Computers in Medical Field

Computers in Medical

Computers are used in the daily life of the research and development. The high-end machines used for diagnosis and cure of many diseases are nothing but computers. For example, MRT, CT scan, ultrasound devices, etc. are used is hospitals. Even many surgical procedures, known as laparoscopic surgeries, need the help of computers. Web conferencing helps doctors treat people remotely.  As computers have become mainstream appliances, they have found their way into virtually all aspects of human endeavors and medicine is no exception. Computers help physicians and medical researchers discover, test and apply medical techniques in virtually every hospital in the world. Furthermore, computer technology provides an infrastructure to allow for medical ideas and knowledge to be filed and shared globally with other medical professionals.

X-rays and CT scans

X-rays and CT scans use radiation to produce images of a patient's internal structure to search for abnormalities. X-rays allow for viewing of the internal structure of the patient from one perspective. CT scanning on the other hand uses computer technology to take several X-ray images that are two-dimensional cross-sections and turn them into a multidimensional picture that doctors use to make a diagnosis. These single X-rays are combined using computer programs that precisely reconstruct the internal structure of the patient.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic Resonance Imagining, more commonly known as MRI, is the process of using powerful magnetic fields to map the patient's internal structure and activity. According to Radiologyinfo.org, MRI is used to produce detailed images of soft tissue in the body without using radiation. The bio-electrical activity in the body is detected by the MRI machine and fed to a computer that interprets the structure of the area being scanned and presents a three-dimensional presentation of electrical activity in the region. This allows doctors to search for physical and operational defects in patients without invasive surgery.

Spectroscopy                                  

Spectroscopy is the process of irradiating a substance, such as biopsy tissue or suspected dangerous substances, and examining the reflected or transmitted radiation patterns. A number of different spectroscopy methods have been developed to measure different energy characteristics. All substances absorb and reflect only specific wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. The reflected or transmitted radiation is analyzed by a computer that determines which wavelengths are present or missing. This pattern, called a spectrum, is then compared to a database of known substances to find a match. This allows doctors to quickly determine if a poisonous substance is involved and decide appropriate treatment actions.

Patient Monitoring

Patients admitted to a hospital are connected to machines that use vital statistics monitoring software to record blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen levels. These computers monitor a patient and are programmed to notify the staff in the event any of these statistics move outside of acceptable ranges.

Surgery

Computerized robotics allows doctors to perform surgery on patients without even being in the same room. These computer-controlled surgeries allow doctors to save the lives of patients many miles away which may not have been possible otherwise. Video networking and real-time vital statistics monitoring allow for safe, precise surgeries that are observed by on-staff doctors or students.

Secure Data Storage

Prior to the use of computers, sensitive patient data was kept in filing cabinets that were bulky and easily broken into. Today, computer database technology allows medical professionals to maintain thorough patient files secured with encryption routines and even stored off site for extra security and backup capabilities.

Internet Connectivity

Doctors and researchers commonly use personal computers for real-time consults and second opinions. This allows for the diagnosis procedure to take less time, which can equate to increased lab results or a life-saving treatment. Furthermore, the use of small computing devices, such as PDAs and smart phones, allow doctors to perform their work in less technologically advanced areas that do not have landline Internet connects.

Diagnostic Databases

Medicine encompasses a vast field of knowledge that is expanding every day. Computer databases allow doctors to store diagnostic information and make that information searchable. This allows medical information from previous cases and peer-reviewed journals to be instantly available to medical professionals at any time and place.

Medical Research

Currently, distributed computing platforms are used to run medical simulations in search of cures to diseases such as cancer, AIDS, and Alzheimer's disease. This computerized software lets millions of computers join together in a manner that exponentially increases the speed at which potential cures may be found.

Medical Practice Software

Computer software is used to track and project virtually all aspects of a medical practice. Patient files, profit and loss statements, and billing and insurance forms are all handled using computer software that streamlines the office work of a medical practice and allows doctors more time to spend with their patients.

Computers in Education

Importance of Computers in School to Help Students

Computer has become one of the basic necessities these days. One can do any of their work through computers right from ordering food for lunch to the ticket booking of their flight ticket. These are regarded as a major electronic tool that is mostly used for various official works. It helps in compiling the important files and papers all together in the most organize manner. Computer help in education filed also which could be well observe. Today’s generation students do not understand anything beyond computers. Most of them totally rely on computer to get various educational help for improving their grades and academics performance.

Spending time on computer has become daily routine for many as computer is the only solution for their all kinds of problems. They can study hard, complete their home assignments, do their projects, play games and even enjoy social networking through various famous networking sites prevailing online. All these things they can do while sitting at home and not going anywhere which earlier they have to do at the time when computers are not there. They can even go for varied study programs available online and enhance their knowledge and skills that will be add on to their academic performance.

