endoscopy
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OmniVision wins Guinness World Record for its tiny medical image sensor
OmniVision is the new holder of the Guinness World Record for the smallest commercially available image sensor. The tiny device (pictured above in a camera module next to a grain of pepper) measures just half a millimetre squared, and will have a significant impact on the medical imaging landscape.
World's tiniest video camera helps doctors see inside of you
The thought of an endoscope entering any orifice is an unpleasant one, even if it's so your doctor can diagnose what ails you. Good thing Medigus made the world's smallest video camera so those medical probes are a little less painful. It's .99mm in diameter -- making it a smidge smaller than previous peewee endoscopes -- and packs a .66mm x .66mm CMOS sensor to deliver video of your insides at 45,000 pixels worth of resolution. Best of all, the devices are disposable, so clean-up's a breeze. A reusable version is also available, but given where these things go, we're just fine with them being one use only. PR's after the break.
Researchers create microscopic disposable camera to see up in your guts
It's true, a team of researchers have created a one-cubic-millimeter throwaway camera, and if they have their way, it could be peeking inside you in the next year. The new tiny shooters, which sport a 250 x 250 pixel resolution, are created using a streamlined process in which the lens and sensor wafers are affixed before being cut into a series of 28,000 little cameras -- eliminating the need to mount and wire each one individually. This new mode of production cuts back on cost significantly, allowing physicians to throw away the little guys after routing around in your intestines. According to the camera's creators, their diminutive invention could make its way into your doctor's office as early as 2012.
Summon the endoscopy gods in this Trauma Team video
In real life, an endoscopy is when a doctor needs to check out your gutty-works (you know, your innards) using a medical instrument called an endoscope, a long, tube-like device. In the world of Trauma Team, however, to perform an endoscopy you have to summon the power of the "eight million gods that exist to protect this world." You also have to use a bunch of instruments in what appears to be a somewhat complex orchestra conducted by a series of Wiimote and Nunchuk gestures. If there's one thing to take away from this video, it's that the inside of your body is most likely tumor-ridden with tiny little holes everywhere, and you should probably bug your doctor for a check-up. Of course, you could just ask your friend to take a look -- just make sure you sterilize the Wiimote first.
'Spider pill' bowel scanner will be ready within a year
Endoscopy, or the examination of a person's bowels via a tube-mounted camera, is not exactly the most pleasant medical procedure one could undergo. In 2004, we noted the early stages of a project to alleviate the (literal) pain of the procedure with a spider pill, which -- once swallowed by the hopefully willing patient -- can be remotely controlled and positioned inside the human body. Yes, it's a tiny, wirelessly communicating robot with a camera for a head crawling inside you. Hit the read link for the full BBC report, it really is worth seeing, and start your Innerspace jokes ... now!
