National Academy of Medicine Selects FAU for Substance Use, Opioid Crises Collaborative

FAU joins the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Combating Opioid Crises. This pilot project, involving more 80 organizations, aims to enhance coordination and address addiction challenges through collaboration among public, private and nonprofit sectors.

Balancing Act: Novel Wearable Sensors and AI Transform Balance Assessment

Traditional methods to assess balance often suffer from subjectivity, aren’t comprehensive enough and can’t be administered remotely. They also are expensive and require specialized equipment and clinical expertise.

‘Fit2Drive’ Transforms Assessing Older Drivers with Cognitive Decline

With the help of an evidence-based calculator called “Fit2Drive,” researchers have made it easy to administer and evaluate an in-office test to predict an older individual’s probability of passing an on-road driving test. Based upon brief, easily administered cognitive tests, Fit2Drive provides an objective estimation of the ability to drive for those with cognitive concerns. Results show that the Fit2Drive algorithm demonstrated a strong 91.5% predictive accuracy.

Novel Wearable Belt with Sensors Accurately Monitors Heart Failure 24/7

There is a critical need for non-invasive solutions to monitor heart failure progression around the clock. This novel wearable device is based on sensors embedded in a lightweight belt that monitors thoracic impedance, electrocardiogram (ECG), heart rate and motion activity detection. The device was tested in different conditions including sitting, standing, lying down and walking. Findings showed that all of sensors kept track of the changes for all of the different conditions.

Ochsner Accountable Care Network announces sixth straight year of exceptional quality outcomes and multi-million-dollar healthcare savings

OACN’s 2021 clinical successes, highlighted by a 100% quality score, can be attributed to increasing primary care physician visits, focusing on high-risk patient care coordination and support, reducing unnecessary hospitalizations through ambulatory care coordination, and improving patient satisfaction.

Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury: M.O.M. to the Rescue

The M.O.M. project, which will have four units in Ohio, Florida, South Carolina and Texas, will engage veterans with traumatic brain injury, their caregivers and other stakeholders to bolster patient-centered outcomes research and comparative effectiveness research in order to identify treatment options for traumatic brain injury that are effective, acceptable, and meaningful to the veteran population.

FAU Launches New Telehealth Certification Course

A new, 20-hour telehealth certification course provides the essential knowledge to deliver skilled telehealth services. The fully online course addresses telehealth platforms and models for practice; evidence-based telehealth technology; quality improvement measures; regulation, policy and reimbursement; telehealth inter-professional practice and specialized populations; and telehealth and the future.

Go Inside the Most Innovative Minds in Science and Medicine on “Real, Smart People,” a New Podcast

Podcast from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai offers a glimpse into the real story of how science and medicine moves forward, one smart person at a time.

Ingo Mellinghoff Named Chair of MSK’s Department of Neurology

Neuro-oncologist and renowned physician-scientist Ingo Mellinghoff will lead MSK’s distinguished Department of Neurology after previously serving as Acting Co-Chair.

Caring for Those Most Vulnerable to COVID-19 Requires Vigilance

Early reports suggest the case fatality rate for those over 80, which constitutes nearly half of nursing home residents, is more than 15 percent. In areas where there is a shortage of ICU beds and respirators, even the most carefully thought out ethical approaches to rationing these resources will place older patients at a lower priority. Nursing homes must be prepared to manage patients who have had or have COVID-19 infection.

Why Do So Many Pregnancies and In Vitro Fertilization Attempts Fail?

Scientists have created a mathematical model that can help explain why so many pregnancies and in vitro fertilization attempts fail. The Rutgers-led study, which may help to improve fertility, is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.