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HAPPY
MEMORIAL DAY!!!
Fun Facts:
General John Alexander Logan ordered the Memorial Day
holiday to be observed by decorating the war dead.
On Memorial Day, the flag should be at half-staff until noon
only, then raised to the top of the staff.
Red Poppies are recognized as the Memorial Day flower.
"Taps" is often played at ceremonies on Memorial Day.
Memorial Day was first called "Decoration Day" because of
the practice of decorating soldier's graves with flowers.
New York was the 1st state to officially recognize Memorial
Day.
Flowers and flags are the two most popular items people use
to remember soldiers.
More Fun Facts:
The south refused to honor the dead on Memorial Day until
after World War I when the meaning of Memorial Day changed
from honoring civil war dead to honoring Americans who died
fighting in any war.
Memorial Day was declared a federal holiday in 1971.
At 3 p.m. local time, Americans should pause for a moment of
silence or listen to "Taps."
Unofficial kick-off of the summer season.
Save yourself
time by keeping us updated with your credentials. Fax any
updated information to 248.646.0361 as soon as you receive
it or visit
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A Message From The President
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The summer season
has officially started! We have all enjoyed
watching the temperature climb here in
Michigan. The kids will be out of school in
no time and you can feel the excitement in
the air as everyone begins to make plans for
the months ahead.
Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out
there!!! May your day include a round of
golf (at least for me), something hot off
the grill and quality time with your family.
We all know that work still goes hand in
hand with all of the playing that we do when
the sun is shining. For those of you who are
looking for a new assignment or to pick up
extra work on your time off, contact us
today. National Anesthesia can help! We have
long- and short-term summer assignments in
Virginia, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and
Michigan. Don't forget that we staff
nationwide, there's never a better time to
try something new or travel to a new place.
Connect with us today at 1-800-642-1999 to
discuss your availability!
This month in National News you will read an
article titled "'Brain Bucket' Can See Into
Your Brain." The "Brain Bucket" is able to
take high-resolution images of your brain
and help treat patients. You will also read
about Jill Binder and Jason Read's trip to
the MGMA Meeting in Miami. In the article
"Robots May Come to Aging Boomers' Rescue"
you will read about robots that could aid
the elderly. Technology continues to get
better and better, I can only imagine what
is next! Last but not least you will read
about the state nursing boards that are
going paperless in the article "FYI: Going
Paperless."
We would like
to thank everyone who has taken advantage of
our online registration! Don't forget this
is available to you 24/7 for updates and
additions as well. Visit
www.nationalanesthesia.com
today!
Stephen Read, President
National Anesthesia Services, Inc.
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Quote of the Month
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Don't be fooled by
the calendar. There are only as many days in
the year as you make use of.
----- Charles Richards |
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'Brain Bucket' Can See Into Your Brain
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It may look like
something out of a sci-fi film costume
closet, but a new brain scanner,
affectionately known as the "Brain Bucket,"
is the latest in the high-tech fight against
brain disorders.
Developed and implemented at Boston's
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the
device, officially titled the "multi-channel
phased ray coil," is basically a helmet
featuring a myriad of sensors and coils
connected to a magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) machine.
With the Brain Bucket, the MRI can generate
incredibly high-resolution images of the
brain up to 10 times faster than older
machines -- and sometimes that can mean the
difference between life and death.
"It's like we went from a cell phone camera
to a 10 megapixel digital camera," Dr. Bruce
Rosen, one of the Brain Bucket's creators
and Director of the Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance Center at MGH, told "Good Morning
America."
"When you take a picture with a Brain
Bucket, it can look literally like you took
the brain, slice it up, and we're staring
right at it before your eyes," Rosen said.
Head of Metal Coils Could Help Detect
Diseases Early
The key to the new machine is its 96 metal
coils, which act as separate receivers to
pick up signals from different areas of the
brain and translate them into a single,
comprehensive image. By contrast, a
traditional MRI usually uses only two to 12
coils.
"A small detector close up is more
efficient, but it only captures a small part
of the brain," Lawrence Wald, a biophysicist
at MGH told Massachusetts Institute of
Technology's Technology Review Magazine. "So
you need lots of small detectors spread out
over the scalp."
