Hasta La Gadget!

Prosthetic hands are expensive. I mean in the range of tens of thousands of dollars. Otherwise everyone would have one – at least those who need them. Well, that was true before 3D printing came along anyway. Now we can make all kinds of things at a fraction of the cost. Like prosthetic hands.

It looks like 12-year old Leon McCarthy of Marblehead, Massachusetts was born at just the right time to take advantage of this technology. He was born without fingers on his left hand and didn’t have a functional prosthetic replacement until his father, Paul McCarthy, found some online instructions for a design that could be built with a 3D printer.

Fortunately Leon’s school had a $2,500 3D printer. Using less than $10 worth of materials, his dad built Leon a useful mechanical hand. When he moves his wrist forward, the fingers clench. When he moves it back, the fingers open. While it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing thing, it is functional, and will definitely improve Leon’s quality of life. We have not even begun to explore the possibilities of 3D printing.

[Joe Carter via Neatorama]

This robotic cane is the possible future of canes for blind people and the elderly who are not blind, but just have trouble seeing everything.

This navigational canes isthe work of Dr. Cang Ye, a roboticist at the University at Arkansas at Little Rock and the engineering team that developed it. It is called the Co-Robotic Cane (CRC for short). It has a camera and laser detection as well as a ranging system that can spot objects in its user’s path. If something is in the way, it warns the user through the earpiece. One of the most innovative features is the roller tip on the end, which moves, guiding you toward a useful direction and out of the way of objstacles.

Dr. Ye thinks that the cane will be a great advance in navigational aids for the visually impaired. It certainly beats using an ordinary cane.

[via PopSci via Neatorama]

Seeing a doctor can be a pain sometimes. It’s painful and inconvenient enough to be sick as it is. What’s even worse is having to sit at a doctor’s office for hours on end and wait for the receptionist to call your name.

Well, there’s another way to see a doctor and it’s being advertised as being the “faster” and “easier” way: you do it online.

Behind this new service is American Well. Telemedicine isn’t actually a completely new idea, but this is just one of the applications that’s making the technology more accessible for more people.

Potential patients can check in with a U.S. trained, Board-certified doctor through their iOS or Android devices. Each ten-minute video chat consultation will cost $49(USD). If the appointment takes longer that, then additional charges will apply.

Dr. Teresa Myers, who practices telemedicine, explains: “I guarantee that not a single person who practices telemedicine would say this is a replacement of traditional medicine. This is an extension of traditional model care. With telemedicine, we can appropriately triage patients to higher levels of care needed to avoid preventable negative outcomes, which includes direct and indirect costs.”

Wile this technology definitely adds convenience and immediacy, it can’t be used as a substitute for in-person examinations and testing.

[via C|NET]

I kind of like tracking all of my activities, especially since I tend to run alone so I need the motivation to stay on target. While apps like RunKeeper and others work well to track runs, a simple pedometer is something good to keep track of every single move you make in a day.

Moves is a simple app that works in the background of your phone’s OS. It will track your movements automatically. There’s no need for any external devices or plug-ins.

Unlike pedometers, or fitness tracker bands, the Moves app doesn’t require anything but a smartphone to make it work. The app will also track your movements in cars, motorcycles, and public transport. From time to time, it mislabels my movements on my motorcycle as cycling, but otherwise it’s been pretty awesome. Keep in mind that with Moves running in the background, it will consume some added battery, though its makers claim you can still get a full day of usage of your phone with the app enabled. Of course, your mileage may vary.

It can be quite motivating, at least in my experience, when you realize how much you can walk, run or cycle in a day.  I’ve found that I want to beat my previous day’s movements almost every single day, or at least keep it at the same level.

There’s an iOS version that’s been around a bit longer, and the Android version was released just a few weeks ago. The best part is that it’s free.

There are plenty of activity trackers around to get the job done to track physical activity, and most of them aren’t cheap. For the more budget-conscious, there’s the newly released Fitbug Orb, which looks like it could be a good option.

The Orb is quite discreet. You can wear it on your wrist, belt, a lanyard, or have it clipped on. It works as a pedometer, tracks aerobic steps, time, distance, calories burned, speed, and even sleep.

Up front, the Fitbug Orb costs less than half than the more costly alternatives, however after the first 12 months, you’ll have to spend $3.99 a month if you want to keep using the online tracking service at fitbug.com and access their coaching plans. Of course, in 12 months, the next hot fitness gadget might be out and you will have gotten a year’s use for under $50 total. Not bad.

The model that will be released works only with iOS devices, at least for now. The Fitbug Orb retails for $49.99(USD) and is available for pre-order for late 2013 delivery.