Using Virtual reality in Psychiatry

Post traumatic stress disorder(abbreviated PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to one or more traumatic events that threatened or caused great physical harm.It is a severe and ongoing emotional reaction to an extreme psychological trauma. This stressor may involve someone’s actual death, a threat to the patient’s or someone else’s life, serious physical injury, an unwanted sexual act, or a threat to physical or psychological integrity, overwhelming psychological defenses.

Vulnerability to PTSD presumably stems from an interaction of biological predisposition, early childhood developmental experiences, and trauma severity. Exposure-based therapy, in which recent trauma survivors are instructed to relive the troubling event, may be effective in preventing the progression from acute stress disorder to post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry (Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008;65[6]:659-66). But it may not be practical to recreate the trauma or the precipitating circumstances. Like in cases of PTSD in soldiers back from the Iraq war and rehabilitation efforts.

The military is turning to the virtual world to treat traumatized veterans of the Iraq war, giving troops a high-tech way to confront and overcome mental war wounds.Virtual Iraq uses electronically re-created Iraqi environs that look like a video game, as well as the sounds and smells of deployment, to help those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder revisit the events that affected them so profoundly.It is a joint venture of the Air Force, Navy and Army, along with the University of Southern California and Virtually Better Inc. The visual environs created for the therapy are based on the video game “Full Spectrum Warrior.”

There are about 40 Virtual Iraq systems in Defense Department and Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics.Virtual Iraq helps PTSD patients access traumatic memories by replicating the war zone in a safe way that therapists can control.

With Virtual Iraq, a troop is back driving a Humvee down an Iraqi highway, or exploring a city on foot patrols. Ambient sound recordings including prayer calls, gunfire, men yelling and taunting, can be varied in intensity by the therapist.The smell of fire, diesel, cordite, body odor and burning rubber are also used to facilitate memory recall and emotional processing.

Mental health therapists hope that Virtual Iraq’s similarity to video games will help draw younger traumatized troops to the treatment.
For more information on PTSD , click here.

Related articles

• Generals share their experience with PTSD – CNN Article (untreatableonline.com)
• Forces launch mental-health awareness campaign (thestar.com)
• Medical Animation- How is it Used ? (medical-communication.blogspot.com)

 

Clinical quiz online from BMJ

Image by Pickersgill Reef via Flickr

A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which the players (as individuals or in teams) attempt to answer questions correctly. Quizzes are also brief assessments used in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities, and/or skills.Online quizzes are a popular form of entertainment for web surfers. Online quizzes are generally free to play and can form an important medium of health information dispersion.

Best Practice is brought to you by the BMJ Evidence Centre – a division of the BMJ Group that is working to provide health care professionals with innovative new products and tools that make evidence useful in practice. Individuals can register online for a 30-day personal free trial. To access your trial you will require a BMJ MyAccount. You can register and then follow the steps to set up your free trial.

I found this quiz on the BMJ Best practices site. It lets you choose the speciality you want to be quizzed on and also times your answers, letting you score more for quick answers. It was fun, and i managed to score 80%. Their scoreboard showed a long list of quizzers with perfect 10 scores, so maybe i need to get back to my textbooks now.

Related articles

• BMJ Archives Video: Discovery of Anaesthetic (casesblog.blogspot.com)
• How To Have Fun With Online Personality Quizzes (makeuseof.com)
• Five Quizzes You Just Have to Take (totalbeauty.com)

 

Marketing prescription drugs in India- Guidelines

The guidelines for pharmaceutical marketing are typically debated all over the world, more so in India. Many issues are not clear and the drug industry interprets the rules the best it can . Cases of unethical promotion of drugs to the health care industry come up with regularity in the western world. Fortunately, no major case has been reported in the Indian media at present. But thats because many such unethical promotional activities havent come to light. There is an urgent need to inform all the concerned parties of the regulatory Dos and Donts of pharmaceutical marketing in India.

Promotion of drugs in India is governed by three major documents. THE DRUGS AND COSMETICS ACT, 1940 is defined as An Act to regulate the import, manufacture, distribution and sale of drugs and cosmetics in India. It has last been amended in 1995 and new amendments are overdue. The Rules 96 and 97 of THE DRUGS AND COSMETICS RULES, 1945 describe the essential information to be provided regarding labeling of drugs. The product monograph should comprise the full prescribing information necessary to enable a physician to use the drug properly. It should include description, actions, indications, dosage precaution, drug interactions, warnings and adverse reactions.

