The Incomplete Human
When the smallpox vaccine first arrived in 19th-century Britain, aristocrats, not peasants, received it first, widening mortality gaps. Aristocrats, no matter how insulated, were one infected servant away from smallpox. Their own self-interest required that vaccination spread outward. Epidemiology created
“Prevention better than cure”: AI’s role to transition from cure-based to preventative healthcare
Artificial intelligence advancements seem to be making headlines almost every week these days, with breakthroughs and applications emerging across every industry. Despite the narrative of the constant stream of innovation, systemic change often lags behind. Nowhere is this more evident
The Physician’s Touch vs. The Touch of Verification
Clinical trials have been an integral part of medical progress for decades, serving as a crucial conduit for advancing medical treatment plans and expanding the knowledge surrounding such. The urgency to achieve successful outcomes within clinical trials, particularly in the
Why We Don’t Have Real-life “Avengers” (yet): The Technology Problem in Emergency Response
Why don’t our firefighters have iron man suits? What’s stopping the innovation in robotics, artificial intelligence, and other technologies from reaching first responders? This article goes over some of the roadblocks making it difficult for new technology to get into
COVID-19 and Technology: A New Age for Clinical Trials
COVID-19 has accelerated the technological and administrative innovation of clinical trials. The RECOVERY trial — responsible for discrediting the hydroxychloroquine treatment and demonstrating the efficacy of the steroid dexamethasone — heralds this paradigm shift. Former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf discusses
Entering a Land of No Return – Contact Tracing in the Era of COVID-19
The COVID-19 global health crisis brought about a reality few could imagine in their lifetime. Even those in the United States, who experienced the HIV/AIDS epidemic and 9/11 lockdown measures, have never quite seen something like the current global state
Beyond the Hype – Bringing AI to Radiology
For radiologists, detecting abnormalities in medical images can be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. It can take hours for radiologists to go through a single scan, and there are a limited number of medical professionals trained
Data in UK’s National Health Service
In March, at the dawn of the COVID-19’s assault on the US, the Department for Health and Human Services finalized two rules designed to give patients access to their electronic health records (EHR) and improve interoperability [1]. Getting the electronic
Cellular Personhood in the Age of Biotech
After a year and a half of pipetting, running gels, and peering through microscopes, I finally submitted my undergraduate thesis last month. In it, I was looking at the role that particular proteins played in driving inflammatory bowel disease, a
The Regulatory Barriers Holding Back Telepsychiatry
Last semester, our staff writer Nikita published a piece on computational psychiatry, which analyzes the upstream and downstream ramifications of novel mental health technologies. In this piece, I want to focus on a mental health innovation that is straightforward from