Smartphone app; University of York researchers have design an app to help new parents become more ‘tuned in’ to what their babies are thinking and feeling. The app, called BabyMind, prompts the parent to think about things from their baby’s perspective and to consider what is going on in their baby’s mind at a specific…
A Finnish StopDia study has yielded promising preliminary results in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. Lifestyle guidance in a group and an Mobile app that supports the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits help StopDia participants to reduce their waist circumference and improve their dietary habits. For example, their fruit and vegetable consumption increase.…
Posting on social medias, texting, and appearing in photos while high is prevalent among people who use drugs and many regret these behaviors, according to a study by the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at NYU College of Global Public Health. The research, published online August 6 in the journal Substance Abuse,…
Cellphone addiction is common in today’s world (Roberts, Yaya, & Manolis, 2014), leading to a host of potential complications, including poor sleep, depression, and anxiety (Demirci, Akgönül, & Akpinar, 2015). Not only do the vast majority of adults own a cell phone (upward of 85%), but they increasingly reach for their phones during every in…
Ever wondered why after a while you got tired of using that weight loss or meditation app on your phone? For Max Birk, a University of Saskatchewan recent Ph.D. graduate, the answer could be that you need a customizable avatar that represents you the user. Birk find that if health apps include avatars that can…
Researchers from UNSW and UCL are hoping that a newly launch app that tracks an individual’s moods and emotions could lead to better management of mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. An app developed by UNSW researchers in conjunction with University College London (UCL); will not only allow you to gauge your mood…
Smartphone App; New mental health app, designed to help manage negative emotions and periods of extreme anxiety for young people, could have a significant impact on reducing self-harm according to research. The ‘BlueIce’ app, developed in conjunction with patient groups by leading clinical psychologist Professor Paul Stallard, is now included in the national NHS app…
Researchers in Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences have find that a simple test carried out on a smartphones can help to predict future change in people in the early stages of Parkinson’s. The study, supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and funded by the Monument Trust Discovery Award from Parkinson’s UK, has…
Digital games, typical of those used on smartphones, may relieve stress after a day’s work more effectively than mindfulness apps, according to a study by UCL and the University of Bath. In the study, published in JMIR Mental Health, participants were give a 15-minute maths test and then asked to either play a shape fitting…
The current leading method to assess the presence of viruses and other biological markers of disease is effective but large and expensive. It is prohibitively difficult for use in many situations, especially due to certain economic and geographic factors. So researchers created and tested an alternative miniaturized system that makes use of low-cost components and…
Blood pressure monitoring might one day become as easy as taking a video selfie, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, an American Heart Association journal. Transdermal optical imaging measures blood pressure by detecting blood flow changes in smartphone-captured facial videos. Ambient light penetrates the skin’s outer layer allowing digital optical sensors in smartphones to visualize and extract…
A team of scientists in Korea and the United States have invented a device that can control neural circuits using a tiny brain implant controlled by a smartphone. Researchers, publishing in Nature Biomedical Engineering, believe the device can speed up efforts to uncover brain diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, addiction, depression, and pain. The smartphone device, using…