health

Chatty thermometer tells you when you're ill

Sometimes when you're sick, you just don't feel like talking. Try telling that to the loquacious Voice Thermo talking forehead thermometer.

It isn't content to simply offer your reading on a display. It wants to chat with you, too. Press the sensor button to the forehead, and the gadget works via infrared signal. It reads your body temperature in 1.5 seconds, then tells you just how you measure (remember, if it informs you that "you're really, really hot," that's probably not a good thing).

The thermometer sells online for 39.95 euros, … Read more

Intel's in-home health device gets FDA nod

The new Intel Health Guide--which collects vital signs and allows for remote interactions between patient and doctor--may soon make its way into the homes of consumers with chronic health conditions such as diabetes and congestive heart failure.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the medical device, Intel announced Thursday.

The 8-pound in-home gadget connects caregivers and patients outside of hospitals or clinic settings. It manages vital-sign collection, patient reminders, educational content, and motivational messages. The device has a 40GB hard drive.

Information collected by the device is sent to the health care professional, and from there, physician and patient … Read more

IBM supercomputer to aid osteoporosis treatment

IBM says it has developed a way to use one of its supercomputers to improve diagnosis and treatment of the widespread bone disease osteoporosis.

IBM Zurich Research Laboratory and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (also known as ETH Zurich) utilized an IBM supercomputer to develop a method of early diagnosis that they say trumps the current approach to measuring bone mass density, the computer company announced Monday.

According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the current most widely recognized bone mass density test is conducted by a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, or DXA. However, … Read more

Hold on, I need to reboot my sous chef

Is it just me, or does it seem like technology is taking over as master of the house?

Technological advances like the ones you see on this blog are making cooking, eating, and entertaining easier and more convenient, but in the case of some inventions, like the KitchenAttendant, we're no longer faced with the responsibility of thinking about what we should eat.

Remember the Intelliscanner Kitchen Companion remote, a handheld scanner that keeps track of your pantry and helps you print out grocery lists? Meet a device that puts the runt remote to shame. The KitchenAttendant is a countertop … Read more

Lance Armstrong launches health and fitness site, sort of

Correction: This post initially misstated the type of cancer Lance Armstrong survived. It was testicular.

Lance Armstrong, the champion cyclist who was everybody's hero until he dated Mary-Kate Olsen, is taking his LiveStrong brand to the Web much in the way that MC Hammer did with DanceJam.

Armstrong has formally partnered with Demand Media to launch LiveStrong.com, which debuted in full on Tuesday. It's a site for keeping tabs on fitness, wellness, and weight-loss goals, along with discussion forums, editorial content, and videos--other sites in this space are Wellsphere and SparkPeople.

It's a for-profit spinoff of … Read more

Cease-and-desist notices sent to DNA testing labs

More than a dozen companies that market genetic testing directly to consumers have been hit with cease-and-desist notices from California's Department of Public Health, following consumer complaints over the accuracy and cost of the tests, according to an Associated Press report.

The 13 companies that received the cease-and-desist notices include Navigenics and 23andMe, which counts Google and Genentech as its investors, according to the report.

Mountain View, Calif.-based 23andMe has been covered on CNET in the past--most recently last month--primarily because its co-founder Anne Wojcicki is married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

Health officials are focused … Read more

Casual games help disabled, survey says

Video games reportedly can help cancer patients or awaken survival genes. Now, according to a new survey, people with acute depression and Attention Deficit Disorder are benefitting from games as well.

The survey--conducted by Information Solutions Group on behalf of game creator PopCap--found that disabled gamers make up 20 percent of the casual-game audience and play more often than others, citing health benefits as the reason.

PopCap, not surprisingly, makes casual games, and thus has a vested interest in the poll results. Still, the findings are worth noting.

The survey questioned 13,000 users on their video game use. … Read more

Google Health: Great idea, but scary as all get out

Google has launched its personal health portal, Google Health. It's a clear and straightforward hub where users can store their medical information, and look up information on conditions and medications relevant to them. See the video for the pitch from product manager Roni Zeiger, a physician who left his practice to run this project (although he still keeps his hand in, as it were, by doing urgent care medicine on weekends).

Google Health is an important initiative, if only because it shows users how completely broken medical record-keeping is right now. But this product comes with a warning label. … Read more

Google Health beta test begins

Update 4:20 p.m.: I added some more detail and comment. Update 12:50 p.m. PDT: I added more detail.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Google on Monday launched a beta test of its Google Health service to archive medical records and find medical services.

The site is a personal portal that can be used to upload, store, and view personal information, retrieve records from partners, investigate health matters, set alerts such as a reminder to take medication, and run applications that can, for example, keep track of how many miles a person has walked.

In some areas, Google's … Read more