Can Your Pacemaker Be "Hacked"

In the last week of July 2013 , the largest convention of computer hackers met in Las Vegas. The major group called Black Hat consists of mostly "legal" hackers from all over the world who have hacked ATM machines, the Pentagon and other Electronic databases such as banks. Most of the hackers work for electronic and security firms by testing their security systems online. Even General Kieth Alexander head of the National Security Agency (NSA) was invited and gave an hour long speech to the conspicuous group of attendees. It appears that the government, particularly our intelligence agencies are desperately seeking "hackers" and recruiting them for the nation's top spy agencies! How interesting and coincidental. But, perhaps the biggest and brightest star of "hackers" in the world , Barnaby Jack, suddenly died approximately a week-and-a-half before the convention at the age of 36. Jack is the one who was made famous for being able to make ATM machines spit out cash with a device from remote distances. But, the genius-hacker had just demonstrated how electronic and other bio-medical devices made by companies such as Medtronic could be hacked into. For example, he was able to show how a hacker could "hack" into a patient's pacemaker device from remote distances by merely knowing or artificially making up passwords. Jack showed how the medical devices could be rendered useless or deliver alternate rhythms. The device could then be made to either stop the heart if the correct signal is sent. Not only this, Jack's hacking skill was capable of getting an implanted defibrillator to deliver electronic shocks from the hacker as well.

Another "expert hacker" Jay Radcliffe has shown how insulin pumps can also be hacked into remotely and deliver dangerous levels of insulin for an unsuspecting patient relying on such a device. As bio-medical devices become more reliant on "wi-fi" , new novel ways to hack into a person's device will become possible. He states that the digital inter-connected system makes these and other possibilities widespread in the future world. In a new Lifelock commercial, the company of electronic and digital files security shows a medical doctor who loses his laptop in a New York Taxi. The scenario could be a real possibility. While many feel that companies in the the digital security business are a real necessity, many critics are concerned with the massive build-up of companies who collect and store medical records of patients. Since the approval of the Affordable Care Act , it has been mandatory that medical practitioners such as physicians apply their offices with either new medical systems are completely new computers that allow them to download all of their patient records. These computers cost are not only costly but draw much concern for medical doctors who are hesistant about downloading all of their patient's records on digital files because of the risk of security such as hacking and also the risk of legal liability do to computer hacking as well. New computer medical records firms that collect medical records such as Serner in Kansas City, Missouri or Epic in Minneapolis,MN have compiled so much data , they are sill figuring out what to do with it. These companies have gathered hundreds of thousands of data on patients. At the time these companies are only "gatherers" but the logistics of utilizing this data will become ever more important and powerful in a new healthcare system that mandates healthcare purchase.If a biomedical or pharmaceutical company wanted to "pattern" the behavior of a patient or lifestyle it could use these data to predict purchasing and enhance their marketing. Then their is the little thing called blackmail. If a hacker wanted medical data of a certain individual , they could collect that data for nefarious purposes. The power of these types of companies and their potential use to serve or their vulnerability to computer hacking will also become prevalent in a "brave new world".

Orwell"s Prediction Speaks: "Lets Talk About The Bio-Medical Micro-Chip for A Moment"

Question. How many of us would allow ourselves to be voluntarily "micro-chipped" to improve our health, reduce crime, reduce racism, sexism, ageism, prevent all diseases, all pain, negative emotions , and allow us all to live in a projected holographic state of "nirvana" always ,everyday for all our natural born days? What if being "legally" micro-chipped guaranteed everyone equal rights, security, a home, a car, free education, free healthcare, free medicine ,nutritional balance a secure lifestyle ,job selection with month long vacations? What if the micro-chip helped stop all wars, reduced stress, worries and the thought of a poor condition state of starvation, poverty, hate, and inequality in the world? Would you be in the least bit interested...just a little? What if this offer was a "legal" contract that would be effective immediately upon signing? Now, think of all of the worlds problems and issues of people getting along that we have today. Now, what is the alternative to eradicating all of mankind's ills so rapidly the likes of which this technology can perform? If there existed a microchip that could via a holographically programmed database

do all of these things, what would be the downside of it? I'm just hypothetically speaking. Think, people, just where we are headed?

