Category Archives: Technology

This year, more than 950 nominations from organizations of all sizes in 29 nations were submitted forStevies. Businessolver Silver Award in the Solution Provider category for HR Technology Solution Provider of the Year recognizes achievements for human resources-related systems, software, or analytics.

"Our tagline here at Businessolver is 'Technology with Heart,' and I think that's what the judges saw in the course of reviewing our achievements over the past year or so. We have consistently tried to proactively meet the increasing demands for our key usersboth HR leaders and their employeesin a period where disruption has been the norm," said Rae Shanahan, Businessolver Chief Strategy Officer. "In everything we do, we're trying to put it through the user experience lens and get ahead of the needs we see coming in the market."

More than 70 professionals worldwide helped select this year's Stevie winners.

"The judges were impressed by all of the nominees, whoduring the crises we've confronted this year and lastcontinue to dedicate each day to making the lives of their employees and teams better through training, software, work-from-home plans, and more," said Maggie Gallagher, Stevie Awards President.

Businessolver and its fellow Stevie honorees will be recognized during a virtual awards ceremony on Nov. 17.

About BusinessolverSince 1998, Businessolver has delivered market-changing benefits technology and services supported by an intrinsic responsiveness to client needs. The company creates client programs that maximize benefits program investment, minimize risk exposure, and engage employees with easy-to-use solutions and communication tools to assist them in making wise and cost-efficient benefits selections. Founded by HR professionals, Businessolver's unwavering service-oriented culture and secure SaaS platform provide measurable success in its mission to provide complete client delight.

Media Contact:Bridget Mortland, Head of Marketing[emailprotected]515-273-1426

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Businessolver Honored as HR Technology Solution Provider of the Year - PRNewswire

Tamarak Aerospace claims its active winglets can increase efficiency by 33 percent. (Tamarak)

Airlines and aircraft makers have all committed to zero emissions pledges that pump funding and research into cleaner technologies like electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft and sustainable aviation fuels. The problem is that none of these solutions can be implemented on a wide scale today.

While this means that some of the emission reduction estimates tied to these technologies are still decades away, there are technologies available right now that can contribute to emissions reductions.

For an airline, who's maybe made carbon neutrality goals or objectives, made those public announcements, this is an important element of getting there because this is available relatively short order, we're not waiting for SAF to be available, we're not waiting for hybrid electric technologies, it's available, really, in short order to help meet those objectives, Jacob Klinginsmith, president of Tamarack Aerospace Group, told Aviation Today.

Tamarack makes what it calls active wingletsopposed to passive or traditional winglets. Klinginsmith said this technology can be used today to provide added efficiency to aircraft and reduce emissions and it can be used in conjunction with future clean energy technology.

Tamaracks active winglets are different than traditional winglets because they include an extension and winglet providing greater wingspan increase. To be able to add the extension and winglet to the wing, Tamarack uses a load alleviation system that reinforces the wing. Klinginsmith said this system can provide efficiency improvements up to 33 percent versus about 5 percent with passive winglets.

Tamarak's winglets aim to enable airplanes to fly with the efficiency of a glider. (Tamarak)

Companies have looked at doing struts on the wings and things like that to make the wings longer and more slender, but we're doing it with this load alleviation system, which allows us to kind of get all the benefits of doing a longer thinner wing, without some of those structural penalties that typically come with it, Klinginsmith said. Even traditional winglet modifications typically require structural reinforcements for the wing, which takes time and it cost money and then you lose some useful load at the end of the day. With our technology, you know, we kind of get to have the aerodynamic performance without those structural penalties, in fact, we increase the payload in the ones that we have out right now. Our product right now is increasing the payload for operators.

The winglet technology essentially provides the plane with the characteristics of a glider, Klinginsmith said.

At a high level, the secret to what we're doing is we're turning the airplane into something that performs closer to how a glider would, right, Klinginsmith said. We all can understand that a glider is very efficient, it has to have low drag to stay aloft. The scientific term is aspect ratio, which is just basically how long and thin the wings are because of the less induced drag. And so we're modifying the aircraft wing to make it more long and slender, which has a less induced drag and that's what everybody's looking for now in terms of efficiency.

Changes to the aircraft are not the only way to reduce emissions. On the ground at airports, some companies like Aircraft Towing System World Wide (ATS) are creating technology to reduce fuel consumption, carbon emissions, and noise generation. ATS has a system to taxi aircraft from the runway to the gates and back without using the aircrafts engines. The system uses an underground channel to tow aircraft from one location to the other.

The ATS system will allow aircraft to taxi without using fuel. (ATS)

After landing an aircraft, the pilot will taxi to the appropriate taxiway and drive the aircraft nose wheel onto the ATS tow dolly where it is secured in place. Pilots can then shut off the aircrafts main engines, ATS Vice President/CEO Vince Howie said in a January statement on the companys website.

