The unexpected eHealth, iPhone app hub: Minnesota

Minnesota's long been an established healthcare and medical device center, and a pioneer of technology in senior communities (for instance, telecare adoption from 2005 on)--but the news that Minneapolis-St.Paul is emerging as a hub of innovation in iPhone and iPod apps is still...surprising.  Leading off:  a 'clinic in poc', heart sounds monitoring, digital microscope images to iPhone.

Clinic in poc:  Based near Uptown in Minneapolis, Zipnosis is a smartphone-based diagnostic tool that effectively is a virtual clinic.  The web application runs on iPhone and Android (plus most web browsers), interviews you in 5 minutes (sending you to a clinic if it finds you're really too sick to wait), sends the information to a clinician, returns a response with treatment plan in about an hour, and if necessary sends your prescription to a nearby pharmacy--all for $25 a visit, no insurance involved.  Zipnosis is supported in MN via the Park Nicollet health system.  The CEO, Rick Krieger, was co-founder of Quick MedX/Minute Clinic.  Website.

Monitoring, meditation, microscopes:  Local companies have developed  iPhone/iPad apps for everything from food safety (Vista Institute) to heart sounds monitoring (AUM Cardiovascular) to a handheld digital microscope that sends images to the iPhone (ProScope Mobile) is being developed.  An app for meditation is being released as part of a series in conjunction with the Mayo Clinic: sending messages to your doctor is next.  FierceMobileHealthcare 'Twin Cities emerge...', Minneapolis Star-Tribune