Hasta La Gadget!

A poor calf was literally left out in the cold this winter and suffered frostbite to both of its hind legs. The frostbite was so severe that the calf lost both the back legs to surgical amputation. A person stepped up and adopted the calf rather than see the animal put down and turned into steak.

Rather than having a calf that lay around all the time, the new owner of the animal spent about $40,000 to have a pair of prosthetic legs made for it. To attach the legs to the calf, bovine surgeons had to remove a couple inches of bone to make a tissue pad.

The hooves of the legs are made from titanium and urethane. The connecting hardware is made from titanium and carbon fiber, and it has taken surgeons at Texas A&M University about a year to develop the prosthetics.

[via Independent]

Don’t you just love modern day gizmos? If someone were to come up to you a couple of decades ago, telling you that there is this particular device which is capable of keeping track of your health, vital signs and sleep, you would have dismissed them as having escaped from the local nuthouse. Not so in this day and age, especially with the likes of the Withings Pulse O2 tracker.

This 119.95 Euro device will be able to capture details such as number of steps taken, distance walked, elevation climbed and calories burned throughout the day, and even when you go to bed at night, it will not stop working. No sir, as you make your way about dreamland, the Pulse O2 will be able to monitor your sleeping cycles, measuring your heart rate and blood oxygen level when asked.

Having the Pulse O2 can be equated to an empowering experience, since you can then make more informed choices, as the Pulse O2 adapts to your style instead of having it the other way around. Wearing the Pulse O2 can be done in 3 different ways – around your wrist with the adjustable wristband, hooking it up to your belt or apparel using the clip, or simply drop it into your pocket or bag, and you’re good to go. The wristband method is the only way for it to be worn if you want the Pulse O2 to monitor your sleep though.

Withings Pulse O2 Tracks Your Activities To Help Improve Overall Health , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Gadgets, Medical, withings,

Many years ago if one wanted to test their child for autism, they’d have to spend a fair amount of money to get their kids tested, but fast forward to today, it seems that all you’d need is an app. The app is developed by a new startup company called Cognoa. The idea is to help evaluate children for autism, which according to the company’s CEO, Brent Vaughan who spoke to TechCrunch, has risen to 1 in 68 children in the US.

Due to the rising number, not to mention the time it takes to see warning signs of autism and the average waiting time to see a specialist could take as long as a year, which is time lost that the child could have benefited from an intervention program. What Cognoa’s app does is that it helps to evaluate the risk for developmental delay and autism for children below the age of 3.

The app will ask the parents a series of questions, as well as allow them to record a 5 minute video of their child performing a simple set of activities. After which based on the data, it will provide an assessment as to whether the child is at risk of autism. It should be noted that the app does not diagnose whether or not the child has autism, but rather evaluates as to whether there could be a risk, after which parents can then do something about it if they believe it to be the case.

The app has been tested over 20,000 times and has been used in numerous studies and has shown an accuracy above 90% for children under 4 years and as young as 13 months.

App Will Help Evaluate Your Child’s Risk Of Autism , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Cellphones, Medical, Apps,

So we’ve seen how 3D printers can be used to print medical-related gadgets, such as a portion of a skull, and while those are great and serve as viable alternatives compared to current implants and whatnot, wouldn’t it be better if those 3D printed medical gadgets/accessories could actively help your healing process as well?

Well perhaps now it can, thanks to a prototype cast which not only acts as a regular cast, but at the same time uses ultrasonic vibrations that will help speed up the bone healing time. This design was put together by Turkish student, Denis Karasahin, who managed to win the 2014 Golden A’Design Award for his idea.

Now the concept of 3D printed casts and ultrasonic vibrations to help heal bones have been around for a while. One of the difficulties of ultrasonic vibrations is that it requires the leads to be placed directly on the skin above the part of the bone that needs healing. As you can imagine, plaster casts make this impossible, if not extremely difficult, but as you can see in the image above, a 3D printed cast can allow for openings where the leads can be placed onto the skin.

Unfortunately this seems to be in its prototype stages right now, but given that 3D printing is catching on, especially in the medical industry who has seen a lot of use for such devices and the objects it can print, we wouldn’t be surprised if this idea catches on a lot faster than we’d expect. Soon we might be able to say goodbye to smelly and dirty casts, and hello to quicker recovery time!

3D Printed Cast With Ultrasonic Vibrations Helps Speed Up Recovery , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Medical, 3d printing,

Being an amputee is definitely no fun at all, where they suffer from phantom pains as well as having to go through the discomfort of rubbing the amputated section against artificial limbs, resulting in dangerous sores in some cases. Researchers have come together to work on a new kind of pressure sensor that has been called a “second skin”, where it is hoped that it will be able to prevent dangerous sores.

This research work done by Southampton University will target other groups who might be at risk, including wheelchair-bound users and those who remain confined to bed, should it eventually end up as successful. Should all things go according to clockwork, then this new technology could see action among NHS (National Health Service) patients in a matter of three years.

While using pressure sensors are not new, this Medical Research Council-backed project is different from all current models or implementations since it is capable of detecting rubbing in addition to downward pressure, making it handy to detect sores at an earlier stage. The sensor itself is thin and flexible, being roughly the size of a postage stamp, and will be taped to a liner which in turn is placed in the socket that connects the stump and the artificial limb.

Pressure Sensors Could Help Ease Amputees’ Pain , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Medical, science,