In African Villages, These iPhones Become Ultrasound Scanners

YouTube screenshot-PSA Butterfly IQ-Jaime Soto

A new invention - a hand-held ultrasound scanner called the Butterfly iQ - is providing doctors and nurses with a very portable way to diagnose and treat illnesses and health conditions. The scanner has huge potential in rural Africa, Asia and Latin America, where the nearest X-ray machine may be hours away and the only CT and MRI scanners may be in the nation’s capital.

From screening for pneumonia and TB, diagnosing mysterious symptoms, or showing a mother an ultrasound of her unborn child, this article highlights some of the fascinating and innovative ways that this device is being used around the world. 

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Illustration: Pixabay/ErfourisStudio

Pixabay/Andres Rodriguez

Thousands of Swedes are Inserting Microchips Under Their Skin 

Technology continues to get closer and closer to our bodies, from the phones in our pockets to the smartwatches on our wrists. Now, for some people, it's getting under their skin.
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In Sweden, a country rich with technological advancement, thousands have had microchips inserted into their hands. Here's why they're doing it - 

Patients are Using Digital Health Apps to Confess Suicidal Thoughts

Patients are confessing suicidal thoughts using apps designed to help them manage their diabetes or figure out why they might have a headache, according to industry executives.

​As a result, many digital health startups are scrambling to figure out how best to respond and when to call the police — questions that even suicide prevention experts don’t have good answers to.

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"Swedes are very pragmatic and the chip is useful ... and since a lot of people know each other in the tech community — it's very tight — [the microchip trend has] been spreading and people have seen the benefits."
--Erik Frisk, web developer who has an implanted microchip. From "Thousands of Swedes are Inserting Microchips Under Their Skin"

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Robots are Used to Carry Out Daily Health Inspections at Schools Across China​

China - which widely uses facial recognition technology - has now installed health-checking robots at more than 2,000 preschools across China.

Kids between the ages of 2 and 6 must report to a Walklake robot every morning and display their eyes, throats, and hands. The robot uses cameras and an infrared thermometer to look for signs of possible disease, ranging from red eyes or a sore throat to blisters and fevers - and delivers results in three seconds. 

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