Orwell"s Prediction Speaks: "Lets Talk About The Bio-Medical Micro-Chip for A Moment"

Question. How many of us would allow ourselves to be voluntarily "micro-chipped" to improve our health, reduce crime, reduce racism, sexism, ageism, prevent all diseases, all pain, negative emotions , and allow us all to live in a projected holographic state of "nirvana" always ,everyday for all our natural born days? What if being "legally" micro-chipped guaranteed everyone equal rights, security, a home, a car, free education, free healthcare, free medicine ,nutritional balance a secure lifestyle ,job selection with month long vacations? What if the micro-chip helped stop all wars, reduced stress, worries and the thought of a poor condition state of starvation, poverty, hate, and inequality in the world? Would you be in the least bit interested...just a little? What if this offer was a "legal" contract that would be effective immediately upon signing? Now, think of all of the worlds problems and issues of people getting along that we have today. Now, what is the alternative to eradicating all of mankind's ills so rapidly the likes of which this technology can perform? If there existed a microchip that could via a holographically programmed database

do all of these things, what would be the downside of it? I'm just hypothetically speaking. Think, people, just where we are headed?

3-D Bio-Printers Allow Scientist to Be "Co-Creators"

The latest "game changer" in biomedical technology is undoubtedly the three dimensional bio-printer. It takes bio-labelled(DNA) and bio-copied protein to be used to make virtually any body part. Not, only can a 3-D bio-printer do this, but a regular 3-D printer has been used to make dental dentures and hearing aids. Now, a titanium jaw has been replicated by a 3-D bio-printer for implantation into a patient's mandible.

The Biggest Game Changer In Medicine Ever :Part 1

With the advent of wireless real-time hand held devices that can monitor all bodily functions, one would think that it would be another few years for the next big step in health. But, one only has to blink their eyes to wait to see the latest and perhaps the greatest innovations in medicine. Bio-medical technology has advanced in ground breaking tech to allow you to "print" your own body part! Sounds like science fiction? But, its's not. As Early as 2008 Japanese scientist Makoto Nakomura had started developing a three-dimensional bio-printer(3-DBP)). The chemist set about making a printer that "prints out" human tissue for bio-tubing to replace worn out blood vessels. Today this technology has advancde even further where one's own DNA can be used to "copy" and print a 3-D structure based on an individual's own the DNA blueprint. Virtually any blood vessel or organ such as a liver, kidney or heart could be actually "printed' into existence. The journal Science

Wireless Medicine & Digital Doctors Part 4

Doctors of the 21st century will be "hard-wired" technicians geared up with new ultrasonic stethoscopes, miniature tablets with applications that pull up algorithms for diagnosing and others that take echocardiograms and EKG(ECG), along with x-rays or bone density by the bedside. All this will become pretty much standard. On admission patients will have a sticker about the size of a band-aid placed on their skin that acts as a wireless digital device that monitors blood, oxygen, heart rate, heart rhythm, blood sugar, metabolism,respirations and temperature. In the time which it takes to write vitals and perform a history and physical exam today, virtually 90 % of the diagnosis will have already been made by digital wireless device input. The triaging of a patients before "hitting" the floor will make for faster as well as more efficient physician diagnostics and utilization of their time. These "Band-Aid" technologies are not meant just for hospitalized patients either, but for everyday normal healthy personal uses. Personal devices are already being built to be placed into the Nike running shoe to measure personal metrics for example.Tje Nike shoe's ability to help patients with a sensor that can improve balance for walking and improve ambulating normally. Today's Technology has gotten so advanced that these wireless devices can now assist in diagnosing are assist in numerous chronic diseases such as Alzheimer's, asthma, breast cancer, chronic obstructive lung disease, diabetes, heart failure, high blood pressure, sleep disorders and obesity. Many of these technologies will utilize an application that can extrapalate your own DNAs code. Your genomic material(DNA) can be genotyped and phenotyped based on DN markers. The genetic material will be monitored for predisposing diseases not noted at birth or later in life.This is preventive medicine on a molecular level with the use of bio-medical technology.