ATS claims that the fuel traditionally used to taxi aircraft can all be saved by using its system. For example, at Heathrow airport, the company estimates that over 15 million liters of fuel can be saved.

The average taxi time at Heathrow is 22 minutes and the average fuel consumption during taxi is 9 gallons or 35 Liters (L) per minute of taxi time, a representative for ATS told Aviation Today. There were over 475,000 movements or taxis in 2019. So, 22 minutes x 35 liters x 475,000 movements = 15,995,000 liters of fuel burned during taxi or saved if ATS were installed. If fuel was 1.70 euros per liter that is 27,191,500 euros in savings per year at Heathrow.

A prototype of the ATS system is being installed at the Ardmore Industrial Airpark in Ardmore, Oklahoma. (ATS)

The company claims that the fuel savings presented in this example could also be used to generate carbon credits.

Taking the fuel savings example one step further, depending on the engines installed on commercial aircraft, the emission output averages 265 kilograms of CO2 per taxi, the representative for ATS said. Since emission credits are presently selling for approximately $7.60 per ton in carbon credit auctions in the U.S., this equates to .0055 Euros per liter of carbon credit for fuel burned during taxi. 35 Liters of fuel per minute of taxi x 22 minutes = 770 Liters of carbon x .021 Euros carbon credit per liter = 4.24 Euros per taxi x 475,000 movements. Based on this formula the airport should be able to generate 2M Euros per year in potential carbon credit revenue when sold on carbon credit markets.

ATS is currently installing a prototype of this system at the Ardmore Industrial Airpark in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

Air traffic management (ATM) modernization has been cited by companies like Boeing and Airbus as a way to make operations more efficient. The European Commission is also working on a new framework for more efficient airway management, the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) project.

Modernising Europes air traffic management (ATM) is central to meeting our Green Deal objectives and ensuring the long-term resilience of the aviation sector, European Union Commissioner for Transport Adina Vlean said in a statement on the EUs website. By speeding up the implementation of the innovative technological solutions, the Common Project One (CP1) will ensure more direct, and therefore, more fuel-efficient flight paths, and allow modern aircraft to fully exploit the benefits of greener and quieter technologies.

The SESAR project aims to develop and deploy technology to increase ATM performance and build Europes intelligent air transport system. One of the aspects it is addressing is inefficiencies in air traffic management. Optimizing these inefficiencies will help save fuel. A 2016 report from the International Civil Aviation Organization said this could result in a 10 percent reduction of CO2 emissions per flight. Airbus has claimed similar statistics.

Direct routings can result in approximately 10 percent less fuel consumption in aircraft, as well as significantly reduced CO2 and noise emissions, Airbus website states. This is why we develop modern air traffic management systems in collaboration with our subsidiary Airbus NavBlue and work closely with a range of partners to further optimise in-flight operational efficiency.

While some of these solutions arent at the forefront of much of the discussion on sustainability solutions like electric aircraft and sustainable aviation fuels, they could provide a pathway for airlines and operators to meet interim sustainability goals because they are available now.

A lot of airlines and operators are looking at sustainability probably closer than they've ever looked and with more intent, than they've ever had to make changes and so there's a huge opportunity there with our technology, Klinginsmith said.

However, these solutions do not have to replace future technologies but instead can be used together once they are developed.

Our technology works well with those other technologies, whether we're talking about upgraded engines, SAF, reducing the drag on the airframe, and that is sort of synergistic with some of these other modifications that, frankly, are a ways out, Klinginsmith said. Especially SAF that has a lot of attention right now, we're looking forward to that, we're looking forward to saving a lot of people gallons of SAF, but that's a ways out and our technologies are available right now.

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Technology is Available That Could Lower Aircraft Emissions Today, Not Ten Years from Now - Aviation Today

On Sept. 11, 2001, one of us (Darrell) was teaching a political science course at Brown University, while the other (Nicol) was four days away from her wedding in Westchester County. The morning of those infamous terrorist attacks, Darrell had finished his lecture and while walking across campus encountered a fellow professor who said it was terrible what happened to those planes. What planes? Darrell asked, unaware of the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. This was the time before ubiquitous cell phones and social media platforms, where news traveled quickly inside classrooms and around the globe.

Nicol was getting ready for her wedding and had woken up after a long night preparing table tent cards for invited guests. When she was told to turn on the television at her parents home, she witnessed one of the two planes hit the second of the former Twin Towers, which was located just 30 minutes away from her location. The phone calls from both worried and frenetic guests would be the beginning of her 9/11 experience as members of her bridal party were unable to fly, and the groom would drive more than 10 hours to ensure his attendance at the wedding. The ceremony ultimately took place with a far smaller crowd than the anticipated 500 guests that had confirmed, which would be mostly comprised of Nicols relatives who were also from the New York area. For a while, it was not clear whether the officiating minister and even the groomwho would wait for hours to cross the George Washington Bridgewould make the event.

