In this episode of MyPal Dr Amara Nwosu provides an overview publishing in palliative care, discussing the importance of this and sharing some tips for potential authors. The audio was recorded to support an educational session as part of the Merseyside & Cheshire Palliative Care Network Audit Group.
Copyright Amara Nwosu
www.amaranwosu.com
Music by Year of the Fiery Horse
@year-of-the-fiery-horse
In this episode of MyPal I discuss the recent BMJ editorial (by Mahiben Maruthappu) detailing the potential use of 3D printing in clinical practice.
Copyright Amara Nwosu
www.amaranwosu.com
Music by Year of the Fiery Horse
@year-of-the-fiery-horse
Image copyright of endgaget.com
www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/form-…ffordable-price/
References:
Mahiben Maruthappu, Bruce Keogh. How might 3D printing affect clinical practice?
BMJ 2014; 349 doi: dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g7709 (Published 30 December 2014)
Surgeon creates pelvis using 3D printer (Telegraph article)
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/106…3D-printer.html
3D printed heart saves baby’s life (article in Independent newspaper).
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gad…d-9776931.html
3-D printed windpipe gives infant breath of life (Nature)
www.nature.com/news/3-d-printed-…h-of-life-1.13085
Nanotechnology to diagnose and monitor cancer? Nanopills and smartwatches in disease management and treatment? Sounds like science fiction but that is what researchers at Google are working on right now! Dr Ami Nwosu discusses this in more depth.
Copyright Amara Nwosu
www.amaranwosu.com
Music by Year of the Fiery Horse
https://soundcloud.com/year-of-the-fiery-horse
References:
http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/07/google-x-sets-out-define-healthy-human
This is the first episode of an exciting new project that I’m undertaking. This podcast blends discussion of technology, innovation, health, palliative care and research. This first episode provides an overview of the project and outlines what you can expect in the coming weeks.
MyPal is a podcast about technology, innovation and research relevant to Palliative Care. Come and join the conversation about these issues in a way you just might like.
Copyright Dr Amara Nwosu, KingAmi media 2014.www.amaranwosu.com
Original music is performed by ‘Year of the Fiery Horse’ (YOTFH). Soundcloud link: @year-of-the-fiery-horse
Google have entered into the health research arena. They aim to use technology to diagnose cancer early. I believe is exciting and should cause us to question how technology could be used in palliative care.
Computer science has arguably overtaken medicine as the newest academic discipline. Modern applications like the iPhone (only developed in 2007) have irreversibly changed the way we interact with technology on a daily basis. However, it is not common to hear about medics collaborating with computer scientists or undertaking computer science courses or research. This is in contrast with other academic disciplines such as natural sciences, social sciences and psychology.
The ‘Google X’ project aims to avoid unnecessary deaths. In terms of cancer Google propose a diagnostic ‘smart pill’ that can be swallowed by an individual which. The pull would contain magnetised nanoparticles that would be released into the blood when swallowed. These particles would travel round the body looking for biomarkers, only to return (by action of their magnets) to a wearable device on the wrist to download the results. In addition to cancer Google indicate that other markers (such as sodium) could be monitored.
Google’s aim to reduce unnecessary deaths is admirable; however, should we also be asking how we can use computer science and concepts like nanotechnology to improve palliative care? Or, conversely, should high tech, high cost interventions be avoided at the end of life? This is interesting food for thought. What is certain is that technology and innovation will continue and the role this has in palliative care needs to be considered.
http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/07/google-x-sets-out-define-healthy-human
http://online.wsj.com/articles/google-to-collect-data-to-define-healthy-human-1406246214
The Ebola outbreak has caused people to focus on issues that affect some of the world’s poorest countries. Palliative care has particular challenges in these areas which differ greatly than those in the West. This video was developed by Life Before Death in 2011 and sobering reminder about the HIV/AIDs and the pain that many patients experience.
ARTICLE FROM E-HOSPICE UK
http://www.ehospice.com/uk/ArticleView/tabid/10697/ArticleId/12212/language/en-GB/View.aspx
We are living in a digital age and the speed of advancement of technology is, at times, staggering. One technological phenomenon which continues to grow is social media. For example, Twitter (a social media micro-blogging service) has, since its creation in 2006, amassed 271 million monthly active users (who send approximately 500 million tweets per day).
Social media platforms enable their users to connect with others to facilitate discussion on topics of shared interest. This is notable with palliative care professionals who, over time, have established an increasing online presence.
Social media can be used to engage a specific audience, in order to obtain feedback and to communicate information to users. Social media analytical tools can be used to analyse tweets, in order to capture data, predict behaviour of users, analyse sentiment, identify influential people and create targeted advertising campaigns.
Although popular with many businesses, this technology is less commonly used by healthcare and academic organisations. Consequently, there is the potential to use these applications to gain a greater understanding about the use of social media in palliative care.
The aim of our study was to determine the frequency, sentiment and trend of Twitter ‘tweets’ containing palliative care related hashtags (for example, #palliative) and/or phrases sent by users over a two-year period. TopsyPro, a social media analytics tool, was used to conduct the analysis. TopsyPro provides several metrics about tweets, such as the volume, frequency, the overall tone (sentiment) and change in use over time (acceleration). In total, 13 palliative search terms were identified and analysed.
Our analysis revealed that over a two year period (2011 – 2013) the discussion of palliative care on Twitter was frequent (683,500 tweets) and increasing (a rise of 62.3% over the two years). We found that the majority of tweets were positive about the palliative care, demonstrated by a sentiment score of 89% (meaning that 89% of tweets were more positive than all other tweets sent on Twitter during this period). The analysis also demonstrated an increase of activity of several search terms in July 2013, which coincided with the release of the final report of the Independent review of the Liverpool Care of the Dying Pathway in that summer.
Overall this study demonstrates that a lot of discussion about palliative care is taking place on Twitter, and the majority of this is positive. Consequently, social media presents a novel opportunity for engagement and ongoing dialogue with public and professional groups about palliative care.
Nwosu AC, Debattista M, Rooney C, Mason S. Social media and palliative medicine: a retrospective two-year analysis of global Twitter data to evaluate the use of technology to communicate about issues at the end-of-life. BMJ Support Palliat Care 2014; Sep 2. pii: bmjspcare-2014-000701. doi: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2014-000701. [Epub ahead of print] http://spcare.bmj.com/content/early/2014/09/02/bmjspcare-2014-000701
