So, posting has been light this morning because yesterday I managed to give my self a second degree sprained ankle while stepping of a New York City curb to get into a taxi on 2nd avenue and 86th street. This was at 11 o’clock. The pain was unbelievable, nauseating. When I got into the cab I thought about telling him to bring me to the nearest hospital. But I had many important meetings throughout the day. The cab driver asked if I was ok. I paused for a second, holding my ankle and then, probably under a hiss told him to bring me to 56th street and 6th avenue to meet a wonderful lady who is doing a story on mobile ticketing.

I told myself, as the pain eased a bit (probably from the swelling) that I am going to get through todays schedule and then go the hospital immediately afterwards… but just in case I decided to take my shoe off and take a picture of my ankle with my Nokia N70 to send to all of my friends that are now Doctors (I also uploaded one to Flickr, but I warn you some of the images you are about to see a pretty gruesome).

Almost immediately I started getting concerned phone calls from my friends… one of them amazed that I could send such a clear image of a bodily injury and started considering how such a technology could be used for the medical practice in the future. I really was not in the mood to discuss it.

Yeah for MMS though.

Against their better judgement I decided to go on with my day. I figured if the guy from Touching the Void could do it, so could I. And, in case of an emergency, I always have my cell phone.

Anyways, you may or may not be interested to know that I got through my day and it was not until 5 o’clock or so on the corner of 57th and Lexington that I (or my foot) decided that I could not walk anymore… so I called my family and told them that I am going to the hospital.

They gave me a cane… how dignified.

Nothings broken, thank God… I did think I heard a snap. But it is a serious sprain (4-6 weeks of recovery… but I usually recover fast).

Nevertheless, last night i was nice and drugged and took it easy this morning. But now it looks like I have hours and hours in front of my computer… perhaps blogging, perhaps just surfing or perhaps just chatting away. So if you like, say hi on Skype or AOL AIM Or call

Ok, time to start the day BTW, does anyone know how to get the “Digg This” thing to work on Moveable Type?

“How to Do Everything with Your Camera Phone (How to Do Everything)” (John Frederick Moore)

Technorati Tags: ankle, medical, mms, digg

Thats right, British scientists studying the disease claim to have discovered the main cause of Mad Cow when they accidentally came across a pack of Friesian Holsteins chatting away on mobile phones.

“We knew mobile phones were dangerous, and we knew cows were intrigued by wireless technology, but when we saw them using the mobiles, we made the connection right away,” said lead researcher Kevin Barrington, who spotted the culprits at a dairy farm outside Kent.

With the already existing concern linking cell phones to brain cancer this will prove to be yet another headache for the mobile industry which has already dismissed the British claims. “To even insinuate that cell phones could somehow be the cause of this disease is as absurd as the notion that cows could use cell phones at all,” said Nokia spokesperson Nigel Wanthorpe.

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Related

Bluetooth Cattle, Moo…

Technorati Tags: bluetooth, bovine, cows, mobile, mobileactive, nokia, satirewire

Simple title for a simple message. Maybe its time for hospitals to start taking down those no “cellphone” signs so that you can take that important business call while consoling your dying mother. No, but seriously, a new study from the Yale University School of Medicine found that allowing doctors to use cell phones in hospitals reduces the rate of error in medical care by allowing a more timely real time flow of communication.

The study also concluded that cellphones rarely cause electronic magnetic interference with medical equipment such as life support machines.

The study published in February’s Anesthesia & Analgesia is believed to be the first to investigate whether use of cell phones by medical personnel has a beneficial impact on safety. It was based on 4,018 responses from attendees at the 2003 meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

While cellphones still pose a 2.4% risk of interference with life-support devices, the study reports that it is an acceptable risk, since it’s lower than the 14.9% risk of injuries due to communication delays.

[via Textually]

Technorati Tags: health care, hospitals, mobile, mobile health, Yale, Yale University School of Medicine

The same device that is being used to change the face of viral communications as we know it, is also being used to help prevent viral epidemic outbreaks as they happen. According to an article posted today by Technology Review Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta and academics at the the Center for the Advancement of Distance Education (CADE) at the University of Illinois are working on applications that would allow carriers of GPS-equipped mobile handsets to receive warnings of potential disease outbreaks in their area.

“During an outbreak or emergency, getting good info to the public rapidly about what they need to do protect themselves is vital and can save lives,” says CDC spokeswoman Jennifer Morcone.

“Avoiding certain foods, avoiding certain areas, wearing a mask…all those messages are delivered through a number of channels by the CDC during outbreaks and emergencies and we know that getting information to people when they need it is vital.”

