When people say, “there is an app for everything,” that is nothing short of the truth. The medical industry has gone digital with the arrival of medical apps that help doctors diagnose on the go. Now this does not mean that your average Joe should download these apps and drop his HMO. My friend and social media community manager Justin Maas recently injured himself playing Frisbee (who does that?!) and is self-diagnosing his condition. Do I recommend this course of action? Absolutely not. What I do recommend is that you check out these medical apps and see just how efficient the medical field…

It’s easy to trick the mind. We’ve seen some amazing examples of this in the past, but what about the mind’s ability to be tricked to heal (or not heal) the body through drugs that we believe will work, but are empty in reality? Why do placebos work? Science has yet to fully understand why placebos, a sham or simulated medical intervention, can have such a dramatic effect. People have been shown to have pain relieved, diseases cured, and body ailments removed simply by taking drugs that they are told will do the trick. This video explores some of the interesting facts about placebos. …

We often take the ability to see inside the human body for granted, and why wouldn’t we? X-ray technology is well over a century old. But imagine you live in a time where science isn’t really sure what an atom is and the discovery of electrons is merely a glimmer in some frisky physicists’ eyes, and you begin to appreciate just how insanely intelligent some of these scientists had to be to harness and comprehensively describe the X-ray in its early days. Oh and there was also the fact that they completely revolutionized modern medicine with a discovery matched only by the discovery of antibiotics…

It proved that it could beat the best Jeopardy! champions in the world at their own game. Now, IBM’s Watson will try to help doctors make better medical decisions for their patients. WellPoint, Inc. and IBM announced an agreement today to develop and launch Watson-based medical solutions. It will be the first commercial applications of the IBM Watson technology. The program, which is scheduled to roll out next year, will begin by assisting nurses who manage complex patient cases. It will help the insurer to review treatment requests from medical providers. Stage two will put the technology…

One of the most profound medical technologies that has emerged in recent decades is the ability to surgically improve eyesight. LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) is a breakthrough that was beyond imagination before it actually existed. The altering of the shape of the cornea using lasers has transformed the way we perceive vision. It’s relatively commonplace in today’s society, but a question that few ask and even fewer know how to answer is, “How does LASIK work?” This graphic by our friends at DocShop shows clearly how the procedure works in a simple step-by-step process. Click…

Looking for a cool way to spend your life’s savings? For around $100,000 you can do just that by purchasing Hitachi’s encephalometer, a device that enables the user to monitor their own brain activity (making sense of the data, however, might be a bit more challenging). The scanner works by shining red light at your brain, and it is then reflected back towards the sensors (something about pointing lasers at your brain doesn’t sound right), and it then measures hemoglobin activity. That’s all medical jargon for simply seeing what goes on inside that big head of yours. We will all have an opportunity…

An Israeli company has developed a remote control, robotic exoskeleton to allow paraplegics to walk again. Advances in technology have made this sci-fi dream a reality, and moves the medical community one step closer to being able to replace limbs and create completely bionic humans. Dr. Amit Goffer is responsible for developing the system, which attaches to the user’s legs and torso and essentially replaces all body support for the legs. Unlike other similar systems, it does not rely on picking up signals from nerve endings or muscle movement. Instead it is triggered by the user leaning forward…

For those who are less fortunate with regards to body function, doing something they love poses challenges. Consider Tony Quan, a graffiti artist based in Los Angeles, who lost movement of virtually all muscles in his body except his eyes. For him, drawing graffiti became impossible. That is, until EyeWriter came along. …