In this issue:

• The silk road
• Robots to do hospital's dirty work
• IMS Maxims launches EPR on iPad
• Invigilation technology allows exams be taken anywhere
• Lasers could 'sense' vapours released by explosives
• O2 Signals the end of unlimited data tariffs for iPhone customers

Ready Fire Aim

The Government now seems to be settling into the tasks before it...and of course we at Quicksilva are especially interested in the plans for the NHS. There have been some changes already in the approach to targets and those who read any press from me will know that is one of the bees in my bonnet. Perhaps someone in government will start to consider the boundary tasks that will be affected by the “point in time targets” that are usually set.

Another area of interest is the structural changes to the tiers within the regions....an obvious place to save money but one which needs proper planning rather than a swingeing blow to the SHAs...in my experience when changes are made that create a vacuum something else will surely fill it...

Gayna

The Silk Road

Quicksilva have lost their Newsletter designer...will things ever be the same again? Ken Chow, our resident designer has departed for pastures new. He has taken up a fabulous new post in London...a sad loss...however, the show must go on and as you can see the Newsletter is on time this month.

To mark his departure and new role, after three and a half years with the Team, we celebrated by visiting his family restaurant in Bristol. Watersky is an amazing setting that we have enjoyed as a team on occasions, celebrating our togetherness as a group. Having a set price and being encouraged to eat all you can was more than some people could cope with and after two rounds of crispy duck pancakes....and two rounds of crispy lamb pancakes...some people were replete before the main courses made their way from the kitchens.

No-one apart from Ken managed a dessert..although they did look good...

Ken's cheery good humour made him a popular character around the office and his last task was to update our presentation "Spinal Tap – The Movie" and so a beta version is available for you to peruse from our website... Spinal Tap page ...maybe a few bits to iron out, but you are the first to see the new version...enjoy!

Robots to do hospital's dirty work

From The Independent

A fleet of robots is to carry out day-to-day tasks at an NHS hospital, it was revealed today.

Quicksilva thoughts...

I heard this story on the way in to work Friday morning and the first question that popped into my head was “I wonder how many patients in hospital would actually still say thank you to the robot delivering their meal?”.

My overactive imagination also had me thinking about the scene in the film ‘I, Robot’, when the robots rebel against the humans and the mundane tasks like housework! On a serious note this new hospital in Stirlingshire sounds very high tech and any improvements in infection control must be viewed in a positive light.

IMS Maxims launches EPR on iPad

From E-Health Insider

IMS Maxims has launched a new application for the iPad to allow trusts using their patient administration and electronic patient record system to access information at the point of care.

Quicksilva thoughts...

OK, not quite a StarTrek Tricorder (the Medical Scanner variant) - though little steps might get us there before the 24th Century. Whether the iPad platform is the right one compared to all other devices for this setting is for another discussion. While the benefits of handheld computing have been perceived for many years now, when will we see more than just a medical record on the screen?

While you can class it as an aid, saving the clinician’s time - would it not be a truer aid when a multi-function hand-held device that helps in diagnosis makes it through to the mass health market?

Hopefully somebody will invent / combine the technology to make such a device that is cost-effective before the publishing of the MerQury newsletter at Stardate 0000.1 – p.s. It doesn’t need to have cool sound effects!!

Invigilation technology allows exams be taken anywhere

From BBC News

Forget the dread of queuing up outside the exam hall with everyone else bragging about how much - or how little - revision they've done. How about taking exams in the comfort of your own room?

Quicksilva thoughts...

I suspect we all remember the feeling of anxiety before a big exam. The pressure to do well, the banter that transpires between you and your peers beforehand and the sense of relief afterwards are all part of the schooling/university experience and form the basis of character building that will hopefully set you up for later life.

The ability to take exams from the privacy of your own home could rob students of this experience, shielding them from the pressure and stress that is associated with the exam process and isolating them further from interaction with other people which seems to be a growing trend with the youth of today.

There is also a greater potential to cheat no matter what precautions are made, people will always find a way. This technology does offer some advantages though to disabled students and those who cannot reach their exams; this would have been useful during last winter when many people were snow bound with their exams looming. It would also be beneficial for staff training for companies to use onsite rather than having to send their employees away for testing.

The experience of the exam hall and the pressure that accompanies it though is invaluable and should not be discounted when this technology is being tested.

Lasers could 'sense' vapours released by explosives

From BBC News

UK scientists claim to have developed laser technology able to sense hidden explosives.

Quicksilva thoughts...

Any new technology that claims it can help prevent the loss of life that war brings can only be received with open arms. At Quicksilva we are only too often reminded of the deaths of soldiers on tour in Afghanistan as the proximity of our rural offices to RAF Lyneham where soldiers are repatriated is a stone’s throw away.

If this new laser technology that claims it detects the molecules surrounding the explosive, can be attached via robots then this opens the way to detection of fatal roadside bombs, landmines and also for use in airports to detect potential terrorist threats.

Whilst the breakthrough in this technology should be embraced – it is a cat and mouse game – as we develop solutions to the problems, I am sure that someone out there is working on creating a new set of problems from the solutions that we have created!

O2 Signals the end of unlimited data tariffs for iPhone customers

From Guardian.co.uk

O2 is telling its smartphone customers – notably including users of Apple's iPhone – that it is ending its "unlimited" data plans, and that those who use a lot of data will have to pay up in time.

Quicksilva thoughts...

Something that's generally gone hand in hand with top of the range smartphones, such as the iPhone is the unlimited data usage tariff. This allows smartphone users to make the most out of their cutting edge device with applications such as email, social networking, news and sport feeds etc whilst they are on the move.

With this package the user can enjoy the phone to its full potential, without having to worry about how much they'll be paying at the end of the month for uploading a picture of themselves in a queue at the supermarket to facebook.

The only thing that holds users back is poor signal which in turn lowers data transfer speeds - all of that seemed to change though with 4g mobile coverage just around the corner. O2 unfortunately look to have taken a step backwards, by removing unlimited data tariffs from their menu. Will this stall the progress of the mobile device?

Personally I can’t see it helping, especially as music streaming applications such as LastFM and Spotify are now really taking off.

Caption Competition 27

How to enter

Email captions@qxlva.com

Deadline: 22nd July 2010.

We will include our favourite(s) in next month's newsletter!

Our favourite(s) from last month

- The unveiling of the iPhone 4 received a frosty reception from one group of Android users.

- England fans were left out in the cold as usual.

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not Eureka! (I found it!) but 'That's funny...' " - Josh Billings

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