If you didn’t know, last Fall Microsoft released a motion-sense video game controller for Xbox 360 called Kinect. While it’s gotten relatively mixed reviews in the gaming world, other industries are seeing a different use for it as a new technology interface.

Could Kinect have real-life practical use in the healthcare industry? Microsoft says so.

Kinect and Healthcare

Microsoft recently brought Kinect to the Pacific Health Summit in Seattle and showed how it could actually have a practical, real-life application.

The demo involved a video-conferencing interface that created virtual 3D avatars for each user. The avatars could correctly match significant facial expressions. The application that Microsoft suggested was based on anonymous group therapy sessions.

Immediately, healthcare providers started seeing the potential for this technology for remote patient monitoring and tele-health applications.

To help patients communicate with doctors and vice versa, you soon may start seeing protypes in:

• Hospital rooms

• Nursing homes

• Patient homes

At the end of the day, Kinect is not just a novelty game controller but a completely new computer interface that has the potential to become uniquely user-friendly and lend itself to new industries.

I think there’s something really wonderful about the innovation of the healthcare industry and its constant search for better solutions for communications between doctor and patient. What do you think? Tell us, we’d like to know.

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According to the American Heart Association (AHA), February is American Heart Month.

February is American Heart Month.

Since more than 82 million American adults are estimated to have one or more types of cardiovascular disease, or 1 in 3 people, (and speaking from someone who has been hospitalized for cardiac arrhythmia before), it is important to get your heart checked out. Are your users able to easily find a cardiologist (or any other doctor) on your hospital’s Website?

Listen to Your Heart or Take Our Advice

To answer that question…they need to be.

By implementing a physician finder tool on your hospital’s Website, you’re giving users (potential patients) the opportunity to improve their heart health (and reduce the grim statistics), and search for specialized doctors affiliated with your hospital in an easy-to-use and effective way.

AVID Design’s Physician Finder (part of the Best-in-Class Hospital Website tool kit) might be just the answer for your hospital’s Website, as it boasts several capabilities for your visitors:

• Recommend to a friend email function – have a friend or family member who has high cholesterol or smokes and your worried about their heart health? With a click of a button email them the physician recommendation.

• Interactive online maps for practice locations – for ease in navigating where each physician’s practice is located, whether you get active and walk there or drive your car.

• Standardized search capability– enables you to search for a physician by name, of a certain gender or one that speaks a certain language.

• Request an online appointment form with a particular physician – found your ideal cardiologist and now you want to come into their office so they can help you manage your blood pressure.

On the backend, the physician finder allows hospitals to neatly and easily manage content and track user clicks.

It’s beneficial for both you and your users!

Heart-Shaped Box (of Chocolate) in Moderation for Valentine’s Day

(as a side note) Don’t forget….Valentine’s Day (which we associate with hearts) is right around the corner, so make sure you remember your sweetheart! AHA has compiled a helpful list of some pretty cool heart-healthy Valentine’s Day tips, gifts and date ideas. Check ‘em out!

AVID Design’s custom physician finder is a dynamic tool that can be implemented quickly and designed to your hospital’s specifications. Contact us to learn how we can implement this tool into your hospital’s Website.

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