Smartphone app to analyze human motion
A research team funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) developed a smart phone app, called OpenCap, that can track an individual’s ability to move from one place to another, also know as locomotion, in addition to other types of movements. The app analyzes human movement such as muscle activations, joint loads, and joint movements through artificial intelligence technology. Information gathered through the app assists physicians in understanding and evaluating patients with movement difficulties, planning surgeries, and assessing the results of treatment and procedures. According to researchers at NIH, the app costs about 1% of conventional motion analysis techniques while working 25 times faster. Traditionally, movement analysis requires a lab setting with expensive equipment and hours of analysis by a trained expert. The app could introduce a quicker, more effective way to screen patients for disease risk, track treatment improvements, and inform clinical decisions.
National Donor Day
National Donor Day is observed each year in February to spread awareness and education about organ, eye, tissue, platelets, and blood donations, according to The Organ Donation and Transplantation Alliance. The observance recognizes those that have given and received an organ, tissue, or eye donation, and those currently waiting for a lifesaving transplant. According to The Alliance, on average, 20 people die each day waiting for an organ transplant, and one organ can save as many as eight lives. Nationally, there is a system that matches available organs from a donor to patients on a waiting list, and individuals of all ages and medical histories can register to be an organ donor to assist in saving lives.
Osteoarthritis and injury prevention
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and develops when a joint breaks down underlying bone. OA causes pain, stiffness, and swelling in patients that often gets worse over time. For some, it causes reduced function or disability, especially in older patients. The Osteoarthritis Imaging Center (OIC), housed at Cleveland Clinic through The Arthritis Foundation, is one of the largest repositories in the nation for imaging data from post-traumatic osteoarthritis clinical trials and therapies. The clinical trials done at the OIC at Cleveland Clinic will capture research images over time of patients who come to receive care for osteoarthritis. These trials will allow researchers to better understand disease impacts and treatment effects going forward on comparable OA cases.
FDA implements more oversight of lab-made tests
Diagnostic tests will now be held to a higher standard across the nation. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a rule that aims to ensure the safety and effectiveness of laboratory developed tests (LDTs). Examples of the tests being regulated include diagnostic COVID-19, blood lead levels, breast cancer genes, etc., that are now being held to higher accuracy standards. Testing labs are primarily regulated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, but the agency does not evaluate the accuracy of tests. According to the proposed FDA rule, the agency is concerned about the quality of lab tests, and is aiming to regulate tests made in labs the same way medical devices are regulated.
Dieting and health
There are numerous diets that circulate online and throughout social media, from keto, whole 30, no-carb, and more, and it can be difficult to differentiate them and to know what nutrition decisions are right for your health. Healthy nutritional goals are an important part of living an overall healthy lifestyle, but how does one start with so much media saturation? According to Mayo Clinic, a healthy diet includes eating a variety of foods from the major food groups. That includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy and protein, and healthy fats. When looking to start a diet, choose one that provides guidelines on how much food to choose from each group, one that has locally accessible items, and a program that fits with an individual’s lifestyle and budget. Always discuss the decision with a healthcare professional before starting a diet.
Aspirin-free medication regimen and heart health
Abbott announced in a late-breaking data presentation in late 2023 at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions that for the first time an aspirin-free regimen can improve outcomes for people living with its HeartMate 3 heart pump by reducing hospitalizations without increasing the risk of blood clot. The findings, which were simultaneously published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, could potentially shift how physicians manage patients with a heart pump and possibly other cardiac diseases. These findings are important because, according to experts, there is a consensus within the medical community that aspirin use should be a mandatory part of the treatment regimen for people with a heart pump however, those assumptions were largely driven by observational data that have rarely been challenged. The Abbott HeartMate 3 patients who did not take aspirin spent 47% fewer days in the hospital due to a nearly 40% decrease in bleeding events compared to patients who continued to take aspirin daily.