The quantification of the child is the next frontier in quantified self. But sometimes what we want to believe is more important than what’s real. Pixie Scientific, A NYC based startup has embedded a patch into the diaper for the detection of UTI and dehydration. The in-diaper patch changes color depending upon the presence of bacteria and protein. The parent ... Continue Reading about Digital Disruption or Dipstick-in-a-Diaper?
Cyberutopian Exhibitionism
Cardiac defibrillators the size of a grain of salt. Robotic, flying bedpans. The extinction of the doctor. Spend some time on Twitter and you may see the future. Because there's an arms race to 'break' the next seemingly implausible health innovation. And it all seems bigger since the social web draws the technologically savvy who are prone toward technological ... Continue Reading about Cyberutopian Exhibitionism
The First Mover Advantage
In social networks there's a phenomenon called the first mover advantage. The first person who shows up gets some advantage. This happens in business as well. The first person to create a commodity always has the upper hand over the next guy who replicates it. I showed up early to Twitter as a physician. I was a unicorn and people followed me to see what I’d ... Continue Reading about The First Mover Advantage
Lifestreaming and the Future of Memory
Swedish start-up Memoto is breathing life into the concept of lifestreaming. They’re releasing a lapel camera that snaps and stores a photo every 30 seconds. Your life, captured. I love the concept but I suspect that they may be upstaged by Glass lifestreamers. This challenges the future of memory. Enter Evernote which is naturally positioned for the latent ... Continue Reading about Lifestreaming and the Future of Memory
Figure 1 – A Safe App for Medical Images?
The latest mobile app for doctors is Figure 1, which has been touted as ‘instragram for doctors.’ Figure 1 is a crowdsourced medical library that allows individuals to post clinical images from their mobile devices. The concept makes sense. Images in medicine represent a great way to teach and tell a story. But I’m bearish on Figure 1. Here’s why: Low ... Continue Reading about Figure 1 – A Safe App for Medical Images?
Doctors on the Record
During a clinical encounter recently the mother I was visiting with reached down to the phone sitting on her chair and discreetly hit a red record button. Increasingly, parents are interested in recording their encounters with me. Sometimes one parent can’t be present for a visit. Perhaps the mother of an inconsolable 6-week-old wants to remember what her ... Continue Reading about Doctors on the Record