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Jawbone's medical plans included a heart attack warning bracelet
Now that Jawbone is making the move from consumer wearables to medical devices, just what is it up to? Bloomberg's sources might have an idea. They've obtained investment pitch documents from October 2016 indicating that Jawbone hoped to draw on technology from Spectros Corp. to build a heart health bracelet based on an existing oximeter. If it borrows similar functionality, the bracelet would use white light to warn you when your tissue isn't getting enough blood, warning you of a potential heart attack or similar failure. And that's not all -- purportedly, Jawbone hoped to land a partnership with Microsoft.
Light-sensitive bacteria could save you during a heart attack
Heart attacks are frightening by themselves, but they're made worse by the potential for lasting damage. Even a brief interruption to blood flow could permanently destroy vital tissue that keeps your heart beating as usual. However, there might be a way to mitigate or even prevent that damage. Scientists have discovered that a light-sensitive bacteria, synechococcus elongatus, can keep oxygen coming in the midst of a heart attack. Much like a plant, the bacteria both draws on photosynthesis for energy and turns both CO2 and water into oxygen. If you expose it to light soon after the attack, you can maintain oxygen levels and increase the heart's blood-pumping ability after the attack is over.
Skin-grown cells could help you recover from heart attacks
Scientists have taken numerous shots at repairing hearts following heart attacks, but an experimental approach might do a better job than most. Japanese researchers are developing a technique that repairs hearts using cells grown from the skin of a genetically similar donor. If you convert stem cells into heart cells and inject them into affected areas, they can replace damaged tissue and help the organ pump more like it did before the attack.
Future heart defibrillators could save lives with light pulses
Scientists think that beams of red light could restore normal heartbeat functions in humans, replacing the use of painful electric shocks. Researchers have already tested this on animals and hope to make — incredibly — an optical defibrillator. Biomedical engineering professor Natalia Trayanova, based at John Hopkins University said that with this tech, "light will be given to a patient who is experiencing cardiac arrest, and we will be able to restore the normal functioning of the heart in a gentle and painless manner."
Researchers develop cell spray to repair hearts, healthy dose of electricity included
Spray-on solutions have found a place in green technology and even in transmitting radio waves, and they're no strangers to medical research, either. Researchers at the British Heart Foundation are working on a bioelectric spray composed of heart cells to help mend that most vital of organs. Because the cells need to be extremely thin to form a sheet of heart tissue, they are passed through a conductive needle that charges them with up to 30,000 volts. Exposing the cells to an electric field turns the solution into small droplets, which in turn form the cardiac sheet. The scientists can also add other types of cells to create "three-dimensional" tissue, which can be grafted onto injured hearts or sprayed onto scar tissue to help patients' tickers pump more strongly. As is so often the case, the next step will be testing the technology on animals, and the project's ultimate goal is to use this spray-on solution rather than making patients wait for donor hearts.
Scientists find less damaging defibrillation method, heart tissue relieved
Good news, aging Earthlings: a team of researchers have found a way to shock a coding patient's heart, while leaving other organs and tissues undamaged from the defibrillator. The device send a single high voltage pulse of electrical energy to a patient's chest in order to fix an irregular or nonexistent heart beat; traditionally, what often results is damage to point of contact and surrounding skin cells, muscles and tissues, but a team of whiz kids have seemingly figured out a way to dodge the dreadfulness. Led by scientists Stefan Luther and Flavio Fenton, the team claims that by using a series of five pulses of less potent shocks (instead of a single concentrated charge), docs can see an 84 percent reduction in damaging power. This new technology -- coined low-energy antifibrillation pacing (LEAP) -- can also be used in implanted defibrillators, not just the well-known flappy paddles. Due to the relatively low emissions, both the patient and such implants have extended lives. And that, friends, is good for us all -- given the impending Robot Apocalypse, we'll be needing those extra years just to hold down the fort.
Computer scientist mods Xbox 360 to detect heart attacks, girls still mysteriously elusive
We've seen so many mods around here that sometimes it's truly hard to get excited over the minor stuff. Well, this doesn't fall into that category in any way. A computer scientist at the University in Warwick has developed a method to use Microsoft's Xbox 360 to detect heart defects and help prevent heart attacks. Based on a demo created by Simon Scarle a few years back when he worked at Rare studio, it's based on a modded chip that -- instead of producing graphics for the game -- now produces data tracking how the electrical signals in the heart moves about damaged cells, creating a model of it. The model can then be used to help doctors to identify defects and disturbances in the heart's beating. This significantly decreases the costs and complications of creating a model of the heart, which is currently done by supercomputers and is very expensive. Scarle's project and findings were just published in the August issue of the Journal of Computational Biology and Chemistry. Looks like we'll all have a response the next time someone tells us that gaming is good for nothing, right?
Medtronic's LIFEPAK 15 defibrillator for extreme conditions, or extremely clumsy paramedics
Sure, everybody loves a tough notebook -- but there are all sorts of gadgets that can benefit from the tough treatment. Adding to the list of electronics suitable for dropping, kicking, and spraying with water, Medtronic's LIFEPAK 15 -- which just received FDA approval, by the by -- is a portable heart monitor / defibrillator equipped with all sorts of fun features, including an audible CPR Metronome, a dual-mode color LCD with a high-contrast mode for use in bright sunlight, up to six hours of operating time, and energy dosing for difficult-to-defibrillate patients. Just make sure it's nice and dry before you plug the paddles in. For reals. Video after the break.[Via Medgadget]
AAPL touches 52-week low, closes under $100
Apple shares today reached their lowest price point since April 2007, closing at 97.07, down 3.03 points. AAPL hit its 52-week low today, $94.65 per share, around 3:45 PM Eastern. Early in the day, the stock was jarred with false rumors from CNN's iReport service about Steve Jobs suffering a heart attack. TUAW's own Michael Rose was among the first to contact Apple's PR VP, Katie Cotton, who said the rumors were untrue. After the scare, prices rebounded, but never reached their highs for the day just before the rumor bubbled to the surface. Volume was at its heaviest before 10 a.m. Eastern, with about 16 million shares changing hands. In sum total, 82 million shares were traded over the course of the day. Apple shares were slightly ahead in early after-hours trading.
