Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

High blood pressure is no laughing matter. Unless of course it happens in the cartoons where the character becomes beet red and steam blasts out of their ears, then it’s hilarious. But for real people, not so funny. So if you suffer from high blood pressure the RESPeRATE is an interactive breathing device that will supposedly lower your blood pressure when used for just 15 minutes, a few times a week.

Using a breathing sensor, RESPeRATE automatically analyzes your individual breathing pattern and creates a personalized melody composed of two distinct inhale and exhale guiding tones, delivered through comfortable earphones.

Simply listen to the melody through the headphones and synchronize your breathing to the tones. By prolonging the exhalation tone RESPeRATE guides you to slow your breathing and reach the “therapeutic zone” of less than 10 breaths per minute.

The physiological result? The muscles surrounding the small blood vessels in your body dilate, and relax. Blood is allowed to flow more freely, and pressure is directly, significantly lowered.

With a price tag of $290 the RESPeRATE is probably not only a cheaper alternative to medication, but in some studies (as published in American Journal of Hypertension) it has even been found to be more effective for certain patients.

[ RESPeRATE ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The STM32, for a lack of a better description, is a small personal computer that has roughly the same processing power as a PDA or cellphone. Out of the box it can run a simple GUI OS and a handful of games, but it’s really designed to be customized for whatever pocketable computing needs you might have. Jingxizhang has posted a project and code on the STM32 Primer website which shows how they turned the device into a pocket sized ECG.

This project is for detecting human ECG (Electrocardiogram, or EKG). A tiny amplifier is embedded (<1mA). The on-chip Timer, ADC and DMA (double buffering) are used for getting ECG data. An IIR filter and hardware LCD scrolling are used for ECG rendering. User can simply touch the Primer by 2 hands, his/her ECG trace is scrolling alive on the LCD screen. The instant heart rate is displayed with beep sound and LED flashing. The device also delivers and displays the ECG on a PC through the USB cable.

Two copper foils were added to each side of the STM32 which act as the ECG electrodes. The user simply has to place both their thumbs on the foils to see a scrolling trace of their heartbeat on the LCD, and a beep sound that coincides with each pulse.

[ ECG Primer 1.0 ] VIA [ MAKE: Blog ]

By Andrew Liszewski

A Dublin, Ireland based company called Lincor Solutions has created the MEDIVista which is a touchscreen LCD display designed to be used by patients, doctors and nurses for a variety of different purposes. The displays are mounted on an articulated arm next to the bed allowing healthcare workers to use it for medical reasons like displaying x-rays or information about medication management, while the patient can use it for entertainment purposes. This includes watching TV, listening to the radio or making calls over IP, surfing the web and checking email, playing web or network based games, enjoying audio books or even reading up on their condition.

The company has recently signed an agreement with the Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey to install the interactive displays on all 397 hospital beds in the facility. Thankfully I’ve managed to avoid having to spend any time in a hospital bed, but if I lived in Teaneck you better believe I’d start living dangerously just for a chance to play with one of these systems.

[ MEDIVista ] VIA [ Medgadget ]

By Evan Ackerman

Tired of fad diets? Now YOU can instantly lose up to 80% of your body weight, at the push of a button! All you have to do is zip yourself up inside a G-Trainer antigravity treadmill and turn on a small air compressor. As the pressure inside increases, it starts to compensate for your body weight, adjustable up to 80% compensation in increments of 1%. Meanwhile, your body movement is unrestricted, allowing you to exercise on the treadmill normally.

“The physical lifting force generated by the G-Trainer comes from a difference in air pressure around the user’s body. Normal environmental air pressure is approximately 15psi. The maximum amount of air pressure used in the G-Trainer, if the user chooses to reduce effective body weight at the maximum 80%, is 16.5psi, so the difference is very slight. At the maximum air pressure, the user experience feels similar to the pressure against your feet if you were standing in waist-high water, but without the resistance or movement of water.”

The Alter-G G-Trainer was just approved by the FDA for “medical uses in rehabilitation after lower extremity injury or surgery, aerobic conditioning, weight control, gait training for neurological conditions, and strengthening and conditioning for older patients.” Sounds good to me, but it might be a little tricky to get your hands on one of these without a legitimate reason. After the jump, check out a couple runners effortlessly beating world records on the G-Trainer. Read the rest of this entry »

By Evan Ackerman

This is what we need less of: electronics that look like animals. Why? Because they’re cute and non-threatening until suddenly, they attack. This massage mouse (which is, in fact, a USB optical computer mouse) uses two conductive pads placed on your skin to transmit electrical current through your body, causing your muscles to (for lack of a better word) spasm. The Massage Mouse is advertised to relieve minor muscle aches and pains, but honestly, I tried this thing out on my hand and I just wanted it off. Think: mild electrocution.

