Category: 4. Health

Cataract surgery is one of the world’s most common medical procedures, with more than 4 million of them done each year in the United States alone, but there simply aren’t enough doctors available to meet the demand for everyone who needs the surgery. Enter robotics. An Israeli startup is betting that robots can ultimately do the procedure better and cheaper than human…

Millions of people get cataract surgery every year. What if a robot could do it better than humans?

Cataract surgery is one of the world’s most common medical procedures, with more than 4 million of them done each year in the United States alone, but there simply aren’t enough doctors available to meet the demand for everyone who needs the surgery. Enter robotics. An Israeli…

Current implantable electrical stimulators offer an alternative by stimulating the spinal cord to block pain…

In 2021, the American Council on Education conducted a survey of college and university presidents, which indicated that student mental health was the top-rated pressing issue. Many presidents are currently tasked with balancing the need to support student mental health with demands from other campus departments, financial constraints, as well as federal and state policies. Furthermore, the rise of preventive and online services from third-party vendors might make it…

Elon Musk’s Latest Venture: Using Neuralink To Cure Blindness.

Last Thursday, Elon Musk engaged in a fireside chat with famed startup accelerator Y Combinator. During the discussion, when asked about his brain-computer interface (BCI) venture, Neuralink, Musk revealed the incredible progress the company has achieved. Perhaps the most key development that the technology titan shared is that the company will soon…

A once-obscure federal committee is now at the center of a political firestorm. This week the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which has helped guide national vaccine policy since the 1960s, will hold its first meeting since all 17 of its members were abruptly dismissed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The move—and the appointment of new members known for controversial views—has…

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization eliminated a nearly 50-year constitutional right to abortion and returned the authority to regulate abortion to the states.

The Dobbs ruling, which overturned Roe v. Wade, has vastly reshaped the national abortion landscape. Three years on, many states have severely restricted access to abortion care. But the decision has also had a less well-recognized outcome: It is increasingly…

In Philadelphia, the leading causes of death are heart disease, cancer and unintentional drug overdose. While some of these deaths are caused by things out of our control – like genetics – many are largely preventable.

Preventable deaths are the result of a series of decisions. Whether a person decides to smoke, eat lots of fried foods or be a couch potato, their decisions – sometimes unconsciously – can affect their health.

I’m a health communication expert and public…