Mobile App Could Save Lives

Posted January 31st, 2014 at 11:17 pm (UTC-5)
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Photo courtesy Phone Oximeter.

Photo courtesy Phone Oximeter.

This week’s TECHtonics feature was written by VOA reporter Matthew Hilburn.

Canadian researchers are developing a device that could allow mobile phones to be used to measure the oxygen content in the blood, a vital sign useful for diagnosing a variety of ailments, including some that threaten the lives of women and children.

Roughly 6,000 women die every year from pre-eclampsia, which occurs during pregnancy and is related to high blood pressure. The Phone Oximeter could save the lives of thousands of pregnant women in the developing world who have life-threatening high blood pressure during their pregnancy.

The device could also be used to detect pneumonia at an early stage. Pneumonia is the number one killer of children worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

The device  measures the oxygen levels in the blood by shining a bright light through a patient’s fingertip. Oximeters are commonly used during the administration of anesthesia to ensure a patient is getting enough oxygen. The mobile device is a downloadable smartphone application and two LED lights, a clip and a power cord which can be plugged into a smartphone’s headphone jack.

According to a co-developer of the Phone Oximeter, Mark Ansermino, it can be used by anyone who is literate after about five minutes of training.

“We’ve spent a lot of time trying to make it intuitive,” said Ansermino, who is an Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, at the University of British Columbia in Canada “In many of these countries there aren’t enough physicians, so we’re targeting community health workers.”

Ansermino says the device alone can not make an accurate prediction about whether a pregnant woman will develop life-threatening complications from high blood pressure, but that when taken with other symptoms, the device can increase the number of accurate diagnoses by 23 percent.

Currently, the Phone Oximeter would probably cost about $30 to $40, said Ansermino, adding that the price would likely fall if produced on a larger scale.

Later this year, a randomized trial of some 80,000 women will be conducted in Mozambique, Nigeria, India and Pakistan, said Ansermino.

 

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Tech Sightings, January 30, 2013

Posted January 30th, 2014 at 4:44 pm (UTC-5)
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Lenovo Faces Chance to Become Rare PC Maker Successful in Phones

Chinese company Lenovo’s US$2.9 billion deal to buy Motorola Mobility from Google could position Lenovo to become one of rare PC makers with handset businesses. Related: Lenovo Buys Google’s Handset Business for $2.91B

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Nintendo to Persist with Console Strategy, Ignores Calls to Go Mobile

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 The Top 5 Security Threats to Watch for in 2014

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Twitter, CNN Developing Breaking News Tool for Journalists

CNN and Twitter have announced a partnership with Dataminr to develop an alert system for journalists. Dataminr aims to bridge the gap betweenTwitter posts and newsroom reports.

 

 

 

 

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Tech Sightings, January 29, 2014

Posted January 29th, 2014 at 4:44 pm (UTC-5)
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Answers to a Puzzling Deal at Alibaba Remain in the Shadows

China’s Internet giant Alibaba, which recently acquired the Hong Kong-listed company Citic 21CN,  hopes to join the ranks of Google and Microsoft. But much remains unclear about Alibaba and its business.

Meet the ‘Bitcoin Millionaire’ Arrested for Allegedly Helping Silk Road Launder $1 Million

The arrest of BitInstant CEO Charlie Shrem for money laundering for users of the Silk Road digital black market leaves the Bitcoin community with a publicity crisis this week.

Modern Technology Aims to Help Older Drivers

Reasearch conducted by The Hartford Center for Mature Market Excellence and the MIT AgeLab sheds light on new technologies making their way into cars to help drivers stay safe behind the wheel.

Java-Based Malware Driving DDoS Botnet Infects Windows, Mac, Linux Devices

According to Kaspersky Lab, the cross-platform HEUR:Backdoor.Java.Agent.a takes hold of computers by exploiting a critical Java vulnerability that Oracle patched in June.

Was Your Account Hacked? How to Find Out

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Why Android Updates Take So Long To Get To Your Smartphone

The signal for Android updates, which originates at Google, has to negotiate a series of portals through manufacturers, chipset makers and carriers before it reaches a user’s smartphone.

