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Hospital puts Wii to use, surgeons praise it
We all know about the relationship between surgeons and the Wii. No, we don't mean Trauma Center, we mean real-life doctors using the tech behind the Wii to train them for surgery. This piece from ABC7 news in California shows one hospital where it's being put to work.Surgical resident, Jeff Henke, commented that "this does really help." He further added that it "prepares you to enter the operating room." Now, we may be a bit biased, but we're not surprised that the Wii is such a diverse system. it's used to doing what no video game console could in the past.[Via Codename Revolution]
Electric bandages: not your favorite new prog-rock band
Finally, a use for electrocution besides your own, twisted interests. A company in Arizona has created a bandaging system which uses electrically activated wound-dressings to heal injuries. Dubbed the CMB Antimicrobial Wound Dressing with PROSIT (or CMBAWDWP as we like to call it), the bandage works by utilizing a single-layer polyester fabric which can carry a low-level electrical charge when wet. Over a short period of time, the charge can greatly reduce bacteria and infections in the treatment area. Also, it's fun at parties.[Via medgadget]
Self-propelled microboats could save your life
Cheng Luo, an engineer from the University of Texas at Arlington, has created a self-propelled microboat based on the toy boats he played with as a child. When an object -- say, a toy boat -- floating on water has a drop of oil on it, the change in surface tension propels that object in the opposite direction. With this principle in mind, Luo has created a microboat that measures just millimeters, contains its own reservoir of isopropyl alcohol as a propellant, and cruises at around 30 cm per second. "But, why?" you ask. Luo explains that these tiny boats could be used to deliver drugs in blood vessels or even to diagnose and treat ailments. Sounds good to us -- wash one of these down with some self-healing goo and you could be all set. But before we go, try saying "toy boat" three times really fast.
Nanohealing substance stops bleeding in seconds, vampires protest
We may already have spray-on bandages, but Arch Therapeutics has developed a nanostructured substance that they say stops bleeding almost instantly. Originally developed at MIT, the material is awaiting FDA approval and could make its way into operating rooms soon. The liquid is made up of amino acids that form peptides and cluster into long fibers when exposed to salty environments, like, say, a whole bunch of blood. The material isn't terribly new -- it was originally discovered in the 90s, but only recently during an experiment did researchers realize that it would be great for blood control. Shortly thereafter, people saw dollar signs and Arch Therapeutics was founded.
PEAK PlasmaBlade electrosurgery scalpel is amazing, disgusting
Okay, so we're not exactly doctors, but we couldn't help but be intrigued by PEAK Surgical's announcement today that its PlasmaBlade electrosurgery scalpel had completed preclinical testing with positive results. Unlike traditional electrosurgery tools like the bovie cutter, the PlasmaBlade operates at low temperatures, using pulsed plasma energy to cut tissue and control bleeding. Then, stupidly, we watched the video. Let's just say now that it no longer matters to us that surgeons using the PEAK PlasmaBlade produce "minimal collateral damage" to tissue and that bleeding was reduced. Sure, it's great for the surgeons, but our eyes? Not going to be the same. [Via MedGadget] Read - PEAK PlasmaBlade press release Watch - PEAK PlasmaBlade demo video (WARNING: not for the squeamish, we mean it!)
"Brain pacemaker" could treat depression, OCD
Sending electrical shocks into the brain via a "brain pacemaker" has already led to dramatic breakthroughs like the revival of a man trapped in a vegetative state for six years, but new research may mean that the technique is soon a common treatment for disorders like depression and OCD. Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic, Mass General, Harvard Medical School and Brown Medical School implanted the Medtronics brain pacemaker into 17 people suffering from depression and tracked them for a year, finding significant improvements in mood as well as social and occupational functioning, while 26 patients suffering from OCD were followed for three years and also showed "marked improvement." Findings will be presented to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons this week in Chicago, and clinical trials are scheduled for later this year -- in other news, sales of "The Terminal Man" to neurosurgeons recently skyrocketed for unknown reasons.
