DIY Digital Business Card - No Need to Carry Stacks of Business Cards Anymore!

Go ahead and use the camera app on your smartphone on the QR code above. I have noticed over the past few years a plethora of companies offering a virtual "smart" business card such as Ovou and Blue Social that allow a person to carry only ONE business card and digitally share contact info with anybody with a smartphone either with a tap or QR code. Often costing upwards of $75, one can change the information contained within the business card with a profile saved in the cloud. Howev…

10/26/2020 0

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Butterfly iQ: Pocket-Sized Ultrasound for Under $2500

Image From Butterfly Network I had the good fortune of being able to test-drive an amazing new product called the Butterfly iQ . It is an ultra-compact, pocket-sized, portable ultrasound device for under $2500 when most ultrasound machines cost tens of thousands of dollars. The entire ultrasound technology is built into the handheld body itself. Real-time images are viewed on a smartphone via a wired connection. This one ultrasound can be used to image the entire body! The cost of ultraso…

4/14/2019 0

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Free Educational App Demonstrating How Inner Ear Balance Works in Conjunction with Eye Movements

aVOR app in the app store Australian researchers have created a free educational app that attempts to demonstrate how the inner ear balance system works and its relationship with eye movement. The app, called aVOR ( a ngular V estibular O cular R eflex), is available for download to tablets and smartphones. The neat thing about this app is that one can manually toggle settings specifying whether there is dysfunction present and where it is present. Once settings have been set, one can t…

3/30/2018 0

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New Physician Directory Smartphone App

I don't know about you, but one of the most frustrating things about online doctor info sites is that they bury key information like phone numbers, fax numbers, addresses, etc. As such, I've developed a new online physician directory called NovaDr. com that has all this information within 3 clicks, whether online or thru the smartphone app. Currently this directory contains doctor information for only 5 hospital systems in Northern Virginia including Fauquier Health , Haymarket M…

9/23/2015 0

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Fauquier ENT Smartphone App

Given the popularity of our blog , videos , and website articles , we have created a smartphone app for easy access to all our informational online materials. Also included in the app is a Fauquier Health System physician directory as well as online appointment request form . The app is available for free on both Android and iPhones on Google Play and App Store respectively. The landing page address for links to both can be found here . Check it out! Otherwise, you can go straig…

8/04/2015 0

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Ear Plugs That You Can Manually Mute or Enhance Sounds

Image from KickStarter Although being funded on Kickstarter is no guarantee that a product will become a success, I sure hope that this Ear Plug called " Here " is as good as it sounds and makes it to store shelves. Described as an "active listening" device you can control wirelessly with your smartphone, you supposedly will be able to mute out undesirable sounds like a crying baby while still be able to hear all other sounds. OR, enhance certain sounds like the bass…

6/03/2015 0

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Bracelet that Measures Your Sun Exposure

June is being worn on this model's wrist. At the CES 2014 , an interesting bracelet made an appearance that purportedly is able to measure sun intensity in real time and monitor total daily sun exposure. Even better, it is able to provide sun protection advice via smartphone app based on your habits and skin type, get notifications when you need to apply SPF, wear a hat, or put on sunglasses… Made by Netatmo , the bracelet is called " June " and may be beneficial for those i…

1/11/2014 0

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iPhone App to Objectively Measure Vocal Quality (f0, shimmer, jitter, etc)

For the inner geek in all singers and other professional voice users, you can now download onto your iPhone an advanced voice analysis program that provides objective measures of vocal quality similar to what is obtained in a professional voice laboratory. Called OperaVox , preliminary studies have shown good reliability compared to KayPentax Multidimensional Voice Program (f0, shimmer, jitter). Noise to harmonic ratio showed less reliability. Retest reliability was also fairly consistent i…

11/15/2013 0

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Accurate Hearing Testing Using an iPhone

There is an iPhone app called " EarTrumpet " that apparently can provide accurate hearing testing... almost as good as a professionally administered test ( conventional audiometry ) and certainly as good (if not better) than medical-quality automated testing machines (ie Otogram ). Created with the assistance of the ENT department at the University of California, Irvine... According to one study , this iPhone application provided results as good as one administered by an audiol…

9/22/2013 0

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HIPAA Compliant Text Messaging (for Free)

Let's face it... Physicians love to text message given it is fast, easy, and convenient. However, regular instant messaging (SMS, MMS) that comes with your smartphone is not secure, saved unencrypted on a server somewhere (forever), and most importantly not HIPAA or HITECH compliant. Enter the encrypted and HIPAA compliant messaging services. Though most of these services cost a nominal fee per month, there are a few and growing number of services which offer free and secure instant…

12/09/2012 0

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Healthcare Mobile Web Presence

It is pretty much a given that healthcare organizations, medical offices, and physicians maintain a web presence given how frequently consumers turn to the internet and google especially for health information. Given that... I would like to point out that more and more of this web traffic occurs on a smartphone rather than a computer and in an effort to retain consumers who seek healthcare, it behooves that any web presence be also mobile friendly. According to my own personal web statist…

9/24/2012 0

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Smartphone Otoscope for the Masses

The geniuses at UC Berkley ( Cellscope ) have developed an otoscope that can attach to a smartphone allowing visualization of the eardrum on the phone's screen. Possible applications include allowing parents to take pictures of their child's ear on the smartphone and emailing to their physician rather than a clinic visit for diagnosis of an ear infection , fluid behind the eardrum, or eardrum perforation . Not for sale yet... as far as I know... Here is their original research p…

6/12/2012 0

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Dr. Chang Quoted in National Press Release

Dr. Chang has been quoted in a recent national press release regarding the new Sermo iPhone app. Sermo is a physician only online forum where medical quandaries are discussed and advice requested from physicians by physicians. Dr. Chang was recently contacted by Sermo for an interview regarding the new iPhone Sermo app. In the press release, he is quoted: "The ability to consult with my colleagues in real-time, from the patient's bedside or my exam room, addresses an unmet need…

7/13/2011 0

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Sermo iPhone App Review

Sermo is an online physician-only forum where doctors ask other doctors for advice. It's where we post particularly thorny/difficult medical issues we encounter in our patients (no patient identifiers of course) and pick the brains of thousands of other doctors across many different specialties throughout the Unites States for assistance. For example, as an ENT, I can post a particularly unusual patient presentation that has me stumped... for example a weird rash on the face... and p…

7/05/2011 0

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