A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Dental check-up refunds this month
THIS MONTH, the Irish Dental Association and Colgate is offering consumers a refund on a check-up at their dental surgery up to the value of €65.
People who would like to avail of the offer need to send receipts for a full Colgate regime pack in one transaction and a visit to the dentist with a claim form to receive the refund. The initiative aims to promote regular dental check-ups.
See colgateohm.ie for details.
New phone app gives 3D view of the human body
A GALWAY-BASED company has developed an application which gives a detailed 3D view of the human body.
Pocket Body will be available on the Apple platform for iPod, iPhone, iTouch and the new iPads.
It has been developed by eMedia Interactive, a start-up company based in Galway and Mayo Institute of Technology.
Pocket Body features an anatomically accurate human character with nine layers of musculoskeletal content from the outer skin to the inner organs. In each layer, structures are pinned for identification and associated with each pin is additional concise information including clinical notes.
The app may be useful for medical students, as it contains a learning programme with a built-in quiz as a self-test capability to assist in learning and exam preparation.
The device has been developed in co-operation with NUI Galway’s College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.
The content for the app was designed by Dr Brendan Wilkins, an anatomy lecturer based in NUI Galway. Along with a team of third- and fourth-year medical students, he specified and wrote all of the content for the app.
The software was designed by Pocket Anatomy.com, the company set up by eMedia Interactive to develop the app.
eMedia Interactive chief executive Mark Campbell said the new software was especially useful for those studying medicine as it had been developed by medical students.
Pocket Body costs between $14.99 (€11.65) and $19.99 (€15.50).
Candlelight vigils to mark suicide prevention week
A SERIES of nationwide candlelight vigils to mark World Suicide Prevention Week will take place this week.
Figures published earlier this year show a record 527 people died by suicide last year, a 24 per cent increase on the previous year.
This week, family, friends and colleagues of loved ones lost to suicide are invited to light a candle and bring photos to ceremonies in Dublin, Galway and Wexford.
Noel Smyth, chairman of the suicide charity 3Ts, said that as well as providing solace to the bereaved, the vigils highlighted the support of the wider community. “When a suicide happens, people ask why it happened and what to do. We say, just keep talking, and help others understand that suicide is not a second-class death,” he said.
Last week, the Government announced it was allocating an additional €1 million to suicide prevention groups, bringing the overall spend on these services to €5.5 million.
Mr Smyth, however, said this was “a drop in the ocean. We estimate there are two suicide deaths every day in Ireland, that’s three times more than those dying on our roads.
“Funding for suicide prevention pales in comparison to the €40 million given to the Road Safety Authority. Suicide in Ireland is still seen as a ‘second-class’ death.”
The vigils will take place at College Green, Dublin, and at St Nicholas’s Collegiate Church, Galway, on Friday, World Suicide Prevention Day, from 8pm to 9pm. A vigil will take place at the Bull Ring in Wexford at 8pm on September 15th.
