PDAs, cell phones, they're not just for organization and conversation. Many of today's hottest electronic devices are being adapted to improve medical care. Healthbeat reporter Sylvia Perez tells us why you shouldn't be surprised if your doctor hands you an iPod.
iPods to cell phones to PDAs -- the technology we use every day is making its way into emergency rooms and doctors' offices.
"I see this as the next wave of the future," said Dr. Grayson Wheatley, heart surgeon, Arizona Heart institute.
Wheatley's hospital uses iPods to deliver important facts about medical procedures to patients. Video-on-demand can be viewed on devices like these or on a home computer.
"I see every physician's office, every hospital, every clinic being involved in handing out information," said Wheatley.
EMS crews now use digital cell phone technology to send heart rhythm data to the ER.
Transmitting the ECG while en route lets doctors at the ER know if the patient is having a heart attack. Studies show this cuts the time it takes to start heart- saving treatments in half.
"You can truly abort the heart attack event if you can get to them within an hour of the onset of their symptoms," said Dr. Dean Kereiakes, cardiologist.
One PDA is helping patients like Lonnie Marshall deal with congestive heart failure. That means his heart has lost the ability to pump blood efficiently.
"Couldn't make it to the mailbox and back without stopping along the way sucking for air and get in the house," said Lonnie Marshall, heart patient.
After antibiotics and steroids failed, Lonnie began taking diuretic drugs to rid the body of extra fluid, and then he became the first American patient to test the "Heart Pod." It's a PDA that measures fluid.
"There's a wire that goes into the heart and a very small can which can be used to extract information," said Dr. William Abraham, heart surgeon, Ohio St. University Medical Center.
The wire and can are surgically implanted. Then a PDA device reads fluid levels telling patients how much medicine to take.
"We can adjust the dose of the patient's water pills to alleviate the congestion before they get into trouble and before they end up in the emergency department or the hospital," said Abraham.
Palm pilots and other handheld computers are also changing the way doctors deliver care. Doctors can calculate body fat, look at patient records and schedule appointments.
New PDA programs allow doctors to cross-reference a patient's symptom with all known causes. The cell phone heart monitor system is in use but still being tested.
