Health Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Myth killer: iPad magnet effect on defibrillators wasn't "discovered" by a 14-year-old

by Steven Sande (May 10th, 2013)

Those magnets in every iPad that allow the Smart Cover and Smart Case to attach securely have the ability to accidentally shut off implanted heart defibrillators if the iPad happens to be lying on the patient's chest. According to a Bloomberg news report yesterday, that discovery was made by ...

FDA approves software for iPhone-based vision test

by Yoni Heisler (Apr 11th, 2013)

The FDA recently gave clearance to Vital Art and Science Inc. (VAS) to market software which enables people with degenerative eye conditions such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy to monitor their vision at home with their iPhone. The software, which is called myVisionTrack, ...

Hospital uses iPads to help moms stay in contact with newborns

by Yoni Heisler (Apr 8th, 2013)

As part of a program called BabyTime, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles recently deployed iPads in its neonatal intensive care unit to enable mothers to see their newborns and interact with hospital staff when they can't do so in person. Infants are typically placed in the NICU when ...

Parasitologists fight disease in Africa using low-cost iPhone lens

by Erica Sadun (Mar 12th, 2013)

In rural Tanzania, scientists have outfitted an iPhone with an $8 glass lens and an inexpensive flashlight to convert the device into an inexpensive field microscope. Fitted out in such a fashion, the unit enabled researchers to search stool samples for parasite eggs, including the hookworm and ...

uChek raises the stakes in smartphone health care with camera-based urine analysis

by Erica Sadun (Feb 26th, 2013)

The iPhone. Is there anything it can't do? The trend towards self-monitoring and informal health tracking continues with uChek. Featured today over at Wired, this app enables you to automatically read, chart and track a variety of urinalysis tests on your iPhone. The product works by leveraging ...

PocketPharmacist for iOS now lets you refill Walgreen prescriptions

by Mel Martin (Feb 4th, 2013)

This is an idea I've thought would be useful for a long time, and now a developer has gone forth and brought it to life. The PocketPharmacist app (US$1.99) has been long appreciated for drug information and drug interaction data, and now has the ability to refill a Walgreens prescription right ...

CES: HeartMath's Inner Balance helps you find your center

by Mike Schramm (Jan 11th, 2013)

HeartMath is a company that's been dealing with emotional health and stress relief for several years. While I don't go in for measuring one's emotional state with a gadget, I have to say that visiting HeartMath's booth here at CES 2013 was very disarming. They sat me down, and plugged a clip on ...

CES 2013: iSpO2 pulse oximeter for iDevices

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Jan 8th, 2013)

Masimo makes medical-grade pulse oximeters, which measure the amount of oxygen in your blood. Now available (for US$249) is the iSpO2, a more consumer-grade model for athletes and aviators who need to track their O2 levels but aren't using it for a medical need. Like the Tinke, which we ...

CES 2013: Fitbug launches the Orb, for tracking sleep and activity via iOS

by Mike Schramm (Jan 7th, 2013)

Photo: Engadget Whatever you do, don't confuse the Fitbug with its similarly titled competitor, the Fitbit -- we accidentally did so at this week's CES Unveiled event, and the company's rep gave us a stern correction. In our defense, it's easy to mix the two up: They obviously sound similar, ...

Athenahealth to acquire mobile drug reference Epocrates

by Mike Wehner (Jan 7th, 2013)

Athenahealth, known for its electronic health record and management solutions, will purchase Epocrates, the creators of one of the most popular medical reference apps among doctors. As GigaOM reports, Athenahealth will pay US$293 million for the software company, which was originally founded in ...

CES Unveiled: The HAPIfork aims to help you track your eating habits with Bluetooth

by Mike Schramm (Jan 7th, 2013)

CES Unveiled was held last night in the Mandalay Bay conference center in Las Vegas, and served as the unofficial kickoff of one of the biggest gadget shows in the world. The Unveiled room was crowded with new product demos, but one product stood out: The HAPIfork. The HAPIfork, as you might ...

Daily iPhone App: Obstacles XRT lets you dodge falling trees as part of your exercise routine

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jan 4th, 2013)

Are you looking for a new fitness routine that you can do at home or while traveling? Tired of the same boring treadmill or exercise bike? If you answered yes to one or both of those questions, then you should download Obstacles XRT – Extreme Reality Training. Obstacles XRT is a guided ...

Lose It! announces a premium service

by Mike Schramm (Nov 13th, 2012)

Lose It! is one of the most popular calorie-counting/weight loss apps on the App Store. It arrived back in the early days of iOS, but consistent updates and a big user base have kept it high up on the charts for a long time. And today, the app's developers, FitNow, have announced that they're ...

How Apple's mobile devices are re-defining medicine

by Mike Schramm (Oct 9th, 2012)

The New York Times examines how Apple's iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad are changing the way the health industry works. Of course, a light, powerful, and simple touchscreen computer can be handy almost anywhere, but that's especially true in the field of medicine. Much of the work involves ...

Withings Health Companion app: A new way to look at personal fitness

by Steven Sande (Aug 18th, 2012)

I'm a big fan of the Withings line of personal health devices -- over the years, I've purchased one of their Wi-Fi Body Scales and a Blood Pressure Monitor. The devices are great, and it's nice (and sometimes frustrating) to see how your health is doing over time. But the stats that were provided ...