Quickly stabilizing a wounded soldier and getting them off the battlefield is vital to their survival. But with internal injuries prepping a patient for safe transport is extremely complicated. So Darpa’s Wound Stasis System program has funded the development of an injectable foam that stops internal bleeding and stabilizes organs so a soldier can be safely moved. More »
I’m frequently impressed with the projects coming out of DARPA, but most of the stories I’ve come across have been about their advances in robotics and defense systems. This new technology is designed specifically to save lives of wounded soldiers and civilians, and it does it with a simple spray foam.
A foam-based technology has been developed which is designed to fill in the spaces in an injured victim’s abdominal cavity, creating pressure in the voids, and substantially reducing blood loss from internal bleeding. In fact, early tests have shown a six-fold reduction in blood loss, and a dramatic increase in 3-hour survival rates from 8 percent to 72 percent. The foam was developed for DARPA’s Wound Stasis program by Arsenal Medical.
The foam is injected into the patient’s abdomen using a two-part compound that expands when mixed together. The foam then conforms to the inside of the body cavity, slowing internal bleeding. Once the patient can be stabilized at a hospital, the foam can be removed by a surgeon.
While the idea of filling my body cavities with something similar to that spray foam insulation really sounds awful, I suppose I’d subject myself to it if it meant the difference between living and bleeding to death.
Deep-brain electrical stimulation has been around for awhile — rousing folks from comas and helping researchers find new ways to treat OCD, depression and maybe even obesity. Now doctors are testing the so-called “brain pacemakers,” on Alzheimer’s patients and the results are promising, but not conclusive. After a year of treatment, six patients showed higher glucose consumption in PET scans of the learning and memory areas of the brain — a change that is associated with increased neuron activity. Glucose metabolism typically decrease as a result of the disease. Researchers are seeking more patients for the trial, and are optimistic that the technique could one day be used to stave off some of Alzheimer’s debilitating symptoms.
There are more than 300 million diabetes or pre-diabetes folks worldwide, meaning this disease has already reached epidemic proportions. The bad news does not stop there though, as this particular figure is said to double by the time 2030 rolls around, and diabetics are required to measure their blood glucose levels many times a day with the help of lancets to prick their fingers while drawing blood. The pain resulting from this procedure is due to noncompliance with blood sugar measurement, so it makes perfect sense to figure out new, pain-free techniques in order to measure of blood glucose levels. Scientists over at the Center of Excellence in Electrochemistry (CEE) at University of Tehran, as well as researchers of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, have worked together on a prototype that is capable of measuring glucose levels in saliva.
You know what that means? Basically, there is no more need for you to prick yourself, resulting in a pain-free testing session. After all, there are studies which show how saliva glucose levels remain proportional to blood glucose, hence one can still obtain an accurate diagnosis at the end of the day. This prototype device is being worked on for an April 2013 commercial release if everything else goes well.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Contact Lens Sports Embedded LCD Display, Basis Science Health Tracker,
Nothing goes better with a delicious meal than an engaging conversation, and what better way to spark a discussion over dessert than to reveal to your guests that they’re actually dining on fine bone china patterned to look like human tissue? And not just any tissue, but samples from the liver, thyroid, esophagus, and testicles. Yum. More »
University of Waterloo neuroscientist Chris Eliasmith has spent the better part of his working years in figuring out just how one is able to build a brain. Well, he has compiled his thoughts into a book that comes complete with instructions, describing the grey matter’s architecture as well as the manner where all of the different components interact. In fact, Eliasmith’s team has come up with Spaun, touted to be “the world’s largest simulation of a functioning brain.”
Spaun is capable of recognizing numbers, taking note of lists and remembering them while writing them down. Heck, it is also capable of passing some basic aspects of an IQ test, although you won’t find it being the evil supercomputer that engineers the downfall of mankind by getting the rest of the machines to unite and work against everyone here on earth. At least not yet.
This simplified model of the brain is a true labor of love, taking more than a year to build, and yet is capable of capturing many aspects of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and psychological behavior.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Scanadu SCOUT Reads Your Vital Signs, Google Search Now Displays Key Facts To Medications,
Not everyone is able to live in a country where a doctor is easily available as and when required, not to mention having access to decent medical facilities when one’s health starts to take a turn for the worse. Well, medical startup Scanadu intends to change that for the less fortunate around the globe, working to deliver a set of home diagnostic tools which were specially designed in order to allow users to monitor their health over a period of time, so that they will be able to have a better idea on whether they need to make that trip to a doctor.
