Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

NanoVibronix’s PainShield MD reminds us (a little bit) of DARPA’s wound-healing ultrasound wrap, but its purpose is to stop pain, not bleeding. The pocket-sized device emits ultrasonic waves through a disposable patch that can easily be slapped onto the patient’s skin. The fundamental tech isn’t new, but NanoVibronix is hoping doctors and patients will pick PainShield up because it’s portable and convenient the patch means medical personnel don’t have to hold or operate anything during treatment. It’s just been cleared by the FDA, so it should reach the market soon-ish.

NanoVibronix cleared to market ultrasonic painkiller PainShield MD originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original post by Samuel Axon

Filed under: Cellphones

According to the UK’s Telegraph, mobile phones are responsible for yet another one of the great terrors of the 21st century: dermatitis. Apparently, “skin specialists” have discovered that certain metals used in cellphones are causing some users to suffer inflamed, reddened, dry, blistered, and cracked skin. Sounds awesome, right? It seems that about a third of heavy talkers are sensitive to nickel — a substance commonly found in gadgets — which can become irritating after repeated exposure. Says Brown University’s Dr. Lionel Bercovitch, “Given the widespread use of cellphones, the presence of metal in the exterior casing of these phones and the high prevalence of nickel sensitization in the population, it is not surprising that cellphones can cause allergic contact dermatitis.” There’s probably little you can do to out-and-out escape the problem, so we suggest full face mask whenever a call needs to be made — also, for dinner parties.

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Household

Assistive technologies are old hat, but a team of researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington (among other institutions) is working to provide a more robust, all-inclusive option for elderly individuals who’d prefer to age gracefully within their own domiciles. In theory, sensors could be embedded throughout seniors’ homes in order to “detect when the residents have sleepless nights or forget to take their medication.” From there, caregivers would be alerted and could react remotely via a web-based communications portal. The UTA lab that’s perfecting the idea currently utilizes a single room equipped with cameras, motion detectors and robots, and professors / students keep a close eye on any movement that gets recorded and transferring to computers for processing. If all goes well, a collaboratively built “home of the future″ will actually be on display at CES 2009, likely showcasing some of these very advancements.

[Image courtesy of Michael Mulvey / DMN, thanks Travis]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Transportation

Oh MIT, do the wonders that come from your halls ever cease? Yet another remarkable development is emerging from the fabled institution, and this time it’s an autonomous wheelchair that can remember important places in a given building (read: the hospital ward, your house, the local arcade, etc.) and then take you there on command. In other words, the voice recognizing chair could understand phrases of direction, such as “head to the kitchen,” and it would take on the burden of navigating the halls while letting the rider chill. The researchers are implementing a system that can learn and adapt to the individual user, and in the future, they’d like to add in a collision-avoidance system and mechanical arms to help patients lift and move objects. Say, can regular joes / janes buy these? We’re totally feeling this over the Segway.

[Via medGadget]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

While the scientists that developed these newfangled ingestible microgrippers call them minimally invasive, we’re not so sure that swallowing minuscule devices that can cut and grab tissue when chemically activated fits our definition of keyhole surgery. Nevertheless, tiny “handlike grippers” are currently being shown off to highly intelligent professionals in the medical realm, and if proven feasible, they could one day be used to perform biopsies from within. More specifically, the devices could reportedly “react to the biochemicals released by infected tissue by closing around the tissue, so that pieces can be removed for analysis.” Yeah, we reckon this is a bit less painful than actually going under the knife, but the mere thought of having blade-wielding microorganisms floating around our innards spooks us just a wee bit. Go on, fling your “pansies!” this way — we can take it.

[Via medGadget]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

On a number of occasions, we’ve seen reports suggesting that pacemakers could be sent signals which could instruct them to do all sorts of unwanted things, including shut off completely. Thankfully, the University of Washington’s Dr. Tamara Denning has heeded the warnings and created a possible solution. The so-called cloaking device would enable pacemakers to “resist any instructions that come from anyone other than the doctor,” though it has yet to be put to the test. in the real world Now, making sure your doc has passed a sufficient amount of background checks is another matter entirely.

[Image courtesy of SMH, thanks A.C.E.R.]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

In the never-ending quest to make even the smallest devices on Earth a touch smaller, a talented team of MIT engineers have developed a method for creating and installing microbatteries, which could eventually power a plethora of diminutive devices including “labs-on-a-chip and implantable medical sensors.” It’s bruited that this is the first time in which “microcontact printing has been used to fabricate and position microbattery electrodes and the first use of virus-based assembly in such a process,” and while you′d likely have to be a colleague to even digest that, the take away is that these gurus are one step closer to generating battery-powered Scrubbing Bubbles. And your shower could use ‘em.