Wireless Medicine & Digital Doctors Part 3

Perhaps one of the greatest pioneers in "Wireless Medicine" is Dr. Eric Topol a world re-known cardiologist and author of the book the Creative Destruction of Medicine . He has helped co-create a very useful digital tool known as "Band-Aid" technology. These "band aids" are stick on digital sensors that can be placed virtually almost any place on the human body to scan its physiologic activity. Currently these sensors can give real time -continuous data of an organism or organ's function. These include sensors for continuous heart rate even fetal heart tones. Other monitoring functions that can be monitored are continuous glucose and sleep-wake cycles. These sensors can count a person's caloric intake and output in real time as well as provide information on dietary restrictions. Both the quantity and quality of the calorie of a meal can be monitored. These can all be helpful for the dietician, sleep specialist, diabetic specialist all sub-specialist including primary care physicians. General Electric's upgrade on the hand-held ultrasound makes old fashioned stethoscopes a thing of the past for nostalgia sake.The old stethoscope used for over a hundred years will become a virtual museum piece yet revered relic. The newer brand GE devices can perform abdominal, cardiac and fetal echo(ultrasound) imaging in real time, as well. The "band-aid" bio-med tech has also taken to further pronounced forms of heart monitoring. Once upon a time to measure the heart's activity for 24 hours required a large bulky device strapped to the chest . Now a "band-aid" strip can be placed that looks like a patch which can monitor heart rhythms and rates interrupted for prolong lengths of time. A patient won't have the discomfort of larger , clumsier boxes and wires hanging off them. These new "band-aid" technologies can monitor not only heart rate and rhythm, but also blood conduction(how thick or think blood flows), body temperature, respiration and oxygenation. These heart devices are currently most effective in heart failure patients. These will become evermore important in providing info to cardiologist, pulmonologist, critical care specialist as well as primary care physicians in both remote and academic locations by exchanging information more readily. Other types of "personal metrics" will be able to be used daily for individuals who want to measure and maintain "tighter" control of their body's own activities. Virtually every activity in life will be able to be measured in some value or its data interpreted mathematically. This is already exampled by Phillip's fitbit that measures food calories, weight, metabolism, sleep and yes- even sexual activity. These devices are merely a glimpse into the future for all of us. But, the question still remains as to just how far is it taking us and to what levels? Is this the future....no, it's here already. Dr. Topols book reads more like a "re-creation" of medicine in the future as opposed to merely the "destruction" of current medical methodology.

Wireless Medicine & Digital Doctors Part 2

Today there is an application on your smart device for almost everything and that includes for medical doctors. It used to be that medical students and residents alike would have to lug around large charts and handbooks on therapeutics to thumb there way at 2:00 A.M. to diagnose their patient. Now, all they have to do is push the "app" called "MedCalc" which can digitally upload for all types of diagnosis based on inputting symptoms they are observing. The same goes for the App called, Evernote. eProcates is another "app" that stores all types of drug dosages for precise usages. ZX Calculate gives risk profiles and if that's not enough today's intern can use his or her electronic stethoscopes that can increase the sounds of the heart beat higher and better acoustic amplitudes. Even the prestigious journal The Archives of Internal Medicine reveals in one study how residents with Ipads can increase efficiency and the timeliness of doing orders.These technologies are being moderately used , but with new apps being applied to these devices a new type of faster, more efficient and accurate type of medical diagnosis will be integrated to assist practitioners.

Wireless Medicine and Digital Doctors Part 1

By now most of us have seen the commercials by General Electric, Verizon and Cisco revealing their digital biomedical technology in passing. But, it hasn't really registered to most that these devices are now being produced to be held in the palm of your hand. Another company also making real strides in hand-held and small device technology is Samsung. Not to be overlooked , Samsung is well advanced into the 21st century's new version of how we all will be diagnosed and treated by our smart devices(cell phones, tablets, lap tops). Doctors in the 21st century will have a new team player in the lab, ER, clinic and hospital. Samsung has a really neat portable ultrasound device that gives real time data in 3-D. the Accuvix is 21.5 inches and can be used on the go. There's no need of going to a hospital or clinic to wait for long hours anymore. Samsung's digital x-ray, the X-GEO is another device that can be utilized for more practical x-rays on the go. The "Lab-on-a Disc" blood scanner at only 18 pounds is compact and just like a large state-of-the-art lab can do up to eighteen blood chemistry tests from remote geographical locations. So, if you're caught out in the sticks somewhere practicing medicine-no worries. All it takes is a squirt of blood on a disk-like device and blood is canned. What does this all spell? Diagnostics can really be done in real time and at lower costs. It is time to utilize these technologies and they benefits they offer in reducing inefficiency, waste and costs to those of us who utilize it.