Therapists now attempting to battle Parkinson's with Wii
The Wii is further branching out into new areas of therapy, as we find out that not only is the console helping wounded troops and those who have suffered strokes and the like, but also to aid those in controlling their Parkinson's. When our obsession becomes less of a box to kill boredom and more a box to heal human life, you can bet that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.It's all part of a Medical College of Georgia study to see if the Nintendo Wii can aid in the occupational therapy of those with Parkinson's. So, while it isn't a full-fledged commitment to the treating the disease through Wii, it's an acknowledgment that the Wii has helped others and could be something to help more folks in the future."We're hoping to show a slowing of the progression of the disease and a decrease in medication while increasing function. If we can teach patients to exercise and do functional activities, maybe we can have them take less medications," says Dr. Ben Herz, assistant professor of occupational therapy in the School of Allied Health Sciences and one half of the main team behind this study. "Because the Wii is interactive and you have to do certain functional movements to be successful," he goes on to say, "it's an effective modality for working with Parkinson's patients," says Dr. Herz. "One of the therapists uses the Wii for timing and loosening up, and the other uses it for coordination and balance issues."[Via Go Nintendo]
"Silicone womb" enters human testing in the UK
In-vitro fertilization may soon become much more effective, if a new device dubbed the "silicone womb" comes out of testing successfully. Currently test-tube embryos are developed in an incubator, but the .2-inch long silicone womb, produced by Anecova, allows them to be implanted inside the mother for up to four days, during which time they're exposed to the uterus through 360 40-micron holes. The goal is to develop stronger, more resilient embryos for eventual pregnancy, but a small test in Belgium has so far proven inconclusive as to the device's effectiveness -- and some researchers doubt it'll work at all, since the embryos will be located in the uterus rather than the fallopian tubes where they would naturally develop. Still, there's hope that the environment inside the uterus will be an effective substitute -- to quote one researcher, "it's a lot closer to a fallopian tube than a plastic tray." 40 women are signed up for testing starting today, but results aren't expected for some time.
MEDIVista won't ease your pain, but will kill boredom
One of the things most people fail to realize about being sick is that sitting in a hospital bed all day can be really, really boring. Luckily, a company called Lincor Solutions has realized that people need something a little more engaging than plain-jane television these days, thus the MEDIVista was created. The basic premise is quite simple: a touchscreen, LCD display is mounted to the side of a hospital bed which the hospital staff can use to display x-rays or medical information, and the patient can use for entertainment. Users can watch IPTV, listen to the radio or audio books, make VoIP calls, surf the 'net, check email, as well as play web and network based games. The system also logs activity and allows users to view billing information, though at this point it doesn't look like it can play Doom, will blend, or is due to become our overlord.[Via OhGizmo!]
Intelligent cardiac assist fabric beats your heart for you
Crazy artificial hearts and even heart-tissue based robots are nothing new -- to say nothing of the Pimp My Heart bass-booster -- but actually squeezing your existing heart to extend its life is definitely a novel idea. The concept, from a team at Leeds University, is based around an intelligent, motorized webbing that wraps around your heart. When sensors indicate that your pump needs a jump, the webbing contracts, squeezing blood through your body. It's an elegant take on a pretty low-tech solution, and the team has high hopes the uncomplicated nature of the device will lead to applications from transplant assistance to heart therapy when simulator trials are finished and the webbing leaves the prototype stage -- but sadly, there's no word on when that might be.[Via MedGadget]
Wii + rehab = Wiihab, the cycle is now complete
It's not the first we've heard of the Wii being used for rehabilitation context, but it would appear "Wiihab" is becoming increasingly frequent. According to the AP, hospitals in states like Missouri, Illinois, and North Carolina, and even Walter Reed Army Medical Center are all incorporating the Wii into physical therapy routines. Just in time, too, it would be really weird if Wiiitis or a nasty Wiinjury landed you in the hospital in the first place, your doctor used a Wii to hone his steady hand, and you didn't actually get to use a Wii to get your ass well enough to be discharged. Ah, what a world.
Military-grade gel-based liquid bandages approved by the FDA
Spray-on liquid bandages aren't a new idea by any means, but a company called BioCure has just received FDA approval for a gel-based version designed to treat combat wounds. Developed in conjunction with Rutgers University and the Army, the GelSpray Liquid Bandage is applied with a dual syringe that combines two different polymers that combine into a gel, spreading to cover and protect the wound. The gel only sticks to intact skin, not the wound itself, and it's hard enough to resist abrasion. BioCure is already talking about medicated versions that will treat infection and stop severe bleeding, and the prospect of civilian applications are also on the table -- but no dates have been given, sadly.[Via Medgadget]
Wii used to hone surgeons' fine motor skills
Proving that children and the elderly are not the only groups seeing benefits from Nintendo's Wii, a study on a small group of surgeons who had practiced gaming with a modified controller showed them to achieve significantly more improvement on a standard simulator procedure than did a corresponding group of control subjects. Study author Kanav Kahol worked with Dr. Marshall Smith of the Banner Health hospital chain to build a special Wiimote attachment (read: broken golf club add on + laparoscopic probe) that eight surgical residents used to play Marble Mania and the full suite of Wii Play games. The gamers were then pitted against eight of their less-fortunate colleagues in a computer-simulated laparoscopic procedure, and managed to attain 48% higher scores, on average, than the non-gamers. Unfortunately, games involving broader motions such as tennis or boxing are said to be less suitable for this sort of training, make a total liar out of your doctor the next time you catch him "honing up on the latest techniques" by playing Wii Golf.[Image courtesy of The Wall Street Journal]
