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Health

HAS_PROPERTIES

Peak's Plasmablade is Sci-Fi-like Surgical Tool of the Future

Cutting open a person for surgery using a plain old scalpel seems pretty barbarian compared to this new cutting tool from Peak. Instead of a sharp metal edge, or even an electrosurgical cutter, the Plasmablade uses pulses of plasma generated around its tip to locally cut and cauterize flesh such as skin, fat and muscle. It has the advantages of not damaging nearby tissue since its generated heat remains short term and local, and there's less... uh... smoke to worry about than with electrosurgical tools. If you can stomach the idea, there's a pretty graphic demo video of the blade in action. Just don't be eating while you watch. More »

web tools

HealthMap Gives Lowdown on Disease Outbreaks, Could Save Lives

Scientists are using the power of the web to track and find real disease outbreaks. Every hour, HealthMap, an infectious disease-tracking website, feeds off of news, public health list serves, and the World Health Organization's online pages to survey the spread of infections. With help from Google, the program has identified 95 percent of all disease outbreaks, sometimes days before the WHO or international disease control agencies can announce them. More »

health care

Intel Health Guide Lets Doctors Check Up On You Electronically

Intel's taking some serious steps into the medical world with its just-FDA-approved Intel Health Guide, an 8lb gadget that functions as a personal health care system. The Health Guide includes a small touch-screen PC running Windows XP and a web portal that helps connect patients and doctors. The computer can be used to remind patients to take their medications, facilitate live video conferencing with doctors, and even check and collect their vital signs. More »

gadgets

Spray on Skin Gun Shoots Stem Cells To Heal Your Open Wounds

Because of its use of stem cells, a skin regenerating gun would certainly cause a stir among conservative types—but if you were caught out on a battlefield with a gaping wound, you would be begging for technology like this. That is why the Armed Forces Institute for Regenerative Medicine invested $250 million in a project focused on therapies like the famous "Pixie Dust" that can help heal soldiers on the front lines in Iraq. As for the the "skin gun," it could spray skin-healing stem cells over a wound—helping it heal in a matter of hours. More »

nerd transport

Unicycle Transport Vehicle: Like a Segway, Only Lamer and Sweatier

This unicycle transport vehicle by designer Regimantas Vegele is tailor made for an unique breed of individual—the kind of person that cares about looking good, but does not care about looking foolish. Essentially, the device would take the concept of an elliptical trainer and turn it into an actual moving vehicle. So traveling would involve pedaling and moving your arms—sort of a hybrid between cycling and cross country skiing. It's not a bad concept from an exercise standpoint, but I have a hard time believing that there would be any sort of market for something like this. More »

first aid

CPR Pad Makes Resuscitation as Easy as ABC

This concept is a gizmo which you'd have in a first aid kit to help you if someone collapses and needs CPR. You'd whack it on the chest of the ill person, line it up and follow its instructions. It flashes to give you proper timing, and clicks to let you know you're using the right chest-compression pressure (it's harder than you think). It looks pretty simple, and is exactly the sort of thing that might help save a few lives in an emergency. Best of all, it's a classic case of nominative determinism in action: its designer is Ryan Helps. [Yanko Design]

motorola

Motorola Patents Biometric and Touch Sensitive Bluetooth Headsets

A series of Motorola patents recently made public reveal that the company has given some thought to incorporating biometric monitors into Bluetooth headsets and adding touch sensitive controls to the ROKR S9. Actually, there are two different versions of the biometric Bluetooth headset, both of which utilize a watch-like device to measure heart rate, temperature and other vital signs then transmit them to a cellphone and on to a distant server. More »

mother of the year

Milkscreen System Prevents Party Moms From Getting Their Babies Drunk

Just because you have a baby at home doesn't mean that your partying days must come to an end. Fortunately, mothers that like to go out on Saturday nights and have a few drinks can prevent passing boob booze onto their kid using a system called Milkscreen. Basically, Milkscreen is a litmus test that screens breast milk for alcohol that could have a negative impact on a baby's health. The whole thing seems a little weird in a contentiously irresponsible sort of way, but I suppose it is better to be safe than have a drunken baby on your hands. Available for $20 for a large pack.[Milkscreeen via Inventor Spot via Ubergizmo]

headset magnifier

JORDY Headset Magnifier: Not Quite as Advanced as Star Trek Version

As well as its promisingly sci-fi-sounding name, the Joint Optical Reflective Display is actually designed to help people with vision problems. It's a head-worn magnifier with autofocus that can provide up to 30x zoom, and is designed to help people with vision loss caused by macular degeneration, glaucoma or other conditions. Plus, its docking station lets you use it as a desktop 50x zoom, illuminated magnifier with digital output—so, it's not quite up there with Geordi LaForge's visor, but it's pretty powerful. No info on pricing, but demonstration models are available from manufacturer Enhanced Vision. [Gizmag via UberGizmo] More »