At the time, there were no smartphones to initiate a video call with loved ones. The active cell phone service was down after the Twin Towers were hit in New York City, which made it difficult to hear from family and friends who may have been in the vicinity of the plane crashes. Similar occurrences happened in the series of related terrorist events in Virginia and Pennsylvania. Neither of us also knew how dramatically technology and the world would change following the terrorist attacks. Substantial alterations in news transmission, technology innovation, telecommunications networks, disaster preparedness, personal privacy, digital inequity, and security levels arose after the tragic events of this day. From a virtual standpoint, so many things have shifted over the last two decades that it is hard to imagine the world as it existed in 2001.

Today, it is impossible to conceive a situation where something big happens and people dont know instantly what has occurred. News spread quickly through digital websites, social media platforms, mobile calls, and instant messages. Tweets fly around the world and people know about important events almost as soon as they take place. Back then, social media platforms were not widely adopted, and who even knew what a tweet was during a time when most people were still reliant on their home telephone services.

The upside of the rapidity of news transmission is that people are aware of new developments far more quickly and in cases of such terrorist attacks are in a position to protect themselves. We can see events unfold and react in whatever manner makes sense for individuals and organizations. Back then, we both watched the 9/11 events on television, but broadcast did not particularly enable us to quickly share what was happening from our corners of the world with others. Instead, we had to wait until the reporter shared more as the events transpired over the course of the day.

While having the ability to rapidly transmit our versions of the story seemed constructive at the time, the current realities of misinformation and disinformation reveal the downside of instant news, especially the pressure to react immediately to unfolding events that can lead to overreactions, false interpretations, or premature conclusions. Nicol recalls trying to assess whether she should immediately cancel the wedding after witnessing the devastation, but she didnt after hearing the voices of loved ones who desired to come just to be closer to other family members in the midst of this dramatic event. In a contemporary world of fast news transmission and speedy reactions, technologys enablement of skewed truths can lead to misinterpretations, quick judgments, and outright falsehoods about what happens. Both events and people become easy to manipulate when information is quickly forming and incomplete.

Just imagine the mischief that could have been created in a 9/11-style attack during a time of social media. Immediately, there would be speculation over what happened and who was responsible. If recent events are any indication, there likely would be a wide range of possible suspects: foreign terrorists, domestic agents, political opponents, immigrants, or racial, religious, or ethnic minorities. On the day, social media algorithms will likely promote automatic posts with the most engagement: the incendiary and the controversial. This could lead to real-life acts of violence and mobilization in short amounts of time. Many people would not trust experts during a highly polarized time and there likely would be no bipartisan commission to investigate what happened. Conspiracy theories would flourish, and false accounts would circulate among digital echo chambers, leading to widespread misunderstandings of what transpired and who was responsible.

The same echo chambers created by the current information ecosystem have also left many intensely concerned regarding how technology has fueled extremism, polarization, and radicalization. Many observers worry that todays technology is tearing communities apart, not building bridges or enabling constructive civic discourse. In 2001, it is probable that contemporary technology would have made it far more difficult to define, address, and even heal from the tragic events of 9/11.

One positive contemporary feature is that our communications networks are more broad-based and robust today than 20 years ago. Government agencies and private companies have beefed up their disaster preparedness and telecommunications providers have strengthened their digital infrastructure. We have wired and wireless networks that can withstand the possible interruptions caused by downed antennae, or damaged wiring. Following 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the United States realized the importance of mobile communications during terrorist attacks and natural disasters. Steps have been taken to safeguard vital networks, which is a huge advancement since 9/11 when thousands of people in New York, and in the area of the Pentagon bombing had to run and walk for miles to what appeared to be a safe space for shelter. Back then, we didnt even have voice-activated internet-enabled navigational tools that could advise pedestrians and drivers of road closures, or other potential road or walking hazards.

But even with our improved communications capabilities, we now face different kinds of threats. Back then, they were the planes crashing into buildings or individuals detonating explosive devices. Now, government, business, and nonprofits encounter cyber threats, ransomware attacks, and unwanted digital intrusions. These attacks can occur from state-sponsored sources or criminal enterprises that operate with impunity.

These are different problems than those encountered during 9/11 and require different societal and global responses. Could 9/11 have been diverted if the technology had forecasted such an event? How could more effective cybersecurity measures and online surveillance reveal the events that shook the world? It has become increasingly clear that everyonefrom government to the average citizenmust take cybersecurity far more seriously and implement steps that safeguard their networks and personal devices. Some of this means better digital hygiene, password protection, and two-factor authentication. But it also involves stronger systems that protect critical infrastructure, financial networks, and health care facilities, among others.

