This article is all about perspectives: How one can view the world, the environment and the digital sphere and how to 'hang-out' during these challenging times. Stay safe!

Death, Through a Nurse's Eyes 

Sometimes I think there are two worlds: one outside hospitals, where debating “freedom” and “opening-up” seems the most important issue, and then another world in hospitals where “life” often no longer is an option: Death, Through a #Nurse‘s Eyes NYTimes. Parallel universes it sometimes seems, with polarisation as the standard modus operandi.

A 'shocking' (not graphic) video made by body-cams connected to ICU-nurses' chests, that give us a first-person view of what they are going through. How the things they've seen, or hád to see will impact their lives, way beyond the current pandemic. At the start of all of this, we could see how this was going to take also a toll on healthcare workers and the healthcare system as a whole, and back then we hoped to bypass a second wave, here we are at wave #3...

PLEASE, be nice to each other, and follow the guidelines, because tomorrow is not a given!

How Much Waste For One Operation? 

Artist Maria Koijck focusses her work on garbage. Recently she published a video with all the garbage that came out of her own operation.

"In 2019 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo a full mastectomy for this. At the end of 2020, I received a new breast made of body material. The operation took 10 hours. I am overjoyed!"

“During the process of my illness and in the run-up to this operation, I discovered that 60% of all surgical equipment is disposable. For example, stainless steel scissors are flown in from Japan and after a single cut they end up in the trash can."

“To get an idea of the total amount of waste produced by my operation, I asked the medical team to collect all the waste from my operation."

“I am more than happy to have had the chance to heal but I am also shocked by six garbage bags full of waste for one operation, my operation. As an artist, I have been putting waste at the center of my work for years. It begs the question for me: People want to get better, but at what cost?"

With this project she boosts the already growing awareness created by the healthcare-system.

But we need to do more, on needless traveling back-and-forth to hospitals for 'handshake-consultations, as I pointed out in my previous article.

Digital Humans Are Becoming Unreal Real 

If you've followed my work for a while, my passion for the use of digital humans for Certain aspects of health(care) (link to #virtualcoffee in Linkedin LIVE about this) will be well known.

Another player took bold steps into this area, coming from the gaming industry, Unreal Engine, launching their MetaHuman platform.

Join me on @joinclubhouse.

I'm discussing “Digital Humans in health(care)” with @Jarno Duursma, @Steven van Belleghem and many others (stay tuned for more great names). 

Unearthly realistic graphics, artificial intelligence and opportunities. Are they here to stay, what are the pitfalls and their benefits and the ethics for healthcare?

And for those of you that thought : "euhhh Clubhouse?? just read below:

And then .. there is Clubhouse... 

Is it the new hype, does it fill a need, will it stay? What is Clubhouse anyway?

Many questions still, and yet there is an awesome vibe in the 'rooms' you can enter and be part of. It is all audio, no option to send messages, chat, mail, like, ping or whatever. Just audio. Moderators (everyone can be one) can open up a room instantaneously and every can join, unless you set the room for invite only, or only for the ones that follow you. Great spontane conversations where people with a different perspective can chime in and share. Also for brainstorms or create an opinion, and also great to just hang-out, something we dearly miss during these challenging times. I've met with strangers in very nice discussions and sharing about topics I wanted to know more of, but also random rooms where is 'dropped-in' and stayed for an hour. Also hosted rooms myself, and subscribed to scheduled rooms on specific days of the week at fixed times for fixed durations. My advice: go see (uhh, actually hear) for your self, and make up your own mind, I haven't made up mine yet. As stated above you can join us in the Clubhouse-session about Digital Humans in Healthcare for starters.

There are three catches in my honest opinion however:

1. You need to be invited by someone already on Clubhouse,
2. For now it is iPhone (and iPad) only,
3. This one is optional : the app will ask you to connect your address-book, uploading all of your phone-numbers OR to push the 'not now' button, because there is still a lot of unknown unknowns. If you however want to invite some-one, you'd have to open up.

Via my friend Zayna I learned a new word yesterday : GYSHIDO.

She said she 'stole' it from Pascal of SingularityU.

That's all folks. Have a great one and GYSHIDO!