httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaLKtukCyvU

The use of telemedicine is becoming more widely used to help in bridging the gap between the location of patients and physicians.  New telemedicine tools are constantly generated that will expand the capabilities of physicians.  Here are three examples of new technologies.

Littmann stethoscope – 3M has just unveiled its new stethoscope that provides physicians with the ability to listen to patients remotely as if they were present in their doctor’s office.  The stethoscopes use Bluetooth technologies to transmit sounds waves from the patients’ stethoscope to the physicians own stethoscope.  Distance is not a factor, the sound from the stethoscopes can travel to anywhere in the world. (See Article )

Visualization Table – A 46 inch interactive table has been created by Sectra that allows users to interact with 3D images produced by MRI and CT scans.  These real sized images provide users with pictures of multiple layers of tissues.  This is beneficial because physicians can attempt various types of theoretical surgeries with a virtual knife. ( See Article )

World’s Smallest Microscope – This quarter-sized telemedicine microscope can be used to view fluid samples including blood samples and it can even be utilized to test the quality of water in remote regions.  The lensless microscope creates a holographic image that can be placed on a USD drive or sent to a smart phone. ( See Article )

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpawK_k8Hwo

Each November, acquisitions librarians, vendors, and publishers gather in Charleston, SC to discuss emerging trends in collections and technology. This year at the Charleston Conference a couple of trends emerged in the assorted presentations which have implications for research in the health sciences.

eBooks

eBooks are not exactly new; in fact, they are so not new that there were no “should we or shouldn’t we” discussions about their staying power. The feeling is that eBooks are here to stay. The new trend is whether or not we choose to buy them or let you, the patron, buy them with our money. This is what is called “patron driven acquisitons” and it works where you, the patron, pull up a record in the catalog and decide whether or not you want to see the entire book. If you do, you basically click a button and buy the title with library funds. There’s also options to rent in this same fashion.

Discovery Tools

Librarians are not unaware of the power of Google. We embrace it and use tools like Google Scholar to help us open up access to our electronic collections. There is a new category of resources called discovery tools which work very much in the same way as Google – a one search approach to searching all of a library’s collection at one time, along with other great online content. ECU Libraries are riding the wave of this trend right now because we’ve implemented a discovery tool on our website, called One Search. Check it out and see if it helps you find the information you need in a hurry.

Social Networking and Research

An interesting fact – most researchers do use social networking applications, but only at the start and end of the research process, and mostly as a way to disseminate what they’ve produced. However, comment fields and peer-review type feedback options are starting to infiltrate journal sites like NEJM. What implications that this trend will have on scholarly research remains to be seen.

We will continue to monitor these kinds of trends at Laupus Library so that we can provide you with the highest quality and most efficient access to information for your research needs.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0bHEM6GNx8

You may have heard the term open access and are wondering what it means and how it affects you.   Open access refers to literature that is free of charge, so there are no subscriptions or fees to view articles.  An important aspect of open access is that scholarly research results are immediately available to interested users.  Also, this type of literature does not contain most copyright and licensing limitations that are evident in conventional journals.

What are the benefits of open access information?

• Larger audience for authors and an increase in the impact of their research
• Readers are able to access information for their own research
• Anyone can access the information regardless of university affiliation
• No need to pay for distribution rights for content that you have previously created for your courses

Open Access Myths (from the UNC Open Access and Scholarly Communications LibGuide)

Myth: Articles in Open Access journals are not peer-reviewed, are of lower quality, and are the equivalent of self-publication.

Myth Busted 

• There is some scholarly debate over whether Open Access increases citation counts. There is also ongoing debate over whether citation counts should be the only measure of research impact.
• Judge the quality of Open Access journals and articles the same way you would any other, by reading the content.
• Consider the impact of Open Access articles’ demonstrated increased usage when you choose where to publish.

Myth: Open Access is just a way for libraries to save money by shifting the cost of scholarly publications to authors and funding agencies.

Myth Busted

• The price to purchase scholarly publications has increased well beyond inflation for more than a decade. Library budgets are stressed, but librarians do not promote Open Access as a solution to a budget crisis. They promote Open Access as a new publication model that fosters increased access to research information. In fact, a number of libraries have followed the example established by UNC-CH and set up funds to help pay Open Access author fees. 

Myth: Faculty can freely use their own published content in courses they teach.

Myth Busted

• This is often not true. If you transferred your copyright to the publisher at the time of publication, as most authors do, the publisher may restrict your right to re-use the content in teaching and publication.
• Publish in an Open Access publication so that everyone immediately and always has free access to your work
• Or publish in a journal that allows you to retain the rights you need to re-use your own work in teaching and publication
• Or negotiate the specific rights that you need at the time of publication.

For more myths: http://guides.hsl.unc.edu/content.php?pid=121319&sid=1304741

To learn additional information on Open Access and its’ impact visit the following URL: http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/overview.htm

Check out ECU’s Scholarly Communication LibGuide to see how we are involved: http://libguides.ecu.edu/scholarly_communication

Source

The recent adoption and use of smartphones by both consumers and providers of health care are the focus of this timely report by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn. The uptake of this technology is rapid; two-thirds of physicians and 42% of the public used smartphones as of late 2009, despite the recession that began a year earlier.

What is it about the smartphone that makes it so attractive to consumers and providers of healthcare? Unlike any other HIT platform, the smartphone is basically an inexpensive handheld computer that enables users to accomplish tasks anywhere, anytime. It is so intuitive and user-friendly that most people can download and use the many available applications, also called apps, without any training or special knowledge about computers.

The creation of applications related to health and health care is also moving quickly. As of February 2010, there were nearly 6,000 such apps within the Apple AppStore. Of these, 73% were intended for use by consumer or patient end-users, while 27% were targeted to health care professionals.

Apps geared to physicians include alerts, medical reference tools, diagnostic tools, continuing medical education, and patient records programs. Consumer-oriented apps include those for medication compliance, mobile and home monitoring, home care, managing conditions, and wellness/fitness.

There are challenges to continued rapid smartphone growth, including business model and privacy issues and Sarasohn-Kahn talks about this in her article. Go here to download a free copy of the article.

In this episode, Michelle and Mark discuss new exhibits and collections that you will find at both Joyner Library and Laupus Library. 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8qzeOH-qNU

Imagine visiting your doctor and using a tablet computer to complete the informational questionnaire that is typically given to you on paper with a clipboard.  Now picture being the physician and instantly receiving the results of those questions before the medical exam even begins.  That is exactly what is being done at Duke University.  The information provided through the e-tablet helps to track changes in patients between office visits.  Alerts are created and sent to staff when critical changes occur by using up and down arrows and color bands. 

The e-tablets have been used in the cancer clinics at Duke University for the past year.  The technology was evaluated for three years prior to implementation of the 100 tablets.  The clinic began to use this technology first with their prostate cancer patients and now is being used with breast cancer patients and lung cancer patients.  A study was conducted during the evaluation period which indicated that patients are more likely to answer questions on sensitive topics when using the e-tablet than through paper or in person format.

Currently over 1100 patients use the tablets every month and have been established as an accurate tool.  The e-tablets help the physicians not only to gain reliable information from patients, but they also can help physicians evaluate the impact of the services they provide.  

http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/8991582/article-Duke-tries-new-way-of-keeping-tabs-on-patients?instance=main_article