The balance between privacy and national security shifted markedly following 9/11. With the passage of the U.S. Patriot Act in October 2001, government officials gained new authority to surveil possible threats. For American citizens, administrators could go to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court and request permission to monitor phone calls, emails, and/or text messages. With the advent of smartphones and the prevalence of electronic communications, public authorities also developed new tools for monitoring particular individuals and tracking their physical whereabouts via geolocation data.

Taken together, these actions dramatically expanded government power to engage in mass surveillance. Yet at the same time, the moves alarmed civil liberties advocates who worried about privacy invasions and unwarranted oversight of peoples activities. Those fears eventually led to some curtailment of government activities via the U.S. Freedom Act of 2015, but we still face a policy environment where there is no national privacy law and considerable government power for monitoring national security threats. Twenty years after the attack, the country continues to debate where to draw the line between promoting personal privacy and protecting national security.

Technology innovation has flourished, but many are still not able to access the benefits of the digital revolution. They either have no meaningful broadband access from their home, or they have such slow broadband speeds that their ability to take advantage of digital connectivity is quite limited. They are not able to apply for jobs, shop online, use video streaming services, take advantage of telemedicine, or enroll in online courses.

Without reasonable access, they are shut out of the digital economy and left behind. They face limits in terms of jobs, economic opportunity, and social connectedness. Twenty years ago, they were probably more normal in a society with limited technological tools. Today, these same populations are at the most risk of being digitally invisible and excluded if a new national attack were to be waged. They wouldnt read, hear, or see it because they do not partake or benefit from internet access. Unfortunately, those on the wrong side of digital opportunities find themselves suffering long-term harms and difficulties in dealing with many forms of trauma.

When you add all these digital innovations together since 9/11, we have undergone a dramatic revolution. We spend more and more of our lives online, which gives us access to the latest developments, the ability to communicate quickly with one another, and the capacity to access a broad range of digital services and products. During the pandemic, our increasing reliance on technology became more pointed, as in-person services were shut down to manage social distancing.

Yet the extraordinary increase in change at all levels has generated a parallel increase in anxiety, insecurity, and nervousness. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, two-thirds of people are concerned about the pace of digital change and feel they are not always able to distinguish real from fake realities. Many also worry about technology and can see how it has fueled a variety of social, economic, and political problems. As Nicol watched the explosion on her television on that fretful day, she kept saying that this experience was not real and that the state of New York was resilient, and this could possibly not be happening to their strong and sharp-edged residents before her wedding. But it was and she watched it in horror, along with others who had seen or heard about what was transpiring. Even Darrell had to confirm what he just heard about the planes that took down Americas morale and sense of safety in a few short minutes and found it impossible to fathom the destructiveness of the attack.

As we move beyond the 9/11 commemoration, our challenge is to find a positive path forward with the use of technology. Technology innovation is not likely to slow and indeed digital advances are likely to accelerate. Super-computing and quantum computing will push change ahead and enable even more powerful digital applications. But figuring out how to retain hope and humanity through the use of technological advances will be crucial, especially in efforts to minimize problems of misinformation, personal privacy, cybersecurity, inequity, and civic toxicity.

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How technology and the world have changed since 9/11 - Brookings Institution

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Livinguard announced today demand is surging for its reusable protective face masks that are made with fabric treated with Livinguard Technology. Parents are embracing ways to protect their children as they return to in-school learning, and mask mandates are again sweeping the nation.

Livinguard Technology has proven effective against multiple strains of Coronavirus in numerous tests. It showed 99.9% reduction against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) at Freie Universitt Berlin and 99.5% reduction against Human Coronavirus 229E at University of Arizona and just last month the technology was proven again with an average of > 99% effectiveness against the Indian isolate of SARS COV 2 (wild version). More information about those tests can be found here.

With the COVID-19 Delta variant driving a resurgence in infections and hospitalizations across the U.S., its never been more important to protect children and young people -- especially kids under age 12 who are not yet eligible to receive the COVID vaccine but are returning to in-person learning. Livinguard offers advanced features effective for more than 200 days with regular care, enough to last the school year in most areas.

Importantly, all Livinguard masks follow Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations for design and snug fit, including its soft, breathable and washable, two-ply models designed specifically for children. An adjustable fit and comfortable cloth not only help combat viruses more effectively, but they also provide long-term wearable solutions for children in the classroom.

We at Livinguard are committed to making certain that students and others required to wear protective masks as they go about their school and workdays benefit from our patented mask textile technology that has the added benefit of being comfortable to wear, said Sanjeev Swamy, Livinguards Founder and CEO. Deploying Livinguards proven hygiene technology in reusable masks will play a vital role in protecting young people and their teachers eager to safely return to the classroom, and our environment, which faces peril from the effects of millions -- if not billions -- of carelessly discarded single-use masks.

