Hans Rosling Brings Humor to Global Health Statistics February 4, 2012
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Data, Health, science, Video.add a comment
Hans Rosling public health guru and data enthusiast shines again:
Linked electronic medical records for genomic research February 4, 2011
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Data, Genome, science.2 comments
I’ve just come across an interesting study on BMC Medical Genomics. Authors aim at linking electronic medical records and genomic data which is I believe a very promising approach. The Personal Genome Project did something similar but only with 10 participants.
The eMERGE (electronic MEdical Records and GEnomics) Network is an NHGRI-supported consortium of five institutions to explore the utility of DNA repositories coupled to Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems for advancing discovery in genome science. eMERGE also includes a special emphasis on the ethical, legal and social issues related to these endeavors.
Current progress: The primary site-specific phenotypes for which samples have undergone genome-wide association study (GWAS) genotyping are cataract and HDL, dementia, electrocardiographic QRS duration, peripheral arterial disease, and type 2 diabetes. A GWAS is also being undertaken for resistant hypertension in 2,000 additional samples identified across the network sites, to be added to data available for samples already genotyped.
Results are being posted in dbGaP. Other key eMERGE activities include evaluation of the issues associated with cross-site deployment of common algorithms to identify cases and controls in EMRs, data privacy of genomic and clinically-derived data, developing approaches for large-scale meta-analysis of GWAS data across five sites, and a community consultation and consent initiative at each site. Future activities: Plans are underway to expand the network in diversity of populations and incorporation of GWAS findings into clinical care.
Newistic: Mining Social Media December 21, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Data, Health 2.0, Innovation, Medicine 2.0, Web 2.0.2 comments
I’ve recently come across Newistic as I was about to meet the co-founder, Horatiu Mocian, but we couldn’t make it. The service sounds intereting and timely to me.
Newistic offers a customizable web dashboard used for monitoring and analyzing social media for the pharma and healthcare industries. It enables persons or companies interested in the healthcare vertical to get a social media overview for any drug, disease, pharma company, or any other keyword. The features that set Newistic apart from other social media monitoring systems are:
- Monitoring patient communities
- Discovering diseases and symptoms that are associated with any search
- The possibility of searching all or some of the brand names of a generic drug
To demonstrate its real power, here is a recent analysis they performed following a double blow that Roche’s Avastin cancer drug suffered, in the European and US markets, regarding its use for breast cancer. For example, here are the top symptoms and diseases related to Avastin in social media after news hit the media:
If you want to hear more details about the service, let me know and I will schedule an interview with the founders.
200 Healthcare Systems in 4 Minutes December 7, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Data, Healthcare, Video, Visualization.1 comment so far
Hans Rosling, director of the Gapminder Foundation, just released another spectacular video featuring 200 years of 200 healthcare system with 12,000 numbers in 4 minutes. Enjoy:
Twitter Diet: The New York Times Story August 23, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Data, Health, Health 2.0, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, twitter, Web 2.0.add a comment
Here is a recent piece in the New York Times about a reporter who decided to lose weight by 1) getting support from fellow Twitterers, and 2) by tweeting everything he eats throughout the day.
I knew that I could not diet alone; I needed the help of a cheering section. But rather than write a blog, keep a diary or join Weight Watchers, I decided to use Twitter. I thought it would make me more accountable, because I could record everything I ate instantly. And because Twitter posts are automatically pushed to each person who subscribes to them, an audience — of friends or strangers — can follow along.
What is surprising is that Brian Stelter didn’t start using some kind of a data collecting application. I reported about one a few days ago.
On your.flowingdata.com, you can collect your life data through a few simple steps on Twitter. One data point per tweet!
- Step 1. Follow @yfd on Twitter
- Step 2. Sign in to your.flowingdata with Twitter
- Step 3. Start recording data (via direct messages) following a few simple guidelines
Without using data analytics softwares and sites, it’s still easy to collect your blood sugar or blood pressure levels. FlowingData lets you visualize and analyze data as well.
Do you collect data about yourself? August 6, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Data, Health, Health 2.0, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, twitter, Visualization, Web 2.0.5 comments
I’ve written about the Quantified Self project plenty of times (group of empowered patients trying to live a healthy life via data collection and analysis), and now over at FlowingData blog, there is a great discussion about collecting data about ourselves. Author, Nathan Yau shared how data collection can become fun and a vital part of our lives.
On your.flowingdata.com, you can collect your life data through a few simple steps on Twitter. One data point per tweet!
- Step 1. Follow @yfd on Twitter
- Step 2. Sign in to your.flowingdata with Twitter
- Step 3. Start recording data (via direct messages) following a few simple guidelines
Without using data analytics softwares and sites, it’s still easy to collect your blood sugar or blood pressure levels. FlowingData lets you visualize and analyze data as well.
Let’s find out if Google is watching you! August 6, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Data, e-patient, Google, Health 2.0, Medicine 2.0, Video, Web 2.0.add a comment
When you’re browsing the web and personal information is being sent to Google servers, it means some kind of a risk for you. How can you find out when it’s happening? Google Alarm that works with Firefox and Chrome, will let you know now.
So how does the plugin work? “[It] inspects each page you visit for Google-related URLs: googleanalytics.com/ga.js for Google Analytics, doubleclick.net/googlesyndication.com URLs for AdSense, youtube.com/v/ for YouTube embeds, and many more,” Wilkinson says. “Each service triggers an individual visual and audible alert to help you become more aware of when you’re transmitting data to Google.” If you’re into the idea, the source code is currently open, and Wilkinsen welcomes suggestions. Check out the video below for more info:
You can install it here, but be prepared for a very annoying vuvuzela alert sound.
Poyozo: Centralizing Data Flow July 16, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Data, Health 2.0, Infographics, Innovation, Medicine 2.0, Video, Web 2.0.1 comment so far
In a huge hospital or clinic, the data flow of doctors is enormous. A possible solution might be the centralization of data flow which means they don’t have to check e-mails, news, other services online, but they can do the same in one place. Poyozo could be a potential solution:
Take a moment and think off all the data you put other there on separate Web services. Email, photos, status updates, documents, location, contacts, and the list goes on. Many of the services are really good, but what if they went down? Where would are your data go? Or what if you could bring all that data into one place, so that you didn’t have to login to Flickr, Twitter, Foursquare, and Facebook. Poyozo tries to get all your data in one place – on your own computer – and help “make life make sense.”
The Future of Data June 8, 2010
Posted by Dr. Bertalan Meskó in Computer, Data, eHealth, Health 2.0, Medicine, Medicine 2.0, Video, Visualization.7 comments
FlowingData, one of my favourite blogs, just featured an entry focusing on how data will be organized in the future.
If there’s anything uniform across all the ideas, it’s ubiquity. In the future, computers won’t feel like computers, and data will not just flow alongside the physical world. Instead, data will intertwine with your day-to-day like threads in a fabric.
They come up with many examples, but I liked this one below the most. Imagine a totally transparent healthcare system in which you see all the relevant data about doctors, procedures, hospitals (success rates, costs), etc. You can really make a wise decision because you will know all the details and data you need.
Microsoft envisioned what 2019 would look like:
And here is a great talk from Minority Report science adviser and inventor John Underkoffler who presents g-speak – the real-life version of the film’s eye-popping, tai chi-meets-cyberspace computer interface.