health

M-Powered System Turns a Lincoln Into the Diabetesmobile

I never thought about this before, but driving around in a car can be especially dangerous for people with severe cases of diabetes. Fortunately for them (and everyone else on the road), a company called Medtronic Diabetes has unveiled its new M-POWERED car—a Lincoln sedan fitted with a system that wirelessly connects a patient's glucose monitor with the dashboard. Once connected, the system will continually update the driver's on his/her health status via audio and visual cues. There is no word on whether or not this system will actually be available for patients anytime soon however. [Medgadget]

furniture

The Ottoman Bench Seamlessly Blends Exercise Equipment Into Your Decor

One of the major problems with home gym equipment is that it is bulky and often requires a dedicated room of the house to use. That is why, in my opinion, the future of home gyms will be equipment that is designed to blend in with the decor. A few weeks ago I came across a concept that attempts to tackle that design challenge, but the final product leaves much to be desired. I'm a certified personal trainer—and if I were to design a piece of functional exercise furniture, I would like to think that it would be something similar to Gabriel Prero's Otto-Bench.

More »

gadgets

Sweat Analyzing Shirts Determine if You Need a Gatorade

A Swiss company named Biotex is planning to integrate wireless biosensors in garments that could help athletes and diabetics assess sodium, potassium and chloride levels in their sweat samples. Unlike existing technology, these sensors would collect data in real time and either store it or deliver it to wireless devices for immediate analysis. More »

not so silly putty

DARPA Developing "Fracture Putty" to Heal and Support Shattered Bones

DARPA, the military's premier R&D team has been given the task of producing "a dynamic putty-like material" that can be packed in around shattered bone to help support a patient's body during the healing process. It would also be designed to bio-degrade when all is said and done. If DARPA is successful in developing this material, it would allow for increased mobility and a quicker recovery for patients suffering from major fractures. More »

please tase me bro

Taser Shot Cures Irregular Heartbeat of Mentally Disturbed Drug Addict

We have heard plenty of stories about tasers being harmful or even deadly, but could they also be healthy and heart-friendly? Possibly, given new evidence unearthed in the case of one 28 year old man who was tased after he hid from police in lake for 40 minutes then tried to flee the ER when captured. Because of his stint in the lake and the drugs found in his system, the man's body temperature had dropped to 89 degrees and his heart fell into atrial fibrillation—a condition where the upper chambers of the heart quiver rather than beat. More »

gadgets

La Fresh "Tech Pack" Towlettes For Gadget Germ Killing and Impromptu Geek Showers

We have all heard the horror stories about how our keyboards are dirtier than our toilet seats and how nasty germs build up on our cellphones. If that is a concern for you, La Fresh is unveiling a new Tech Pack germ killing kit for gadgets. Each kit comes with four Wet and Dry Screen Cleaning towelette duo-packets as well as three Lens Cleaning and three Anti-Bacterial towelettes. And since we all know that hygiene can sometimes take a back seat to the computer, you could probably spare a few for an impromptu shower. Not bad for $10. Available starting on May 27th. [La Fresh via Crave]

question of the day

Question of the Day: Have Gadgets Made You Fat?

It is no secret that we are getting fatter by the second due to a combination of unhealthy eating habits, lack of exercise, and sedentary lifestyles. When it comes right down to it, we have no one but ourselves to blame for this situation—but the fact that video games, television and computers are taking up so much of our time these days certainly does not help matters. That is why we will probably see more products like Wii Fit and the Gamercize PC-Sport down the road. That having been said, do you think that gadgets have played a significant role in helping you put on some excess bodyweight? If so, which ones? More »

review

Lightning Review: Gamercize GZ PC-Sport Power Stepper For Office Workouts

The Gadget: The GZ PC-Sport Power Stepper from Gamercize claims to give desktop and laptop users a workout by hijacking their keyboard or mouse when they slack off on their workouts.
The Price: $199 for the GZ PC-Sport + Power Stepper / around $140 for the GZ PC-Sport alone.


More »

wii fit review

Wii Fit Review By a Formerly Fit Geek

I used to be very proud of my legs. I have slight knees and ankles. But the muscles around the bones were very strong. And in my early 20s, as a full-time martial artist, I could kick very hard. My nose bled like a faucet, but I will say I could hold my own good and I was never so happy as at the end of a long day of training. Then things went sour, as they can. My friend who owned my boxing gym was mortally hurt outside of it in a fight with criminals, and a few months later I smashed my leg in a bad bike accident. I quit it all and my body has since been ravaged by the high-tech lifestyle. I'm now incapable of jumping high or running fast. If my body was a gadget, I'd have thrown it out a long time ago. I think of all these things when I use the Wii Fit and grow a bit sad. But what's positive is that for the first time in years, I'm excited to exercise. Wii fit is making me happier and healthier. (However retarded it is to exercise in front of a TV.) More »