Since the start of the pandemic, Livinguards reusable masks have provided invaluable protection to frontline workers and others across the globe, including in hard-hit India. In Singapore, more than a million Livinguard masks have been distributed to that countrys residents since the start of the pandemic. And, in the U.S., the company, through its Livinguard Cares program, continues to make an impact in cities with a matching mask program for frontline and other municipal workers, as well as residents.

For information about Livinguard and its groundbreaking technologies please visit http://www.livinguard.com. To find Livinguard products, including two-layer childrens masks in multiple colors and designs, please visit shop.livinguard.com.

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Livinguard Swiss Technology Helping to Combat COVID-19 as Parents Look to Protect Children Returning to School - Business Wire

DUBLIN, Ohio, Sept. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantum Health, the industry-leading healthcare navigation and care coordination company, announced today that Drew Domecq has joined the company as its chief technology officer. The addition of Domecq to the company's already deep technical bench underscores Quantum Health's continued commitment to raising the bar on human-centered innovation and outcomes through its proprietary integration of technology, data analytics, and personalized care coordination.

"Technology and data analytics are powerful unlockers to more personalized, responsive, and higher-quality consumer healthcare journeys," said Shannon Skaggs, president of Quantum Health. "We are excited to have Drew join our leadership team. His experience leading technology innovation driven by creating world-class consumer experiences aligns perfectly with our mission."

Prior to joining Quantum Health, Domecq was executive vice president and chief information officer at Designer Brands (formerly DSW Inc.), where he was responsible for applying technology enablement to their growth strategy. Before Designer Brands, Domecq was chief information officer at Bob Evans and held technology leadership positions at The Wendy's Company; Vox Mobile, Inc.; Safelite Group, Inc.; and Qwest Communications International, Inc.

Domecq earned bachelor's degrees in politics and economics from Princeton University and a master's in business administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

"Healthcare is one of the most important and personal interactions we experience as humans, yet the consumer perspective is often completely lost within an overly complicated system," said Domecq. "Quantum Health realized long ago that technology and data play a crucial role in understanding what consumers want and need as they progress along their healthcare journeys. I am inspired by Quantum Health's culture and mission and am thrilled to join the Quantum Health team as it continues to lead the consumer navigation industry; especially now, when consumers need expert support and guidance more than ever."

Quantum Health also announced that Peter McClennen has joined its board of directors. McClennen, who was most recently president at Teladoc Health, adds to Quantum Health's deep expertise in clinical care, healthcare provider relationships, technology, and harnessing healthcare data analytics. Prior to his position at Teladoc, McClennen held executive leadership positions at Best Doctors, Allscripts, and dbMotion, Inc.

"Peter has amassed valuable experience in areas that are critically important to transforming the consumer healthcare experience today," said Kara Trott, founder and CEO of Quantum Health. "His understanding of technology-based care delivery, along with his expertise in healthcare innovation, analytics and informatics are a perfect complement to our esteemed board of directors already in place."

McClennen shares Quantum Health's mission to keep the consumer at the center of the healthcare experience. "Understanding healthcare consumers' challenges is essential to reshaping their experiences and improving outcomes. Quantum Health does this like no other company. Using data to understand and transform the consumer healthcare journey is the very foundation upon which the company is built," said McClennen. "In an extremely noisy marketplace, I share their deep commitment to delivering measurable results for both the consumer and the self-insured employers that provide their benefits. I am very pleased to be part of this organization as it continues to lead the healthcare navigation space."

About Quantum Health

Quantum Health is the industry-leading consumer healthcare navigation and care coordination company that delivers an unparalleled consumer experience to its members, as well as validated claims savings and high satisfaction rates for its self-insured employer clients. Quantum Health's proprietary Real-Time Intercept model identifies opportunities for early intervention in a member's healthcare journey, resulting in better engagement, outcomes, and cost efficiencies.

The company was founded in 1999 and is based in Dublin, Ohio. Since its inception, Quantum Health has earned numerous awards and honors, including being named among the Fastest-Growing Private Companies by Inc. 5000, and a Great Place to Work by FORTUNE Magazine and Entrepreneur Magazine. The Women Presidents' Organization has ranked Quantum Health as one of the 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies, and Columbus Business First has honored Quantum Health as a Best Place to Work.

To learn more about the company, visitwww.Quantum-Health.com, and connect with us onLinkedInandTwitter.

Media Contact:

Susan Simkins Quantum Health, Corporate Communications[emailprotected]800-257-2038 x 13494

SOURCE Quantum Health

http://www.quantum-health.com

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Quantum Health Names Drew Domecq Chief Technology Officer And Adds Peter McClennen To Board Of Directors - PRNewswire

When Tarikh Campbell stepped out of his boyhood home in Teaneck, N.J., last month, the parking space where hed left his 2020 Toyota Camry was a patch of empty pavement. His Avis rental car had apparently been stolen.

