openECGproject
I am proud to present to you the openECGproject. Something I helped to start up and the thing that kept me away from my blog for almost two weeks.
The openECGproject is essentially an online community conceived around a simple, but challenging and worthy goal - to develop an open source hardware and software solution for electrocardiography. More precisely, to develop an open source, low cost, and clinically functional 12-lead PC-based ECG with interpretive software.
The idea was conceived to help those hospitals and doctors, mainly from the Third World, who cannot afford similar currently available and expensive commercial products. Development of a free alternative could, I believe, have a profound impact on health care not just in poor countries, but in others too.
The whole project is philanthropic and depends on the efforts of volunteers who want to make a difference. Anyone can help, so be sure to visit the site, promote it and recommend it to others.
Thank you for your support.
Kill Your Blog
At least this is what Paul Boutin suggests you do. He is a blogger himself, writing for the Valleywag blog, and for The New York Times, and for The Wall Street Journal, and for Slate, and for Wired magazine. And in the latest issue of Wired magazine he wrote a provocative and interesting article about why you need to stop blogging.
“It’s almost impossible to get noticed, except by hecklers. And why bother? The time it takes to craft sharp, witty blog prose is better spent expressing yourself on Flickr, Facebook, or Twitter.” - writes Boutin and adds, “That said, your blog will still draw the Net’s lowest form of life: The insult commenter.”
He thinks Twitter is the way to go these days and finishes off with a tweet - @WiredReader: Kill yr blog. 2004 over. Google won’t find you. Too much cruft from HuffPo, NYT. Commenters are tards. C u on Facebook?
Photo: Todd Tankersley
Baghdad ER
I just watched a great documentary by the team of Emmy Award winner producer/director Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill called Baghdad ER. This HBO documentary brings a story of medical personnel of the 86th Combat Support Hospital, the US Army’s premier medical facility in Iraq.
It is quite shocking and a great reminder how pointless and stupid any war is. For now own, every time I catch myself thinking that I am having a rough night, I am going to thing of these brave people. You think your ER is hard, think again. I was left feeling kind of helpless at the end of the movie, because the number of killed and injured, for the most part young, people just keep increasing without any sign of stopping.
Dear colleagues in Iraq, or anywhere else in the world where there is a war, you have my utmost respect. Hold on, hopefully for not much longer.
You can buy the Baghdad ER DVD from the HBO store.
Here are some screen shots from the film.
Usual morning meeting of medical staff.
The world’s most dangerous road, Route Irish in Baghdad.
They just lost a friend in the attack by an improvised explosive device (IED).
M.D. Cigar Night. Something doctors do just to feel sane. Of course, bombs are blasting in the background, choppers are flying overhead and there is some risk of getting shot by snipper.
Medical Reality
There are a few good medical television reality shows with health care workers playing the main roles. I think these shows are excellent and not just because of their great production or because they are fun to watch, but because I believe there is a lot one can learn from them. This is true for both patients and medical stuff. By watching these shows patients can better understand how the hospitals work, their doctor’s position, better prepare for their stay in the hospital or doctor’s visit, know what to expect and so on. On the other hand, people who chose to devote their lives to medicine, especially students and young health care workers can get a better taste of what is waiting for them if they chose a certain direction in their career, and most importantly they can learn a lot about medicine.
These are my current top 3 shows, so if you gotta watch TV, watch this.
1. Hopkins
I already wrote about this excellent ABC show. Until now seven episodes have been shot and each follows a few characters, both health care workers and patients, and their stories. You can watch the show at the ABC or buy and download better quality video from the iTunes store.
2. Real ER: The Bronx
This is a Discovery Home & Health show shot in the ER at one of New York’s busiest hospitals – St Barnabas in the city’s south Bronx. It is action packed and some times almost too real. You can watch in on Discovery Channel, but for now I haven’t found any way to download it or buy it.
3. Trauma: Life in the E.R.
This medical-based television reality show has first appeared in 1997 and now runs frequently on Discovery Health Channel. Trauma: Life in the E.R. has almost a cult status since it was one of the first such programs to be shot almost entirely on hand-held MiniDV camcorders. Many shows which came later borrowed a lot from it. You can buy and download 5 complete seasons from the iTunes store.
im bored colgate
Google updated their iPhone app to include voice recognition. You simply tap a button, speak up keywords you want to use to search the web, the software recognizes what you said and gives you back your search results.
When I tried pronouncing my name, Ivor Kovic, Google app recognized it as “im bored colgate”. This made me laugh hysterically and realize two thing, I need to improve my accent and Google needs to improve its software. On the other hand, the app works flawlessly most of the times and it offers the best voice recognition that I encountered so far on the iPhone.
Take a look at the video demonstration from Google.
Kraftwerk: Elektro Kardiogramm
Kraftwerk is an electronic music band from Germany. They are definitely one of the most influential and revolutionary bands of all time and they inspired artists from nearly all genre of modern music. In the early to late 1970s and the early 1980s the were really hot with their sound that combines driving, repetitive electronically-generated rhythms with catchy synthesizer-generated melodies in a minimalistic arrangement.
Listen to them as they perform live their song Elektro Kardiogramm.
