Category: Poster Ideas (Page 1 of 2)

1. Popular Source

“Best Electric Toothbrush for Braces.” electricteeth.co.ok. Accessed October 22nd, 2017

Launched in 2015, www.electricteeth.co.uk has been founded on the principle of giving genuine, honest feedback on products that exist within the dental and oral health industry, along with news and other useful guides as to how anyone can improve their oral hygiene or be served better by products that exist on the market.They are not dentist or medical professionals, just individuals who want to give readers the information and answers to questions they may not have found elsewhere. In the article itself, it talks about the best electric toothbrushes for braces, as well as the best manual brush and best battery brush. They talk about the research they’ve done and tries to inform the reader on which they should choose. I believe we can use this article to help us get a better understanding on what types of toothbrushes are more suitable for people with braces and why. This can help us with developing our 3D model of one.

1. Peer Review

Re, D, Augusti, G, Battaglia, D, Gianni, AB, and Augusti, D. “Is a New Sonic Toothbrush More Effective in Plaque Removal than a Manual Toothbrush?” European Journal Of Paediatric Dentistry 16.1 (2015): 13-18. Web.

The European Journal of Paediatric Dentistry is the official publication of the Italian Society of Paediatric Dentistry. Their aim is to promote research in all aspects of dentistry related to children, including interceptive orthodontics and studies on children and young adults with special needs, The journal focuses on clinical and basic science research and all papers are reviewed by at least two international reviewers who are known to have an interest or expertise in the field covered by the paper. This paper does research on whether electronic toothbrushes are more effective than manual toothbrushes. Reading this article can help our group determine which route to go when designing our toothbrush using the 3D printer, manual or electronic?

1. Peer Review

Hansen, PA, K. Masterson, and W. Killoy. “Effect on Orthodontic Brackets by Brushing with an Electric Toothbrush.” Journal Of Dental Research 76 (1997): 1087. Web.

The Journal of Dental Research is a peer-reviewed scientific journal dedicated to research and information of all sciences relevant to dentistry and to the oral cavity and associated structures in health and disease. This article teaches us about the effects of braces by brushing with an electric toothbrush.

Popular Source #1: 
Monks, Keiron.2014. “Forget Wearable Tech, Embeddable Implants are Already Here.” CNN, April 9. Accessed October 22, 2017.http://www.appcessories.co.uk/implantable-wearables/

This article is written by Keiron Monks, a general contributor to the online print posted by CCC. A bit of delving into other articles written by him shows a left-leaning tendency in his work, however, this particular article seems devoid of personal opinions by the author.

This piece focuses on the community known as biohackers, a community of citizen scientists with the mission of hacking their own biology, to “gain control of systems in your body that you would never have access to” through the implementation of wearable tech. Presently, at the time this article was posted, magnets and microchips were standard implants to be found within members of this community, whether for aesthetic or practical purposes, but these implants have been growing in complexity and ability to fulfill practical applications.

Popular Source#2:

Unknown, Daniel.2015. “Top 15 Implantable Wearables That Will Change Our Lives.” appcessories, December 2. Accessed October 22, 2017. http://www.appcessories.co.uk/author/daniel/ 

This article is written by resident editor in chief of the Appcessories Blog “Daniel” about whom we know nothing more than that. This piece serves as a brief argument that the future of technology is not in wearables but in implantable technology, before launching a numbered list of where this author believes the most relevant movements in this space will occur. Some examples are neural implants for the military, sponge-like implants for cancer cell detection, and the implanting of stretchy wireless materials capable of reducing pain.

Scholarly Article #1:

Andreu-Perez, Javier, Daniel R. Leff, and Guang-Zhong Yang. 2015. “From Wearable Sensors to Smart Implants–Towards Pervasive and Personalized Healthcare.” IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering  62, no. 12 (April 15): 2750 – 2762. Accessed October 22, 2017. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2015.2422751

All authors for this academic journal hail from the Imperial College of London, from which each of these contributors has published numerous articles before all pertaining to deep knowledge obtained from tech and its potential implications for health.

This paper discusses the evolution of personalized healthcare from its inception with wearable technologies which allowed for activity recognition to the future of this space, which lies in the implant of these sensors for more and better data. The focus of the health prerogative has moved away from reactive in the favor of proactive; preventative, predictive, personalized, and participatory medicine are the future. in the words of the declared significance of this paper: “The sensing technologies discussed in this paper and their future evolution will play a key role in realizing the goal of sustainable healthcare systems.”

