software will help to allay patients' fears about who has access to their confidential records, facilitating the use of that data for medical research. In the July 24 issue of the journal BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, a team of MIT researchers describes a computer program capable of automatically deleting details from medical records that may identify patients, while leaving important medical information intact. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115922.php Mohave County Department of Public Health, AZ is the first health provider in the USA to roll-out a world-first second-generation smoking cessation text messaging service, STOMP (STop smoking Over Mobile Phone) from Healthphone Solutions. STOMP sends smokers trying to quit a series of personalized text messages over 26 weeks. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115921.php CLC bio has just released a scientific white paper which confirms, that, in benchmarking tests, CLC bio's new algorithm for assembly of Next Generation Sequencing data is the fastest one available. Not only is CLC bio's algorithm considerably faster, but it also provides a better quality of the results, compared to other algorithms benchmarked in the white paper. Assistant Professor at Rutgers University, Dr. Todd P. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115915.php Whether a painless, portable device that uses electrical current rather than X-ray to look for breast cancer could be an alternative to traditional mammograms is under study at the Medical College of Georgia. MCG is one of 20 centers internationally and the only place in Georgia studying new technology developed by Z-Tech Inc. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115950.php Cyberspace is buzzing today with news of Medpedia, a global collaboration wikipedia-type project that will offer a massive amount of up to date medical and health information for free to anyone with an internet connection. Medpedia is described as the "world's largest collaborative online encyclopedia of medicine". Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115893.php While mainstream news coverage is still a primary source of information for the latest in policy debates and the health care marketplace, online blogs have become a significant part of the media landscape, often presenting new perspectives on policy issues and drawing attention to under-reported topics. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115884.php HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Monday discussed the details of an electronic prescribing incentive program scheduled to begin on Jan. 1, 2009, that will increase Medicare payments to physicians who adopt the technology, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115872.php Visualisation specialists See3D, a spin off company of the University of Aberystwyth, is developing unique, sophisticated computer-generated models that will help doctors to improve the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. More than 35,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in the UK alone and approximately 10,000 deaths per year are associated with this form of cancer. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115865.php Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and three collaborating institutions are using a new laboratory model of the membrane surrounding neurons in the brain to study how a protein long suspected of a role in early-stage Alzheimer's disease actually impairs a neuron's structure and function. The team's findings are reported in a new paper in the Biophysical Journal. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115864.php Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a technique to measure the formation of clumps of proteins in protein-based pharmaceuticals. This first systematic study clarifies the conditions under which scientists can be assured that their instruments are faithfully measuring the formation of protein aggregates, a major concern because of its impact on quality control and safety in biologic drug manufacturing. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115853.php Rosetta Genomics, Ltd. (NASDQ: ROSG) announces that the first molecular test based on Rosetta Genomics' proprietary microRNA technology, developed and validated by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), has been approved for clinical use by the New York State Department of Health Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115789.php The increase in the level of healthcare being delivered by mobile medical practitioners outside of hospitals will become a key driver within the medical device market over the next decade. According to a report by Cambridge UK based analysts Wireless Healthcare, as healthcare providers are pushing more diagnostic and monitoring processes out to the edge of their care networks, medical device vendors are responding by adding more advanced communications technology to their products. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115787.php Masha is a dental patient. Her oral health problems continue to change as she meets new Case Western Reserve University student dentists in Second Life's virtual dental office. The middle-aged avatar is an integral part of a new research project of the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine and the College of Arts and Sciences department of communication sciences to teach and give students practice time to communicate with mock patients. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115796.php The American Society of Breast Disease announces the opening of a career center to link breast healthcare professionals across all specialties with employers and educational opportunities. The new feature at the Society's web site at http://www.asbd.org will provide free listings of fellowships, residencies, as well as international and domestic volunteer opportunities. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115734.php Rising fuel prices are causing financial strain for some home health care workers and the industry is considering replacing some services in rural areas with remote monitoring systems, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115751.php Researchers have developed an experimental tongue-based system that may allow individuals with debilitating disabilities to control wheelchairs, computers and other devices with relative ease and no sophistication. Because the tongue is directly connected to the brain via cranial nerves, it usually remains mobile when other body parts lose function to disease or accidents. Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115571.php While mainstream news coverage is still a primary source of information for the latest in policy debates and the health care marketplace, online blogs have become a significant part of the media landscape, often presenting new perspectives on policy issues and drawing attention to under-reported topics.