DigitalNeurosurgeon.com

Only 1 week after my first post on a new iPhone app on safe surgery, I was ready to submit it to the App Store. Not celebrating the Dutch carnival provided enough time to finish development and testing.

My new application is based on the Safe Surgery Saves Lifes checklist from the World Health Organization (WHO). A very nice read on the subject is provided in Dr Atul Gawande’s new book: The Checklist Manifesto. Scientific background is provided in the New England Journal of Medicine.

(click for more info)

I submitted version 1.0 to the App Store on February 15, 2010. Normally, it should take between 3-7 days before you can download it (for free!) in the App Store.

The Maastricht University (MU) magazine (called the “Observant”) has published its article on iPhone apps made by MU faculty or students (in Dutch). It’s also available online.

I particularly like the Dutch phrase “Met NeuroMind kunnen in een handomdraai neurologische diagnoses gesteld worden”. Translated in English it would sound like “With NeuroMind one can easily diagnose neurological diseases”. However, there is a subtle language humor in “met een handomdraai”. Literally, it means “with a turn of the hand”, but it’s used as a metaphore for “easily”. In this case, the literal translation is correct as well, because DDx category switches between text mode and mindmap using the iPhone’s autorotation feature.

It’s not just the language that “has a twist”…

And that’s two! Last week SLIC has been accepted for the App Store, and today NeuroMind has been added as well! I like this screenshot, and although in Dutch, you’ll get the point! ;-)

Both apps together (click for full size)

I intend to publish an article in a peer-reviewed scientific journal about both. Currenly I am preparing the first manuscript on SLIC. Tomorrow, the new version of the Maastricht University magazine will appear that contains an interview with me on the apps (in Dutch).

After some struggling I found my way on Twitter. That means, now I start to like it. I find it much more useful to follow “topics” (searches) than people. Yes, of course I do follow some people, but more and more I get my information from the searches. Something Twitter’s website is not so good at.

I am a visual learner and I like graphics to keep my mind clean. So far I have been using Tweetdeck on my MacBook , but since this weekend I’ve fallen in love with Tweetie!

After upgrading my first iPhone version to Tweetie 2 for iPhone I was hugely impressed with what I saw! This is Feng Shui for my screen! Clean, easy to follow, and effortless to maintain. As the amount of information keeps increasing, working harder will not be the lasting solution. Working smarter is what we’ll have to do, and I am confident this kind of software is helping to do the job. It’s even addictive…

Tweetie for Mac

Just compare these Tweetie for Mac or iPhone screenshots with the same search in Tweetdeck. No words necessary…

And what did I learn from the tweets that I found so easily and pleasantly? Well, most important that the United Nations do have a mobile health platform… this may be valuable information for the future.

Second, Colen Publishing is also working on an interesting iPhone application, soon to be available in the App Store. Follow @MyNeurosurgeon on Twitter to stay updated!