PMC has introduced PubReader, an easier way to read PMC articles on the web. The text is displayed as two columns which mimics the pages of a book. The navigation is simplified and all the figures are accessible from anywhere within article. Designed to improve display on the smaller screens of tablet devices, it also looks great on a computer. Although they have not finished testing, PubReader is supported on most browsers.

Try it out on some of the recent PMC articles published by University of Utah researchers.

To view an article in PubReader, use the PubReader links found under the article information in the search results:

Or on the top right of the article page under “Formats:”

On Wednesday, December 5th from 4pm-5pm in room 2600 of the Health Sciences Education Building, the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library presents Appy Hour!

Appy Hour will focus on apps for various mobile devices that you can use for your work, your research, and more.  Bring along your own iPad, Android tablet, smart phone, or other mobile device and share your favorite and most useful apps.  Invite your colleagues and learn about the apps they are using!

Appy Hour Announcement

The biggest drawback is price: $99 at the online Apple Store (or local Apple Store), and $75 online or at your local Walgreens for the peripheral, and it includes 50 initial test strips. Additional strips are $65 per 50 online through Walgreens. The app is free, and the manufacturer does offer a program to reduce the cost for the strips, down to about $20.

But the real test is whether or not it helps people achieve better glycemic control. Husain points out that while some evidence exists to support the claim that mobile devices help with glycemic control, a full clinical trial is needed to test the effectiveness of this device, perhaps in comparison with other devices as well.

Are you a person with diabetes who uses this or another mobile device to track your BG levels? Does it help improve your success at glycemic control? What strengths and weaknesses does your system have? Tell us about it!

These are the kids that are learning independence, that are leaving the house more often, that aren’t eating right, or listening to their nagging parents. Now imagine them with a chronic illness such as diabetes. These kids are notorious for taking fewer and fewer blood glucose readings per day, eating improperly, and generally having a defiant streak in them.

Adolescents who used this device got points for compliance with the regular BG monitoring regimen, which earned them music and apps through the iTunes store. This pilot test of the system with twenty kids saw an increase in regular BG measurements of 49.5%, clearly demonstrating the need for a bigger study. The app also offered a Twitter-like microblog community capability for peer support and encouragement. Below is a video demonstrating use of the bant system.

One idea in this blog post caught my attention: their focus on developing an app to provide a solution in a way that can be clearly demonstrated:

Although we take the design and development of this smartphone platform very seriously, we aren’t interested in creating gadgets. As a research hospital, we take the opportunity cost of building such a system seriously. We need real tangible results. Hence, we spend more time and money evaluating the technologies that we develop than on building them. Our findings feed the next iteration of the technology. This is an example of evidence-based design. Consider it user-centered design on steroids.

After working for over two years to support evidence based research, it seems a natural next-step to consider applying such a standard to the development of medical devices and apps. I look forward to reading about a follow-up study on this devices.

Do you or someone you know struggle with juvenile diabetes? Would a system like this be helpful in encouraging healthy behavior? Why or why not? Tell us about it!

As noted in a review by iMedicalApps, InfantRisk Center has a user-friendly layout and design, along with a well-organized database of quality information. Medications are rated on a scale from “Safest” to “Hazardous,” with icons to help users visually differentiate between ratings. It also includes “quick access to the InfantRisk Center’s hotline for questions, a “Hot Topics” section, a personalized search function, as well as the ability to bookmark frequently used drugs and information for easy-access in the future” (from iMedicalApps review).

While the medication information base is broad, it is not comprehensive, and less-commonly-used drugs may not show up in a search. The alphabetical listing of drugs also lacks the helpful right-side A-Z listing to make switching between letters easier. While the $29.99 price may seem high for those used to purchasing apps for a few dollars, the potential time savings from this reference tool is worth serious consideration.

Have you used this app, or a similar one? How do you like it? Tell us about it!

With the app’s tools, users can:

• Add or remove up to 10 layers of muscles with the Scalpel
• Rotate muscles vertically and horizontally
• Move laterally between muscle groups
• Turn on standard pin-style labels which illustrate major musculoskeletal points in each view
• Test themselves using the Quiz function.