The Human-Digital Interface Part 4

In February the BBC did a series on various technological devices that are having an impact currently on our medical culture and those that are on the drawing board . Many of these devices are already developed for usage in the medical industry for uses that seem like they are from a Star Trek episode. One of the most interesting areas that computers and robots are having an impact on medicine is in the surgery suite. The University of Amsterdam has been fine tuning the use of a robotic arm controlled by a computer to allow for remote surgery. The device would allow a surgeon in Hong Kong to use a "joy stick- like" device to perform surgery on a patient in Brazil. The robotic device is so precise and flexible that it can do incisions more accurately than a human surgeon.The "real" human surgeon will be able to "feel" the instrument and feel the incision as if they were doing the surgery, even though it will be a virtual cut.The sensitivity of the "joy stick" device allows the actual surgeons hand to have the same sensitivity of making the incision. The Dutch inventors call this relationship between the robotic arm and the actual user , the "master-slave" model. The robotic arm has a computer that allows for fine use, fine cuts and filters any trimmer in the actual users hand. The device would also allow the surgeon to perform suturing as well, hold a needle and to perform the operation. The Device has already been used in retinal eye surgery and reduces risks done under the human held "knife". But, even more advanced technologies will permit even smarter computers to make the operational "decision" as to how to make an incision independently based on the "mapping" of an individuals anatomy and will calculate the diseased organs based on normal pre-downloaded anantomical mapping. Every contingency of making an incision and knowing the difference between normal anatomy from the diseased portion will already be downloaded so that the computer can make more indpendent determinations of how to perform the surgery with the robotic sterotopic arm . The physician will be the "back -up" to the computer. At Brown University, "holographic surgery" will make these possiblities a reality. The University's computer engineering department takes a multi-dsciplnary approach by using bio-technicians, computer engineers, bioegineers, psychologist, bio-ethicist and other professionals to make biomedical devices that will allow paraplegics to walk and the blind to "see" via bio-tech. The Brown team is designing a computer to act and think like a brain with its Erstaz Program. Virtual reality devices will become more common especially in the use in the medical world daily.

"Cool" Digital Health Will Change American Healthcare Forever

Digital health technology companies are making an amazing impact on our health directly and indirectly, today. What was once considered "Star Trek" gadgetry will not only be seen in medical ICUs, but in everyday usage. The potential impact on changing what and how we consider normal use of health tools could be seen as a paradigm shift of monumental proportions. So, much of an impact is it that accounting firms such as Price-Waterhouse & Cooper has done extensive research on its growth. It has found that digital health funding went up by 45 % in 2012 to 1.4 Billion USD from only 898 Million USD in 2011. A new type of Population health is about to emerge on the horizon if the gadgets become a common market item and even more so if the demand goes up by health groups, HMOs , medical doctors and medical facilities requiring them as medical regular policy. Some of these gadgets are about the size of a wrist watch and some , yet even smaller at the size of a microchip. Tele-health gadegets will allow a medical doctor or any clinician the ability to remotely "track" their patients health in virtualy real time with the device. On a larger scale health groups and government health research agencies in public health could retrieve mountains of materials on populations to conduct demographic trends in record time. Numerous statistics on the rates, prevelances and outcomes on trends or habits could possibly be predicted at a faster time to prevent disease or steer the (food/beverage/pharmaceutical) markets. Think about it everytime a commercial retail store asks for your email, phone number or asks for your retail savings card. These data will input your consumer based habit and file it to the databank. Millions of population studies can be done from this treasure trove of information. As these currently help banks, credit card companies and retailers in tracking you , it can also help insurance copanies and public health agencies to implement health measures. These gadgets will contain an instant feedback mechanism as well to allow patients to communicate to their healthcare provider about their treatment and how they are feeling almost immediately. Many of these types of applications exist already that allow patients to give opinions , but rather on a certain doctors care. Companies such as ZocDoc, Health Top, Health Grades, Vitals and RateMD are social media -like applications that do just this. If these apps are on more mobile and smaller devices with wi-fi, incredible feedback and monitoring can check a consumers decision in chosing a clinic to go to. We already see how biometrics has been used to scan in Airports, but be prepared for more of it being utilized with wi-fi. A company called Fitbits(Jawbone and Axon as well) uses this now. Healthrageous and Keas are nother companies that gives tech to allow tracking of a patient use health incentives and promote health. Surgeons are already using robotic arms in the OR(operating room) with computers that allow nearly flawless incisions. The ability of Tele-surgery by performing surgery remotely by a doctor who gives a computer instructions so that the robotic arm the actual cutting is conceivable at this time as well. You can be in Rome , Italy and the surgeon in Japan and have the surgery by vitrual operations. So, what does all this mean in general? It means that medicine and healthcare are about to introduce a newer "brave new world" that may be the starting point of accepting these types of devices into society. It will be another "giant leap for mankind" Are there any moral, ethical, legal and bio-technical issues to be concerned about? "You bet ya", but the ends justifies the means and the cost- benefits ratio of this type of tech in the the general public is great.They can allow a health support by being used either as a mandatory tool or provide a person with health credits to a spas of your choice are too good to pass up by the health corporations, government agencies and "YOU" - the consumer who loves gadgetry.

