Hasta La Gadget!

We didn’t even know there was such a thing as an “auscultation workflow” until we first encountered the FreedomScope, a Bluetooth-packing untethered stethoscope. The 3M Littmann Electronic Stethoscope also relies on Bluetooth for wireless communications, but its purpose is somewhat different. While it looks (and for the most part acts) just like a normal stethoscope, it also has noise canceling / sound augmenting technology alongside the ability to record heart and lung sounds, which may then be analyzed using the bundled Zargis StethAssist software. It’s a bit on the pricey side at $379, but should be welcomed with open arms by collaborating diagnosticians and avant-garde concert bootleggers.

[Via MSN Money; Thanks, Will]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wireless

Littmann Electronic Stethoscope lets docs record, analyze heart rhythm originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Think those noise-canceling earbuds are hot stuff? Imagine if said technology was applied to an advanced type of implantable hearing aid, and you’ll have an idea of exactly what Earthlings with severe hearing loss now have to look forward to. For years now, we’ve watched as cochlear implants became more effective in lab tests, and up until recently, we’ve had strict medical testing procedures to thank for the inability to actually get one. Now, one Colin Hughes will soon be amongst the first Australians to enjoy a “new bone-anchored hearing aid designed to adjust to noisy environments, quiet conversations and the varying rhythms and pitch of music.” Due to a birth defect that left him with atypically narrow eustachian tubes, Colin was never able to take advantage of traditional hearing aids for any length of time, but now these $12,000 (per pair) devices are promising a new life for the 70-year old bloke. Our favorite feature? MP3 players can be directly (and discretely) attached, enabling old geezers to tune out old hags without them ever noticing.

[Thanks, Mike]

Filed under: Wearables

Bone-anchored hearing aids filter out noise, finally ready for human implantation originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And you thought those self-driving whips in DARPA’s Urban Challenge were hot stuff. As the mighty Hokies look to prove their dominance in the field of engineering, a student team from Virginia Tech has assembled what amounts to a vehicle that can actually be driven by blind individuals. In short, the specially equipped dirt buggy is outfitted with an array of laser range finders, an instant voice command interface and a few other related systems that enable drivers to respond to whatever the vehicle “sees.” Best of all, the project is far beyond the drawing board, with a blind driver (Wes Majerus) already singing praises about the vehicle and deeming it a “liberating” experience. Regrettably, there’s no information on what the team plans to do with the vehicle going forward, but we do know it hopes to pass along the same technology to more street-legal motorcars.

[Thanks, Trisha]

Filed under: Transportation

Laser-equipped Virginia Tech dirt buggy can be driven by the blind originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Jul 2009 06:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And he’s back, folks. Six months after Steve Jobs took a medical leave from Apple due to health reasons, the company has announced that he’s back on the job, working a “few days a week” on the Apple campus and from home the remainder. Of course, we’d been hearing of Steve’s continual involvement in “key aspects” of Apple’s business for a while now, so this seems like more of a rubber stamp on the status quo than a major change, but now that it’s official we’re sure the questions from shareholders and other interested parties regarding Steve’s health will only grow louder and more insistent — especially given the news of his liver transplant earlier this year. We’ll see how Apple decides to handle the situation when the time comes — until then, we’re just thankful that he’s returned and is doing well.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Steve Jobs back to work at Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If NC State‘s athletic branches had even half the aptitude as its medical researchers, maybe then those blue boys down the road wouldn’t have so much right to bang us up. Personal beefs aside, we’re simultaneously stoked and amazed by a new machine crafted down in Raleigh, one that enables scientists to keep a heart pumping even after it has been removed from the body, but for research purposes only. Andrew Richards, a bright young mechanical engineering student, designed the so-called dynamic heart system, which “pumps fluid through a pig heart so that it functions in a very realistic way.” Obviously, such a device has a multitude of benefits, including time / money savings compared to alternative approaches, the ability to record the inner workings of a pumping heart and scoring the creator some serious street cred in the industry. Mind-blowing video is just after the break.

[Via Neatorama]

Continue reading NC State gurus keep hearts beating outside of the body

Filed under: Science

NC State gurus keep hearts beating outside of the body originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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