This app is currently prices at $19.99. As of this writing, the page in the iTunes store for this app indicates that the developer, 3D4Medical.com, has “agreed to extend the price reduction for this app for another few weeks.”

Pros

• High-quality 3-D muscle images that can be easily manipulated.
• Quiz function
• Detailed information about muscle groups via pin labels

Cons: it lacks some information regarding skeletal components of the systems.

Do you use this app? Tell us about it!

The lectures are presented in straightforward, easy-to-understand language, and some are short enough to be viewed over breaks. The videos include Dr. Najeeb making notations on a whiteboard, which can be difficult to decipher on the small screen of the iPod touch. And the price (free) is unbeatable.

As a librarian new to medical librarianship, I am not familiar with this lecturer, and I found it difficult to learn anything about Dr. Najeeb through his website, the app’s website, Facebook page, etc. As explained in a previous blog post on health literacy, it is important to know the credentials of the person or institution providing medical information on the web. Adding this information to the doctor’s website would be simple and helpful.

Have you used this app, or heard any of Dr. Najeeb’s lectures? Tell us about it!

1. Teaching: For medical schools that are teaching eye examinations — instead of having to look at static pictures of eye anatomy, this “live view” could be an optimal and innovative way to teach. This could also be a great way for an ophthalmology attendings to save key eye pathology that they visualize in the mobile setting for teaching purposes.
2. Use in mobile clinics: This could be a good screening tool for various eye pathology — and not necessitate the need for an ophthalmologists or physician to be on site. A physician could view the saved images at a later time and determine correct interventions. (From iMedicalApps blog)

This last idea could be very handy in a disaster area, or in rural areas in poorer countries where no little or no medical services exist.

Below is a video demonstration of how this technology works, including taking fundus photography.

One drawback of this system is that it only works with the iPhone 4, not the iPad or iPod touch.

• 8 built-in search engines for access to millions of articles.
• Download and store PDFs of the articles you read.
• Highlight and add notes to your PDFs.
• Pinch and zoom features native to the iPad.
• Email, print and share a paper with other Papers users wirelessly.
• Stores 5,000 papers.
• Import papers from web-based storage services like Dropbox.

Papers will sync with the desktop version ($79), adding even more powerful literature management.

Papers is also available for the iPhone.

Have you used Papers, either the mobile or the desktop version? Tell us about it!

As pointed out in the iMedicalApps blog, this study has several important shortcomings:

• Small sample size
• It does not take into account “more advanced fusion pumps which can simplify parts of the process.”
• One of the study’s primary authors is a contributor to the app’s development, though without financial investment.

From this author’s perspective, there are two important implications to this study. First, follow-up is needed, taking into account the typical equipment and stress present in the situation. Second, it appears we now trust computers and their programmers more than the writers of printed medical texts. Yet the only oversight of such devices comes from the medical professionals involved in their development. Is the current system sufficient to protect patients from technical problems and market-related pressures? If a book is dropped, its text does not change. Does dropping and repeated use of mobile devices affect the functioning of the software contained within? If it does, can that put a patient at risk?

What do you think? Tell us!

At the bottom of any EBSCO search or search results page there is a link “New: EBSCOhost iPhone/iPod Touch Application.” When clicked on, this link opens a window where you can enter your email to receive the two-step instructions for installing the app.

1. Download the app from the iTunes App Store, and sync it to your iPhone/iPod touch.
2. EBSCO sends you a verification email. View the email on your iPhone and tap on the link to authenticate your app in order to access all the subscription databases University of Utah Libraries subscribe to.

According to the iTunes App Store, this robust app “enables users to:

• Choose which databases to search
• Limit results to full text or peer reviewed
• Sort by relevance or date
• Retrieve full text results in HTML and/or PDF formats
• Save results for offline access at a later date
• Email results to self or others
• View cover flow display of results”

In addition, it will save your 25 most recent searches automatically.

One feature that is lacking is the ability to export results to citation management software such as EndNote. Perhaps if EBSCO made it possible to sync search results with the “My EBSCOhost” feature of the online version, the end user could easily save their search results to EndNote when they get back to their computer.

