The skin gun is not science fiction—it’s a prototype medical device that literally sprays skin cells onto burn victims to re-grow skin. Old methods like skin grafts took weeks to heal; the skin gun needs about an hour. More »
When you go into cardiac arrest, you’ve got about ten minutes to live if you don’t receive medical attention, and the average emergency response time is seven minutes after you dial 911. In an effort to get folks help more quickly and leverage the iPhone’s life saving abilities, the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District in California has created the FireDepartment app to enlist the help of the citizenry in fighting the (unfortunate) results of a lifetime of eating tacos. The iPhone app — Android and BlackBerry versions are currently in the works — allows emergency dispatchers to notify users via text of a nearby crisis. For those feeling heroic, the app displays a map with the victim’s location and any nearby automatic electronic defibrillators, and provides “resuscitation reminders” in case you’re the CPR teddy-toting type. For now, the service only works in San Ramon but there are plans to port it for use elsewhere. That means we can look forward to a nation of amateur EMTs, which makes us thankful that mouth-to-mouth is no longer a part of CPR. Check the video after the break to see the app in action.
Continue reading Geolocation app appeals to your inner good samaritan, makes you an amateur EMT
Geolocation app appeals to your inner good samaritan, makes you an amateur EMT originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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An apple a day keeps the doctor away. No, this isn’t the latest Japanese marketing strategy by Steve Jobs el al. The “apple” here really is the fruit variety, and in true Japanese style, peeled, cut and packaged.
Following on from Dole’s success with the banana vending machine in Shibuya last summer, m.V.m have installed a vendor offering apples to Tokyo commuters passing through Kasumigaseki subway station in the center of the city.
Kasumigaseki might be a curious choice; whereas Shibuya is one of the busiest shopping areas in Tokyo, Kasumigaseki is the home of the Japanese national government. So, it’s usually frequented by armies of bureaucrats (hardly known as trend-setters) and basically empty at the weekend.
The vending machine is also rather tucked away near one of the exits (by contrast, Dole even put posters in the stairway near their banana vendor to let people know it was there), and the apples themselves are definitely not a bargain. A single chilled pack costs 190 yen (about $2.30) for just three cuts or 80g. (A whole apple in Japan typically costs around 100 yen.)
However, these aren’t just any apples. These are Aomori Prefecture fruits, without doubt the most famous region in Japan for apples. Consumers definitely do not mind paying a lot for quality fruit and these kinds of apples are regarded as a famous luxury product by Tokyo-ites. A vending machine supplying conveniently cut and peeled slices to add as a healthy addition to your lunch is paradise for these civil servants.
The sales target is up to 100,000 yen (about $1,200) in one month. Sounds high even when the price of the apples is pretty expensive. But certainly on my visit some of the slots were sold out so we shouldn’t underestimate consumer demand for top grade fruits. If it’s a success expect to see apple vendors in other stations.
Mobile body area network (MBAN) technology has the potential to be a boon to the healthcare system of the future by enabling remote patient monitoring through disposable wireless devices — meaning fewer doctor visits for everyone and great news for latrophobes. Until now, MBAN was opposed by the Aerospace & Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council (AFTRCC) because it utilizes the same radio bands that aircraft manufacturers do when they’re testing new planes. AFTRCC didn’t want all that medical chatter “polluting their spectrum” but decided to get on board with MBAN when the health care industry promised to create a way to stop signals that disrupt aeronautical traffic. MBAN is a part of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan and purports to use short-length radio waves (not unlike Bluetooth) in the 2300 and 2400 MHz range to transmit physiological info to treating physicians — as opposed to other patient monitors that use web-based communications. MBAN would initially be used in hospitals but could later find its way into residential use by employing home entertainment systems (Wii Fit integration, here we come!) to collect and transmit data. With the FCC expected to decide on the final rules for MBAN later this year, the Intel Health Guide may have some company in the at-home patient monitoring business. We can only hope that the next time the aeronautic and health care industries combine forces, it will take the form of jetpack-wearing doctors making house calls.
