Smartphone app to diagnose disease
A new app which turns any smartphone into a portable medical diagnostic device could help in the fight against diseases in the developing world, Cambridge scientists claim. The application, Colorimetrix, could make monitoring conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, and urinary tract infections much clearer and easier for both patients and doctors, and could eventually be used to slow or limit the spread of pandemics in the developing world. The app, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, accurately measures colour-based, or colorimetric, tests for use in home, clinical or remote settings, and enables the transmission of medical data from patients directly to health professionals.
Man with 12 bypass surgeries
In a revolutionary life-saving surgery, renowned cardiac surgeon Ramakant Panda operated on 58-year-old Mithalal Dhoka to remove a staggering 17 blocks through 12 bypass grafts at the Asian Heart Institute in northwestern Bandra suburb on February 12. The institute is now planning a Guinness World Records citation. “The maximum number of bypass surgeries (on a patient) reported so far is eight. This is the first time in the world that 12 bypass grafts were done on any patient on a beating heart,” Panda informed. Hailing from Yadagiri in Karnataka but now based in Hyderabad, Dhoka, who was dismissed by medicos as “an inoperable case”, has been suffering from diabetes and hypertension for over two decades. He is now ready for discharge.
E-CIGARETTES MAY NOT be helpful
The use of electronic cigarettes by smokers is not associated with greater rates of quitting or reduced cigarette consumption after a year, a new study has claimed. Research author Rachel A Grana and colleagues from the University California, San Francisco noted that e-cigarettes are promoted as smoking cessation tools, but studies of their effectiveness have been unconvincing. The authors analysed self-reported data from 949 smokers to determine if e-cigarettes were associated with more successful quitting or reduced cigarette consumption. Researchers noted that more women, younger adults and people with less education used e-cigarettes. E-cigarette use at baseline was not associated with both quitting or reduction in consumption, researchers found.