 

 

 

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Tech Sightings, January 28, 2014

Posted January 28th, 2014 at 4:43 pm (UTC-5)
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Akamai: Average Internet Speed Grew 29% Year-over-Year to 3.6 Mbps, Mobile Traffic Jumped by 80%

The latest figures from Akamai’s quarterly State of the Internet report for Q3 2013 show average global connection speeds and demands in the global mobile market increasing steadily year-over-year.

Eco-friendly Technology to Boost Indonesia’s Shrimp Farming

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DDoS Attacks Become Smarter, Faster, More Severe

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Trust in the Internet is crumbling

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China Is Getting a Brand New Video Game Console

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Report: Nintendo to Bring Demos of Its Console Games to Smartphones

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The New Bot on the Block

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Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Non-Profit CyArk Uses Lasers to Preserve Cultural Sites

Posted January 24th, 2014 at 10:02 pm (UTC-5)
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In this photo provided by CyArk, Oct. 21, 2013, an image generated by 3D laser scan data, shows a perspective of Chichen Itza, in Mexico.

In this photo provided by CyArk, Oct. 21, 2013, an image generated by 3D laser scan data, shows a perspective of Chichen Itza, in Mexico. CyArk has created digital copies of more than 100 of the world’s best-known monuments, mapping Roman ruins, ancient statues, and even an entire island.  (AP Photo/CyArk)

As a child, Ben Kacyra was both frightened and excited by sculptures of winged bulls in the ruins of Nineveh, near his hometown of Mosul, Iraq.  In 2001, he was horrified when the Taliban blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan.

“They were gone in an instant,” he said during a 2011 TED Talk. “And unfortunately there was no detailed documentation of these Buddhas.  This clearly devastated me and I couldn’t help but wonder about the fate of my old friends, the winged bulls, and the fate of the many, many heritage sites around the world.”

Kacyra and his wife Barbara founded a nonprofit organization called CyArk – the name is an amalgamation of “cyber archive” – that aims to create records of the world’s historic and cultural sites.  Harnessing portable laser scanning technology Kacyra had developed to monitor nuclear power plants, the organization makes 3-D, digital scans of historic buildings, sculptures and other creations that are in danger of disappearing.

Justin Barton, CyArk’s Chief Technology Advoate and Manager of Partnership Development, told TECHtonics the data is gathered using tripod-mounted machines that bombard a structure with thousands of laser pulses each second.

“So if it’s a pyramid in Guatemala or a church in France, the machine records the surfaces based on the laser return and it gives us a very accurate 3-D rendering of the structure,” he said.  Since the technology was developed for engineering purposes, it’s accurate to within a few millimeters, Barton said.

While the machines are capable of making thousands of measurements each second, the process of documenting huge and sometimes enormously detailed works of architecture and art can take time.  According to Barton, the group spent about three weeks recording the interior and exterior of the Sydney Opera House.

Once the record is made, the data ends up in several places, Barton said.

“We always grant all ownership of the data we’re capturing to the site itself – to whoever happens to be the site authorities,” he said.  “We have a license to archive it and share it, but we give them all the rights to it.”  He added that CyArk sends a copy of the records to a company that stores the information in an underground bunker in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

In its first 10 years, CyArk created digital records of about 100 sites.  But the company launched an effort late last year to ramp up the number of surveys.  According to Barton, the organization hopes to record 500 sites in the next five years.

In a video on the CyArk website, Barbara Kacyra described one of the first uses of CyArk data to restore a damaged site.  In 2010, fire destroyed some of the wooden structures of the Kasubi tombs in Uganda.  Fortunately, CyArk volunteers had created digital records of the buildings the year before.  The data was used to help reconstruct the historical site.

“That really brought to home what it is we’re doing,” Barbara Kacyra said in the video.

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Tech Sightings, January 23, 2014

Posted January 23rd, 2014 at 4:42 pm (UTC-5)
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Pope Francis Calls the Internet ‘a Gift from God’

Pope Francis said in a statement that the media can be very helfpul, especially when human communications have made great advances. He said the Internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity.

