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Now doctors need to be hackers, too
As far as anyone knows, there hasn't been a real-life hack attack on someone's pacemaker. Which is surprising. Security researchers have shown us that it's a very real possibility. Even the FTC has been urging connected-medical-device makers to adopt security best practices, with multiple 2017 reports stressing the issue.
Telescopic contact lenses magnify sight 2.8 times, turn wearer into cyborg
Interested in upgrading your eyeballs? Well, a team of DARPA-funded researchers led by Joseph Ford of UC San Diego recently published a proposal for a new type of telescopic contact lens in Optics Express. Designed for people with age-related macular degeneration, the lenses are only 1.17mm thick and can magnify images up to 2.8 times. Their layered construction admits light near the outer edge of the lens, bouncing it across a series of tiny aluminum mirrors before transmitting it to the back of the retina, kind of like the origami-optics lens. Telescopic sight can be toggled on and off by using a pair of 3D glasses to switch the polarization of the central part of the lens. It sounds promising, but the lenses -- pictured after the break -- currently have some obstacles, like gas-impermeable materials unsuitable for long-term wear and sub-par image quality. Want to read more? Pop on your glasses and check out the full paper at the source link below.
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.
Nokia and X-Prize put medical sensors on the spot for next challenge
Sometimes the X-Prize foundation gets a little ahead of itself. We couldn't get a private mission to the moon off the ground and apparently we can't built a tricorder either. But, we can take baby steps. Presumably that's what the newest X Challenge is all about. The group has teamed up with a certain Finnish phone maker to introduce the Nokia Sensing X Challenge. Rather than dive head first into Star Trek tech, the two are offering $2.25 million to further the development of health sensors and their associated technology. Nokia's interest is clear: it's widely expected that those tricorders of our dreams will one day become a reality and take the form of our cellphones. The challenge will actually be broken up into three different events to be held over the next three years, with many of the same competitors expected to follow up by entering Qualcomm's competition. For more, check out the PR after the break.
Active Book microchip provides hope for exercising paralyzed limbs
Scientists have been experimenting with muscles and technology to solve both human and robotic mobility issues for years. Now it looks as though a team of researchers from University College London, Freiburg University, and the Tyndall Institute in Cork have made a significant leap forward for paraplegics, thanks to a revolutionary microchip the team has dubbed "Active Book." What's notable about the chip is that it stimulates more muscle groups than existing technology without the need for external connections. This was accomplished via micro-packing and precision laser processing, which allowed tiny electrodes to be cut from platinum foil and rolled into a 3D book shape. These platinum foil "pages" close in around nerve roots, and are micro-welded to a hermetically sealed silicon chip. Once embedded into areas within the spinal canal, the chip can work to stimulate paralyzed muscles, implying patients could even "perform enough movement to carry out controlled exercise such as cycling or rowing." A press release from the Council which sponsored the research says the Active Book will begin trials sometime next year -- we can't wait to see the results.
Digital cameras save little kids' teeth
Here at Engadget, we're all for preventive medicine. In fact, we're all about preventive anything, unless it's stopping us from getting our hands on the latest gear. Anyway, it turns out that there's a fairly treatable dental disorder called "early childhood dental caries," known in the biz as ECC. Sometimes when babies or toddlers go to sleep with a bottle of juice in their mouth, the sugars from the juice can cause serious dental problems, including tooth decay, sometimes leading to extraction. Ouch. Or to put it in terms that will make your wallet say "ow," annual treatment costs in the community of Rochester, NY, a town of over 200,000, run into the nabe of $1 million. Fortunately for them (and hopefully soon, the rest of us), University of Rochester Medical Center dental researchers have come up with a way of severly reducing this problem before it starts. By taking digital pictures of these tykes' teeth at health clinics and then zipping them off to pediatric dentists at the Eastman Dental Center across town, the problem can be spotted before it gets out of control. There, dentists check out the photos, can diagnose ECC and recommend treatment as needed. If only all dentistry was this easy. But seriously folks, if you really want to save money, try outsourcing your dental photography to India.[Via medGadget]