Kallisto Productions, a mobile applications company in Fairfax, CA, is doing much of the programming work for CADE. An authoring system developed by Kallisto enables programmers to write quickly the Java applets using content provided by CDC and CADE. The authoring system was designed to check in periodically with a central server, downloading information updates on new precautions and symptoms to watch for in the event of an outbreak.The service would send messages to users phones alerting them to potential outbreak hotspots. Such an example of an already trialed model can be found here.

The CADE will also be using the GPS technology for other programs such as the Chicago Project for Violence Prevention which will allow the organization to track people doing out-reach work in high crime areas.

Of course, the use of mobile technology during a disaster is not always a perfect solution. When a massive Hurricane like Katrina blows down a cell tower that also knocks out power lines there is not much your cell phone will be good for (except using the light generated from its screen to guide yourself through the dark). Mobile infrastructures proved, however, to be more reliable than people thought during the storm. People have said that they could still use text-messaging even at the storms peak. There were even reports that Verizon and Bell South trucks arrived before FEMA and were able to get things up and running rather quickly.

One must also consider privacy issues and must also only make the service an “opt-in” service. It will be the duty of governments and other organizations to educate the people about the importance of allowing emergency broadcasts to your cell-phone. Thousands already opt in to some established mobile alert systems, such as text versions of Amber Alerts and terrorist alerts in Washington, D.C. Congress and the Federal Communications Commission could intercede in the future and automatically send alerts to all 200 million subscribers in the U.S.

I”nfrastructure and privacy issues haven’t discouraged researchers in Japan,” the article reports, “where mobile carrier KDDI, IBM Japan, and Kyoto University are collaborating on a real-time evacuation alert service for mobile phones.” The service displays small readable maps and evacuation routes in the event of an earthquake or other natural disaster.

This is only one example out of many that highlight the advantageous role mobile technology can play during emergencies of any kind (Katrina, Tsunami’s, outbreaks or Terrorism). Its an example of just how important it is to have the mobile infrastructure setup before, rather than after or during, a disaster. As my buddy Taran over at Knowprose.com points out (link is directly above)

People have to be interested in a disaster before a disaster occurs for change to happen, and agencies which they pay - governments, or disaster agencies that they donate to - also need to pay attention. There’s no excuse. It can be done. People trapped in the wake of a disaster deserve a voice. If you were trapped in a building, or you were without food and water and didn’t even know which direction to go… wouldn’t you like to use that phone? Of course you would.

(and yes… that is a picture of the monkey from outbreak… who’s real name is Binks)

Technorati Tags: 10312, 20030422-0634-sarslocatorservice.html, bird flu, cell phones, disasters, emergencies, medical, mobile, mobileactive, outbreak, sms, wireless, wtr_16161,300,p1.html

A blog that addresses the needs of those suffering from Carpal Tunnel called Disabled Hands has a great post on tips for disabled cellphone users (that is, people with Carpal Tunnel that have to use cell phones).

Some tips include getting “feature-rich phones” as the features tend to “ease the usability of the phone.” This is especially the case for phones with voice dialing, which the site naturally also recommends. Stripped down basic cell phone models require more unnatural thumb activity.

Camera phones can be used to eliminate the need to jot things down when handwriting is to painful and voice dialing combined with Bluetooth allow users to “physically eliminate the need to physically dial the phone and push those tiny buttons.”

The site also recommends making sure your phone can sync with your computer as this can simplify the process of adding and managing a phonebook. Of course, one still would have to add the information onto ones computer which would require typing on the keyboard (another contributor to Carpal Tunnel)… but hey, you cant win them all.

As to the type of phone a disabled hand person should get, the site recommends candy-bar phones as opposed to flip phones “as it doesn’t require a user to open the phone for use.” “However,” the site points out, ” a flip phone may be easier for a disabled user to hold to their ear if they are not using a wireless headset.”

When actually dialing the site recommends using a tool like an eraser tipped cell phone to push the buttons and putting the phone down on a flat surface when doing so (if possible).

Also, the site recommends you find a technology buddy that can help you do things like program the phone for quicker and shorter function times etc etc…

For those users whose hands are really fragile, the site also recommends keeping your phone on a short leash by either attaching it to your pants like a pocket watch or wearing it around your neck. The problem, for those with weak disabled hands, with carrying a cellphone in a pocket or clipped to a belt is the increased risk of dropping the mobile phone while retrieving it.

Audrey and Derek, this blog is for you!

Technorati Tags: carpal tunnel, cell phones, medical