Between $80 and $180 depending on how many other things you want your Massage Mouse to be able to do. Available now.

[ Massage Mouse ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I understand that having your first child can be a stressful time for a new mother, and I’m not exactly thrilled when companies take advantage of that by selling them some pointless gadget that’s supposed to bring some peace of mind. Case in point, the kickTrak from Baby Kick.

The most obvious feature of the kickTrak is the ability to automatically count your baby’s kicks starting at 24 weeks, supposedly providing a reliable way to track its movement pattern, and reduce the risk of stillbirth. It can also be used at the onset of pregnancy as a sort of countdown timer for your predicted due date, or as an easy way to time your contractions when labor begins. While I’m sure the risk of stillbirth is a real concern, I don’t see how holding this to your stomach for hours at a time is the easiest way to track how much your baby is moving. I’m sure if I had something living inside me I’d be quite aware of whenever it made even the slightest move.

The kickTrak is available on the Baby Kick website for $39.95.

[ Baby Kick kickTrak ] VIA [ Medgadget ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Even though the cartoons make high blood pressure look like fun with all the steam blasting out of your ears and the pitch-red face, it turns out it can actually be bad for those of us who aren’t animated. So checking your BP on a regular basis is kind of important. The Omron HEM-650 allows you to do that from the comfort of your own home without a doctor, and has a couple of handy features to help make sure you’re doing it right.

First, it uses the company’s patented ‘Intellisense’ technology to automatically inflate the wrist cuff to the ideal level. Even though inflating it to the point where you cut off circulation might seem like fun, it’s apparently not the best way to do it. And because the HEM-650 uses a wrist cuff, it’s better suited for people with larger, python-like arms like yours truly. (They’re a blessing and a curse.) Another important factor in getting an accurate blood pressure reading from a wrist monitor is to ensure the cuff is at the same level as your heart. So the HEM-650 has an ‘Advanced Positioning Sensor’ that automatically confirms when the monitor has been placed at the correct level. I’m actually kind of interested how it knows it’s at the right level, but I guess that’s probably a trade secret.

You can find the Omron HEM-650 at Amazon for $61.03.

[ Omron HEM-650 Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor ] VIA [ GadgetGrid ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If Ken Rosenblum has his way (I’m pretty sure that’s not him in the pic), getting a prescription filled could be as quick and easy as withdrawing money from an ATM is. He created the InstyMeds dispenser after learning there was a nationwide shortage of pharmacists which not only led to fewer pharmacies being open late at night, but longer lines as well.

Of course the InstyMeds still requires a prescription before you can make a withdrawl, but using custom software a doctor can make an InstyMeds-compatible prescription in about 10 clicks. You then take this prescription (which has a special barcode on it) to the dispenser, and the machine will automatically fill an appropriately sized bottle with the required medication, and will also print a custom label that includes instructions and warnings. Payments can be made right from the dispenser either with a credit card, or by billing your health insurance provider. While the current model of the InstyMeds only holds about 100 different drugs, apparently 45 of those drugs represent 80% of what is prescribed by doctors, so it should be able to accommodate a good majority of the people needing non-OTC medications.

[ InstyMeds ] VIA [ Gear Live ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The current method for testing one’s blood sugar isn’t exactly fun, and that’s coming from someone who’s technically a grown-up. So I can’t imagine the process is any more enjoyable for kids who have to do it on a daily basis.

So the Glucoboy is a blood glucose meter that can be used in conjunction with a Nintendo Game Boy Advance or an online community to reward a child’s diligence when it comes to testing. Regular use of the meter combined with good results will earn them points that can be used to unlock mini-games on the included GBA cartridge or on the website.

Of course if you think you’ve seen the Glucoboy before you’re probably right. It’s taken the inventor, Paul Wessel, about 3 years to get approval from Nintendo to actually make the device. It’s finally available in Australia for about $260, but there are plans to eventually make it available worldwide.

[ Glucoboy ] VIA [ Joystiq ]

By Andrew Liszewski

After years and years of staring at TVs and computer screens I’ve somehow managed to avoid the need for glasses. Of course I’m sure that day will eventually come, but it’s reassuring to know there are crazy Japanese gadgets I can use to prolong the inevitable.

The Eye Power claims it can fix near-sightedness and myopia using ultrasonic technology. All you have to do is stare into what looks like an old 8mm camera for 10 minutes every day, and eventually your vision problems will be cured. Now I want to be clear that I’m no Optometrist, nor have I ever played one on TV, so I can’t comment on whether or not you can actually use ultrasonic technology to fix these problems. But I have managed to scrape together a bit of common sense which will probably ensure I will never, ever look directly into this device like they suggest.

But don’t let that stop you. You can get an Eye Power for yourself from Rakuten for about $800.

[ Eye Power ] VIA [ Crave ]