Reardon, KCKCC look to future of technology in KCK

By ALAN HOSKINS

“The need for Information Technology professionals is now.”

That’s the message Kansas City Kansas Mayor Joe Reardon conveyed to a group of 34 Kansas City Kansas Community College students, faculty and staff and community leaders at a brainstorming session exploring how the College and the community can collaborate on efforts to prepare Kansas City for new and innovative infrastructures and activities.

With KCK the first city in the U.S. to receive Google Fiber, Reardon said the technology advances are unlimited.

“With innovations such as high speed fiber, the deliverables and impacts are unknown and limitless and this creates an atmosphere for innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Reardon is explaining how technology improvement activities differ from typical economic development projects and have more predictable deliverables.

First medical use of GPS technology performed at The University of Kansas Hospital

By KARREY BRITT, The Lawrence Journal-World

Kansas University Hospital announced this week that it was the first hospital in the United States to use a new technology that makes many heart procedures safer by significantly reducing radiation exposure.

The technology will benefit more than 800 patients each year who need treatment for heart rhythm problems such as atrial fibrillation.

“I think this technology allows us to be more precise in performing our procedures and that’s going to translate ultimately to better results for patients,” said Dr. Loren Berenbom, director of the Richard and Annette Bloch Heart Rhythm Center at KU Hospital.

Berenbom said the current standard of practice for viewing a catheter or other device in the heart is to take a rapid series of X-ray images through the course of the procedure. This process, called fluoroscopy, can be used from one hour to four hours to make sure the catheter gets to the correct place.

The new MediGuide technology works like a global positioning system that drivers use to determine the location of their vehicle on a map.

It uses electromagnetic signals to track tiny sensors embedded in the devices they are using, so they are able to map their route using the sensors and a few X-rays instead of numerous X-rays, and it’s also done on a three-dimensional image.