Looking at the importance of computer and how does it help in education sector to grow further, even schools have made computer education compulsory for the students. They focus at imparting the basic computer knowledge so that they can be a computer literate and allow them to be smart enough to perform well at their academics front. Introduction of computers at the initial stage of gaining education is precious gift not only for students but also for their parents, teachers and tutors. It has helped in removing the barrier of old and tradition mean of education in the best possible manner.

More and more, educators have embraced the value and importance of computers in their schools. From the library to the math lab, computers help students learn. There are several areas where computers have proved to be an invaluable resource for both educators and students.

An Engaging Way to Learn

By providing students access to computers in the classroom, educators offer students an engaging means to learn about subjects that might otherwise seem dull and boring. Computers help bring to life topics being studied through lectures and assignments. For instance, students can interact with scientists on the International Space Station by asking questions in real time, or go online to see a museum's collection of ancient artifacts and listen to a virtual tour guide.

Creating Better Students and Researchers

Computers provide students one more way to research topics. The benefit of computer research is the breadth of resources available online. This is especially relevant if the school's library is small. Computers also allow students to work at their own pace with computer lab lessons specifically tailored to each student, allowing them to focus on areas where they need improvement.

Teacher/Parent Interaction

Many teachers have decided to use computers as a way to keep parents informed about lessons and homework assignments. Computers also can be used to get parents and others in the community involved. For example, a teacher may create an Internet page that allows parents to see what type of topics will be explored over the course of the school year. Mom and dad also can see a video of classroom activities as they happen.

Alternative Routes for Adult Learners

Computers have increasingly helped adults go back to school. Adults who might have ruled out returning to school now have the option of pursuing a degree or diploma on their home computers. A labyrinth of obstacles and considerations, from finding child care to scheduling classes around work, is removed through online learning. Computers make it possible for busy adults to get a degree that will, hopefully, improve their future earnings potential.

Advantages of Computers in Business

What Are the Advantages of Computers in Business?

Computers have tremendously improved the way businesses operate in their respective industries. Technology has advanced so remarkably that those who are not using computers in their business are at a major disadvantage against their competitors. In particular, there are several important advantages that computers can provide to small businesses.

Organization

Computers allow the application of different types of software that can help businesses keep track of their files, documents, schedules and deadlines. Computers also allow businesses to organize all of their information in a very accessible manner. The ability to store large amounts of data on a computer is convenient and inexpensive, and saves space. A computer's ability to allow a company to organize its files efficiently leads to better time management and productivity.

Self-Sufficiency

Computers have made staff and companies more self-sufficient by allowing them to do tasks that previously had to be outsourced. For example, a company can now use office software to create their own training material. Desktop publishing software can be used to create marketing materials. Online tax and accounting programs allow companies to prepare their own taxes. This allows the dominant operations of a company to remain in-house and empowers the company to become more independent and less susceptible to errors committed by outside parties.

Cost-Effective

Emerging technology makes new tools and services more affordable and allows companies to save on their staff payroll and office equipment. Because computers allow work to be done faster and more efficiently, it is possible for a company to hire fewer staff. In addition, with networked and relatively inexpensive computers, companies can store data more easily, saving on the cost of outside file storage, and can avoid having to purchase as many copiers, fax machines, typewriters, and other such items that were used before computers became popular. Correspondingly, potentially profitable businesses can be started with a smaller overhead cost. Email capabilities decrease postage costs; software applications reduce the need for large accounting departments, while videoconferencing reduces the need for travel. All resources saved will trickle down to the consumers, who are then provided with much more affordable products and service.

Speed

Computers help speed up other business operations. The collecting of consumer feedback, ordering of raw materials, and inspection of products is made quicker through the use of computers, allowing companies to operate much faster and to produce better quality results.

Cheaper Research and Development

Research and development, costs will also decrease with the help of computers. Scientific research can now be done using the Internet and computer software applications designed to develop and produce new products and services. For example, instead of a company having to do in-person focus groups on a potential new product or to determine their target market, the company can conduct a widespread online survey for a far lower cost. In addition, new models of a product can be created online using virtual pictures and drawings instead of having to be hand-drawn. These interactive models created using software programs can help bring the product and its features to life for a far lower cost than creating an actual physical model of the given product.

Sales

Computers can help generate higher sales and profits for businesses via a company website. Many businesses now operate online and around the clock to allow customers from around the world to shop for their products and services.

Using Collabrative Software For Team writing

What is team writing?