Scholarly Article #2:

Kauper, Konrad, Cahil McGovern, Sandy Sherman, Pam Heatherton, Rob Rapoza, Paul Stabila, Brenda Dean, Alice Lee, Suzanna Borges, Bruce Bouchard, Weng Tao. 2012. “Two-Year Intraocular Delivery of Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor by Encapsulated Cell Technology Implants in Patients with Chronic Retinal Degenerative Diseases.” Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 53, no.12(November 12): 7484-7491. doi:10.1167/iovs.12-9970

This article sought to evaluate the effectiveness of a delivery over a period of up to 2 years of medication dispensed from an implanted, encapsulated technology within the eye to treat a retina degenerating disease. The implantation of the NT-501 capsule produced a consistent dosage of the medication throughout the 2-year period, and ultimately this method of treatment proved more effective for the treatment of this disorder than other systematic exposures to medications. This case study gives evidence that the implantation of a device which provides proper dosages of medications may be effective in the treatment of particular disorders.

Popular source:

“What is the Best Toothbrush for Orthodontic Braces?” Ebraces.org. Accessed October 21, 2017.

The author is Ebraces.org, a government supported website that teaches people all about oral health, orthodontic insurance, braces, and how they affect your teeth. They have a team of writers who work together to provide the public with the best advice possible with everyone writing and reviewing every article that the website produces.

This article identified many different types of brushes and tools one can use, but there is no special toothbrush that is particularly made for braces. They mention that there are specialty brushes, but do not identify any characteristics of the brushes and push for using the many tools they mentioned. They even identify techniques to use the different tools for people who have braces. My group and I can possibly start our presentation off by identifying that there are many common tools that orthodontists recommend for people with braces, but there is no one tool that is tailored specifically for them.

Academic sources:

Maida, Carl A., Marvin Marcus., Ron D Hays, Ian D Coulter, Francisco Ramos-gomez, et al. 2015. “Child and adolescent perceptions of oral health over the life course.” Quality of Life Research 24, no. 11 (November): 2739-2751. Accessed October 21, 2017.

All the individuals included in the citation are part of Quality of Life Research, an international, multidisciplinary journal, that devotes itself to original research, theoretical articles, and methodological reports in the health sciences.

This scholarly article primarily focuses on the perceptions children and young adults have on different oral treatments. They mainly described how good oral health can increase the life of one’s teeth and quality of life, can enhance social relationships, and ways to maintain a positive attitude while getting these treatments done. This article pertains to my project because this it points out that once a patient gets braces, they must be willing to spend extra money to buy the various costly cleaning tools that are braces specific. This infers that there still is not a tool that is easier and makes the treatment less painful. They agree that dedication is required to properly clean one’s teeth with braces on, but there is no other way around it. With my group’s innovation, there would be a less painful and more efficient tool for young people to clean their braces with.

Lowery, Mark. 2016. “Through the teeth, over the gums: Pastes, whiteners, and more.” Drug Topics 160, no. 2 (Feb): 30-31. Accessed October 21, 2017.

Mark Lowery is an editor for Drug Topics magazine. He has written over 100 articles for the magazine. Drug Topics is a top-ranked pharmacy resource for community and health-system pharmacists that has been around since 1856. There are many credible authors within the organization who review each other’s articles before publishing to ensure quality work and maintain the magazine’s high reputation.

This article mainly focuses on the dental care of children between the ages of 14 and 17. It calls upon a few products in the market that could help children keep their teeth healthier and explains exactly how they could do so. This particular article is very useful for my specific healthcare innovation because it includes one product that many experts in the field recommend to their braces patients. The Kolibree toothbrush, designed for children with braces, is an electric toothbrush that helps a person brush easily, safely, and more gently around their brackets. They monitor and advise this through an app that the consumer would download from the app store. However, the shape of this toothbrush is just like any other toothbrush so it goes to show how the toothbrush my team and I are making is clearly the first of its kind with the focus on the physical design.

Growing up the child of a pharmacist, I spent more time than a little kid ever should around the sick and contagious. Pharmacists not only have the duty of dispensing medication to patients, but they help assess just what path of treatment best aligns with each individual. There is no universal model for what a patient needs may be, yet for most, any ailment the solution prescribed by doctors is the swallowing of a pill. Medication is the form of coated pills was a tremendous advancement, but it is not a suitable solution for everyone. Infants, adolescents, many of the elderly, and patients with throats that are swollen shut or have obstructions in them often cannot swallow pills.

With transdermal options in the form of patches being available for such medications as birth control and curbing nicotine addictions, it could do a great many people a lot of good to have this as an alternate option. This could particularly be applied to something as commonly used as Insulin, which people suffering from Diabetes must inject themselves with throughout the day. Instead of constantly carrying around and injecting themselves, these people could instead simply bring their prescription transdermal patches with them.

An important health care issue is Alzheimer’s disease in which most that do have it start experiencing the symptoms when they reach around sixty years old.  It’s a form of dementia that occurs in the elderly and it’s also a progressive disease because it gradually increases memory loss, among others.  There is no cure for this disease.  However, there are definitely medications that can ease the symptoms temporarily.  There are numerous things that can be improved for people with Alzheimer’s currently in the health field.  There are innovations that can be created to make their lives easier and more accessible.  Companies in the technology field can play a huge role in helping people with Alzheimer’s, especially assisting them with their memory loss and minimizing the trauma that comes with it.  Devices can be made specifically for those with Alzheimer’s to assist them in their daily lives so that the effect of the disease is reduced drastically.

