Health 2.0 News: From Radiation Charts to Data Visualization March 25, 2011

• XKCD’s radiation dose chart

XKCD created this exceptionally helpful chart showing exactly how much radiation exposure you might encounter by doing something like flying from LA to NYC, getting a chest x-ray, hanging out at Chernobyl, living near the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, or sleeping next to another human being.

• Impact factor and other indices to assess science, scientists and scientific journals.

• First-person account from surgeon who removed his own appendix

I worked without gloves. It was hard to see. The mirror helps, but it also hinders — after all, it’s showing things backwards. I work mainly by touch. The bleeding is quite heavy, but I take my time — I try to work surely. Opening the peritoneum, I injured the blind gut and had to sew it up. Suddenly it flashed through my mind: there are more injuries here and I didn’t notice them … I grow weaker and weaker, my head starts to spin. Every 4-5 minutes I rest for 20-25 seconds. Finally, here it is, the cursed appendage! With horror I notice the dark stain at its base. That means just a day longer and it would have burst and …

• Personal Data Visualization

• The Coming Medical Tablet War

• Healthcare websites among the most secure

The report, by WhiteHat Security, a provider of website risk management solutions, found the average website falls into the “always” and “frequently” vulnerable categories – meaning they were exposed more than 270 days of the year. When looking at “window of exposure” across industries, researchers said it becomes apparent there’s a vast difference in the approach to website security.

• Hospitals are using social media to reach out further to patients