Asia Number One Market for Mobile Apps, Study Says

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The Benefits of Sensors on Your Body

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South Korea Plans 5G Wireless Network by 2020

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Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Tech Sightings, January 22, 2014

Posted January 22nd, 2014 at 4:42 pm (UTC-5)
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Bill Gates Talks to TIME About the Three Myths of Global Aid

Bill Gates says improvements in the human condition have laid the foundation for improvements in their entire societies. He tells Time why a reduction in child mortality hasn’t led to population

The Elevator that Learns to Read Minds

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Secrets and Lies: Whisper and the Return of the Anonymous App

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‘Facebook Could Lose 80 Percent of Users By 2017’

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Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Kenyan Wearable Tech Helps Save Lives

Posted January 17th, 2014 at 3:05 pm (UTC-5)
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Boda boda, anyone? If you don’t know what that is, stick around.

Boda boda is the local name for Kenya’s favored mode of transportation. It is becoming more popular in both rural and urban areas across the country. Also known as the motorcycle, the boda boda saves Kenyan riders time, gives them maneuverability to zigzag around traffic jams, squeeze through narrow city streets and sometimes get in trouble.

FILE - Kenyan motorcyclists park along a main street to protest over what they say is harassment by the City Council of Nairobi inspectors on traffic offenses within the capital. (Reuters)

FILE – Kenyan motorcyclists park along a main street to protest over what they say is harassment by the City Council of Nairobi inspectors on traffic offenses within the capital. Motorcycles, locally referred to as “Boda Boda”, are a preferred mode for quick transport by many city dwellers. (Reuters)

Unfortunately, that means an increased rate of accidents, despite legal requirements that all boda boda riders wear reflective jackets and protective helmets.

According to the World Health Organization, between 3,000-13,000 Kenyans die in traffic accidents each year, most of whom are pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists.

The problem caught the eye of brothers Joseph and Charles Muchene, respectively a certified public accountant and an electrical and electronics engineer. They now run a startup in Nairobi dealing with e-textiles, called CladLight.

Alarmed by rising motorcycle accident rates, the brothers attributed the vulnerability of boda boda riders to low visibility and determined that if they could increase boda boda visibility, then they might be able to reduce accidents by more than 50 percent.

“We had to come up with a product that could save lives as well as being trendy,” Joseph told TECHtonics in an email interview. “CladLight saw an opportunity to try and address the problem with the twist of fashion and make something out of it.”

Joseph says increasing the visibility was tricky because “it is the law in Kenya that all motorcycle riders and any passenger thereon must wear a reflective jacket and a helmet. So we really had to up our game to solve the issue.”

They decided that wearable electronics would be the most suitable avenue to tackle the problem. More specifically, they came up with an idea they called the Boda-Pack.

“Boda-pack is just a modification of the standard reflective jacket in that there are still reflective strips on the jacket and additional direction-indicating LEDs mounted on the jacket,” Joseph said. “We also made an improvement to the jacket by adding brake lights. All these are synchronized with the motorcycle indication and stopping systems.”

CladLight has already begun production of the Boda-Pack. But Joseph says the jacket was cumbersome and is being redesigned.

The new model is expected to hit the Kenyan market in January. In due course, the brothers plan to reach out to the Kenyan government and The National Transport and Safety Authority to gauge their interest in the Boda-Pack.

“After we have established the business in Kenya and creat[ed] a niche for ourselves, then by the end of the year we venture into East Africa, then gradually the whole of Africa,” said Joseph.

By all accounts, the Muchene brothers are pioneers in Africa so far as wearable electronics are concerned. And they hope to make a difference.

“We really hope to have a positive impact on society,” said Joseph.

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Tech Sightings, January 14, 2014

Posted January 14th, 2014 at 2:26 pm (UTC-5)
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A Thousand of These Tiny Windmills Might Power Your Phone

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Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.

Robots Test Healthcare Waters in Japan, US

Posted January 10th, 2014 at 2:26 pm (UTC-5)
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Decades ago, the notion of robots assisting people was mostly the stuff of science fiction stories – harbingers of things to come.