The OPPI code of conduct ( effective since 1st January 2007) sets out the guidelines to be followed for promotion of prescription drugs to the health care industry. It is based on the IFPMA code and incorporates local region ( India) specific guidelines. it sets out certain principles basic to the ethical promotion of pharmaceuticals in the country. Though it is widely followed, it is not legally binding and the final responsibility for implementation lies with the pharmaceutical marketing organizations themselves.

Below is a short presentation document outlining the Major points in marketing pharmacutical products to the health care industry.
—http://bit.ly/nHqwE–

Open publication – Free publishing – More pharmaceutical

 

Scientic animations awards ceremony, China

The 1st Annual International Science Animation Awards being held August 8th 2009 in Guiyang China

Deadline for DVD submissions to “Sci-An” Awards is July 15th 2009

Guiyang, China (PRWEB) June 17, 2009 — Honoring the works of visual wonder that depict what science perceives beyond our eyes, The 1st Annual International Science Animation Awards (ISAA) are being presented in Guiyang, China August 8th 2009.

The ISAA “Sci-An” will be awarded for 2D and 3D works that demonstrate both the highest achievements in scientific and medical communication and superb attention to aesthetic, creative and technical presentation

” This is an industry that will grow exponentially with the compounding demands from various science sectors in the years ahead “

This year marks the first in what will be an annual juried salon, bringing together in China the work of scientific animators from around the world. Professional and student work is welcome, and will be judged separately.

The event will include presentations and panels with industry leaders from across Asia, the United States and Europe.

The two judging categories are commercial and educational, in short form of under three minutes’ run time. Long form work and compilations from longer projects may be entered and will be evaluated separately.

“The need for recognition in this dynamic emerging field has grown to the point of launching this inaugural event” said founding co-chairman, Sander Johnson, who with founding co-chair, David Bolinsky initiated the concept for this international forum at last year’s Guiyang Animation Festival, in Guiyang, China. That festival is the launch for this year’s Sci-An Awards, which will next year become an independent event.

“Hosting this unique forum and awards ceremony in China truly invites pan-Asian and East-West interaction with leaders in the industries and major universities” said Bolinsky, a leading American creator of 3D scientific animation for Harvard University Medical, the Smithsonian, most major pharmaceutical companies, NOVA and additional broadcast clients. “And it promotes further advances in these various industries of science and animation”.

ISAA General Secretary, Liuyi Wang, founding Director of China’s Asian Youth Animation & Comics Contest sees great benefit in highlighting achievements in these advanced new fields of science animation as 21st Century career paths for talented young computer animators. “This is an industry that will grow exponentially with the compounding demands from various science sectors in the years ahead” said Wang.

ISAA “Sci-An” Awards will be given to first, second and third place, plus awards of merit and best in show. The judges this year will include David Bolinsky, XVIVO Scientific Animation Partner; Jane Hurd, Hurd Studios Founder; and Elizabeth Rega, chief anatomical consultant Walt Disney Feature Animation and SONY Pictures Imageworks, with prominent Asia judges to be announced soon.

Deadline for submission is July 15th 2009 and entries cannot be returned.

In welcoming all applications; there are no entry fees required with submissions.

Applications can be downloaded from www.ayacc.org/Sci-Ansubmissionform

 

Easy understanding of Cancer Chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy has become a household term referring to anti-cancer treatment. In the broad sense, most chemotherapeutic drugs work by impairing mitosis (cell division), effectively targeting fast-dividing cells. As these drugs cause damage to cells they are termed cytotoxic. Some drugs cause cells to undergo apoptosis (so-called “programmed cell death”).The first chemotherapeutic agent used for treatment of Cancer was, ironically, a WMD (Weapon of mass destruction), Mustard gas when its cytotoxic capabilities were noticed during World War 2.

The earlier agents used in chemotherapy were not selectively lethal to cancer cells and harmed many normally dividing cells like hair follicles and skin. But in recent times, scientists have produced novel drugs Targeted at specific molecules within cell cycles. This results in much less collateral damage to normal cells. Below is an interactive flash presentation (originally from newscientist.com) which explains the uses and mechanism of action of ten such therapies.

You can click on the left hand menu to visualize the exact intracellular mechanism of the drug.
Easy to create, easy to remember and fun to learn.

