Category: Technology

Apple Watch Can Detect Abnormal Heart Rhythm with 97% Accuracy

According to the results of a study* conducted by the University of California, San Francisco and the app, Cardiogram, Apple Watch can detect the most common abnormal heart rhythm with 97% accuracy.

From TechCrunch:
The study involved 6,158 participants recruited through the Cardiogram app on Apple Watch. Most of the participants in the UCSF Health eHeart study had normal EKG readings. However, 200 of them had been diagnosed with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (an abnormal heartbeat). Engineers then trained a deep neural network to identify these abnormal heart rhythms from Apple Watch heart rate data.

Each year, more than 100,000 strokes are caused by an abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation – the most common abnormal heart rhythm responsible for 1 in 4 strokes. It’s pretty amazing to think that soon there will be technology available on our wrists that can identify and warn us of abnormal heart rhythms, including atrial fibrillation.

*I’m proud to have participated in the Heart eHealth study and am currently participating in the mRhythm study, the goal of which is to compare the heart rhythms gathered by the FDA-approved AliveCor monitor against those from the Cardiogram App/Apple Watch to assess its validity and accuracy in detecting arrhythmias.

via TechCrunch

Using Robots and Telehealth to Diagnose Concussions

New medical research from the UT Southwestern Medical Center and Northern Arizona University shows that robots equipped with web-enabled cameras and telehealth are as effective as a trained medical professional or athletic trainer in diagnosing when a young athlete has suffered a concussion. Using telehealth and robots, one person could cover numerous schools. A physician who is on-call virtually could be anywhere and available as soon as a consult is needed, particularly in high school sports where not every team and event has a trainer or other medical professional on hand.

via Internet Health Management.

Tesla Autopilot Will Change Personal Transportation Forever

We are on the precipice of a massive paradigm shift in personal transportation. Tesla Autopilot will forever change personal transportation by providing “full self-driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver”.

“All you will need to do is get in and tell your car where to go. If you don’t say anything, the car will look at your calendar and take you there as the assumed destination or just home if nothing is on the calendar. Your Tesla will figure out the optimal route, navigate urban streets (even without lane markings), manage complex intersections with traffic lights, stop signs and roundabouts, and handle densely packed freeways with cars moving at high speed. When you arrive at your destination, simply step out at the entrance and your car will enter park seek mode, automatically search for a spot and park itself. A tap on your phone summons it back to you.”

The technology in the Tesla is incredible: eight surround cameras provide 360 degrees of visibility around the car at up to 250 meters of range. Twelve updated ultrasonic sensors complement this vision, allowing for detection of both hard and soft objects at nearly twice the distance of the prior system. A forward-facing radar with enhanced processing provides additional data about the world on a redundant wavelength that is able to see through heavy rain, fog, dust and even the car ahead.

To make sense of all of this data, a new onboard computer with over 40 times the computing power of the previous generation runs the new Tesla-developed neural net for vision, sonar and radar processing software. Together, this system provides a view of the world that a driver alone cannot access, seeing in every direction simultaneously, and on wavelengths that go far beyond the human senses.

The Modernization of Healthcare

Healthcare trails many industries in their adoption of technology. Recently, a shift has begun that signals the “retailing” of healthcare as providers take cues from other industries to aid consumers as they begin their patient journey. An article over at Internet Health Management discusses what patients want when shopping for healthcare:

  1. Patient-friendly environments.
  2. Loyalty programs.
  3. More convenient services.
  4. On-demand services.
  5. Better physician directories.
  6. Publication of ratings and reviews.

How Millennials are Changing Healthcare

According to Pew Research Center, millennials are now America’s largest generation and their numbers are continuing to grow. The millennial population is expected to peak at 81.1 million in 2036. An article at the Advisory Board details 4 ways they are changing health care:

  1. They want to know about costs upfront – so price transparency is a must.
  2. Convenience – including extended hours, scheduling appointments online, and walk-in appointments – is a priority.
  3. They want, and expect, their providers to be tech savvy.
  4. They consult family, friends, online ratings and reviews when looking for a provider.

Mobile is Officially Here!

Internet usage by mobile and tablet devices exceeded desktop worldwide for the first time in October according to independent web analytics company StatCounter.

worldwide-internet-usage-graph

 
Despite the fact that desktop usage in the US is still represents the majority of users at 58%, this should be a wakeup call for any businesses who still don’t have a site optimized for mobile devices. Mobile is here!

MacOS Sierra Wi-Fi Fix

I ran the betas of macOS Sierra without incident but recently began experiencing random wi-fi drops with the GM. When I was connected to wi-fi the speeds were unusably slow.

I took the usual troubleshooting steps of toggling wi-fi off and on,  restarting the machine, creating a new location in Network Preferences –   even manually configuring DNS to use Google’s public servers. Nothing worked. Then I ran across this article at OSXDaily.com that suggested specifying a lower custom MTU setting of 1453. That seems to have done the trick.

Here are the steps I took that fixed my wi-fi issues (see the full article for additional troubleshooting steps): Continue reading “MacOS Sierra Wi-Fi Fix” →

Mary Meeker’s 2016 Internet Trends Report

Mary Meeker’s annual Internet Trends Report for 2016 came out last week. Some highlights include:

  • The global internet adoption rate was flat year-over-year at 9%, reaching 3 billion users or 42% of the world’s population
  • Smartphone adoption’s growth is slowing, while Android increases marketshare despite a shrinking average selling price
  • Video viewership is exploding, with Snapchat and Facebook Live showing the way, though video ads aren’t always effective
  • Messaging is dominated by Facebook and WeChat, it’s growing rapidly, and evolving from simple text communication to become our new home screen with options for vivid self-expression and commerce
  • US advertising is growing, with Google and Facebook controlling 76% of the market and rising, but advertisers still spend too much on legacy media rather than new media where the audience has shifted
  • Meeker predicts the rise of voice interfaces because they’re fast, easy, personalized, hands-free, and cheap, with Google on Android now seeing 20% of searches from voice, and Amazon Echo sales growing as iPhone sales slow
  • The USA could become the home of the auto industry again thanks to innovation from Tesla and Google despite US auto sales slipping since 1950, though car ownership will fall as Uber/UberPool sharing becomes mainstream