Writing as a team, or collaborative writing, requires coordination between members to ensure that everyone is on track and aware what responsibilities fall to which person. Whether in the academic world or the business world, all of us are likely to participate in some form of group writing—an undergraduate group project for a class, a collaborative research paper or grant proposal, or a report produced by a business team. Writing in a group can have many benefits: multiple brains are better than one, both for generating ideas and for getting a job done. However, working in a group can sometimes be stressful because there are various opinions and writing styles to incorporate into one final product that pleases everyone. With the advent of electronic networking, writing pedagogy has moved into the arena of computer-supported collaborative writing, using collaborative writing as an instructional means to promote a more social view of the writing process. Collaborative writing is a great way to teach the writing skill while enjoying it. Now with help of advanced technology you can use various available web tools to enhance collaborative writing. Here some of the web tools to encourage and foster collaborative writing:

1.  Google Drive

 Using Google Drive, which includes Google Docs, will permit you and your teammates to work on a document or spreadsheet synchronously and/or asynchronously without having to file-share.  You can invite as many people as you need to be involved, and all you need is a free Google account to access this service. Google has now added other types of documents to the mix including drawings, charts, and presentations. Best of all Free. Google Docs is an excellent application for collaboration. You can share documents and spreadsheets and collaborate with your team/clients in real-time. Being a browser-based application – the requirements to get up and running is very minimal. Storing your work online means they’re readily available anywhere with an internet connection. 

2. Microsoft Word

Most popular word processor and one of the most effective and simple tools for collaboration. It’s ubiquity alone makes a good argument for using this application when collaborating with your team, but it’s ability to track changes in a document, credit the proper author of a revision, view the current document in final form or marked up in a variety of ways, makes Word a simple, powerful solution. Microsoft’s recent addition of a “cloud”-based version (Office Web Apps) of the software means that teams will be able to participate from wherever they are using the web.

3. Forums

Many team blog communications and collaborations are conducted using traditional forum tools. Both free and affordable forum tools are available. Typically, a team blog forum is private with folders dedicated to news, story ideas, questions, and so on. This is where contributors can privately discuss issues, collaborate on stories, and learn. The team blog editor can require contributors to subscribe to specific folders via email, so critical information is easily shared and viewed by the entire team. Some forum tools can integrate directly with the blogging application used to publish the actual blog.

4. Groups

You can create a private group using Google Groups, Facebook, or LinkedIn and invite your team blog contributors to join and participate in discussions. Some tools even allow you to create subgroups for more focused conversations and collaborations. Considering that most people already have a Google or Facebook account, it often requires no additional knowledge or learning on contributors' parts to join and use your team blog group on one of these sites. Furthermore, since many of these tools offer mobile sites and applications, it's easy for contributors to view messages and participate in team discussions from their mobile devices and at their convenience.

5. Skype

If you’ve been a web worker for a significant period of time, there’s little chance that Skype has evaded you. In case you haven’t heard of it, Skype is an application that allows you to make telephone calls over the internet (the technology is called Voice over Internet Protocol – or VoIP). You can make free calls to other Skype users and toll-free numbers, and even landlines/cell phones for a small fee. Aside from its VoIP feature, there are also built-in features for instant messaging (IM), video conferencing, and file sharing.

6. Chats

Chats are real-time online text conversations. They are usually conducted in one of three ways:

• Web-based: These chats are accessed thgh a normal browser, such as the chat feature in Gmail. The screen, or a portion of the screen, will refresh regularly. This has the potential to be very accessible, since the output is HTML. Most of the older online chats were Java-based and most of the new ones are AJAX-based.
• Instant Messenger: Users communicate using a downloadable messaging program, such as MSN Messenger or AOL Instant Messenger. Most of the latest-generation instant messaging clients can be made relatively accessible.

7. Email

Email is still a major communication channel for online collaboration. Because email is the first tool most people learn to use, they are often reluctant to move away from email to embrace more effective collaboration tools

8. Wikis, Blogs and Podcast

We have witnessed a rapid increase in the use of Web-based collaboration software in recent years. These applications, particularly wikis, blogs and podcasts, have been increasingly adopted by many people. Because of their ease of use and rapidity of deployment, they offer the opportunity for powerful information sharing and ease of collaboration. Wikis are Web sites that can be edited by anyone who has access to them. The word 'blog' is a contraction of 'Web Log' – an online Web journal that can offer a resource rich multimedia environment. Podcasts are repositories of audio and video materials that can be "pushed" to subscribers, even without user intervention. These audio and video files can be downloaded to portable media players that can be taken anywhere, providing the potential for "anytime, anywhere" learning experiences

9. Discussion Boards

A discussion board is a tool which allows groups to communicate online. It is quite similar to e-mail, but is separate from your e-mail account and is accessed, stored and organized centrally. The entire group can read all the messages. You can read old messages or post new messages at any time. A discussion board is made up of ‘forums’ – folders containing messages on a particular subject, ‘threads’ – each thread is a series of messages about the same topic, and ‘messages’ – each message is an individual contribution to a conversation (like a single e-mail).Many websites offer discussion boards so that users can share and discuss information and opinions.

10. Groupware and Portals

Groupware and portals usually involve expensive software featuring online discussion areas, documents and file sharing areas, integrated calendaring and collaborative authoring tools.