The resulting high-resolution image can show
clear images of the brain down to the blood
vessels, which allows doctors to catch and
treat disorders like brain tumors, dementia
and epilepsy. Many times, the abnormality is
so small that a normal MRI would have missed
it completely.
In a study using an early prototype and
epilepsy patients, the new device caught
abnormalities that previous brain scans
missed in two-thirds of the patients.
Brain Bucket Could Battle Alzheimer's,
Brain Cancer and Brain Bleeding
The device could also be a powerful weapon
in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.
"In diseases like Alzheimer's, where there
is not a basic diagnosis based on imaging,
we hope that being able to look at smaller
alternations in the brain would yield some
additional diagnostic information and
perhaps allow you to monitor medication,"
Wald said.
Recent studies suggest that subtle
neurological changes could increase risk for
the disease, but the intensive scanning
needed to track such small changes was
generally impractical.
But with its impressive resolution, the
Brain Bucket can more easily identify and
follow the changes, allowing doctors to
prescribe more accurate treatments, the
creators said.
Similarly, the Brain Bucket can help doctors
fight brain cancer.
"The clarity of the pictures can help us see
smaller legions," Rosen said. "They're
easier to treat when they're small. We can
also see the extent of the legion."
As far as brain bleeding, which caused the
recent death of actress Natasha Richardson,
the device can see "very fine bleeds and
catch them early enough to treat," Rosen
said.
Rosen said the Brain Bucket should be
covered by insurance, and according to at
least one patient, it is even comfortable.
"It's a little bit of a tighter fit than
other machines, but you end up falling
asleep," one patient said.
---Chris Strathmann and Lee Ferran
http://abcnews.go.com
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MGMA Anesthesia Administration Assembly
(AAA) 2009 Conference-Miami Heat!
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Jill Binder and
Jason Read hit the friendly skies and
ventured south into the heat of Miami this
past month to attend the 2009 MGMA
Anesthesia Administration Assembly (AAA). We
truly enjoyed the quality time spent talking
to prospective clients. It was also a
pleasure spending time with current clients
and putting more faces to the voices we talk
to daily- always fun to see reactions when
we meet in person! If you were one of the
attendees, thank you so much for visiting
with us! The conference provided valuable
one-on-one time with attendees through the
exhibitor breaks and the networking events.
It is always a great way to socialize and
share industry trends and concerns with each
other. Jill and Jason managed to squeeze in
some fun and a visit to South Beach which
provided an intriguing glimpse into the
international flair and decadent lifestyle
that the area is known for. The trip was a
successful venture and we look forward to
the next event.
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Robots May Come to Aging Boomers' Rescue
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TUESDAY, Nov. 18 (HealthDay
News) -- In the not-so- distant future,
American seniors may turn to helpful,
uncomplaining robots to fill the worrisome
"care gap" that many face today.
One of these autonomous devices, called the
uBOT-5, is already capable of carrying out
simple tasks while it monitors the home
environment. The robot can even spot trouble
-- such as a person falling down -- and call
911 if necessary.
The freestanding device can also bring a
faraway loved one into an aging person's
home via video Internet hook-up.
"So, if I'm at work, and it's lunch hour and
I want to poke in on Dad, I can get on the
Internet and basically 'step inside' the
robot," said uBOT-5 co- inventor Rod Grupen,
who directs the Laboratory for Perpetual
Robotics at the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst. With their face appearing via video
on the front of the robot's head, the
virtual visitor can converse with their
loved one while moving the robot around,
doing some cleaning, for example, or
retrieving a dropped TV remote.
Any "authorized user" can jump into and
guide the robot, Grupen said. "So, if you
can't get to your doctor, your doctor can
now come to you," he said. In fact, the
UMass team hopes that the uBOT-5 will
someday be capable of running simple medical
tests, such as measuring blood pressure or
blood sugar.
And because it's fully mobile, with
Segway-like wheels, virtual visits from
others should include much of the house, and
beyond. "Your granddaughter on the West
Coast can get into the robot and visit with
you outside in the garden, you can have a
two-way conversation with audio/video, hold
hands and go show them the flowers you just
planted," Grupen said.