• Designer molecules that seek and destroy cancer cells (geneticsandhealth.com)
• Scientists discover how cancer cells survive a chemotherapy drug (biosingularity.wordpress.com)

 

Scientic animations awards ceremony, China

The 1st Annual International Science Animation Awards being held August 8th 2009 in Guiyang China

Deadline for DVD submissions to “Sci-An” Awards is July 15th 2009

Guiyang, China (PRWEB) June 17, 2009 — Honoring the works of visual wonder that depict what science perceives beyond our eyes, The 1st Annual International Science Animation Awards (ISAA) are being presented in Guiyang, China August 8th 2009.

The ISAA “Sci-An” will be awarded for 2D and 3D works that demonstrate both the highest achievements in scientific and medical communication and superb attention to aesthetic, creative and technical presentation

This is an industry that will grow exponentially with the compounding demands from various science sectors in the years ahead

This year marks the first in what will be an annual juried salon, bringing together in China the work of scientific animators from around the world. Professional and student work is welcome, and will be judged separately.

The event will include presentations and panels with industry leaders from across Asia, the United States and Europe.

The two judging categories are commercial and educational, in short form of under three minutes’ run time. Long form work and compilations from longer projects may be entered and will be evaluated separately.

“The need for recognition in this dynamic emerging field has grown to the point of launching this inaugural event” said founding co-chairman, Sander Johnson, who with founding co-chair, David Bolinsky initiated the concept for this international forum at last year’s Guiyang Animation Festival, in Guiyang, China. That festival is the launch for this year’s Sci-An Awards, which will next year become an independent event.

“Hosting this unique forum and awards ceremony in China truly invites pan-Asian and East-West interaction with leaders in the industries and major universities” said Bolinsky, a leading American creator of 3D scientific animation for Harvard University Medical, the Smithsonian, most major pharmaceutical companies, NOVA and additional broadcast clients. “And it promotes further advances in these various industries of science and animation”.

ISAA General Secretary, Liuyi Wang, founding Director of China’s Asian Youth Animation & Comics Contest sees great benefit in highlighting achievements in these advanced new fields of science animation as 21st Century career paths for talented young computer animators. “This is an industry that will grow exponentially with the compounding demands from various science sectors in the years ahead” said Wang.

ISAA “Sci-An” Awards will be given to first, second and third place, plus awards of merit and best in show. The judges this year will include David Bolinsky, XVIVO Scientific Animation Partner; Jane Hurd, Hurd Studios Founder; and Elizabeth Rega, chief anatomical consultant Walt Disney Feature Animation and SONY Pictures Imageworks, with prominent Asia judges to be announced soon.

Deadline for submission is July 15th 2009 and entries cannot be returned.

In welcoming all applications; there are no entry fees required with submissions.

Applications can be downloaded from www.ayacc.org/Sci-Ansubmissionform

 

Catching Health consumer"s attention online

A large number of people are increasing turning to the internet for their information needs. But when it comes to online activity, everyone has a short attention span. Garnering potential audiences for medical content websites, and then retaining them is a big challenge. How do websites and other applications draw and hold consumers for long-form media like podcasts and video-downloads?

 As per Alexa ranking for two years, WebMD beats all other competition hands down, followed by everydayhealth.com. All others fare way behind these leaders in daily reach.



The important issues identified for such patient or consumer centric multimedia medical websites are,

—high.quality.content
— Accuracy
—Individualization tools
— Good medical imagery
—short 2 minute animation /user experience videos.

Below are quotes by a few top online medical/patient education resources.

Nan Forte EVP, consumer services, WebMD – (The WebMD )content staff blends award-winning expertise in medicine, journalism, health communication and content creation to bring you the best health information possible. Our esteemed colleagues at MedicineNet.com are frequent contributors to WebMD and comprise our Medical Editorial Board. Our Independent Medical Review Board continuously reviews the site for accuracy and timeliness. # Health news for the public,Creating and maintaining up-to-date medical reference content databases,Medical imagery, graphics, and animation, Communities, Live web events, User experience, Interactive tools

More consumers visit WebMD than any other health site in search of health information. Our editorial and programming teams work closely with our product and technology groups to create the appropriate balance of compelling content together with an engaging user experience. The high level of user engagement on WebMD can be attributed to the high degree of personalization combined with the mix of sight, sound and motion across our network. For example, video is presented as part of the integrated user experience. In the past year alone, we’ve seen an increase in the way consumers are interacting with long-form media. We credit our programming expertise and the fact that many of our visitors are engaged information-seekers who will take time to engage in relevant programming.

Michelle Johnson Manager, pharmaceutical public affairs, Abbott -(The podcast series shares insights and tips from health professionals regarding diet and nutrition, the emotional impact of the disease and its effect on relationships. Each Crohn’s Cast also includes a first-hand account from a person living with Crohn’s disease.)

