https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. If you look up at the sky on a clear day, you might notice little cobweb-like structures drifting across your field of vision. They are known as floaters or, more formally, muscae volitantes—Latin for flying flies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-06-annoying-eye-floaters-supplement.html Fri, 30 Jun 2023 12:20:01 EDT news607345386 A team of psychiatrists from Duke University and Yale University has found what they describe as a causal association between evening social media use and delayed sleep. In their study, reported in the journal Sleep Medicine, the group tracked social media use and delayed sleeping patterns for 44,000 Reddit users. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-causal-association-evening-social-media.html Fri, 26 May 2023 11:43:26 EDT news604320190 Have you ever felt uncomfortable when asked about depression or any other sensitive personal issue when checking in for a medical visit? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-self-administered-screening-benefits-patients.html Tue, 08 Mar 2022 11:00:04 EST news565952029 A team of researchers from the University of Luxembourg and Universite´ de Genève has found evidence that suggests it is not how much time children spend on electronic media but how they do it that can lead to problems. The team has written a paper describing a study they conducted at a public primary school in a Geneva, Switzerland suburb and what they learned from it and have posted it on the open access site PLOS ONE. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-in-school-children-multitasking-media-mental.html Thu, 25 Nov 2021 12:30:02 EST news556974342 A new study by research, quality improvement and health equity experts at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in The American Journal of Managed Care lays out the challenges of achieving equity for diverse patients in communication at hospital discharge. A survey of 224 recently discharged patients was conducted in five languages just before the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted challenges, including limited understanding of medications; lack of available professional medical interpreters and translated patient instructions at discharge; and worries about support for at home after hospitalization. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-patients-barriers-due-ethnicity-language.html Wed, 21 Jul 2021 11:37:12 EDT news546086228 A team of researchers from Cardiff University has used neuroscience for the first time to explore the impact doll play has on children. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-doll-brain-regions-empathy-social.html Fri, 02 Oct 2020 08:04:56 EDT news520844694 (HealthDay)—Face masks help prevent the spread of COVID-19, but they have a huge downside for people with hearing problems: They muffle sound and prevent lip-reading. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-07-masks-video-pandemic-hampering-problems.html Fri, 17 Jul 2020 12:45:04 EDT news514208702 Can COVID-19 survive on my phone? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-05-covid-survive.html Thu, 07 May 2020 16:10:02 EDT news508085914 As a sociologist who has studied 911 ambulance operations in California and a former emergency medical technician (EMT), I recently spoke with ambulance workers across the country to assess how the pandemic is impacting their lives. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-04-calm-storm-ambulance-workers-patients.html Mon, 13 Apr 2020 09:40:01 EDT news505987684 You're washing your hands countless times a day to try to ward off the coronavirus. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-03-bundle-germs.html Fri, 13 Mar 2020 13:22:51 EDT news503324568 Is your iPad being a literal pain in the neck? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-06-pain-ipad-neck-plagues-women.html Wed, 20 Jun 2018 13:38:10 EDT news448720673 A new Pain Practice study indicates that biofeedback-assisted relaxation may help manage pain and anxiety in children undergoing medical procedures. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-biofeedback-app-kids-medical-procedures.html Thu, 19 Apr 2018 10:59:56 EDT news443354390 A majority of displaced adolescent girls are victimized by violence, according to a new study in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The study, published in the Journal of Global Health, provides new details on the forms of violence affecting adolescent girls in humanitarian settings, and for the first time, predictors of violence, often perpetrated by family members and intimate partners. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-05-violence-conflict-affected-teenage-girls-africa.html Tue, 30 May 2017 12:03:14 EDT news415364586 A new pilot study led by McLean Hospital's Ipsit Vahia, MD, medical director of Geriatric Psychiatry Outpatient Services at McLean Hospital, suggests that the use of tablet computers is both a safe and a potentially effective approach to managing agitation among patients with dementia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-01-tablet-devices-agitation-patients-dementia.html Sat, 07 Jan 2017 14:42:16 EST news403022522 (HealthDay)—About half of older adults in the emergency department are willing to provide information using a tablet computer, but few can do so without needing assistance, according to a study published online Nov. 2 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-11-seniors-er-tablet.html Mon, 07 Nov 2016 07:50:01 EST news397725735 Tablet use has rocketed. Last year in the US, for example, 42% of under 18's owned one and more than half of 35-49 year olds used them regularly. This figure seems unlikely to decrease and yet only limited guidance is available on minimising health risks. Tablet use requires significant head and neck flexion and has implications for potential neck injury to users. In this article in Ergonomics, researchers from Washington State University evaluate the head-neck biomechanics during tablet use, the implications for the neck musculature and future ergonomics recommendations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-significance-tablet-usage-position-potential.html Fri, 13 Mar 2015 09:25:19 EDT news345457513 A Finnish-Swedish research group at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), University of Helsinki, and Karolinska institutet, Stockholm, has developed a novel "man and machine" decision support system for diagnosing malaria infection. This innovative diagnostic aid was described in PLOS One scientific journal today, 21 August. The method is based on computer vision algorithms similar to those used in facial recognition systems combined with visualization of only the diagnostically most relevant areas. Tablet computers can be utilized in viewing the images. