Hasta La Gadget!

So maybe a true-to-life Innerspace is still a few years off, but a professor at the University of Rochester has developed a way to take high-resolution 3D images under the skin’s surface, potentially eliminating the need for biopsies in cancer detection. Professor Jannick Rolland created a prototype that uses a liquid lens, in which a droplet of water replaces the standard glass lens, in conjunction with near-infrared light, to take thousands of pictures at varying depths. Those images are then combined to create clear, 3D renderings of what lies up to one millimeter below your epidermis. The method has already been tested on livings beings, but is likely a long way from making it to your doctor’s office, which means it’s off to the guillotine for that Pangaea-shaped mole you’ve been picking at.

New high-res imaging could make biopsies obsolete, doctors still cutting up in meantime originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 21:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PhysOrg  |  University of Rochester  | Email this | Comments

The concept of a smartphone-based ultrasound imaging system is far from new, but Dr. Sailesh Chutani — Mobisante’s CEO and a former bigwig at Microsoft — is bound and determined to take things beyond the drawing board. The aforesaid company has just landed what may in fact be the most important part of the production puzzle: 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration. That’s a major seal of approval, and pretty much allows the company to move forward with plans to get ultrasound technology into remote villages and rural hospitals where it’s simply not feasible to purchase a $20,000+ system. Of course, there’s still many years of work between now and then; the existing build only works on Toshiba’s WinMo-based TG01 smartphone, and current estimates still put a $7,000 to $8,000 price tag on the whole MobiUS package. If it can reach critical mass, it’s hoping to halve that asking price, and if things keep progressing, this may very well be the company that makes an ultrasound stethoscope a reality. Here’s hoping this is just the firm’s first celebration of many to come.

Mobisante’s MobiUS smartphone ultrasound system secures FDA clearance, now needs to graduate from WinMo originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Feb 2011 23:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MobiHealthNews  |  Mobisante (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

Daytona International Speedway is synonymous with speed, auto racing, and . . . blind people? Virginia Tech’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa), along with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), recently debuted its sight-optional and street-legal SUV at the famed racetrack. Dr. Dennis Hong and his students first let blind folks drive a dune buggy without the help of a sighted copilot in 2009 — as a first step to achieving the goal of a street-legal SUV for the sightless crowd. The SUV in question was designed for the NFB’s Blind Driver Challenge, and is equipped with a drive-by-wire system — also seen in the RoMeLa autonomous vehicle — that was modified for use with RoMeLa’s SpeedStrip and DriveGrip tactile interface technology. It works by using a laser rangefinder to map the surrounding area, relaying information for acceleration and braking to the driver by rumbling the SpeedStrip seat, and passing along turning info through vibrations in the DriveGrip gloves. The system was not developed solely for the purpose of getting blind drivers on the road, however, as Virginia Tech suggests that its technology could also be used in gaming applications. We’re not quite ready to see blind drivers on actual roads just yet, but why shouldn’t our sight-impaired friends get to enjoy Gran Turismo 5 with the rest of us? Video’s after the break.

Continue reading Hokies give (tactile) sight to the blind so they can drive, no word on turning water into wine

Hokies give (tactile) sight to the blind so they can drive, no word on turning water into wine originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Switched  |  National Federation of the Blind  | Email this | Comments

Just think about this the next time a FedEx van comes speeding past you — that four-wheeled transporter could be carrying containers equipped with liquid nitrogen cooling that keeps its innards at a chilly -150 degrees Celsius. Don’t worry, though, says FedEx, the use of dry vapor is actually safer than the currently used dry ice and classifies this new methodology as non-hazardous. While we may like to poke fun, it sounds like a pretty legitimate boon for healthcare and biotechnology shipments, which can now be maintained at a deeply frozen temperature for up to 10 days at a time. FedEx will provide the self-sufficient container and collects it upon delivery of the goods, while also monitoring its condition during transit. No word on whether or when DiGiorno will be signing up for the service.

[Thanks, Pavel]

Continue reading Federal Excess: FedEx introduces liquid nitrogen-cooled biotech shipping, we can envision other uses

Federal Excess: FedEx introduces liquid nitrogen-cooled biotech shipping, we can envision other uses originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

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.

Permalink   |  Computerworld  | Email this | Comments