Would you rather be in line or On Line?

During one of our class session this quarter we started to talk about how technology has influenced the medical field and how because of the computer and the internet the rate of people that use online medical sites has risen in comparison to those who still go to see the doctor. While looking for articles in the online journal section of Ohio State’s library I ran across this article that talks about just that.  It seems that others wanted to know what was going on to create the shift with the changing times of technology. In order to do that they sent out a survey in order to collect data needed to find out their answer.

This journal is called “The integration of Information and Communication Technology into medical practice” and the people that created the study and the article are Michael Hardey, Joan Torrent, Pilar Ficapal . They had emailed over sixteen thousand doctors in order to see how many emails about cases they had gotten from patients or if they ever had. What they ended up finding was that in order to be a productive and integrated doctor you must learn how to use this new external source to help patients.

Now like we talked about in class there are pros and cons to doing this. Some of the pros are that it is faster than making an appointment and it does not cost you anything in most cases. Another reason is that it is less personal and you don’t have to feel embarrassed by whatever illness you have if it is an embarrassing one in your own opinion. Now with that being said there are defiantly negatives as well. The negative would be that without being there to examine you hangs on the doctor only has what your telling him to bass his or her diagnosis. You as the patient may be over looking a crucial element to your sickness.

In conclusion to their experiment they had this to say, “It is likely that all doctors are subject to ‘pull’ from those of their colleague and patients who are keen to grasp the possibilities afforded by the Internet and ‘push’ by the institutions within (for example by the implementation of electronic patient records or other clinical resources). This highlights a complex interaction between the technical organizational, professional and social aspects of ICT use. There is no one clear factor that encourages or discourages the use of technology resources but rather a set of practices, experiences and opportunities that conspire to encourage their integration into medical work.” (Michael Hardey, Joan Torrent, Pilar Ficapal 2011)

            In my personal opinion I might Google something that is bothering me medically to see what it could possibly be but I would never base the final say over what someone says online. Even if they are a doctor, for some people they may not mind but I would rather the old fashion hands on approach.

Michael Hardey. , Joan Torrent, , & LastPilar Ficapal , (2011). The integration of information and communication technology into medical practice. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 79(7),

    
Trip to Space Sparks Idea At Home
     
   Like most children at some age in their early childhood I dreamed of being an astronaut and traveling into space. But then the reality sets in that those dreams most likely will never happen. While looking through new technology events that are happening around the world I stumbled on to one that was quite frankly out of this world and well into another. What I’m talking about is Mars. The title of the article was is “Nuclear 'space battery' bests solar in Curiosity Mars mission” and it was written by a man named Martin LaMonica.

   

            An artist's rendition of the Curiosity robot designed for round-the-clock scientific experiments.

(Credit: NASA)

In his article he talks about how in August NASA will be sending another rover to mars. Only this time it will be different. This rover will not be powered by the normal solar panels that are attached to most unmanned space equipment. No this rover will be powered by a nuclear generator. The designers had this to say, “Designers hope the nuclear generator will make the mobile robot more productive as it conducts science experiments in the search for conditions to support life. Once it arrives on Mars, the robot will be heated and powered electrically from a ceramic form of plutonium dioxide. The nuclear decay from that block, which is covered in multiple protective layers, generates heat that is circulated with a series of heat-transferring tubes. The generator includes a thick cylinder about two feet tall to house the heat source and has fins to dissipate the heat. “(LaMonica Martin, 2011)

            The reason for using this generator is very simple. Because they are not using solar panels the robot will be able to go places that there is no sun light and it will no longer have to be powered down at night. When talking about how long the generator could last NASA said many years even though the mission is 23 months. This article gave me an idea that could possible benefit people back on earth in other ventures rather than space expeditions.

If we can use a nuclear generator to power this machine what is stopping us from taking that technology and using it to create a power cell to run something such as a car. I understand that it being nuclear means that it is unstable but any large power cell is unstable, but that has not stopped us from exploring those routes in the past. The new Chevy volt is an electric car that has a rechargeable power cell. Just think if you took it one step further and added a power cell that never even had to be charged. Think of the money that people would save.

           

LaMonica Martin. (2011, 11 21). Nuclear 'space batter'y bests solar in curiosity mars mission. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57329365-76/nuclear-space-battery-bests-solar-in-curiosity-mars-mission/?tag=mncol