[Via PCMag]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Here’s an interesting one. A group of US experts have discovered that a common form of skin cancer could one day be detected very early on by simply analyzing scents. More specifically, it was found that basal cell carcinomas give off an odor that is distinctly different than samples from healthy skin, which obviously opens up the possibility for “cheap and painless testing.” In the future, researchers are hoping to create scent profiles for other types of skin cancer, including the infamous malignant melanoma. Believe it or not, a machine may be only one of the devices used to eventually sniff cancerous cells — similar research is ongoing using canines and their remarkably sensitives schnozes.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

In operating rooms today, cancer surgeons are essentially forced to operate without any definitive way of determining whether or not 100% of the diseased tissue has been removed. Thanks to a radical invention by researchers in Massachusetts, that huge limitation could soon be a thing of the past. A new system, dubbed FLARE (Fluorescence-Assisted Resection and Exploration), involves a near-infrared (NIR) imaging system, a video monitor, and a computer. These tools are used to see special chemical dies (christened NIR fluorophores) that are crafted to “target specific structures such as cancer cells when injected into patients.” When these dyes are exposed to NIR light, the cancer cells light up, giving doctors an easy look at what they have left to remove. The team is gearing up to showcase the technology at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Philadelphia — here’s hoping it can be put to good use in the very near future.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Transportation, Wireless

Defcon already delivered by exposing California’s FasTrak toll system for the security hole that it is, but that’s not nearly all that’s emerging from the Las Vegas exploitation conference. For starters, a plethora of medical device security researchers have purportedly figured out a way to wirelessly control pacemakers, theoretically allowing those with the proper equipment to “induce the test mode, drain the device battery and turn off therapies.” Of course, it’s not (quite) as simple as just buzzing a remote and putting someone six feet under, but it’s a threat worth paying attention to. In related news, a trio of MIT students who were scheduled to give a speech on how to hack CharlieCards to get free rides on Boston’s T subway were stifled by a temporary restraining order that the university snagged just before the expo. Don’t lie, you’re intrigued — hit up the links below for all the nitty-gritty.

Read - Pacemaker hack
Read - Massachusetts Transit Authority sues MIT hackers
Read - Restraining order on said hackers

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Wearables

Far from the first circuit-laden contact lens we’ve laid eyes on (ahem), researchers at UC Davis have more than bragging rights in mind with their “smart” contacts. The devices are infused with a “pattern of conductive silver wires, which could be used to measure pressure inside the eye.” The material, dubbed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), would boast antimicrobial properties and could enable scientists to better study glaucoma. How so? By sending pressure data to computers sans wires. Better still, the contacts also include the ability to automatically dispense medication into the eye, making this beneficial in more ways than one. The creators are expected to apply for approval to begin testing the lenses in humans here shortly, and barring any unforeseen (sorry, totally unintentional there) setbacks, we would hope these could be put to use within the next few years.

[Via medGadget]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Giving mere mortals the power to monitor their own health at home isn’t a shocking revelation, but LifeSource’s new Wellness Connected family takes in-home status checking to another plateau. Three products in the line are being announced: the Wireless Automatic Blood Pressure Monitor, Wireless Precision Scale, and Wireless Activity Monitor. The trifecta utilizes FitLinxx’s proprietary wireless technology in order to link together and provide users with information on blood pressure, weight, and “activity” that can be logged and analyzed on a typical computer. Regrettably, no pricing information was mentioned, but we get the sense that this trio won’t be coming without a noticeable premium.

[Via medGadget]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We′re still a bit gun shy when it comes to surfing over to PEAK Surgical’s website after watching that PlasmaBlade demonstration video, but a new release from the outfit affirms that said electrosurgery scalpel has just been approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration. The “tissue dissection system,” as it’s so gruesomely called, has been given 501(k) clearance, meaning that PEAK can now market its tool for use in general surgery. So, anxious to camp out and be the first in the country to get sliced and diced by one of these? Bombard your local hospitals with phone calls starting next month.

[Via MedGadget]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Robots, Wearables

ARGO Medical Technologies’ ReWalk has been out a few months now, but it’s tough to really appreciate what this thing can do unless you see a patient utilize one on video. Hailed as a “quasi-robotic ambulation system,” the wearable device was specifically created to assist those with lower-limb disabilities and give them back upright mobility. In the video waiting in the read link, one particular individual relies on the ReWalk to stand up and move about after being stricken to a wheelchair for 20 years — no need to take our word for it, though, real live proof is but a click away.

[Via MedGadget]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Here’s one straight from the bizarro chapters. Dozens of individuals that attended an all night dance party near Moscow have been “partially blinded after a laser light show burned their retinas,” according to Russian health officials. Apparently someone responsible for erecting the equipment decided to aim a few lights powerful enough to brighten the night sky down at the crowd, with some of those who stared too long losing up to “80%” of their vision. We’re not exactly sure what will happen to the promoters of the event, but at least now you have a valid excuse to rock those face-engulfing sunglasses (or a welding mask, if you’re really paranoid) in every night club you waltz into.

[Image courtesy of iGouGo]

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Original post by Darren Murph