There's an application for that

I've been very busy this past month.  One of the new things I've purchased was an iPad.  so far I've downloaded just shy of 100 applications for it.  Lots of them have to do with health psychology.  Let me mention a couple of them.

Tinnitus Trainer
This application builds on the new science of neuroplasticity.  Changes in patterns of activity in the cortex of the brain result in a chronic hiss or tone which can be quite annoying.  By playing sound frequencies near the frequency heard the brain creates new wiring and changes the need to constantly produce the hiss or tone. It's available for the iPad and iPhone.  It needs to be appropriately calibrated for the tone the person hears and then the sounds need to be heard for several hours a day for a period of time but it cures tinnitus.

 Lose It
This is a tracking program for weight loss.  It allows the user to add food and exercise to monitor fitness and intake goals.  It provides calorie counts nutrient preferences and you can set up motivator systems to keep on track.

Blood Pressure
This is a tracking system for both blood pressure and pulse.

Dr. Speaker
This allows a person to ask basic medical questions in a variety of languages--Spanish, English, French, And Chinese.

WebMD
This is available on line as well and includes a symptom checker.  The person starts by listing their symptoms and the application starts adding diagnostic possibilities.  This might also be good for watching episodes of "House."

Those are just a few of the new applications for the iPad.  The device isn't a computer but can certainly help both medical professionals and their patients in new and creative ways.