HomeTechnology
Technology
Quick blood test might ID osteoporosis risk – Spanish study
Researchers have developed a biosensor – using less than a drop of blood – that could some day help identify people most at risk...
SA medical students use technology to boost organ donation
A group of Stellenbosch University medical students is using technology to raise awareness of organ donation, aiming to reach more than 1m South Africans...
AI can’t replicate this crucial aspect of practising medicine
As people become increasingly familiar with artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT, it’s only a matter of time before patients turn to these tools seeking...
Smartwatches may predict early Parkinson’s – UK study
Artificial intelligence, used to analyse data from 103 712 smartwatch wearers, was able to suggest which wearers were likely to develop Parkinson’s disease –...
Global fund aims to reduce tech harm to mental health
Screen overuse in the early stages of human development can trigger concentration and behavioural disorders, including depression, say 27 global investors who are managing...
Cutting-edge DNA sequencing technology for SA
A facility in South Africa is building capacity to enable next generation sequencing (NGS) – touted by the WHO as being critical to the...
Dermatologists embrace the 'dermoverse'
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a significant ally in dermatology and will become an indispensable component of consultations within four or five years, believe practitioners, who...
ChatGPT adept at answering common public health questions – US study
A team of scientists recently evaluated how well ChatGPT handles general health inquiries from the lay public, and concluded – from the responses –...
Tinnitus relief on horizon with innovative device
A double-blind randomised clinical trial of a device aimed at silencing the phantom sounds of tinnitus has yielded promising results for a condition that...
‘Pop-up’ inflatable theatre to revolutionise emergency surgery
An American start-up has developed a portable sterile surgery system – which can be fitted in a backpack and set up in minutes – that allows...
New 3D mobile mammograms for Gauteng
A state-of-the-art R3.8m 3D mammogram machine, housed in a distinctive, bright pink truck, in Gauteng, will make it easier to spot minor abnormalities that...
How software bias leads to under-diagnosis in black men’s lung problems
Software bias in a common medical test for lung function is leading to fewer black patients getting care for breathing problems, according to research...
Paralysed man walks again with brain-spine digital bridge
A man who broke his neck and was paralysed in a cycling accident in 2011 has been able to stand and walk with an...
Electronic skin gives amputees sense of touch – US study
A team of American scientists has invented a type of electronic skin that can “talk directly to the brain”, and would allow amputees to feel a...
ChatGPT tops doctors when it comes to bedside manner – US study
ChatGPT appears to have a better “bedside manner” than some doctors – at least when their written advice is rated for quality and empathy,...
New AI tool IDs cancer, speeds up diagnosis
An artificial intelligence model designed and built by doctors, scientists and researchers is able to accurately identify cancer in a development they say could...
Pacemakers too big for children, wireless devices better but risky
Pacemakers, used by many patients with irregular heart rhythms, are not built for children, and do not mesh well with growing bodies, say scientists,...
New mobile kits spot cancer within hours
Spanish researchers have made a breakthrough that could enable cancer to be detected within hours, using cheap and easy mobile testing kits, and opening...
Hospital group pioneers e-scripting
In a nod to the digital era, electronic prescriptions (e-scripting) at Netcare hospitals is making traditional handwritten prescriptions obsolete, and reducing the risks of...
Race versus skin tone debate in resolving pulse oximeters' false readings
Physicians and government regulators are increasingly aware that pulse oximeters measure oxygen levels less accurately in patients with darker skin. But the issue with...
Smart watches could interfere with heart devices – US study
Some of the newer smart watches, smart rings and other “smart” products can interfere with implanted electronic medical devices that control heart rhythms, such...
World's first ‘vagina chip’ designed to better understand women's health
Women’s health advocates have long argued that far more research is needed on women's bodies and health – and the first-ever “vagina on a...
The risks of ChatGPT in healthcare
The sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship is the cornerstone of the healthcare profession – a protected space steeped in tradition, the Hippocratic oath, medical...
Custom 3D-printed hearts could improve valve replacement procedures
Scientists are making custom 3D-printed replicas of human hearts in an effort to improve replacement valve procedures, according to a study, which could optimise...
First UK patient gets early heart failure alert implant
A cutting-edge procedure to implant an early warning device into a heart failure patient has been carried out for the first time in the...
US team designs novel mapping of colorectal cancer
From around the age of 45, regular colonoscopies are recommended. However, despite the availability of this highly visual screening process, treatment decisions for individual patients...
AI detects pneumonia through hearing a cough – Korean findings
New artificial intelligence-based technology can diagnose pneumonia by listening to someone cough, and scientists say if rolled out, people could diagnose themselves without going...
Blood test for concussions more accurate than CAT scans – US hospital
In just 15 minutes, a small, hand-held blood test can tell doctors whether a patient is likely to have suffered a concussion or traumatic...
Digital X-rays increase TB detection in asymptomatic South Africans
Medical experts say evidence is mounting that as with COVID-19, people can have active TB disease and be infectious without symptoms, and that more...
KZN surgeons insert world’s tiniest pacemaker into heart
Making medical history in KwaZulu-Natal last week, cardiologist and electrophysiologist Dr Brian Vezi inserted the world's tiniest, leadless pacemaker – 93% smaller than older...
SA student develops high-tech knee brace
In what is being hailed as a pioneering prototype that might well contribute to the advancement of the prosthetics industry, particularly in the African...
Tinnitus relief from cellphone app – New Zealand randomised trial
Tinnitus, that ringing, buzzing, whistling, or hissing noise in one or both ears when no external source of the sound is present, and suffered...
Device to ID Kaposi sarcoma escalates treatment for sub-Saharan patients
A hand-held portable diagnostic device has been deployed in clinical tests in Uganda to identify cases of Kaposi sarcoma, a common yet difficult-to-detect cancer...
MRI technique spots placental problems in foetuses in early weeks – US study
A new MRI imaging technique to assess placenta health in developing foetuses in early pregnancy has been developed that can reliably predict development complications...
Wearable devices to detect AF a cheap and easy option – US study
Compared with traditional methods, screening for atrial fibrillation (AF) with wearable devices, like those worn on the wrist, was easy and cost-effective, a recent...
Virtual reality helps with 27-hour surgery to separate Rio’s conjoined twins
In a groundbreaking surgical procedure, three-year-old conjoined twins Bernardo and Arthur Lima underwent surgeries in Rio de Janeiro, with direction from Great Ormond Street...
Pulse oximetry accuracy varies between race groups – US cohort study
Pulse oximetry is a standard use technology with applications in both ambulatory and inpatient settings, but despite its widespread use, there have been reports,...
Bio-glue could mean end to surgical sutures, staples – Canadian collaboration
Scientists have developed the first-ever hydrophobic (water-hating) fluid, which displaces body fluids surrounding an injury, allowing for near-instantaneous gelling, sealing and healing of injured...
Combating hospital ‘superbugs’ without antibiotics – US study
A novel surface treatment could reduce the risk of hospital and clinic infections from “superbugs”.
Such infections affect some 1.7m Americans annually, resulting in nearly...
MRI superior to echocardiography in heart failure diagnosis – UK study
Using MRI scans to detect heart failure could change how the condition is diagnosed, according to research from the University of East Anglia and...