Meet Elizabeth, your virtual nurse. She can tell you what medication to take, and when to take it. She can raise her eyebrows to emphasize words, and she can show empathy. And, to make you feel at ease, she can even ask you questions like "Are you a Red Sox fan?"

One of a growing band of "relational agents" that act as stand-ins for front-line staff, Elizabeth is designed to help with the discharge process at hospitals. She was developed by computer scientists at Northeastern University (hence the Red Sox question), and trialed at Boston Medical Center. Following commercialization by a startup in San Francisco, she could soon be appearing in hospitals around the country.

At first glance, this is not so different from Siri, the iPhone assistant that is proving so popular, but I'm not sure this is a technology I would welcome. When I think about discharge, I think I'd rather have attention and engagement rather than efficiency and speed.

I spoke at a conference at Stanford last month and one of the gifts was this new little device called Striiv. It’s one of the many devices all betting that people want to put some little device on their body and measure stuff, like how many steps you took that day. 

I've been following Jay Parkinson's blog for a while now and really enjoyed watching his presentation toTEDxMidAtlantic a few weeks ago. This post tells more about Jay's use of Striiv, than the device itself, but you can find out more at the Striiv website. I've wanted a good pedometer ever since walking became more of a challenge for me. This looks like an attractive device, and I like the way it adds a social purpose to its measurement, too.

A free iPhone app could save the lives of burn victims on the battlefield and in the clinic.

It was developed by Chris Seaton, a computer engineer who served in the medical corps of the British Army for four years. Seaton spent time in Afghanistan as an army medic, and witnessed the need for simple treatment tools.

Finding a new app is exciting enough, but I really like Seaton's intention

As he continues working toward his PhD at the University of Manchester, Seaton hopes to type up another few medical apps in the coming months. He wants to focus on simple programs that correct common, easily avoidable errors. "Often physicians don’t know its fairly easy to write an app," he says, "We’re encouraging some of those quick wins."

I think we stand only to benefit from the development and use of apps like this.

Philips has released a new iOS app for the iPad 2 that allows you to measure both your heart rate and breaking rate using only your device’s camera. Unlike similar apps that require additional accessories, this one claims to get its results from “the color of your face” and “the motion of your chest.”

The app is called Vital Signs Camera, and it’s available from the App Store now for just $0.99. Its creators have labeled it an “amazing innovation,” and we’re inclined to agree. I mean, it’s pretty astonishing that the app uses nothing but your iPad’s crappy front-facing camera to get its results.

Philps cautions that the app is "not intended for diagnosis or for clinical measurements, monitoring or decision making.”

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.