The Digital Human Interface: Part 2

Imagine the year is 2014 and you receive a reminder by your smart phone that you have a doctor's appointment, but instead of getting into your Eco-car and getting into traffic you open up your laptop. It is predicted that the laptop or your tablet will act as a "digital clinic" set up with sensors that can take your blood pressure, heart rate, heart's oxygentation, lung's carbon-dioxide level, basal metabolic rate, cholesterol level, stress level, risk of mortality rate ;then with a special scanner take bone mineral readings, measure cancer bio-markers for tumors as well. With your hand being placed on your laptop, tablet or notepad the same scanner will use sonar by using sound waves to map out an echocardiogram and an EKG(ECG). The trade show even showed scanners that can read the brain. Within that one scan by your laptop the cost of going to your primary care doctor goes down dramatically.

The Digital Human Interface Is Already Here

In Las Vegas this week , the world's largest "techy" trade show premiers with the latest gadgets in high technology to be revealed at the CES. As the challenges of health and wellness stack up against the average person in a post-modern world, perhaps technology will make up for the losing battle of losing weight, controlling calories and monitoring heart disease as easy as clicking a mouse. New technologies that count the number of times you chew your food from a digital counter placed on a fork or new metabolic monitors worn simply and utilized to see if you over ate too many calories or have an imbalanced metabolism are all readily available at the CES trade show. These technologies and others such as pulse oximetry that reads blood gases(from the lungs CO2 and 0xygen) and dyno-map that can determine blood pressure used already in hospital ICUs will open up a flood gate on body monitoring in real time. As most of us are fast paced and on the go and hardly have time to sit, watch television, do work , watch our caloric intake , basal metabolic rate or blood pressure: these type of technologies will cross the divide. Now, you can have technology that will adapt all information from your smart phone. There is little doubt that your medical doctor, clinic, hospital , 3rd party providers or others that have corporate interst in your health status will soon have access to these data to read from to determine your health status and your impact on society. It is the realistic world we live in and only at the tip of the iceberg. For example, distant-surgery can be done by virtual technology. Once a robot has been programmed to stereotopically map the normal human anatomy, the computer will take over the surgery. But, before we get ahead of ourselves, simple smart-technology(nano-technology) will be available to determine and detect not only the caloric quantity , but the caloric quality. That is reading cholesterol, triglyceride and glucose levels in real time as your exercise counter counts how many steps you will need to take to burn those extra calories. At the fast food restaurant , your "chew monitor" will determine how well you eat or if you overate. Other digital technology via your smart phone might be able to do a small radio scan on your bones or a small ECG(electrocardiogram), or sound wave study(ECHO) on your heart. These data will be fed into a major super database where both physicians and other health monitoring profilers can determine your status in "real time". You don't need to look any further than the CES trade show in Las Vegas to find out whats next to be on your smart phone in the "Super Smart Era" of technology and health.