Gizmodo: pacemaker

World's First Wireless, Internet-Connected Pacemaker Installed

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:00:00 EDT

Bionic people of the world rejoice, for your heart ticks and booms booms will be transmitted through the internet from now on. A New York woman has got the world's first wireless pacemaker, which allows constant remote monitoring via web:

If there is anything abnormal, and we have a very intricate system set up, it will literally call the physician responsible at two in the morning if need be. It is a tremendous convenience for the patient from even interacting with a telephone to call the doctor. On a larger scale it enhances our ability to pick up and evaluate any problems with their pacemaker and certain other rhythm disorders that could be potentially dangerous or life threatening in ways we really could not do before.

That's what Dr. Steven Greenberg —director of St. Francis' Arrhythmia and Pacemaker Center—says, predicting that this will change the way people with heart problems manage their condition, and interact with their doctors. Happy news indeed. [PC Magazine]

Tonium Pacemaker Portable DJ System for Aspiring (and Novice) DJs

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 02 May 2009 12:00:00 EDT

The Tonium Pacemaker, contrary to its name, will not maintain your heart's natural beat from the inside. It's a portable DJ system, packing a 60/120GB HDD, that simplifies the DJing process in a pocket-sized package.

Compared to the previous version, this year's Pacemaker brings a "completely reworked" UI that promises to be more user-friendly, along with some nice beat-matching features to make it easier to keep the flow going. A one-click "auto beat match" function and a visual beat graph takes the guesswork out of matching BPI, and the new version will also let you bend pitch without changing tempo, and vice versa.

The solid file support is still there, and the Pacemaker comes in 60GB as well as the standard 120GB versions, and the 60GB is available now for $500. We're sure it won't be a substitution for a full DJ system, and experts will no doubt look down their noses at it, but for an experienced beginner who wants to be able to fit his rig in his pocket, it's probably a solid choice. [Product Page]

Scientists Demo Freaky New Hacking Target: Pacemakers

Kit Eaton — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:29:58 EDT

A group of researchers from the Medical Device Security Center (who would've thought we needed one of those?) have demonstrated wireless vulnerabilities in some cardiac monitor-pacemakers that may allow someone to remotely deactivate them while they're implanted in a patient. Now that's what I call malicious.

Properly called "implantable cardiac defibrillators," the devices are used to keep people's dicky tickers beating regularly, acting to speed them up if too slow or shock a heart that is beating too fast. Modern ones have wireless functions so that doctors can reprogram them to suit a patient's condition, and that's the problem, since these signals are unencrypted.

That means you could potentially intercept them, and use the data to transmit signals that would turn off the device or even deliver shocks that could trigger a heart attack.

Pacemaker wearers need not panic, though, freaky as this sounds: you'd have to be very close to someone to perform an attack, and the kit the science team used cost a chunky $30,000. Phew. [The Register]

Pacemaker Pocket DJ Mixer Reviewed (Verdict: Amateur Fun)

Jason Chen — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:00:58 EST

DJing on the bus, at work, in the supermarket and in line at the DMV may sound like a pipe dream, but this pocketable Tonium Pacemaker DJ system lets you do just that. We got hands-on of this at CES, but Kat from TechDigest takes it for a "spin" (worst. pun. ever.) and finds that it's actually quite good if you ever need to liven up a party with your sub-par DJing skills. Check out the review over at TD. [Tech Digest and Pacemaker]

Pacemaker Pocket DJ System Video Demo

Christopher Mascari — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 23:56:11 EST

A few months ago we showed you Pacemaker's pocket-sized DJ system, which at first glance seemed like a interestingly entertaining product. After a video demonstration by company DJ Ola Sars, the Pacemaker appears to be even more fun than we originally imagined. Even-though it has been over six months since we showed you the party in your pants DJ system, it still has the same specs; 120GB hard drive, USB 2.0 support, a touchpad, and various other DJ-ing functions (including loop-in, loop-out, re-loop, cue point search, and other things we have no idea about). [Tonium]

Pacemaker's Pocket-Sized DJ Brings Mixing In Your Pants

Jason Chen — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:45:26 EDT

Really into DJ-ing? Pacemaker's pocket-sized DJ lets you practice your song mixing skills on the wheels of molded plastic, all from the comfort of your own pants. The Pacemaker has a 120GB hard drive, USB 2.0 support, a touchpad, and various other DJ-ing functions (including loop-in, loop-out, re-loop, cue point search, and other things we have no idea about).

As for support, you can play back MP3, WAV, AAC, WMA, and FLAC. Not sure if this includes protected AAC from the iTunes store, however. Available this fall. Which means you can finally say there's party in your pants and everyone's invited—and mean it.

– Jason Chen

Product Page [Tonium]

Cellular Pacemaker: But What's the Coverage Area?

Noah R — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 09:40:58 EDT

Pacemakers are a thing of the past with the Biotronik Lumos defibrillator implant. Next time your heart stops beating and you aren't near civilization, this implant will take charge and get your rhythm back on track. Connected via the cellular telephone network to your doctor or physician, you'll never feel isolated from immediate care or monitoring by trained professionals. Messages arrive to doctors via SMS or a detailed web-based report so extra help is always around the corner.

Just be sure that the implant is turned off during movies, live performances, meetings and other embarrassing situations.

Lumos DR-T Dual-Chamber ICD with Wireless Home Monitoring [MedGadget]