Campbell, an East Boston resident and program manager for workplace inclusion at Microsoft in Cambridge, didnt get much help from Avis, or the local police. So he set about to figure out the cars fate himself, with a welcome assist from some digital gadgets that just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

When he discovered the theft on the night of Aug. 14, I was freaked out, like, rubbing my eyes, said Campbell. Hed gone to Teaneck in mid-August for a relaxing weekend visit and had planned to spend Saturday night hanging out with friends. Instead, he found himself filing a stolen car report with the Teaneck police.

The next morning, he took a Lyft to the Avis office near the Newark airport. As he handed over the keys to the missing car, a customer service worker told Campbell that he would be charged daily rental fees. The worker said that the car didnt contain a GPS tracker, so Avis couldnt help find it. And the worker added, If we dont find the car, youre going to be liable for it, Campbell recalled. I was pretty stressed out about that.

Campbell filed a claim with his personal auto insurance company, but he was warned that the payout might not cover the full cost of the rental car, which was newer than his own vehicle. In addition, he could expect to pay higher insurance premiums going forward. Insured or not, the loss of the car could cost him dearly.

After flying home to Boston, Campbell remembered something hed left behind in the car: his E-ZPass transponder for making automatic payments for road tolls. Realizing that the E-ZPass billing system automatically tracks a vehicles movements along toll roads, he logged on to his account, and found that the missing Camry had indeed traveled on the New Jersey Turnpike that Saturday night. It got off the highway at the Newark airport exit, said Campbell.

The next break in the case came from Campbells aunt, whom hed visited during the trip and who lived three doors down from Campbells parents. The aunt had installed a video surveillance camera on her porch, which had a good view down the street. Recorded video from the camera showed a tow truck scooping up the vehicle and carting it away.

But the car was legally parked. Who would have towed it? Car thieves?

We werent entertaining the idea that there was some organized crime group with tow trucks, said Campbell. This would most likely be done by Avis. Combined with the location data from the E-ZPass, it was an open-and-shut case.

When Campbell reported the car missing, the Avis worker had said the company couldnt track the car, but he must have been wrong. The company had found the vehicle in Teaneck and hauled it away. And sure enough, Campbells Avis smartphone app now listed the car as having been returned, 90 minutes after his plane landed back in Boston.

Case closed? Not quite. Campbell wanted reimbursement from Avis for his lost weekend, and the return of some personal items hed left in the car. But phone calls to customer service left him frustrated. The company wouldnt even give him a direct phone number to the Newark rental office.

I was even hung up on at times by customer service agents, Campbell said.

Then he unleashed the ultimate weapon: Twitter. On Aug. 20, he cranked out a lengthy thread of tweets about his misadventure, complete with images of the E-Z Pass record and his aunts surveillance video. The thread went viral, with thousands of likes from sympathetic readers. Avis began to pay attention. The company agreed to a full refund, and a return of his possessions. And it finally revealed what had happened.

Our internal findings indicate there was an incorrect tow triggered by an administrative error on a previous rental, said an e-mail from an Avis spokesperson. Mistaken tows occur infrequently but we are taking steps to prevent situations like this from occurring at all in the future.

Like it or not, our lives are now under near-constant electronic surveillance, usually for the benefit of some far-off faceless corporation. But sometimes the digital spies are on our side.

Hiawatha Bray can be reached at hiawatha.bray@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeTechLab.

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How technology cracked the case of a missing Camry - BetaBoston

BECKLEY, W.Va. (WVVA) The New River Gorge Reg. Dev. Auth. is using new technology to attract new business to the area.

The organization recently invested in new GIS mapping technology to centralize and showcase prime sites for development in its four-county coverage area in Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas, and Summers counties. The new mapping technology developed by REsimplifi, Inc. will allow potential business prospects anywhere in the world to see in-depth information about those sites.

According to Exec. Dir. Jina Belcher, the New River Gorge Reg. Dev. Auth. has a user friendly guide on its website to help property owners enter their information. https://www.choosenrg.com/

"We cannot stress enough how important it is to work with our local brokers, realtors, and property owners to make sure they're completing the data sets for utility access, proximity to highways, and distribution information. The more information we can have on a site, the more attractive it makes that listing, and the quicker we can turn that listing around and located a company."

The New River Gorge Reg. Dev. Auth. is the first in the state to utilize REsimplifi, Inc.

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New River Gorge Reg. Dev. Auth. invests in new technology to attract new business - WVVA TV

(NewsNation Now) There is growing fear that sensitive biometric information the United States collected on allies in Afghanistan may be used to track them down in the wake of the U.S. departure.

Since 2007, U.S. forces have been collecting biometric data including fingerprints, retinal scans and other identifiers of every Afghan working with the U.S. and allied nations. Every member of the Afghan military, every member of the Afghan police and civilian workers handed over the same information.

While the U.S. military had time to disable helicopters and the airplanes they left behind, those biometric devices may still be working and so may the databases that house the information.

