Amsterdam bans creation of new hotels
Another piece in the overall strategy to reduce tourist flows to the city
University of Porto Medical Faculty research shows there might be a new role for omnipresent devices
The Medical Faculty of the University of Porto (FMUP) revealed in a statement the news that thanks to evolving refinement in their microphones, smartphones can feasibly be also used as stethoscopes. This was the conclusion that a team of researchers from that institution reached recently in a study that has been published in the scientific journal Sensors.
For the time being, that does not mean that doctors will ditch their stethoscopes in favour of their phones just yet. However, these times of social distancing which gave rise to new avenues in health care, such as online consultations, the new role of the phones can come in quite handy.
The medical term for listening to the inner operations of one’s body is called auscultation. That technique, which we are all familiar with, is primarily used by physicians as a first diagnostic and non-invasive step into the condition of a patient’s lungs.
The rise of smartphones and the arrival of the COVID pandemic might have created the perfect storm for the development of the former into a tool, which people can also use as a diagnostic device.
The FMUP study showed that the smartphone can be used as an alternative to the traditional stethoscope, as it is "capable of recording lung sounds with quality and capturing abnormal sounds", called adventitious noises.
More than 130 patients participated, most of whom with different types of respiratory pathologies. The first phase of the study consisted of physicians performing pulmonary auscultations in different spots of the body and recording their findings. Then the same spots were ‘listened to’ with a smartphone.
At a time when the number of consultations carried out at a distance has increased, this solution is, according to the authors of the study, "very interesting for the implementation of telemedicine services in the monitoring of respiratory diseases", such as asthma and cystic fibrosis.
Smartphones can reduce the crowding at the doctor’s offices while simultaneously improving lung health monitoring. Patients can carry the latter on their own with the help of their smartphone devices and an application called AIRDOC, which had been developed by the FMUP researchers.
The recordings can be listened to by the medical specialists and analyzed in order to determine the further need for treatment.
The building will then serve as the site for a new museum dedicated to Finnish-Russian relations
Another piece in the overall strategy to reduce tourist flows to the city
The previous mayor was forced out of office following a no-confidence vote in the city council
In addition, the federal government has launched the National Week of Action against Bicycle Theft to raise awareness of the issue and the new solution
The facility will replace the need to have water supplied by tankers from Valencia
Modern traffic lights do more than regulate the flow of vehicles at crossroads, they also collect enormous amounts of data
Italian cities and regions continue experimenting with creative proposals to curb overtourism effects
In addition, the federal government has launched the National Week of Action against Bicycle Theft to raise awareness of the issue and the new solution
The initial legislation didn’t include these public areas as restricted places for smoking pot
Italian cities and regions continue experimenting with creative proposals to curb overtourism effects
The building will then serve as the site for a new museum dedicated to Finnish-Russian relations
You can see it in a church in the city’s northern districts and it’s larger than a basketball court
Urban dwellers across the EU are having a say in making their surroundings friendlier to people and the environment.
Forests in the EU can help green the European construction industry and bolster a continent-wide push for architectural improvements.
Apply by 10 November and do your part for the transformation of European public spaces
Catch up with some recommendations for the 2024 European Capital of Culture programme from the mayor of Tartu
An interview with the ICLEI regional director for Europe аfter the close of COP28
An interview with a member of the No Hate Speech Network team