'technology' posts

• Do you have a problem hearing over the telephone?
• Do you have trouble following the conversation when two or more people are talking at the same time?
• Do people complain that you turn the TV volume up too high?
• Do you have to strain to understand conversation?
• Do you have trouble hearing in a noisy background?
• Do you find yourself asking people to repeat themselves?
• Do many people you talk to seem to mumble (or not speak clearly)?
• Do you misunderstand what others are saying and respond inappropriately?
• Do you have trouble understanding the speech of women and children?
• Do people get annoyed because you misunderstand what they say?

If you or a loved one answered yes to three or more of the above questions, you may want to make an appointment with an otolaryngologist (an ear, nose and throat specialist) and/or an audiologist for a hearing evaluation.

Hearing loss can be caused by ...

Going through cancer treatment as a patient, family member or caregiver can take a lot of personal time. And we know that being in a hospital environment on a day-to-day basis can be exhausting. Here at the Swedish Cancer Institute (SCI), we aim to provide resources and access to services to help your mind, body and spirit heal.

One way we do this is through using innovative programs that help connect patients and family members to resources within the community. Recently, SCI has launched a new iPad Loan Program that puts interactive and educational resources right at your fingertips.

You can use the iPads while waiting in the lobby or even during treatment to:

Cognitive dysfunction is common in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and can be present from initial diagnosis through late stages of the disease.  The most common issues are problems with:

• Attention

• Information processing (thinking)

• Learning and memory

Recent papers have looked into which rehabilitative strategies would most help these issues.  A new study published in the journal Neurorehabilitation & Neural Repair shows how one specific intervention could improve or restore impaired attention functions in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) who experienced major attention deficits....

In recent years, there has been a surge in the popularity of robotic surgery. This is an exciting new technology that is being actively used by many specialists here at Swedish. In General Surgery, we have been using a minimally invasive approach called laparoscopy for many years. This allows us to use smaller incisions, giving the patient much less pain and a quicker recovery.  Robotic surgery is very similar.

Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about robotic surgery:

Are incisions smaller with robotic surgery than with laparoscopy?

No. The incisions are pretty much the same. As a patient, you might not be able to tell much of a difference from the surface.

Do the robotic instruments allow the surgeon to perform a better operation?

Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy is a new term that has been coined to describe the delivery of very high doses of radiation delivered over a handful of treatment sessions. This precise method targets small tumors located in the lung. This new treatment has been pioneered and studied extensively in patients who are not suitable candidates for an operation but have been diagnosed with early stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

The advantages of this approach are that the treatment can be completed in 1-2 weeks (including the planning time), and only requires 3-5 treatments. The treatment requires highly specialized planning and preparation and is delivered using state of the art linear accelerators like the CyberKnife®. Our team has been offering stereotactic ablative radiotherapy for over 4 years.

The results are outstanding for this population of patients. A number of studies have demonstrated that the local tumor control rates exceed ...

SEATTLE, Jan. 22, 2013 - Swedish Heart & Vascular Institute cardiothoracic surgeon Eric Lehr, M.D., and one of his patients were interviewed for an article on robotic-assisted surgery that appears in the Feb. 11 issue of Fortune magazine.

Many people joined us last week to see Mrs. Day's cochlear implant surgery live-tweeted and Instagrammed. (You can click here to view a recap and see the pictures from Instagram.)

One of my favorite parts of the event was seeing the many thoughtful tweets & notes were sent in support of Mr. & Mrs. Day:

@swedish good luck, Mrs. Day! An ear surgery (patient) veteran in Virginia is cheering you on!

— Amanda Jenkins (@refinedladybug) October 2, 2012

@swedish I am so proud that you are doing this on SoMe. Thank your patient and the treating team for your willingness to involve the world.

— Pseudo ENT Surgeon (@otorhinolarydoc) October 2, 2012

@swedish Thanks to Mr & Mrs Day for participating & you for sharing - it's been an amazing priviledge to be part of it! #SwedishHear

— Vicki Kirwin (@KidsAudiologist) October 2, 2012

@swedish Good luck Mrs. Day on this new exciting journey in life!! Thanks for sharing!! #swedishhear

— Alaina Leighton (@AlainaLH) October 2, 2012

All the very best Mrs Day! May your surgery be more than a success and beyond! Thank you for sharing your journey! #Swedishhear @swedish

— Doose Ugo (@Deesse26) October 2, 2012

Some of the most frequently asked questions we received during the event were:

1. Why are you doing this? (Answer - read this blog post, and watch this video to learn more about the inspiration behind the #SwedishHear web series.)

2. Are you livestreaming Mrs. Day's cochlear implant activation?

We weren't originally planning to livestream the activation like we've done livestreams before - instead, we planned to host two, text-based live chats so people could type and read questions and engage directly with Dr. Backous, Stacey Watson (Mrs. Day's audiologist), and Karen Utter (President, Hearing Loss Association of Washington State).

Now we're doing both!

If you tune in....