GlucoBoy blood-sugar testing game finally ships
We first noticed the GlucoBoy blood-sugar testing game for the Game Boy Advance way back in 2004, but it's taken three years for inventor Paul Wessel to get the necessary approval from Nintendo to start manufacturing the game. Targeted at kids with juvenile diabetes, the device rewards timely testing and target blood sugar levels by doling out points that can be used to unlock 2 full length games and 3 additional mini-arcade games, and kids can share point totals and high scores on a related website called GRIP. GlucoBoy is now available in Australia, but the company hopes to have wider availability soon.[Via Joystiq]
Toshiba one-ups Philips with AquilionONE CT scanner
Philips' Brilliance iCT sure had a nice run, but no sooner than it hit the spotlight, Toshiba has arrived fashionably late to steal a little thunder. The outfit's $2.5 million AquilionONE outdoes Philips' iteration by doing 320-slices instead of "just" 256, enabling doctors to see the entire heart while making patients hold their breath for merely "a second or two." Put simply, the machine should allow for heart disease to be spotted in its earliest stages without putting individuals through a lengthy tribulation, and the ultra high resolution 3D images it produces will allow medical personnel to quickly determine if there are any problems that need to be dealt with. Currently, the system is being tested at Toronto General's Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, but word on the street has the unit being readily available next summer.[Via Diagnostic Imaging, thanks lmwong]
Philips super high-res CT scanner shows you from the inside
Philips unveiled a new ultra-high-res 256-slice CT scanner called the Brilliance iCT at the Radiological Society of North America yesterday, a unit the company says not only produces higher quality 3D images using less radiation than previous scanners, but does it far more quickly -- a full body scan takes only a minute. The speedup is achieved because the rotating X-ray element spins some 22 percent faster than other models, hitting four revolutions a second at top speed. Getting in and out of the machine that much faster also cuts radiation exposure some 80 percent from a traditional X-ray machine, and Philips says the machine is accurate enough to capture a complete image of the heart in less than two beats. Metro Health in Cleveland is the first off the line with the new gear -- check the read link for a video of it in action.
RTX Telehealth Monitor keeps you in contact with your doctor
We've seen a few remote health monitor concepts, but they all seem like overkill compared to RTX's Telehealth Monitor, which strips things down to the basics. The device wirelessly connects to a range of sensors like blood glucose monitors, scales, and and blood pressure monitors, and sends data to healthcare providers over a phone line connection. In addition, the unit can be programmed to ask diagnostic questions, give dosage reminders, and communicate other information from doctor to patient. Intriguing, but come on -- not even our grandparents have landlines anymore.[Via MedGadget]
The PatchPump wearable drug-delivery system
The number of medical gadgets we've seen to ease medicine delivery is pretty staggering, with everything from the simple (digital pill box) to the insane (drug-infused false teeth). Now it looks like Israeli outfit SteadyMed is ready to enter the fray with the PatchPump, a wearable battery-powered drug pump that hits you with a constant dose of your prescription throughout the day. The system is based around a unique battery that gets bigger as it depletes, providing both the power supply and the motive force behind the pump. SteadyMed is working on version of the PatchPump that last from 48 hours up to 7 days, but there's no word on when these might hit hospitals.[Via MedGadget]
Philips unveils the Cliniscape medical tablet PC
Although the tablet form factor hasn't exactly taken the consumer market by storm, they're ideal for specialized applications like medicine, and Philips' Cliniscape "Mobile Clinical Assistant" is the latest device to target the hospitals. Designed by Intel's Digital Health Group, the Cliniscape features a 10.4-inch touch screen, a custom installation of Vista Business running on a Core Solo processor with 1GB of RAM, a 60GB disk, 802.11n, RFID and Bluetooth radios, barcode scanner, a 2 megapixel camera, 3.5-hour battery and a single USB port, all contained in a sealed "medical-grade" enclosure that can be wiped clean with disinfectant and withstand a 1 meter drop. When docked in the "grab-and-go" base station, the Cliniscape can be used as a desktop machine with three additional USB ports and an Ethernet jack. Philips says software vendors are working to optimize their patient-care apps for the MCA platform, and that the Cliniscape should be on sale in Spring 2008.
Ear implant corrects balance problems, makes you part Borg
Scientists at the always-progressive Johns Hopkins have been working on an electronic, inner-ear "balancing" device that could help correct problems like unsteadiness, disequilibrium or wobbly vision (no, really). The device -- which couples a head-mounted, matchbook-size box, and up to eight surgically implanted electrodes -- corrects problems by measuring and transmitting 3D balance information to the brain via the vestibular nerve. Researchers say they're working on downsizing and hermetically sealing the implant so that it can fit inside the head and beneath the skin. Up until now, the devices have been tested on chinchillas, whom scientists cruelly dosed with an antibiotic that creates balancing problems (we suppose there were no wobbly people around), then attached implants to the animals and discovered that they "partially regained their vision-stabilizing reflex." While we don't condone testing on adorable rodents here at Engadget, we do love a Borg-esque head attachment from time to time.[Via The Raw Feed]