Have you used EBSCOhost’s mobile app, or another one like it? Tell us about it!

According to the iMedicalApps blog, this version is only for individual subscribers. Institutional subscribers such as the University of Utah will have a longer wait due to significant technical differences in the way it is implemented. In some institutions, it is integrated into the electronic medical record (EMR), which poses privacy and security issues. When it becomes available here, the Eccles Health Sciences Library will post it to this blog and to our list of mobile applications.

To use Dosecast, “simply enter basic information about each drug you take, such as the name, dosage, and how and when you take each drug. You can setup reminders on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule – or, unlike other apps, for a pre-set number of hours or days after the last dose. Dosecast adjusts to your changing day, enabling you to take a dose early or postpone it as long as you need” (from the website).

This app is free, and features flexible scheduling, reliable push-notifications, postponeable reminders, customizable dose amounts and instructions, smart silencing, and privacy and security. For an additional $3.99 in-application purchase you can quantity tracking with alerts, local notifications, and emailing.

Do you or someone you know use this or another medication reminder app? If so, how helpful or unhelpful is it for you? Tell us!

As mentioned in a previous post, having medical texts on a 1-2 pound device is a physical relief for students and others who need to carry these books around. But like their print counterparts, you need to pay for each new edition that comes out.

Unlike its print version, you can use your mobile computing power to search the textbook, and even place electronic bookmarks on its pages. And its “History” feature tracks what pages you’ve read, making it easy to refer back to previous information.

The Eccles Health Sciences Library offers eBook versions of both Clinical Anesthesiology and Current Diagnosis… through a subscription with Access Medicine. Up to three simultaneous users can consult these texts, and can print, email, or download sections or chapters for later reading.

Have you bought a mobile medical text? How does the experience compare to reading it online, or in hard copy? Tell us!

The app includes a disclaimer reminding users that it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. It functions more like the first aid handbooks previous generations of parents kept at home for urgent care or other unexpected medical situations. And no application, no matter how well written or by whom, can substitute for the knowledge and assurance that comes from taking a first aid class from quality organizations such as the American Red Cross.

If you own a camera-equipped smartphone or similar device — iPod Touch, iPhone, Android, Palm Pre, Windows Mobile or Blackberry — add Evernote to it and you can have that information at hand whenever you need it.

As described in a detailed eSynapse article last year,

Evernote is a free software application that helps you capture information anywhere, any time and in any form using your preferred electronic device, making that information instantly searchable and accessible.

Evernote groups everything based on tags that you add to each item allowing for easy search and retrieval. You can even group sets of items into notebooks and share them with others online. Each published notebook is given its own unique URL and is available to be indexed by search engines.

You can use Evernote on almost any mobile device, or access it from the web.

Here is a short video describing the uses of this tool.

This smartphone is running the Android OS, and while Apple’s mobile iOS may have the lead in overall sales, a waterproof phone may be enough to get at least some end users, in and out of the healthcare professions, to consider switching.

“Kaplan is offering 100 free e-books through iBooks, Apple’s e-reader for the iPad and the iPhone. For those in the medical field, there are plenty of books to choose from. The e-books range from Kaplan USMLE step 1, 2, and 3, to novels about Intern life. These books from Kaplan are usually $29.99 in other e-book formats. The deal is only valid in the Apple Bookstore, and lasts until August 30th.”

The author goes on to note that while the books can be read on an iPhone (and probably an iPod touch), “they are significantly easier to read on the iPad.” If you haven’t bought an iPad yet but think you might, you can still download them in iTunes, then add them to your iPad later. The blog posting offers screenshots of how these e-books will look on an iPad.

What do you think: will we just move to an e-book reader model for all students, requiring yet another high-tech, high-cost purchase?

The Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library has created a mobile-friendly version of its website. The site provides instructions on how to configure your iPhone or iPod Touch for a VPN connection to the Library and other University resources. It also provides a number of “quick-links” to frequently accessed resources and information. Check it out, then tell us what you think by posting a comment on this blog. Have a great day!