Medical wearables are quickly becoming a potential solution in a world where tele-health is gaining ground. Here are three examples of challenges in designing medical wearables, and how to overcome them.
Tag Archives: Health
Books: Preventing the Next Pandemic: Vaccine Diplomacy in a Time of Anti-Science (Peter Hotez)
Obesity & Covid-19: Death Rates 10X Higher In ‘50%+ Overweight Nations’
The majority of global COVID-19 deaths have been in countries where many people are obese, with coronavirus fatality rates 10 times higher in nations where at least 50% of adults are overweight, a global study found.
Infographic: ‘Vaccines Without Needles’ (WSJ)
Technologies in development for delivering vaccines include Enesi’s dissolving implants, microneedle patches, electrical-pulse systems, nasal sprays and even pills.
Some firms are developing their own vaccines against Covid-19, while others are aiming to reformulate some of the dozens already in development or being rolled out world-wide. Some are sitting this pandemic out in the hope of being ready for the next one.
All are in the early to mid-stages of development and clinical testing, suggesting it might be months if not years before they come to market. Big pharmaceutical companies have so far shown limited interest.
Covid-19: ‘Intranasal Vaccines’ Might Be More Effective Than Needles
From Scientific American (March 1, 2021):
Enter the intranasal vaccine, which abandons the needle and syringe for a spray container that looks more like a nasal decongestant. With a quick spritz up the nose, intranasal vaccines are designed to bolster immune defenses in the mucosa, triggering production of an antibody known as immunoglobulin A, which can block infection. This overwhelming response, called sterilizing immunity, reduces the chance that people will pass on the virus.
The development of highly effective COVID vaccines in less than a year is an extraordinary triumph of science. But several coronavirus variants have emerged that could at least partly evade the immune response induced by the vaccines. These variants should serve as a warning against complacency—and encourage us to explore a different type of vaccination, delivered as a spray in the nose. Intranasal vaccines could provide an additional degree of protection, and help reduce the spread of the virus.
Infographic: ‘How To Add More Protein To Your Diet’
Covid-19: ‘The Evolving Science Of Masks’ (Video)
How can you tell if the mask you’re wearing is protective enough against the coronavirus? Correspondent David Pogue volunteers as a test subject to see how N95s work and learns about the science of face coverings.
Covid-19: Walgreens To Offer At-Home Saliva Tests
Clinical Reference Laboratory CEO Bob Thompson talks about Walgreens offering a Covid-19 at-home saliva test.
Bloomberg News Equity Markets Reporter Esha Dey discusses Tesla falling below its S&P 500 entry level and wiping out 2021 gains. Bloomberg Businessweek Editor Joel Weber and Bloomberg News Chief Energy Correspondent Javier Blas walk through the story “Pennsylvania Teachers’ Pensions Helped Fund War Over Oil in Iraq.” Dartmouth Professor of Economics Danny Blanchflower provides a recap of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s semi-annual monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee. And we Drive to the Close with Ryan Detrick, Senior Market Strategist at LPL Financial. Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec. Producer: Doni Holloway.
Covid-19: ‘Why Variants Are Spreading Faster’
As highly transmissible coronavirus variants sweep across the world, scientists are racing to understand why these new versions of the virus are spreading faster, and what this could mean for vaccine efforts. New research says the key may be the spike protein, which gives the coronavirus its unmistakable shape. Illustration: Nick Collingwood/WSJ
Medical Research: ‘Next Generation Vaccines’
Vaccine science and technology is advancing. Next generation vaccines could change how we combat infectious diseases, and it’s important to understand how the technology works.
Boomers Daily 