There's a huge and growing need for robotic
home assistants that might help care for the
elderly or disabled and allow them to stay
in their homes, Grupen believes. According
to U.S. Census figures, the number of
Americans age 65 or over will double by
2030, and two-thirds will need some form of
long-term care. At the same time, there's a
dearth of nurses and home health-care aides
to care for them; experts predict a shortage
of 800,000 nurses by 2020.
The uBOT-5's design was inspired by the
human body. Its myriad sensors mimic human
eyes and ears, constantly scanning its
environment. It is even programmed to detect
and respond to worrisome aberrations,
including a fallen, unresponsive human. The
robot's arms are each capable of handling
2.2- pound loads, and they can extend to
reach high or pick things up off the floor
(a dropped pill bottle, a package in a
foyer, for example). The robot can lie prone
to scoot itself under a bed (and then right
itself), and it may even someday help with
household cleaning and grocery shopping,
Grupen said.
And the cost? Right now, the prototypes at
UMass cost $65,000 apiece, but Grupen
envisions a day when commercial versions
would be sold for $5,000 plus a monthly
Internet hook-up fee, much like today's
computers.
And the uBOT-5 isn't the only such device in
the pipeline. Over at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, researcher Nicolas
Roy, at the institute's Computer Science and
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, has
developed an "autonomous wheelchair" that
only requires a command to whiz users from
one spot to another in a hospital or nursing
home.
When first delivered to a facility, the
wheelchair -- rigged out with high-tech
scanning software -- has no knowledge of the
particular layout. But staff will uncrate
it, turn it on, and give it a verbal guided
tour, walking it past different rooms and
nursing stations.
"You talk to it like you'd talk to a new
person, a new nurse. And as a side effect of
the thing being walked through the facility
once or twice, the wheelchair has now been
demonstrated a route between all the
points," explained co-developer Seth Teller,
who helps lead the lab's Robotics, Vision
and Sensor Networks Group.
After that, a wheelchair-bound stroke
patient or quadriplegic need only say, "Take
me to Room 451" for the chair to understand
and then do just that. The device will be
launched as a prototype ready for testing in
a Boston-area nursing home within two years,
Teller said.
Finally, at Georgia Tech, researchers led by
assistant professor Charlie Kemp are making
their own home-care robots, inspired by the
agile intelligence of service dogs.
"We're using service dogs to answer three
important questions: What tasks would be
good for a [home] robot to perform? How
should people interact with the robot, to
tell it to do these tasks? And how can the
robot actually perform these tasks, given
the complexities of the home?" Kemp said.
Service dogs and the disabled people they
help are providing the answers. The new
robot is being designed to move about and
perform tasks such as opening drawers,
turning doorknobs and working light
switches, Kemp said. Users indicate what
they'd like done by using a laser pointer,
and homes are modified slightly to help the
robot, just as homes are subtly tweaked to
aid service dogs. "Things like tying a small
towel to a doorknob" to facilitate grasping,
Kemp explained.
The robot may not ever replace a great
service dog, but Kemp noted that the average
disabled American now pays $16,000 for a
properly trained canine, and waiting lists
now stretch for years.
"I think there's a real need," he said. "So,
the hope is that people will support this
sort of work. Then, we'll be able to deliver
these things when people need them."
---E.J.
Mundell, HealthDay Reporter
http://abcnews.go.com
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FYI: Going Paperless
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As technology
becomes more advanced, the need for paper,
pencils and postal services is decreasing.
The majority of contact is through email and
paper documents are simply sent as
electronic attachments. You can download,
complete and sign applications without ever
picking up a pen. Now, add obtaining a state
licensure to this ever-growing list of
online advancements. Maine, Maryland, North
Carolina, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode
Island, Texas, and Washington are now
paperless states. They will no longer be
issuing pocket cards or certificates for RN
and APRN licenses. It is amazing how things
are changing! Please contact us if there are
any additional states that have also gone
paperless.
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General Disclaimer:
The materials have been compiled by National
Anesthesia Services. Inc. from internal and
external sources. However, while we have
attempted to provide accurate information in
this publication, no representation is made
or warranty given as to the completeness or
accuracy of the Materials. In particular,
you should be aware that the Materials may
be incomplete, may contain errors, or may
have become out of date. You should
therefore verify information obtained from
this publication before you take any action
upon it.
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