According to a survey of the MyHealthAvatar project, a majority of respondents would be interested in a personal 'Health Avatar' to have access to their health data and share information with their doctor. The EU-funded MyHealthAvatar project is trying out a digital representation of your health status, designed as a lifetime companion (Avatar). Your Health Avatar will facilitate the collection of, and access to, long-term health-status information.
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Mobile Phone Camera Turned into a Mini-Microscope
Microscopy, being relatively easy to perform at low cost, is the universal diagnostic method for detection of most globally important parasitic infections. Methods developed in well-equipped laboratories are, however, difficult to maintain at the basic levels of the health care system due to lack of adequately trained personnel and resources.
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Computer Models of Neuronal Sound Processing in the Brain Lead to Cochlear Implant Improvements
Children learning to speak depend on functional hearing. So-called cochlear implants allow deaf people to hear again by stimulating the auditory nerve directly. Researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) are working to overcome current limits of the technology. They are investigating the implementation of signals in the auditory nerve and the subsequent neuronal processing in the brain. Using the computer models developed at the TUM manufacturers of cochlear implants improve their devices.
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Research on Alternative Testing Methods Contributes to Improving the Overall Welfare of Animals
One of the central demands of the animal activists is to abolish animal testing and to use alternative testing methods instead. In this context, the European Union has taken a huge step forward at the beginning of this year: On March 11 a full ban on the marketing of cosmetics and hygiene products tested on animals entered into force in the EU.
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Novel Algorithm Detects Early Signals of Alzheimer's Disease
The projected substantial increase in Alzheimer's disease due to the higher life expectancy in modern societies is one of the great future challenges of health care systems worldwide. Alzheimer's disease leads to significant changes in the temporal structure of activities that impair everyday activities. Abnormal motion behavior and degeneration of the sleep-waking cycle are among the most severe behavioral symptoms.
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Psychotherapy via the Internet
Does psychotherapy via the Internet work? For the first time, clinical researchers from the University of Zurich have studied whether online psychotherapy and conventional face-to-face therapy are equally effective in experiments. Based on earlier studies, the Zurich team assumed that the two forms of therapy were on a par. Not only was their theory confirmed, the results for online therapy even exceeded their expectations.
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Swiss, French & German Scientists Develop Miniature Artificial Insect Eyes
Scientists in Switzerland, Germany, and France explored how the insect eye works and designed and built the first fully-functional miniature curved artificial compound eyes. The "CURVACE" project received €2 million in EU funding to develop the miniature "insect" eyes, which have high industrial potential in mobile robotics, smart clothing and medical applications.
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