Connor Powell, a reporter who spent time in Afghanistan, says he saw the information being collected first-hand when he was there and was enrolled in one of the collections.

Afghanistan is a country that we often describe as being war-torn or primitive, backward, developing. But this was actually probably the most state-of-the-art system in the world, he told NewsNations Banfield. And it was doing a lot to actually reduce corruption and fraud and a lot of the other problems that had really plagued the country.

Powell said its a terrifying prospect that this information could fall into the Talibans hands.

This is one of the many concerns of any Afghan who worked with the coalition who lean toward the Western world as opposed to lean towards that the Taliban. This is one of many ways in which the Taliban can essentially track you down.

Watch Banfieldweeknights at10/9con NewsNation.

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Is the Taliban using US technology to track Afghan allies? - NewsNation Now

More than 70 diseases are attributed to excessive angiogenesis with inadequate function while angiogenesis plays an important physiological role in normal conditions, such as pregnancy, menstruation, and wound healing. By visualising the state of blood vessels within a disease, it may be possible to detect the disease at an early stage and monitor the effects of treatment.

We believe that such an imaging technology must have the following features.

First of all, it should be able to show blood vessels with high accuracy at a high resolution; secondly, it should be able to visualise the metabolic state of the blood; and finally, and especially important, it should be non-invasive.

Clinically feasible imaging modalities suitable for evaluating disease-related vessels include ultrasonography (with doppler, contrast-enhanced), angiography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Conventional angiography is invasive and often paired with the intravascular treatment of the target lesion. Multidetector CT with contrast agent targeting vascular structure (CT Angiography) provides us with a detailed vascular network, however, it requires radiation exposure. MRI with a contrast agent may be an ideal imaging modality to evaluate disease-related angiogenesis without radiation exposure. Regarding cancer imaging with a contrast agent, selective visualisation of feeding arteries and drainage veins of tumours is currently available. Drainage veins were enhanced soon after feeding arteries are enhanced, suggesting the biology of tumour and tumour-associated vasculature such as increased intra-tumoral blood flow or intra-tumoral shunts. This short arterio-venous interval is characteristic of malignant tumours.

These conventional technologies have evolved to a great extent and are used in practice but somewhat invasive. We need to note that some patients cannot tolerate contrast media due to impaired kidney function or allergies, and radiation exposure is a concern for X-ray-based technologies. Thereby, we need a novel imaging system with a non-invasive approach.

Photoacoustic imaging may be a breakthrough technology to solve these issues. It enables us to depict fine vessels without radiation exposure and the use of contrast media. Furthermore, photoacoustic imaging is also capable of visualising intravascular oxygen saturation in the 3D view as well.

In 1880, Dr Alexander Graham Bell first reported the photoacoustic effect. He showed that a sound generated through thermal expansion resulting from light energy could be detected with his stethoscope. This is called the photoacoustic effect. Unlike ultrasound, X-ray, nuclear medicine, CT and MRI, photoacoustic technology, which was discovered much earlier than any of these, has not reached practical use in medical settings yet.

The principle of photoacoustic imaging is as follows. A subject absorbs light energy, which generates a temperature rise and then results in the thermo-elastic expansion. That expansion generates sound emissions, and we can detect these sound signals emitted, and calculate the 3D location of the subject and visualise it on a computer screen.

The haemoglobin, a major carrier of oxygen contained in red blood cells, absorbs the laser beam energy irradiated from the outside of the body. The thermo-elastic expansion of the haemoglobin elicited by the non-invasive laser beam releases ultrasonic waves, and these waves are captured at the detectors. The 3D position data of haemoglobin in vessels represent the blood vessel image (Fig.1).

Tumour-associated vessels are closely linked to the tumour growth activity and tumour-microenvironment. New vessel formation, or angiogenesis, is needed to respond to the increasing demand for oxygen and nutrients of growing tumours. Although normal and matured blood vessels are well organised, tumour-associated vessels are totally abnormal, such as dilated, tortuous, and leaky. Photoacoustic imaging is ideal for depicting such abnormalities of tumour-associated vessels.

Our research group has focused on developing photoacoustic imaging equipment and system targeted at tumour vessels in breast cancer.

By matching the irradiated laser beam to the light absorption wavelength of haemoglobin, it is possible to visualise blood vessels as fine as approximately 200m that cannot be detected by conventional imaging techniques, and also to calculate the oxygen saturation of the blood using the two wavelengths, 756nm and 797nm. On irradiation with 756nm light, oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin have different absorption. In contrast, at 797nm wavelength, both absorption coefficients are the same. We call this calculated value the S-factor saturation of oxygen. By irradiating the two wavelengths of the laser alternately, we eliminated the positional shifts and succeeded in acquiring high-resolution S-factor maps in human vessels in vivo (Fig.2).

