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Fitbit launches its first large-scale study to detect irregular heartbeats
Fitbit wearers can help the company learn more about irregular heart rhythms.
New York doctor sues Apple over irregular heartbeat detection
The heart monitoring technology inside the Apple Watch may be useful for scientific studies and even saving lives, but one doctor believes it's also straight-up theft. New York University cardiologist Dr. Joseph Wiesel has sued Apple over allegations the Watch violates a patented method for detecting atrial fibrillation. Wiesel claimed that he shared details of the patent with Apple in September 2017, but that the company "refused to negotiate in good faith" and left him no choice but to file a lawsuit.
The Pentagon has a laser that identifies people by their heartbeat
Biometric identification has become part of everyday life. We've got facial recognition in airports, cars that can be unlocked just by looking at them, technology that detects a person's unique way of walking, and of course the ubiquitous fingerprint, used for everything from smart phones to event ticketing. Next on the agenda? Your heartbeat.
AI identifies 'invisible' heart condition LQTS
AI is playing an increasing role in medical care, from spotting diabetes and examining medical scans, to taking the place of doctors altogether. Now, it's able to recognize life-threatening conditions where traditional diagnostic tools can't. AliveCor, the company behind KardiaBand, has harnessed machine learning to identify patients with Long QT Syndrome (LQTS), a condition that frequently goes undetected.
Heartbeat chip tests medicine based on your natural rhythms
Scientists can simulate organs on chips when testing medicine, but mimicking your natural rhythm is another matter -- it's hard to know if those drugs will behave properly under the stresses of your body. That won't be a problem when the University of Michigan's newly developed testing chip comes into play. The device uses microscopic, gravity-powered fluid channels to replicate heartbeats and other natural flows (such as brain signals) when testing chemicals. You'll know if that treatment works properly when the patient's heart is racing, for example. And unlike previous attempts at emulating heartbeats, you don't need to stick around pumping fluid yourself -- you can conduct long-term tests that reflect what would happen in a real body over time.
What is Heartbleed, anyway?
If you're an IT professional, gadget blogger or token geek in your circle of friends, chances are, you've been hounded relentlessly over the past couple of days about "this Heartbleed thing." "Do I need to update my antivirus?" "Can I login to my bank account now?" "Google already fixed it, right?" We've heard them all, but the answers aren't all that clear or simple. In an attempt to take the pressure off -- it is the weekend after all -- we've put together a primer that should answer all of those questions and a few more. Next time someone asks you about that "Heartbleed thing," just shoot them in our direction.
Researchers create video game that monitors heart rate to keep children's anger in check
Nintendo may have left its Vitality Sensor by the wayside, but researchers at Boston Children's Hospital are using heart rate monitoring in a video game to teach children with anger issues how to temper their emotions. Dubbed RAGE (Regulate and Gain Emotional) Control, the game tasks players with blasting hostile spaceships while keeping their heart rate from exceeding a predefined limit. If a gamer's pulse rises above the ceiling, they'll lose the ability to shoot until they can ease their pulse back down. A group of 18 kids who received standard treatments and played the game for five, 15-minute-long sessions had better control of their heart rate and lower anger levels than a group that only used traditional treatments. Currently, a controlled clinical trial of RAGE Control is underway and there are plans to take the concept a step further with toys and games suited for younger children. Look out below for the full press release or tap the second source link for the team's paper in the Journal of Adolescent Psychiatry. [Image credit: Thirteen of Clubs, Flickr]
Heartbeat visualizer lets your ticker power a light show (video)
It may look like something that'd be at home in iTunes, but this visualizer developed by NYU student Phan V is linked to something even more unique to you than your music collection. With the aid of a mic'd up stethoscope, it's able to visualize a person's heartbeat in a manner that has quite a bit more punch than the usual means -- the person's pulse rate determines the speed of the animation, while the volume of the heartbeat captured determines the brightness. Practical? Maybe not, but you can check it out in action in the video after the break.
NASA finds smallest ever black hole by its 'heartbeat' (video)
NASA's found the smallest black hole it's ever seen, thanks to the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) -- weighing around three times as much our own sun, it's near the bottom weight limit for the super-heavy phenomena. It was discovered by its unique "heartbeat", an X-Ray emission that takes place when gas sucked from a nearby star is swirled around the event horizon until friction causes it to super-heat. The disc then repeats the process every 40 seconds and when examined, looks just like the readout on an ECG machine. After the break we've got a video that talks you through it all and we won't mind if you start booming "Space... the final frontier..." halfway through -- we did too.
DARPA to develop biometric sensor capable of seeing through walls, pulling your heartstrings
The feds may soon know the way to your heart. Literally. Earlier this month, the forward-thinkers over at DARPA announced plans to develop new technologies capable of identifying human life through walls. The program, known as "Biometrics-at-a-distance," would essentially combine two pre-existing Pentagon projects: the Radar Scope, a device that can see through walls, and 2009's LifeReader, a system that uses Doppler radar to detect heartbeats. Though the military already employs a handful of devices to help soldiers see humans from behind walls, DARPA apparently thinks there's room for improvement. Most contemporary technologies, for example, only work from a maximum distance of eight meters, and aren't as accurate within more densely populated areas. DARPA wants its next project to extend this range beyond ten meters, while sharpening its ability to penetrate thicker obstructions. The agency also wants its sensor to identify individual humans using electrocardiography, which traces the heart's electrical activity. According to DARPA, this could allow users to pinpoint up to ten people at the same time, which could pay dividends during disaster rescue efforts, military operations, or your next Eyes Wide Shut party.
