Rethinking Healthcare

Two Cornell engineers have combined their work to create a handheld device that could offer speedy results to healthcare workers detecting pathogens in developing countries.

February 7, 2012 8:54pm | By Janet Fang

Qiagen's do-it-yourself kit that lets women take their own cell samples to be tested for DNA of the human papillomavirus (HPV), better enabling women in poorer countries.

January 27, 2012 9:04pm | By Janet Fang

In the last few years, labs around the world have used sequencing to uncover genes related to diseases. Now it's moved into a clinical setting, focused on difficult-to-diagnose disorders in infants.

January 25, 2012 9:25pm | By Janet Fang

For laser eye surgery patients, eye drops with pain medications could actually lead to drug overdose. New bandage contact lenses with vitamin E could help extend the release over days.

January 22, 2012 10:10pm | By Janet Fang

Researchers have found a simpler way to synthesize the antimalarial drug artemisinin. Using throwaway parts, the method promises to produce larger life-saving amounts, inexpensively.

1 | January 19, 2012 10:56pm | By Janet Fang

No more wheelchairs! An algorithm responds to gestures, making use of 15 sensors: as weight is shifted on to one crutch, the leg on the opposite side steps forward. At rehab clinics this year.

January 18, 2012 9:09pm | By Janet Fang

Once it's activated by your stomach acid, the tiny sensor sends out digital signals about things like heart rate and temperature to show how you're responding to prescribed medication.

27 | January 17, 2012 11:24pm | By Janet Fang

A gold sphere about 60 nanometers in diameter, the nano-ear is the most sensitive listening device ever created. It can detect sound a million times fainter than anything we can hear.

January 16, 2012 10:31pm | By Janet Fang

Many of us assume that more data -- from iPhone apps and telemonitoring, for example -- means better health care. But do all these technologies benefit patients? The evidence is mixed.

January 12, 2012 9:32pm | By Janet Fang

Independa's Health Measures is their new CloudCare service that helps monitor patients at home using any landline or cellphone. No new hardware, no installations.

1 | January 11, 2012 4:27pm | By Janet Fang

The last child paralyzed by polio got sick exactly one year ago this week. India's success was due to a more effective vaccine and creative ways of finding high-risk children.

2 | January 10, 2012 11:35pm | By Janet Fang

The best evidence yet that telomere length correlates with life span: zebra finches with longer telomeres live longer. Longevity was best predicted in prepubescent chicks. Human tests still iffy.

January 9, 2012 11:26pm | By Janet Fang

The FDA just okayed Medtronic's mySentry Remote Glucose Monitor, which sends alerts when blood sugar levels hit dangerous lows. The device allows you to keep watch from 50 feet away.

January 6, 2012 6:05pm | By Janet Fang

The famed physicist speaks through a computer and voice synthesizer by twitching his cheek. But progressive nerve decay means he must move on to some new technology. And technician.

1 | January 5, 2012 10:06pm | By Janet Fang

Because bacteria are sensitive to many kinds of pollutants, they can be engineered as low cost biosensors that detect disease-causing organisms and contaminants like arsenic. With video!

January 4, 2012 5:10pm | By Janet Fang

A 15-second spot by the National Vaccine Information Center will light up on a 5,000 square-foot megatron. The ad is criticized as spreading "needless fear about childhood vaccinations."

13 | December 29, 2011 10:21pm | By Janet Fang

Only 1% of hospitals have fully functional tablet systems. But Apple is pushing the iPad into the healthcare market, playing against its image as the world's most successful consumer gadget company.

1 | December 29, 2011 2:02am | By Janet Fang

Invented by a Harvard biomedical engineer, the pocket-sized inhaler contains 100 mg of caffeine. It avoids overdosing by letting you control the dosage, but some call it a health hazard.

1 | December 28, 2011 12:49am | By Janet Fang

All the noise, lights, and close quarters sometimes spell trouble. A Philadelphia program offers practice runs, from curb to cabin, to help autistic kids fly more comfortably.

December 27, 2011 12:17am | By Janet Fang

For Alzheimer's patients, a camera with electronic sensors that takes photos automatically could delay cognitive decline. Reviewing the SenseCam pictures is like brain calisthenics.

December 25, 2011 11:35pm | By Janet Fang