Health care | EPFL Graph Search

Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health professionals and allied health fields. Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, midwifery, nursing, optometry, audiology, psychology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, athletic training, and other health professions all constitute health care. It includes work done in providing primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care, as well as in public health. Access to healthcare may vary across countries, communities, and individuals, influenced by social and economic conditions as well as health policies. Providing health care services means "the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best possible health outcomes". Factors to consider in terms of healthcare access include financial limitations (such as insurance coverage), geographical and logistical barriers (such as additional transportation costs and the ability to take paid time off work to use such services), sociocultural expectations, and personal limitations (lack of ability to communicate with health care providers, poor health literacy, low income). Limitations to health care services affects negatively the use of medical services, the efficacy of treatments, and overall outcome (well-being, mortality rates). Health systems are organizations established to meet the health needs of targeted populations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a well-functioning healthcare system requires a financing mechanism, a well-trained and adequately paid workforce, reliable information on which to base decisions and policies, and well-maintained health facilities to deliver quality medicines and technologies. An efficient healthcare system can contribute to a significant part of a country's economy, development, and industrialization.

A Tunable Self-Offloading Module for Plantar Pressure Regulation in Diabetic Patients

Yves Perriard, Yoan René Cyrille Civet, Paolo Germano, Christian Köchli, Sofia Lydia Ntella, Kenny Jeanmonod, Bhawnath Tiwari

Plantar pressure plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of foot ulcers among patients with diabetes and peripheral polyneuropathy. Pressure relief is a key requirement for both the prevention and treatment of plantar ulcers. Conventional medical practice ...

2024

Towards edible robots and robotic food

Dario Floreano, Bokeon Kwak, Markéta Pankhurst, Jun Shintake

Edible robots and robotic food — edible systems that perceive, process and act upon stimulation — could open a new range of opportunities in health care, environmental management and the promotion of healthier eating habits. For example, they could enable ...

2024