Well, that day is here. Robots have been in use in auto manufacturing, rescue and demining operations for some time. But they are now beginning to be utilized the healthcare sector in the United States and Japan.

The Japanese government, according to the Japan Daily Press, is leading the way with financial assistance to companies that develop low-cost robots to care for the elderly and offset the country’s deficit in nursing care workers – a shortage shared by countries like India and the United States.

In the U.S., John Williams, who coined the term “Assistive Technology” while working in the field for 33 years, says the medical profession recognizes that robots can have a major role in meeting healthcare labor shortages, but is reluctant to move wholesale into robotics; and some healthcare workers fear robots might take over their jobs.

During the weekend, a rehabilitation nurse teams up with a primary care physician using VGo from his home during the weekend to assess a patient’s recovery and discuss her progress. (Sharon T Simpson/VGo Communications)

During the weekend, a rehabilitation nurse teams up with a primary care physician using VGo from his home during the weekend to assess a patient’s recovery and discuss her progress. (Sharon T Simpson/VGo Communications)

Nevertheless, a “dozen to two dozen companies” are manufacturing robots in the U.S., said Williams, although they are unable to meet the growing need. One of them is VGo Communications, which produces a robot called the VGo, which is used in both homes and hospitals for post-operative care, elderly and pediatric care.

“Last I heard,” he said, “they had manufactured about 800 robots and … a number of them are used in hospitals.”

So, what exactly is a VGo?

Bernard Terry, VGo Communications’ Vice President of Sales, says the four-foot-high VGo robot, which has audio and video capabilities, is ideal for people who are seated, bed-ridden, or use wheelchairs.

The robot allows a person using a PC or laptop or tablet to be in two places at once. After logging in to a secure site, the person can access and manipulate a remote VGo anywhere in the world and send it to a given location. “The VGo,” says Terry, “is the device which is visiting on your behalf. It is your avatar.”

After a car accident, two physicians are providing practical and emotional support to a patient facing a long recovery. (VGo Communications)

After a car accident, two physicians are providing practical and emotional support to a patient facing a long recovery. (VGo Communications)

So to visit a patient at a remote location, Terry would use a VGo to be “virtually” on the scene without making the trip himself. “If I am inspecting a wound or if I …  [want] to back up a little to see the range of motion, or if I want to move in a little closer … to see the wound, I can do that all the time in a remote control situation,” he said.

Williams, who took a VGo for a test drive, had the device tour a conference room and talk to people. “I could see everything that was happening,” he said. “And I could talk to the person. And the person could hear me and I could hear them.”

“At one point,” said Williams, “I stopped controlling it and I turned it over to the manufacturer who was about 400 miles away. And he could control it also.”

Up to six people can manipulate the same robot. “You can have somebody in China control the robot, let’s say – in Washington, DC,” added Williams.

Several VGo robots are in use in Asia and Greece. One “is on a remote island off the coast of Australia – 1,000 miles out to sea,” said Terry, where the VGo “acts as the entire clinical team.”

That allows the doctor to come in person once a month and use the VGO to connect with his patient the rest of the time to provide clinical and practical support, such as how to use certain devices, and emotional support if a patient is anxious or in pain.

What’s the cost?

Cost is a factor, cautions Williams. He recommends assessing patients’ needs before buying a robot, and learning how to operate it and accept it “as an equal.”

But for the VGo technology, Terry says the unit used to cost between $75,000-120,000, but now hovers around the $6,000 mark.

VGo is not the only robot in town. Others include Toyota’s Partner Robot, and El-E – the Elevated Engagement robot developed at Georgia Tech’s Center for Healthcare Robotics in Atlanta. And Williams envisions a day when robots will be just another appliance in the smart homes of the future.

Aida Akl
Aida Akl is a journalist working on VOA's English Webdesk. She has written on a wide range of topics, although her more recent contributions have focused on technology. She has covered both domestic and international events since the mid-1980s as a VOA reporter and international broadcaster.