Walter de Brouwer, founder and CEO of Scanadu, said, “The thermometer, introduced in the 1800s, was the last great tool to revolutionize home healthcare. Consumers don’t have the tools they need to monitor their health and make informed decisions about when they’re actually sick and need to see a doctor. We want to empower consumers to take control of their health and give them direct access to their personal healthfeed.”
The Scanadu SCOUT that you see above is a palm-sized device designed by Yves Behar, where it is capable of reading a range of vital signs when held to the temple, taking less than 10 seconds to do so. All data collected by the SCOUT will be sent to a connected smartphone wirelessly, and the Scanadu app will then show off pulse transit time, pulse rate, electrical heart activity, temperature, heart rate variability and blood oxygenation. The asking price for the Scanadu SCOUT is tipped to fall under the$150 mark.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Scientists Create Virtual Functioning Brain, Google Search Now Displays Key Facts To Medications,
More and more people are now turning to Google to search for the latest medications for countless diseases and health problems. Google knows it, that is why it is now improving its search results page by adding key facts to medications. Beginning today and in the following weeks, users will be able to view key facts to medications including side effects, related medications, and links to in-depth resources, right from the search results page.
As you can see in the photo above, a query for Naproxen on Google will display its use as well as its side effects and proper usage. Google will also include brand names of the particular drug, drug classes, and similar drugs being searched by other people. Google says that the data that they are using is coming from the U.S. FDA, the National Library of Medicine, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“It’s part of the Knowledge Graph – our project to map out billions of real-world things, from famous artists to roller coasters to planets (and now medications). We hope you find this useful, but remember that these results do not act as medical advice,” said Aaron Brown, Senior Product Manager for Search at Google.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Donate Life California sees an 800% in organ donor registration thanks to Facebook, MyMicrobes – an online social network with a twist,
Having wealth is just not good enough these days, as having good health is also something that many people wish they had. While there are many different tools available to us as well as activities to make sure we sweat it out each day, Basis Science has something else to give you an edge – with its Basis Health Tracker that will work in tandem with a cloud-based web service. The Health Tracker is a multisensor device which doubles up as a wristwatch, where it is capable of making sure you know what the current time is, while monitoring your heart rate, sleep patterns, and how much you sweat.
Once it has accumulated the data required, it will then be compiled and presented in a useful manner, allowing you to keep track of your health trends across a period of time. The Health Tracker will retail for $199 a pop, where it relies on a novel optical blood flow sensor in order to keep track of your heart rate. It will shine a light-emitting diode (LED) light into your skin, and measure the light which bounces back in order to know just how much blood is flowing through your veins.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sonar Vision Helps Blind “See”, NEC DNA Analyzer Miniaturized,
The first thing you’re going to want to check out this morning is the Scandu Medical Tricorder – Star Trek and all – sort of. Then it’s all about the cars and all about the smartphones, unless you count the ever-so-lovely Basis health-tracking wristwatch. And before you head below, don’t forget to fall in to the most massive black hole in history.
A South Korean rocket was called off at launch – right down to the count-down, in fact. The Samsung Galaxy Note II launches this week on Verizon with 4G LTE: we’ll be bringing on some hands-on action to you very, very soon! The folks at Nintendo are apologizing for the Wii U and its update nightmare while the Wii Mini lurks in the shadows.
Over at the LA Car Show you’ll want to take a look at the Hyundai Veloster C3 concept as well as the brand new Volkswagen Beetle. The Porsche 2013 Cayman has also been revealed as well as the Jaguar XFR-S, complete with 550HP ready to cut you in half. Don’t forget the 2013 Fiat 400 Abarth Cabrio for your futuristic Asphalt racing.
According to a supply chain source, orders for the Microsoft Surface RT have been cut in half. The Wii U has been released in the UK just a bit earlier than expected. Sharp is in talks with Dell, Intel, and Qualcomm about $240 million bucks and the IGZO.
SlashGear Morning Wrap-up: November 29th, 2012 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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