Today, if you break a bone such as your arm, your doctor will most likely have you wear a plaster cast. Doctors around the world use plaster casts because of their durability, however that are not without their faults. This cast is be heavy, uncomfortable, and not waterproof so simple tasks such as showering become difficult and tedious. I have an idea to use 3D printing to create a lighter, more comfortable cast with the same durability as the plaster. This new version will lead to an overall more comfortable and easier healing process.

A growing problem in our society is the increased spread of STDs. I think a great method for prevention and increased awareness would be a personal test. Similar to a blood sugar test where one you make a prick in your finger and test your blood. This device would analyze your blood and look for markers for specific STDs. This could help people be more safe, by not only having themselves tested but by making sure their partners don’t have STDs as well.

According to BreastCancer.org, “For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.”; moreover, “1 in 8  U.S. women (12%) are expected to develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.” This grave issue  is particularly important to me because a little less than two years ago, my aunt suffered a third recurrence of breast cancer that resulted in her passing away. When she was initially diagnosed (approximately 15 years ago), everyone in the family was extremely surprised–though the precise causes of breast cancer are still unknown, my aunt did not seem to be at especially high risk for developing breast cancer (i.e. she maintained a very healthy diet, there was absolutely no family history of breast cancer, etc.).

Arguably some of the most frustrating things faced during my aunt’s final recurrence of breast cancer were complications with treatment/ medication and lack of detection. I can’t help but wonder if this was due to less diligence in care following remission, difficulty with covering subsequent costs of treatment, or a combination of the two. This is yet another fact that frustrates me–all too often, financing such astronomical medical expenses poses significant obstacles for both patients as well as their families, and countless unnecessary deaths occur as a result of insufficient funds for medical treatment/ the continuation of medical treatment. Thus, I believe there needs to be an affordable healthcare innovation that targets cancer cells and not healthy cells. Maybe this could be accomplished by developing a pill containing some compound that only binds to cancer cells in addition to another orally delivered form (i.e. a pill) of chemotherapy that includes a compound that is attracted to the previously administered compound as well as antimetabolites, which according to the American Cancer Society, “interfere with DNA and RNA growth by substituting for the normal building blocks of RNA and DNA. These agents damage cells during the phase when the cell’s chromosomes are being copied. They are commonly used to treat leukemias, cancers of the breast, ovary, and the intestinal tract, as well as other types of cancer.”

A few healthcare issues that interest me include blindness, methylmalonic acedemia, and pancreatic cancer. A lack of resources to treat blindness affects not only people health wise but also economically. It is one of the reasons why people in developing countries can’t work, which affects the economy of the entire nation. Also, in North Korea, many of the citizens are blind however the government does not allow or provide any forms of treatments or therapies. Methylmalonic acidemia is a disease that affected someone in my family personally. It is very rare and does not have any kinds of treatments. There is a lack os research being done for this specific disease because it is so uncommon. Finally pancreatic cancer is a silent killer. It is very difficult to detect the cancer before it becomes metastatic. There should be more ways to detect this cancer. If there is more funding to do research for these healthcare issues, maybe we’d get closer to finding the cures.

I work at my community’s volunteer ambulance service as an EMT, so this healthcare issue personally affects me on the care provider side. I will be writing about the treatment administered for possible limb fractures, with the exclusion of femur fractures.

Just last week, I had a patient with a possible wrist fracture. The main treatment for a limb fractures is simply to splint and immobilize the limb in question. For those of you unaware of how shamefully outdated and mind-bogglingly simple this treatment consists of, let me enlighten you. The “splint” is just a light piece of wood with some padding, wrapped and sealed in a thick plastic layer. The splinting process consists of immobilizing the limb by wrapping it to the splint with a roll of gauze.

This system is often met with with reluctance and disapproval, as it requires some movement to the injured limb. Though I am slightly uncoordinated, even the most graceful and attentive caregiver cannot properly splint a limb without causing unnecessary movement. This movement not only causes pain, but can also worsen the injury.

I believe that this system can be improved on, because right now, it does not live up to expectations. An improvement would allow me to become a more effective EMT, and would minimize the pain and any further injury to the patient. Players in the healthcare system could very easily improve this situation by making an easy-to-use splinting device that minimizes movement during its application.

My concept is a mat consisting of long pieces of plastic aligned together in a parallel fashion. There would be joints connecting the pieces of plastic, allowing the mat to wrap around the injured limb. Perhaps there could even be a inflation padding system at the center of the wrapped mat, providing added comfort. I believe that this system could be an effective solution to the current splinting process.