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Medical Gadgets

healing

Bandage That Electrocutes Your Wounds Is Much Better Than It Sounds

Mixing water and electricity is never a good thing, unless it's in the style of the new "CMB Antimicrobial Wound Dressing with PROSIT" bandage. When you wet it, it generates a small voltage which prevents pesky microbes, fungus, mold and yeast from getting through its treated polyester fibers. Good news if you've got an open wound, and good news if you're a fan of the old electric-shocker handshake joke. Just kidding: This is pretty clever stuff, particularly as it's also been shown to reduce pain. Currently you can leave it in place for three days, but maker Silverleaf Medical Products is working on extending that, and bringing PROSIT to saleability with FDA approval. [Medgadget]

medtech

PillCam Poised to Photograph Pizza Perforations

Fact: After years of too much pizza and beer, every time I exhale, my esophagus plays Merry Had a Little Lamb. Now PillCams have seen a major upgrade that will allow scientists—who've long been wanting to study my ravaged GI tract in hopes of developing a superior race of competitive eaters—to check out my esophagus and stomach for far longer than the four seconds it usually takes to swallow a pill. More »

prostate microphone

A River Runs Through It: Bladder Microphone Hears Your Prostate

Catheters suck, but they're a necessary evil for men who want to know if they have benign prostatic hyperplasia (quickie Giz diagnosis: you're cancer-free, but pee six times an hour). And in addition to excruciating tube-down-your-johnson pain, the catheter also carries with it the potential for infection. The process could be changing soon, however, thanks to researcher Tim Idzenga. Basically, the Dutchman will diagnose BPH by listening to your business with a microphone.
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toenail fungus

Noveon Zaps Toe Fungus With Light, But Annoying Lamisil Commercials Remain

Using a first-of-its-kind direct optical energy device called Noveon, one Waltham company is hoping to stamp out toenail fungus once and for all using nothing but light. The device "utilizes two discrete near-infrared wavelengths at low power" and produces no heat, according to a rep from the manufacturer, Nomir Medical Technologies. The approach could eliminate the need for expensive meds like Lamisil or Fulvicin, which work, but can cause upset stomach and liver damage. Clinical trials are set to begin soon, and the Noveon could be zapping foot fungus—and periodontal disease (think morning breath, but forever!)—very soon.
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lighting

Lamps Designed Like Medical Gizmos Chill Our Blood

Designer Andrew Aloisio's lighting designs, dubbed Somewhere in between were apparently an attempt to combine the work of the homeware and labware manufacturing divisions of plastics-maker Kartell. So the aluminum lamps are dotted with test-tube racks, retort stands, burette clamps and more. But by using striking red metal tubing and cables, what did Andrew actually achieve? A set of lamps set to induce shivers, medical gadget nightmares and attacks of the heebyjeebies in all who look upon them, that's what. Thankfully they're a one-off artwork. [Dezeen]

medical gadgets

Micro-Camera Implanted in Mouse's Brain Watches for Parkinson Tremors

Scientists have injected a mouse with a chemical that makes its brain glow where there's activity, and implanted a tiny camera directly inside the hippocampus to watch what's going on. The team at Nara Institute of Science and Technology in Japan are using the 0.1-inch-long camera to look for information on brain activity that causes tremors. They hope the results may lead to better treatments for Parkinson's disease, and if successful they may also experiment with humans. We can't imagine how strange it would be to know your brain's being watched from inside your head. [Fareastgizmos]

medical gadgets

New Air-Sampler Gadget Looks for Asthma Attack Triggers

Asthma attacks can come out of nowhere, or so it would seem. A new portable system is trying to predict asthma attacks by sampling the air and identifying likely triggers. The 1-lb. device, designed by a team at Georgia Tech, takes samples every two minutes, looking at recorded air temperature and humidity, and testing the samples for particulates, volatile organic compounds and gases like ozone. More »

medical gadgets

i-Snake Robot to Offer Slithering Assistance During Surgery

The i-Snake may sound like a cheap iPod peripheral, but it is actually the name of a revolutionary concept surgical robot, which hopes to advance keyhole surgery significantly. A team at Imperial College, London, has been awarded a 2.1 million ($4.2 million) grant to work on the device, which will be an elongated tube with a series of motors, sensors and imaging tools. More »

medical gadgets

RFID Skin Patch Wirelessly Transmits Your Medical Info to Your Doctor's Cell

Doctors and nurses will soon be able to receive updates on their patients with a quick glance at their cellphones, thanks to RFID skin-patch technology developed by Gentag, a DC-based IP development company. The Band-Aid-like patches are flexible and water resistant, and will be able to keep track of a patient's drug interactions and allergies in a non-invasive way so that medical charts can be easily updated, hopefully leading to fewer hospital mistakes. RIFD chips have been used in medicine before, but usually were implanted into the body rather than being placed in a patch on the skin. [Ubergizmo]
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medical gadgets

Smart Bra to Detect Breast Cancer Rapidly

Anyone who devotes their life's work to ensuring the well-being of breasts and to fighting the honorable fight against cancer, in our opinion, deserves the Nobel Peace Prize over environmental activists that have a household energy consumption 20 times the national average. Prof. Elias Siores, director of the Centre for Research and Innovation at the University of Bolton in the UK, is such a fellow. He has invented a product called the Smart Bra, which is hoped will be used to detect the initiation of cancer-forming cells prior to any substantial proliferation. More »

medical gadgets

Wireless Sensor Monitors Athletic Performance

Hang this gizmo behind your ear, and it measures your posture, gait and other biomechanical data, perfect for athletes who want to improve their performance. The scientists who created it at Imperial College in London also say it will also be useful to monitor orthopedic patients as they recover from surgery. It can measure step frequency, stride length and acceleration, data that can help trainers enhance the performance of Olympic athletes, for example.. More »

gadgets

Portable Splint for Extreme Sports Welds Itself Together

This portable plastic splint takes up a tiny space in a backpack but brings big relief, holding a broken limb together long enough to get medical help and providing soothing warmth in the meantime. The special plastic fuses itself together in about five minutes using the same chemical-reactive heat technology used in hand warmers. More »