Over the past month, I’ve been testing the AliveCor iPhone ECG, an iPhone case that offers real-time EKG readings. The pre-FDA approved device, which is currently undergoing a clinical trial with the USC Center for Body Computing, monitors a patient’s heartbeat whenever they open up the app and place the case (pictured) in their hands or on their chest for 30 second intervals. The information is then sent off into the cloud, where a patient’s doctor can access it and look for abnormalities. The AliveCor ECG is a no-brainer to use, and it’s a sturdy iPhone case, too. The case will cost less than $100 when it’s released.

I am blown away every time my cardiologist does an EKG. The process now is so simple compared to just a few years ago when it was awkward, cumbersome, and much more time-consuming. But this device is amazing. I will track it down if only to find out more about its biofeedback capabilities, something in which I have also been interested in for a long time. Click through to the original article for comments on the physicians-only Everist device.

MacGuineas found crowdsourcing the budget consisted pulled effective, moderate ideas out of people, while moderating extremes, regardless of party affiliation. Their answers revealed a great deal of bipartisan agreement on certain solutions. The biggest was "means testing," the idea that social benefits should primarily be paid to those who need them, rather than high income individuals. "It’s about what makes sense," she says. "Republicans and Democrats ask why do we send checks to people who don’t need them. Social security and medicaid are huge toxic issue … but you can’t give a town hall meeting without means testing coming up. It’s kind of a head-nodder.

Why not? We've got Americans Elect and PopVox and how many other experiments in crowdsourcing government. At first glance, we'd wind up with a citizenry more knowledgeable about the budget and more involved in government, a broader base of ideas for a way forward, and a way to get past the entrenched interests that seem to have a lock on things now. Take a look at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's Stabilize the Debt.

Your smartphone is an incredibly powerful tool—one that we mostly waste by just using to make phone calls and check email. But in addition to that, it’s an advanced bundle of sensors that is with us nearly 24 hours a day, collecting massive amounts of data. Doctors and health professionals are starting to understand the opportunity this data can provide. Take a new app that helps silently identify diabetes patients who might be slipping with their treatments.

Just when I said I hadn't heard much about apps aimed at diabetes, along comes this news about Ginger.io. The app senses a user's mood and alerts a network of caregivers. Seems brilliant and useful. I wonder when it will be adapted to other conditions.

And with Glooko's logbook app and MeterSync cable, your iOS device can become an effective tool for spotting trends and managing the condition.

The $40 sync cable tethers to your iPhone or iPod Touch's dock connector, automatically downloading blood sugar readings from six of the most popular blood glucose meters from Bayer, OneTouch and FreeStyle. The cable works in conjunction with the free Glooko app which not only keeps track of when the reading was taken, but also allows you to add pertinent notes about how you were feeling at the time, your level of physical activity, or what you had recently eaten.

All of this detailed information can be then be used to spot trends or patterns when viewing your readings over time, which can help a diabetic better manage their blood glucose levels. And when it's time to visit the doctor, the app even lets you email or fax a fourteen day report to your practitioner so they can see how you've been doing the past couple of weeks.

Don't think I'e seen an app for managing diabetes before...