News From Around the Web
> Two UC Irvine biomedical engineering students are advancing to the next round in a new tech reality competition show, America's Greatest Makers, after judges greenlighted their Slapband invention. The wearable aims to replace the traditional blood pressure cuff and serve as a monitor for additional health vital signs. Announcement
> Boston Children's Hospital's Innovation & Digital Health Accelerator team is deploying a skill app for Amazon Alexa-enabled devices, called KidsMD, to provide parents and care givers with answers regarding health symptoms such as fever, cough and headache. Announcement
Health IT
> Surgeon Sahfi Ahmed, who made a name for himself by using Google Glass, performed cancer surgery Thursday using virtual reality that was streamed online. Medical students around the world and other interested parties could view the Royal London Hospital-based operation v Google Cardboard VR glasses paired with the VRinOR app for smartphone or tablet or by watching it online. Article
> A breach at the American College of Cardiology may have put patient info at risk for 1,400 of the college's institutions. The information was made accessible by a third-party vendor when a software redesign occurred for the ACC's cardiovascular data registry. Article
Health Insurance News
> A "Medicare Help at Home" policy would go a long way toward providing financial protection and improving health outcomes for the one-fifth of Medicare beneficiaries who require long-term services and supports, according to a recent Health Affairs Blog post. Article
And Finally…There's a new kind of cloud and it has claws. Article