Infrared laser shown to quicken heart rate, gives hope for ultra-small pacemakers
Here's an interesting one. Just years after a researcher in Japan realized that lasers could stimulate nerves, a professor of biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University along with cohorts from Case Western Reserve have found that the same is true with the heart. By using an Infrared laser on an early embryonic heart, tests were able to show that the muscle was "in lockstep with the laser pulse rate." The crew also found no signs of laser damage after a few hours of experimenting, though obviously more extensive research would be required before any medical agency allowed such a device to be beamed underneath a human chest. The hope here is that this discovery could one day lead to ultra-small, implantable pacemakers, or better still, to "pace an adult heart during surgery." There's nary a mention of when this stuff will actually be ready for FDA oversight, but there's a downright creepy video of it all in the source link. Consider yourself warned.
Critter Crunch dev working on 'Heartbeat' for WiiWare
Capybara Games, developer of PSN darling Critter Crunch, is working on Heartbeat for WiiWare. The title is the company's entry for the 2010 Independent Games Festival and is described as being about the "experience of growing sounds." Heartbeat's game description explains it has players starting with an "ambient whisper" and growing the "music" there, which we remember being the idea behind Electroplankton -- an idea that may or may not have manifested depending on how one feels. IGN describes the game as involving the use of the Wiimote to control a "heart-shaped cursor," which triggers sounds, activates objects and keeps the beat going. There's no word on a release date. We contacted Capybara for a video of Heartbeat, so we could wrap our eyes around the game's concept, but were told the game isn't "together" or "stylish" enough to show at the moment. The dev hopes to share something in a couple months.
Device judges your pulse and Tweets its findings to your parents and Ashton Kutcher
What's creepier than automatically informing Twitter every time your unborn child kicks his mother's womb? Giving all your Twitter followers a live feed of your heartbeat, including canned messages to announce your death in case you cease pumping Cheeto-infused blood through your goth-nerdy veins. This Japanese DIY project has open source schematics and is designed to bypass a PC and send the news of your heart hiccups directly the internet. Check out the appropriately dramatic video after the break.
Sensor-laden kokoro adjusts playlist to match the rhythm of your heart
We've got to say, we're guessing both Survivor and Prince would approve here, as this is easily one of the most impressive uses of a heart rate sensor yet. Anaid Gomez Ortigoza, a bright young lass at NYU, has whipped up what she's calling kokoro, which translates into "the heart of things" in Japanese. Put as simply as possible, this prototype project allows for iPod playlists to be shuffled depending on one's current heart rate; if your heart is pumping some kind of fierce, the device will likely cue up a little M83, and if you're at rest, you just might get to hear a smooth jam from the likes of Copeland. Don't believe us, though -- hop on past the break for a demonstrative video.[Via talk2myshirt]
Promotional Consideration: Dragon Quest IV commercials were weird
With the Dragon Quest IV DS remake announced for the US and Europe this week, we thought it'd be good a time to dig up Enix's commercials for the original Famicom game's release in Japan. They're completely different from the retro ads used last November when the DS remake shipped.As with Squaresoft's chocobo commercials for Final Fantasy IV on the Super Famicom (launching a little over a year after Dragon Quest IV), these ads were just plain odd! They show hardly any in-game video, relying on logos and recognizable theme music instead. Gather your party and meet us in the fifth chapter, past the post break, for the commercials.
Creation adds sixth sense for WiFi hotspots
We know, there are (supposedly) folks out there with the ingrained ability to sense wireless networks without any mechanical assistance whatsoever, but considering that we can't all live next door to Kate Figes, the rest of us mere mortals need a bit of manmade aid. Enter the WiFi Heartbeat, a custom built sensor / vibration device that autonomously sniffs out WiFi signals, determines the signal strength, and sends a pulsing signal to you based on just how close the hotspot is. The creator states that all you'll need is a "microcontroller, some custom interface electronics, a small vibe motor, and an off-the-shelf WiFi detector," and if you've given mildly difficult DIY endeavors a go before, we can't imagine this one causing too much strife. For those of you still on the fence, be sure to hit the read link for all the details you'd need to craft your own, and click on through for the video demonstration.[Via MAKE]
Pimp My Heart, the HeartBeat Bass Booster
We're not even sure what could be said about this HBBB device. Basically the device monitors your heart beat, and then amplifies it for all the world to world to hear and see, hence the Pimp My Heart moniker. You just jack in the HBBB interface pendant to a laptop that controls the speed of the music, powers the under car LEDs, and even projects your most vital of vital signs onto your car's rear window -- all based on your heart beat. The HBBB had its first exhibition in March at the Carnegie Mellon university in a customized 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier, and we're sure it will go on to scare many an old lady and spark activist groups to decry the awful bass noises that will emanate from the cars of its users. For now we recommend peeping the "Listen to my Heartbeat" music video on the project site for a true feel of this product's potential.[Via networked_performance]
