From preventing maternal deaths in rural villages to providing care at a reduced cost, cellphones are becoming key tools in improving health care in Africa. …
Month: April 2011
Medical technology on display at upcoming Robot Block Party
Regular readers of Scope will know that I am a huge fan of robots. So I'm delighted that, in addition to autonomous cars and at …
Image of the Week: Preparing for the operating room
Earlier this week, I wrote about the importance of proper hand hygiene. And now I present you with an image from the Stanford Medical History …
Grand Roundup: Top posts for the week of April 3
The five most-read posts on Scope this week were: A beautiful blood clot: A colorized scanning electron micrograph of a blood clot. The image comes …
A faster, better, cheaper clinical trial (electronic medical record system not included)
It's still early days for electronic medical record systems, but a study published in Clinical Trials today shows how the VA Boston Healthcare System is …
Research!America poll shows strong support for NIH
With the U.S. government inching ever closer to a shutdown as lawmakers continue to haggle over budget cuts, I'm interested to see on Spoonful of …
Cavefish may offer clues about sleep disorders
I'm a little late to this, but I couldn't resist: Wired Science reported yesterday that researchers at New York University are studying Mexican cavefish for …
American Medical Association launches app challenge
Attn: U.S. doctors and medical students. Have a bright idea for a medical mobile application? Time to turn that light bulb moment into a moneymaker. …
Playing Operation with a da Vinci surgical robot
Oh, the things people are doing with the da Vinci surgical robot. Last week Scope readers saw James Porter, MD, of Swedish Medical Center use …
New insights into TB's tricky behavior
A look back at western Canada in the 18th and 19th centuries has shed light on the behavior of tuberculosis, one of the world’s deadliest …
As Congress debates health-care costs, a massive free clinic comes to Oakland
Rep. Paul Ryan, the chair of the budget committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, recently proposed a 2012 budget that would privatize Medicare and …
New process helps patients make decision on IVF embryo donation
Imagine you're a patient who has undergone in vitro fertilization and now has leftover embryos. Should you store them, dispose them, or donate the embryos …
Q&A with Renal Fellow Network deputy editor: Part 3
This is the final installment of a three-part Q&A series with Stanford Nephrology Fellow and Renal Fellow Network (RFN) deputy editor Graham Abra, MD. The …
Do you (heart) chocolate? Evaluating the cocoa "prescription" for cardiac health
I just stocked my desk with some emergency rations - mainly whole grain snack bars with dark chocolate bits. My brain thanks me every time …
Hospital music program helps soothe patients' "heavy hearts"
It's not uncommon for hospitals to offer music-based services to patients and visitors. But the music program at Stanford Hospital & Clinics - featuring such …
Love coffee? It's all in the genes
Like many, a cup of coffee is as much a part of my morning routine as is brushing my teeth. New research published in PLoS …