Abbott’s decision to create its “Crohn’s Casts: Speaking from the Gut” series was about addressing the needs of patients by combining the right online tools with relevant topics. Each of the podcasts is under five minutes and shares insights from health professionals regarding diet and nutrition, the emotional impact of the disease and its effect on relationships, and accounts from people living with or impacted by Crohn’s disease. CrohnsOnline.com is a site dedicated to people with Crohn’s disease, a gastrointestinal disease that often strikes between ages 15-35. Since 50% of people with chronic diseases go online to find healthcare information, a podcast was a simple, creative vehicle for this young and web-savvy group.

David Best, President, The Doctor’s Channel- (site includes short one- to two-minute streaming video clips designed to get to the point, with insights and opinions from experts in 35 different specialties, as well as community and lifestyle features that help doctors stay on top of the latest news, ideas and information.)

Ihave found that the best way to draw and hold consumers is to sell them on the idea of shorter content that is packed with more information. The world is media snacking, getting their information in bite-sized bursts. Here at The Doctor’s Channel, we have decided that our best chance to grab the attention of the medical community is not to fight the urge for media snacking, but rather to embrace it. We offer the same content you would find in an 8-minute video, but we provide it in four segments, each 2 minutes long. More often than not, people end up watching all four segments anyway. So consumers end up viewing 8 minutes of content, but because it is presented to them in smaller doses, they are more engaged. But remember, no matter what the “dose,” interesting content is paramount!

Marjorie Martin SVP & general manager, Everyday Health Network – (..help you manage your own and your family’s conditions and overall well-being through personalized advice, tools, and communities)

Online health users have a reputation for being impatient; however, it may be because they’re not finding what they need. Internet users are generally in search of answers to specific questions as opposed to casual browsing. When they find relevant content they stick with it. Audio and video perform best online when they’re specific to a condition and use the visuals and audio to provide important information. For instance, someone in search of content on weight loss surgery is more likely to view animation of the procedure and an interview with a former patient (including visuals of the scar) than watch video of two doctors sitting in a studio talking about it.

Based on a December ,2008 article in MMM-Online.com

Related article

Medical Animation- How is it Used ? (medical-communication.blogspot.com)

 

Interactive Quizzes for Health Communication

Multiple choice is a form of assessment in which respondents are asked to select the best possible answer (or answers) out of the choices from a list. The multiple choice format is most frequently used in educational testing, in market research, and in elections– when a person chooses between multiple candidates, parties, or policies.

Heres an example of a Health related Interactive quiz created with CC images and Free web tools. It barely took me 10 minutes, and it makes the test so much more interesting. It seems like a good idea to have a number of such narrow interest health inquiry quizzes. This would give us a captive market audience and defined segments by using simple free tools.

<a href=”http://www.mystudiyo.com/act90141/mini/go/health_basics”>health_basics</a>

Here are a few links to simple public health communication quizzes

– What is Public Health ? MCQ quiz -This website was developed by the Association of Schools of Public Health and was made possible by support from Pfizer Public Health.

– Stroke information MCQs from Virginia Health Services

1. A stroke usually comes on gradually.

True.
False.

Diabetic Eye Disease:
How much do you know?

Do you know that diabetic eye disease is a leading cause of blindness? If you have diabetes, do you know how to reduce your risk of visual loss? To determine what your Eye-Q is, answer the following questions.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Learning tools and search engine ranking (meducationtechnology.blogspot.com)
• Create Widgets from Blogs for content publishing (medical-communication.blogspot.com)
• -Medical Communication in India (meducationtechnology.blogspot.com)

 

Indian OTC markets

Image via Wikipedia

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines that may be sold without a prescription, in contrast to prescription drugs. These items can be found on the shelves of grocery/ cosmetic stores and bought like any other packaged product in some countries or in others may be bought “over the counter” from the pharmacy, while prescription drugs are sold at a pharmacy counter.

Below is an interactive flash presentation on the subject. It contains the latest public domain data on the potential of OTC markets in India and provides the facts for its bright future. All the references used in this presentation have been enumerated at the end. You can navigate the presentation by quick links, previous/Next buttons or as a simple play video.

Related posts-

• Shoddy Reporting – “10 Things Your Pharmacist Won’t Tell You” (georgevanantwerp.com)
• Shelf medication (guardian.co.uk)

 

Using Flash media for Medical communication

Here is a simple flash presentation prepared by me discussing the main issues involved in creating an effective health communication media. You can find other such useful presentations and documents also on my Scribd account.