The Electronic Nag It’s been said that “necessity is the mother of invention.” It’s also been said (at least by me) that “forgetting to take out the garbage after a splendid seafood dinner is the mother of an angry spouse.” Hence the need for the NAG (Notification Alert Generator), which you can strategically mount on a wall near the bedroom to remind you of important upcoming events and tasks, such as taking out the festering garbage. The NAG was my first real foray into building one of the crazy devices I’ve come up with over the years. When it comes to nagging, timing is everything, so this project uses a real-time clock (RTC) chip, which also contains a calendar. I’ll assume the reader has the prerequisite knowledge to build and modify an Arduino project and associated sketches. In my circuit, many of the Arduino’s limited number of I/O pins are used by the LCD and clock. The purpose of the NAG is to nag someone as they walk by, instead of just throwing out reminders at predetermined times, unheard.
VA Medical Center uses Telehealth technology to reach more veterans | The City Sentinel Oklahoma City VA Medical Center Clinical Health Technician, LPN Pam Elam (standing), assists a female veteran in connecting with her provider for a genetic counseling consultation. Photo by Tara G. Ricks. By Darla Shelden Contributing Writer To increase access for veteran health care, the Oklahoma City Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) is now using Telehealth technology through the use of secure telecommunications and videoconferencing. “We offer a variety of programs for our rural or immobile veterans,” says Tanya Leasure, Oklahoma City VA licensed practical nurse and clinical telehealth technician. The VA currently has over 700 hundred community-based outpatient clinics (CBOC) nationwide, with nine in Oklahoma, to bring VA care closer to home for veterans. Travel to the medical center can be complicated and sometimes difficult for many veterans, particularly if the veteran lives in a remote or rural area. Dr. For more information, visit www.oklahoma.va.gov.
OMsignal’s smart shirt monitors your emotional well-being A host of fitness tracking tech is currently on the market allowing users to measure and monitor their daily activities, heart rate, exercise intensity and even how much they sweat. But what about your emotional state? Montreal-based smart apparel company OMsignal has developed a T-shirt and a bra that not only tracks your daily steps, calorie burn and heart rate, but it also measures your breathing and emotional well-being using your heart rate variability, or HRV, reported VentureBeat. OMsignal's clothing contains a 3-axis accelerometer, the basic tool found in other fitness devices, which measures motion, steps and calories. It also detects and measures two other signals: your ECG—the electrical signature of your heart—and respiration rhythms. Sensors woven into the polyester/lycra fabric act as a 3-lead EKG, producing a readout of cardiac activity when the user is at rest or doing something active, according to the company. Photo: OMsignal/Marlon-Kuhnreich
Cytta Corp