‘Patient from hell’ Dick Vinegar, writing in the Guardian Professional, wishes he lived in Staffordshire – a place with a bad record for hospitals but which has practical ideas for keeping people out of them. It’s a good view of… Read moreTelecare and telehealth 'for real' (UK)

According to Fierce Mobile Healthcare, ultrawideband (UWB) works by sending super-fast bursts of signal over large swathes of radio spectrum. It only transmits over short distances, but doesn’t interfere with other frequencies, and can coexist with other technologies like Bluetooth… Read moreUltrawideband – the future for remote monitoring?

The Queen joins Mick Jagger on list of Britain’s ‘gold age power list’ of the country’s most influential pensioners. The list aims to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about older people. It was compiled by the charity WRVS, which said the… Read moreGold age power list (UK)

It’s a great concept – a week (19-25 September) dedicated to encourage people to pass on their IT skills BUT to call it Itea and Biscuits Week seems like an example of when ‘clever’ word play becomes a marketing mis-step…for… Read moreAge UK appeals for people to pass on IT knowledge to older friends and family

Independa, the San Diego wireless health startup, says it is making its integrated telecare app, Angela, available today for beta testing. The program provides a very simple interface that enables ‘the elderly’ to send and receive e-mail, download photos, and… Read moreIndependa unveils Angela (US)

Andy Kinnear, the head of the Avon IM&T Consortium, is reported to have told an audience at Smart Healthcare Live that one of the biggest problems standing in the way of mobile implementation is not the lack of technology, but…… Read moreIs culture the barrier to mobile working? (UK)

Two robotics items: one seriously weird, but it may get the robotics-for-care brain cells ticking over, and the other from the ‘university of the bleedin’ obvious’. The first is Sense-Roid, a Japanese prototype jacket that ‘hugs’ you when you hug… Read moreWhich robotic accent would you like to be hugged in?

A new app for smartphones, designed by Prof John Kinsella of Glasgow’s Royal Infirmary and a member of Healthcare Improvement Scotland, has become one of the most popular free medical apps available for download. It tells people about the treatment… Read moreScottish health app a surprise hit

A well written and un-hyped item in a local paper (Fairfield County, Connecticut) describes an experienced nurse’s exploration of telehealth (videoconferencing and remote signs monitoring) with her heart failure or respiratory problem patients. Telehealth: Nurses strive to be on the… Read moreA nurse's view of telehealth