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Endoscope that is powered by a USB port

Here's yet another reason why you need that computer in your exam room. To power this USB endoscope! Thanks to Gizmondo for the story. Keep this handy USB endoscope as a backup in case that Olympus fails during a colonoscopy.

Thanks to OCR, Scanned documents are now indexed in Google

Many medical offices that use an EHR system rely on scanned documents. Thanks to OCR or Optical Character Recognition, Google can now crawl and index scanned documents. Can your EHR system do that? I'd like to see the day when Google can index hand-written documents.

FDA Approves Toviaz, a New Drug to Treat Overactive Bladder

The title speaks for itself. There's a new drug in town and it's called Toviaz. The FDA approved this agent on Halloween. Overactive bladder or OAB is a very common condition among the elderly. I'm glad to see that patients now have another option for their condition. Let's see if any managed care plans will pay for it though.

Rosetta Stone and Learning

You've probably seen the ads in magazines. I've always been curious about the Rosetta Stone language series. So, I took one for a test drive recently. It uses the principle of dynamic immersion to teach a new language. I'm not used to that.

When I took a semester of Mandarin Chinese at Harvard University, I learned the language through a methodical, logical process that included systematic vocabulary and grammar. Rosetta Stone seems to bypass all of that and you're left guessing at meanings and trying to make sense of what you think certain phrases mean. I'm sure the method works, because eventually you'll learn some of the core fundamentals of the language.

I've been in the education industry for a while now. Education experts acknowledge that individuals prefer certain learning styles. Adults learn differently from children. What works for one individual may not work for another. Hence, I'm going to give Rosetta Stone a chance and continue trying it for a while. Maybe I'll learn more than I think.

HTC Touch Pro replacing the XV6800 (aka Mogul)

Looks like the HTC Touch Pro will be replacing the Verizon XV6800 (aka Sprint Mogul ). Are you planning on upgrading?


As for me, I think I'm done with sliders. They're great for some, but not for me. I really prefer the Treo-style phones so the new Samsung Epix or the new Treo Pro are the ones that really attract me. I want something that is slim (hence, not a slider), and one that I can use with a single hand for the keyboard. A slider requires both hands. I got used to typing with a single hand when I used my old Treo.

Verizon requiring a data plan with smartphones

According to this post on Brighthand, Verizon Wireless will require customers to get a data plan if they purchase a smartphone. I have been recommending smartphones to medical students and residents who wish to combine a phone + PDA into a single device. Why carry around both if you can have one? However, medical students often don't need a wireless data plan with their smartphones, so I generally suggest that they bypass the data plan. However, this may no longer even be an option if you're with Verizon Wireless.