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 courtesy Guger Technologies Intendix will be the first patient-ready commercially available brain-computer interface. Designed to help those who have little to no motor function. Patients will be able to type at about 60 letters per minute and should be able to click various buttons to send email, etc. This technology is to be sold for approximately $12 250. [Singularity Hub]
After reading about the lab freezing humans for science I thought about another video I had recently seen. Here’s David Blaine (the magician) talking about the ordeal he went through to hold his breath for more than 15 minutes. David also had this whole ordeal documented for scientific purposes. Check it out:  Courtesy of SINTEF No this isn’t some evil lab experiment… well not too evil. A SINTEF lab is researching the effects of extremely low temperatures on humans physiology. 21 people have been put to a number of tests in temperatures ranging from +20 to -25 degrees Celsius. The results:
Of course this data won’t be used just for clothing, this data is valuable for many areas of medicine. [ScienceDaily]  credit: Daniel Terdimen A nice Saturday read, Daniel Terdimen over at CNET profiles Scott Summit, an industrial designer changing the way prostheses are designed and manufactured. Summit has many game changing points in his speeches, especially when discussing complexity and how in the future you will pay the same for complex models as simple. [CNET]  Fraunhofer IFAM Currently most metal screws are made of metal and in some cases, such as ligament repair, these screws need to be removed after a certain amount of healing. These repeat procedures slow the healing process and are a huge inconvenience for patients. Luckily this may be a thing of the past in many procedures. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research (IFAM) in Bremenhave developed new screws that degrade in the body over time eventually turning into bone. [Fraunhofer]
Small advances like this add up over time and make big changes in the quality of peoples lives. Eric Topol begins his talk by asking when the stethoscope was invented. Have a guess? It was 1816. Although the traditional stethoscope is still useful, there are better and more comprehensive means of monitoring the heart and lungs. How many other medical diagnostic tools haven’t undergone a major upgrade in almost 200 years? Medicine is finally having the opportunity to evolve thanks to smartphone and wireless technology that has become inexpensive and accessible in a relatively short amount of time. This shift isn’t just happening in doctor’s offices and hospitals – it’s happening in the home. A data driven health revolution is on the cusp, and this informative and funny TedMed talk talks about this massive change.
Casttoo offers a wide array of art and designs to apply to your cast, but the idea of showing off your xray is just plain techie-fun.
Medical waste is an enormous dilemma that is currently being addressed by organizations such as Health Care Without Harm, but creative solutions such as the Syreen are encouraging. By re-imagining how things are produced and used, the root of the problem can be addressed instead of dealing with the issue at the disposal stage. Story via Core77
“With HealthVault Community Connect, we are targeting one of the fundamental gaps in the care process — the lack of electronic information flow between the hospital, the patient and the patient’s care team outside the hospital, by allowing patients and their personal physicians to access electronic copies of their discharge instructions, for example, hospitals can facilitate better health outcomes by getting the relevant information into the hands of the people who need it most.” I’m always excited to see these types of products roll out, especially when they have the support of a large company like Microsoft. Honestly, I’m just excited it’s FREE*! Check it out at www.healthvault.com. [CNET] *Edit: This service is free to consumers only, hospitals will need to license the software for use with their patients. (Thanks Meg)  Courtesy of Whitesides Research Group How do you bring modern science to the whole world without the cost? Print it on paper of course. George Whiteside, a chemistry professor at Harvard University, has developed a prototype med lab on a paper chip which could be customized to diagnose a large number of diseases. The eventual goal is to diagnose diseases such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis using a single drop of blood. The expected cost of this amazing piece of technology? About a penny. The lab should be available next year. [CNN] |
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