Health care and aeronautics industries agree that FCC should set aside bandwidth for dedicated remote patient monitoring system originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The eerie video you’re about to watch captures the moment when a malaria parasite invades a human red blood cell—this is the first time that such an event has been caught in moving pictures. More »
That’s all we know for now, folks. Apple’s CEO is taking a medical leave from work, his second in as many years, with Tim Cook filling his role during that time. In an email to the Apple team, Steve Jobs says he’ll be on leave to “focus on [his] health,” though he will retain the position of CEO and will remain involved in the major strategic decisions — Tim Cook will be picking up the slack on day-to-day operations. No further details have been provided, save for Steve expressing his love for Apple and wish to return to his duties as soon as he can. See his email missive in full after the break.
Steve Jobs takes medical leave from Apple, Tim Cook taking over daily operations in his absence originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 08:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
As good looking as we are — and you know we are — we sometimes get tired of staring into the mirror. Honestly, aside from reminding us of our resemblance to a young Sean Connery, the standard mirror really doesn’t do much, but the Thermo Mirror is another story. The device, designed by Japanese electronics firm NEC/Avio, uses an infrared sensor to measure an onlooker’s temperature from up to 30 centimeters (about 1 foot) away, without physical contact. The subject’s temperature appears on the mirror’s surface, and, if they have a fever, an alarm sounds. Thermo Mirror is available in two versions and costs between 98,000 and 120,000 yen (or $1,180 and $1,440). When not in use, its face displays date, time, humidity, and temperature. Now if it could just make us a martini — shaken, not stirred, of course.
Thermo Mirror measures body temperature, gives us something else to stare at originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Cotton may very well be the fabric of our lives, but it’d sure feel a lot better draped across our skin if we could incorporate stretchable electronic devices into it. That’s the goal of NC State’s own Dr. Yong Zhu, who has worked with a team of gurus to create “the first coils of silicon nanowire on a substrate that can be stretched to more than double their original length.” Essentially, this type of breakthrough brings us one (major) step closer to “incorporating stretchable electronic devices into clothing, implantable health-monitoring devices, and a host of other applications.” Compared to prior studies on buckling, this particular approach one-ups those focusing on freestanding nanowires, with the new coils’ mechanical properties enabling them to be “stretched an additional 104 percent beyond their original length.” That’s a lot of technobabble, for sure, but what you need to realize is just how amazing your life will be as soon as The Zhu Crew figures out how to improve the reliability of the electrical performance when the coils are stretched to the limit. Flexible PMPs woven into your ski jacket? Bendable LCDs sewn right into your car’s headrests? The future… it’s here.
NC State’s coiled nanowire discovery could lead to stretchable electronic devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
A new campaign from phone carrier au is currently promoting their Karada Manager sports and fitness mobile concierge services through the personality of a beautiful model.
“2011, Kirei no Kagi wa Iwazakisan” (Iwazaki-san — the key to beauty in 2011) allows you to register on Karada Manager to get daily health information from the eponymous “Iwazaki-san”, as well as analyze your nutritional intake and have a chance to win “luxury medical check-up tours” at a top hotel.
Au is no stranger to health-related mobile campaigns: it also runs au Smart Sports, showcasing ways to use its products in an exercise-filled lifestyle, and in late 2009 organized a mass pedometer community event through participants’ mobiles.
What’s interesting here is that they are teaming up two concepts: health with beauty. While the Karada Manager services in general target both men and women, with this campaign the focus is clearly on women, through the well-known model (AneCan’s Reiko Takagaki) fronting the commercials. There are even limited edition giveaways for some users themed around the celebrity, including ringtones from the TV ad song.
Japanese female consumers famously have a close affection models, regarding them as role-models, and purchasing their essay books and other merchandise in bulk. The implication is that if you follow Iwazaki-san’s counselling then you can look like Takagaki.
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