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-08-machine-decision-malaria-diagnostics-effective.html Thu, 21 Aug 2014 14:06:15 EDT news327848756 Growing numbers of elderly people in Norway are being offered by the welfare services to use tablet computers for controlling functions in their home. But many find an iPad too difficult to understand. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-07-technology-tailoring-user.html Mon, 15 Jul 2013 07:29:20 EDT news293092150 (HealthDay)—Plenty of Americans are eager to use their mobile phones and tablet computers to better manage their health care, a new poll finds—though the nation has a way to go before we're all consulting Dr. Smartphone. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-lots-americans-health-smartphone.html Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:00:01 EDT news290785055 New research from Terry Ellis, assistant professor at Sargent College and Director of the Center for Neurorehabilitation, has found that a virtual exercise coach was effective in helping individuals with Parkinson's disease adhere to a daily walking regimen. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-virtual-parkinson-patients.html Fri, 31 May 2013 10:10:54 EDT news289213817 It's well known that blood donors perform a vital, life-saving community service, but for some, regular blood donation is an important part of staying healthy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-green-red-app.html Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:29:04 EDT news286018079 Doctors routinely track their patients' hand-eye coordination to monitor any neuromuscular deficits, particularly as patients age or when they are injured—but the tests they have been using to track this kind of information may be subjective and qualitative. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-technology-doctors-concussions-aging-neurological.html Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:59:41 EST news279457165 Reading text on digital devices like tablet computers requires less effort from older adults than reading on paper, according to research published February 6 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Matthias Schlesewsky and colleagues from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from Georg August University Göttingen and the University of Marburg, Germany. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-older-readers-effort-e-readers.html Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:00:05 EST news279388765 The nation's first and only program linking paramedics in the field to patients' pre-existing health information -- enabling emergency workers to make more informed treatment decisions and to transport patients to the most appropriate facility -- has been recognized by the prestigious Computerworld Honors Program. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-unique-electronic-medical-ambulances-lauded.html Wed, 27 Jun 2012 10:47:00 EDT news260012806 Researchers at the University of Michigan have found that the Apple iPad 2 can interfere with settings of magnetically programmable shunt devices, which are often used to treat children with hydrocephalus. The iPad 2 contains magnets that can change valve settings in the shunt if the tablet computer is held too close to the valve (within 2 inches). Such a change may result in shunt malfunction until the problem is recognized and the valve adjusted to the proper setting. Patients and their caregivers should monitor use of the tablet computer to ensure that no change is made to the valve settings. The results of this study can be found in the article "Programmable shunt valve affected by exposure to a tablet computer. Laboratory investigation," by Strahle and colleagues, published in the August 2012 issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics and available online today. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-tablet-magnetically-programmable-shunt-valves.html Tue, 26 Jun 2012 10:00:05 EDT news259923228 Providing personal mobile computers to medical residents increases their efficiency, reduces delays in patient care and enhances continuity of care, according to a "research letter" in the March 12, 2012, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-personal-mobile-doctors-efficiency.html Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:00:04 EDT news250779376 Tablet computers such as the iPad are becoming more and more popular, but new research from the University of Sydney means they could soon be used in hospitals as a tool for doctors to view medical imaging. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-ipads-medical-imaging.html Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:10:01 EST news249032602 (AP) -- UnitedHealth Group's Optum business is launching a service that allows doctors to share information about patients over the Internet, as health care companies continue their push to improve care with better coordination. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-unitedhealth-unveils-patient-info-mds.html Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:35:26 EST news248441719 The sudden popularity of tablet computers such as the Apple iPad has not allowed for the development of guidelines to optimize users' comfort and well-being. In a new study published in Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment, and Rehabilitation, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health, Microsoft Corporation, and Brigham and Women's Hospital report that head and neck posture during tablet computer use can be improved by placing the tablet higher to avoid low gaze angles, and through the use of a case that provides optimal viewing angles. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-shoulder-pain-ipad-dont-lap.html Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:12:18 EST news246647524 Users of smartphones and tablet computers are starting to get high-tech blues, as increasing numbers of the tech savvy are coming down with ailments from "text neck" to "text thumb injury". https://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-smartphone-addicts-pain.html Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:40:04 EST news242042756