In oxygen saturation analyses in a clinical case of breast cancer, for example, we found low saturation signal spots emerging in the tumour tissue, and we observed changes in the vascular shape and S-factor status due to chemotherapy and molecular targeting treatments. These changes in the morphology and function of the vasculature, named vascular normalization, are expected to occur according to the treatment response and be observable by photoacoustic imaging.

A recently developed photoacoustic equipment visualised tumour vasculatures and S-factor oxygen status clearly, as shown in Fig.3 (triple-negative breast cancer). This photoacoustic imaging shows fine-bending blood vessels of the tumour. We understand clustered and irregular small arterioles and venules are developed by cancer in a systemic vascular network system.

In a sense, this photoacoustic imaging is a non-invasive modality that does not require radiation exposure or contrast medium. Our technique achieves a very high resolution in visualising tiny vessels in humans. Although we need to improve scanning depth further, this technique can depict fine small blood vessels and their oxygen saturation status that were previously impossible to visualise.

Photoacoustic imaging will make a variety of developments. Numbers of diseases are accompanied by abnormalities in blood vessels. Vascular abnormalities are engaged in not only cancers, but also cardiovascular diseases, thrombosis, diabetes and autoimmune diseases. Early detection and monitoring of these diseases by vascular imaging are crucial. In addition, S-factor imaging representing a metabolic status should be also helpful to understand the disease biology and treatment effects. Furthermore, vascular imaging is indispensable for plastic surgery, especially tissue transfer.

In the future, we will be able to realise molecular imaging with photoacoustic technology. Potentially, a variety of probes are applicable in this system. For instance, remarkable imaging of lymphatic ducts and channels has already been achieved by using indocyanine green (ICG) as an imaging probe. In cancer treatment, we often use immune-oncological drugs nowadays. To understand what happens in tumour in the human body in vivo, visualisation of tumour microenvironment, not only vasculatures but also immune cell components are necessary. For this purpose, the photoacoustic imaging system would be helpful.

The photoacoustic imaging technology will contribute widely to the diagnosis of disease. The coupling of morphological imaging of vasculature and functional imaging of oxygen provides a new paradigm in the imaging field. It is warranted to study the development of practical equipment, the development of probes for photoacoustic imaging, and the integration of AI for diagnosis.

References

Onishi N et al. Ultrafast dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI of the breast using compressed sensing: breast cancer diagnosis based on separate visualization of breast arteries and veins. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2018;47:97-104.

Honda M et al. New parameters of ultrafast dynamic contrast-enhanced breast MRI using compressed sensing. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2020;51:164-174.

Matsumoto Y, Toi M. Womens Imaging 2020 Breast Imaging Vol.15 Innervision, 35, 8,48-51.

Toi M et al. Visualization of tumour-related blood vessels in the human breast by the photoacoustic imaging system with a hemispherical detector array. Scientific reports, 2017;7:41970.

Matsumoto Y et al. Visualising peripheral arterioles and venules through high-resolution and large-area photoacoustic imaging.Scientific reports, 2018, 14930.

Nagae K et al. Real-time 3D Photoacoustic Visualization System with a Wide Field of View for Imaging Human Limbs F1000Res.2018 Nov 19;7:1813.

Itaru T et al. Photoacoustic Tomography Shows the Branching Pattern of Anterolateral Thigh Perforators In Vivo. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2018 May;141(5):1288-1292.

Kajita H et al. Photoacoustic lymphangiography J Surg Oncol. 2020;121:48-50.

Described by Masakazu Toi1, Yoshiaki Matsumoto1,2, and Masako Kataoka3

1: Breast Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University

2: Preemptive Medicine and Lifestyle Related Disease Research Center, Kyoto University Hospital

3: Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University

This research was funded by The ImPACT Programme (programme manager Takayuki Yagi), Cabinet Office, Japan

Please note: This is a commercial profile

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Gene therapy can be defined as the addition of completely new genes inside the human cells. Recent technological and research developments in the field of gene therapy and gene editing has allowed the development of new pattern in which the sequence inside a human genome can be accurately manipulated to get the desired effect. Gene editing technology involves corrections of unwanted mutations inside a gene that can cause cancer. It also involves addition of therapeutic and treatment giving genes at specific site that will help in quick recovery of patient. The gene editing technology is expected to have a considerable impact on the global healthcare sector as with its advancements, humanity will inch a step closer in fighting chronic diseases such as cancer.

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In terms of regional segments, there are five major regions of the global gene editing technology market viz. Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Rest of the World. Of these, currently, the global market is being dominated by the region of North America. This growth of the regional segment is because of the growth in funding and investments to facilitate more activities of research and development in the field of healthcare and related infrastructure. Moreover, increasing prevalence of cancer and growing demand for early phase cancer identification and treatment of other prolonged or chronic disorders are some of the other key factors that are pushing the development of the North America market.

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