The Silver Life Institute, based in Paris, is a research organisation that aims (amongst other things) to:
- encourage consideration of ideas and questions in relation to society and old age
- diffuse knowledge from research into technology, economics, medical and social sciences
- propagate ideas or initiatives in the arena of public opinion
- stir up the widest possible debate
It is telecare/telehealth oriented and has an active membership, newsletter and programme of meetings in France. It also has a London-based UK representative, Mona Vandame. She tells me that UK meetings are held in English.
Silver Life Institute website. (Has an English ‘translate’ button top right.)
Following the recent deal with the Catalonian Reial Automobil Club, Canadian Medical Intelligence Technologies (producer of the Columba bracelet and Urgentsys) has signed a licensing agreement to grant exclusive commercialization rights for its products and services to LUXGSM, one of the largest wireless operators in Luxembourg. Press release.
Medical Intelligence Technologies website.
Taipei City Hospital Renai Branch, a specialist in dementia care in Taiwan, is to conduct a 6-month study of telecare in supporting people with dementia in their homes. Tunstall press release.
When you are tired of reading those mind-numbing press releases, read this thoughtful Telehealth Canada blog item by Rosie Lombardi. It’s a refreshing plea to put the horse in front of the cart if you want to get ‘new technology’ to move along.
Alcatel-Lucent is searching for a US service provider partner to help deliver a new telehealth application it developed with Canadian carrier SaskTel. The service, known as LifeStat remote monitoring and health management, allows patients with chronic health conditions to transmit their own health information to a network-based analysis tool to help them and their doctors monitor and control their condition. Read full item in TelephonyOnline.
Alcatel-Lucent website. LifeStat website.
On 26 June, the Taiwan News Online reported that a former Government Minister and Yin Cheng, the general manager of “Britain’s Tunstall Group Taiwan branch”, had been bailed in relation to contract procurement irregularities dating back to 2006 - an allegation subsequently denied by the ex-minister.
In a statement to Telecare Aware a Tunstall spokesperson said “Tunstall Taiwan didn’t open for business until July 2007. I can confirm that neither Tunstall Group nor Tunstall Taiwan are under investigation.”
Readers should be aware that there are confusions and inconsistencies in the report:
- I have not been able to determine by which organisation Yin Cheng was employed, so it is possible that the paper erroneously conflated Tunstall Taiwan and its reseller, Evercare (or Evermedical as it is later referred to). As far as I can make out, these are two separate entities.
- The news item refers to contract bidding in 2006. However, according to the Tunstall spokesperson, Evermedical did not become a Tunstall reseller until the end of 2007. Indeed, the appointment was reported in Telecare Aware on 2 August last year.
Moreover, even if the allegation proves to be true, this only reflects on the behaviour of one person and it would be wrong to infer anything from it about the way that anyone else connected with Tunstall conducts business. This is therefore a story you can ignore and you do not need to read Google’s cache of the Taiwan News Online item.
Still available - see original item.
Not telecare directly, but its about technology in relation to an important issue for telecare services.
Less than ten minutes standing on a vibrating platform several times a week could help reduce older people’s risk of falls, Australian researchers have found. (But it has to be at the ‘right’ speed.) Another item that indicates that the falls prevention focus is moving away from environmental factors to physiology. Item from Australia’s ABC Science.
Danish wireless products developer RTX Telecom has agreed to sell its telehealth unit to an unnamed “world leading telehealth solutions provider”. Story here.
Since virtually all company press releases begin with the phrase “CompanyX is the world’s leading telewhatever solutions provider”, thus rendering it meaningless, your speculation as to who has bought it is as good as mine.
An interesting story on the use of information on MP3 players for people with asthma to listen to when an attack threatens. However, is calling it ‘Telecare for Asthma’ stretching the definition of telecare too far? Do leave a comment on the terminology.
Biotronik (search Telecare Aware for previous story) continues to get its cardiac telehealth system before potential purchasers with an informative item from E-Health Europe.
Would promoting telemedicine and e-health across the continent of Africa interest your company? There is a website development and promotion sponsorship opportunity available. Please email me if interested.
Medical Intelligence Technologies has received firm purchase orders for 500 Vega GPS Bracelets from Reial Automobil Club de Catalunya (RACC), the largest Automobile Association in Spain which also provides teleassistance services to its older members and from Vidisa, a leading Spanish distributor of wireless phones and accessories. Full story.
Item from Canada about results of remotely supervised lung rehabilitation. “Many patients are hesitant to exercise without supervision out of the fear of ‘doing more harm than good’ when they experience shortness of breath…With the Telehealth program, “the patient is monitored and builds knowledge and self-confidence to do exercise regularly, which in turn improves their physical condition and their quality of life as well”. Read more.
A useful list of EU ehealth projects on empirica consultancy’s website.
