Photo: MC4 Army / Flickr

Misplacing or losing your medical records can be a huge problem, but those days are finally over thanks to new software that allows you to download your medical records straight to your mobile phone or PDA. Not only can medical records be downloaded, but also diagnostic scans and X-rays, even allowing for animated 3D scans to be displayed.

Medical records are now easily available

Downloading your medical records to your mobile phone can not only act as a spare record should you lose your original records, but also make them available in an emergency. The technology will also allow students to practice research using their portable gadgets, such as a smartphone or PDA, according to computer scientists.

‘We can do quite amazing things in terms of presenting information,’ said Gregory Quinn, a computer scientist at the San Diego Supercomputer Centre at the University of California. Many newer mobile phones and softphones have a graphics chip similar to the one on your PC, allowing your mobile phone to be a virtual medical library, with medical records and 3D animated graphics.

Software will help both doctors and patients

Cardiologist Michael Wright is excited about this new software, and believes that it will not only help doctors, but patients as well. ‘Let’s say, for example, I had done a scan here and had picked up a narrowed blood vessel coming down the surface of the heart,’ Dr Wright explained. ‘That would be visible on this 3D model.’

The medical data program, simply called Medical Records, is now available as a free download and isn’t only limited to medical information. According to Gregory Quinn, users will have access to other scientific information in the near future. The data will be stored on your phone in the same way that pictures and music are stored, but will hold a virtual scan of your body, along with other personal information.

Photo: Palm

Palm, who came crashing onto the scene a little under two decades ago with their Palm PDA in high demand, is on the verge of collapse – in its current incarnation, at least. With product development stalling, lukewarm sales and widening losses, moderate analysts are calling for a rethink while others’ outlook is even less rosy.

What happened?

Palm, who tasted their first major success on the heels of their PDA the Palm Pilot, grew so fast during the dotcom bubbly that 3Com, their parent company, opted to spin them out as an independent company.

Photo: Palm

While Palm Pilot and Palm PDA sales were strong, the company thrived. But soon, as smartphones began introducing the same features as those found in the PDAs, Palm’s grip on the industry they defined began to slip. In response, Palm began building its Palm-branded range of smartphones, which had moderate market success initially, before beginning to wane rapidly.

Now, in a world where the idea of the stand-alone PDA is absurd, and smartphones developed by Apple and others powered by Google Android, Palm’s lineup has failed to impress, leading to a rapid decline in financial outlook. The 02-carried Palm Pre and the Palm Pixie alike have not had the financial success Palm was banking they would.

Palm, you are worth $0

As a result of this, Palm’s reported third quarter losses of $22 million (£14.65 million) led to the company’s shares nose-diving over 25%. Many analysts changed their Palm share rating to $0.

Is everybody just overanxious?

Photo: Palm

During the earnings call Jon Rubinstein, Palm’s CEO, said the company is preparing for launches with a few carriers, which should hopefully stem the tide, narrow losses, and improve the organisation’s outlook.

What is clear is the day of the Palm PDA and the Palm Pilot are long over, and unless the company can adapt to the times, Palm will continue to be a shadow of its former self.