We were amazed last time we mentioned the iPhone camera’s medical abilities: there’s an app to monitor not only heart rate, but also heart rhythm, respiration rate and blood oxygen saturation. Yeah, and now it turns out your iPhone can be turned into a Geiger counter without the need of an extra accessory like the one from Scosche we talked about a while ago. See, all you have to do is block the camera with dark tape (electrician’s tape will do) and run this app, the Wikisensor. Turns out that radioactive particles can go through dark tape and be detected by the sensor on the iPhone’s camera as little flashes. Since no visible light is supposed to be coming through, the app correlates the little flashes to radioactivity. Its detection threshold is 5 MicroSieverts per hour.
Watch the video below to get an idea of what radioactivity looks like to your iPhone’s sensor. The Wikisensor application seems to cost $1 or 0,79 €.
Let’s not kid ourselves. Our generation is in the process of developing a terrible skill: one-handed telephone use through extensive texting-while-driving. Kids, shame on you. Trevor Prideaux, a man of a previous generation, did not have this sort of skill and found it difficult to use newer smartphones with only one arm, having been born with only one. He’d either have to balance them on the prosthetic arm or put it on a flat surface. So he had a special prosthetic made:
Technicians at the Exeter Mobility Centre got working on a ground-breaking limb. Prosthethist Steve Gallichan, technician Les Street and undergraduate worker Sarah Bennett then produced a prototype in just five weeks. They made a laminated fibre cast of the phone and built it into the limb, so Mr Prideaux’s mobile could fit inside.
So now his Nokia C7 sits snugly in the artificial limb and Steve is happy as can be.
Why a Nokia C7? Because he asked apple for a blank case of the iPhone for fitting and testing and they turned him down.
It’s pretty amazing the amount of data that can be extracted using nothing more than the camera on your smartphone. While there already are a number of applications that are able to give you your heart rate by doing nothing more than resting a finger lightly on the camera, a new application under development could also measure heart rhythm, respiration rate and blood oxygen saturation. A team led by Ki Chon, professor and head of biomedical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have engineered algorithms that “analyze video clips recorded while the patient’s fingertip is pressed against the lens of the phone’s camera. As the camera’s light penetrates the skin, it reflects off of pulsing blood in the finger; the application is able to correlate subtle shifts in the color of the reflected light with changes in the patient’s vital signs. ”
Of course this wouldn’t be news if they hadn’t checked to see if the results gathered from the application correlate with those taken with traditional instruments: they do. Professor Chong believes it will also be possible to detect atrial fibrillation (AF), which is the most common form of cardiac arrhythmia. And while the tests were conducted with a Motorola Droid phone, Chong hopes to have his application ported to several makes of smart devices. While not available yet, it is in the final stages of development.
“Imagine a technician in a nursing home who is able to go into a patient’s room, place the patient’s finger on the camera of a tablet, and in that one step capture all their vital signs,” Chon said. “We believe there are many applications for this technology, to help patients monitor themselves, and to help clinicians care for their patients.”
Notice that the headline mentions a smartphone, rather than “your” smartphone. That’s because Mobisante’s recently released, smartphone-based MobiUS SP1 ultrasound device doesn’t work with just any phone, but the now very dated (already two year-old) Windows Mobile 6.5-based Toshiba TG01 smartphone. Of course that doesn’t make this device any less awesome, since it means that accurate and inexpensive point-of-care diagnostics are now much more mobile. Whereas an injured person would traditionally have to reach a hospital in order to receive potentially life-saving scans, ultrasound scans can now be performed on the field. Images taken with the MobiUS SP1 can then be sent to another physician for a second opinion. Emergency internal surgery could be attempted en-route, preventing a possible bleed out for example.
This device is not cheap at $7,495, but then again it’s aimed at medical professionals.
Researchers at the Tokyo Metropolitan University have developed a method for determining stress levels that can fit inside a computer mouse. It uses a pulse-wave sensor to measure bloodflow in the fingertip by bouncing infrared light off your flesh and analyzing the variations. And while bloodflow itself is not a marker of stress (certain hormone levels are), the researchers have found a correlation between the stability in your cardiac rhythm and these hormone levels, 70% of the time.
Of course this begs the question of why anyone would want to know how stressed they are, not to mention that any given person is likely already aware of their stress levels without a device having to tell them. At least that’s what you’d like to think, but the truth is that we really don’t pay that much attention. We trudge through our days rarely making an effort to manage our stress. This device could help harness the power of feedback loops, much like newer street signs showing you your actual speed (even though you can easily glance at your speedometer) have proven to be effective at slowing motorists down. We can envision a program that constantly monitors you and flashes a warning sign when it’s time to cool off.
The entertainment value of such a system of course would pale in comparison with the fun to be had watching your cubicle neighbor finally lose it in a fit of keyboard smashing melodrama.
You might be tempted to wonder why you’d ever need a radiation detector, let alone one that works with your iPhone. But that probably means you don’t live in Japan where it would seem normal to be worried over radiation poisoning following this year’s terrifying Fukushima meltdown. Big name iPhone accessory maker Scosche is releasing the RDTX, a portable Geiger counter that works with the iPhone or iPod Touch. It’s already calibrated and has a ton of features:
Displays detailed measurements for the advanced user.
Place map markers to report radiation levels.
Deliver precise radiation reports to keep you and your family safe
The Pro version of the RDTX has already been released in Japan for $330, though this version promises to be much less expensive. Initial availability will go entirely to Japan, though we have no information for the rest of the world at the moment.
While it can be an essential tool for diagnosing what’s wrong with a patient, MRI machines are large, noisy, expensive and can be extremely uncomfortable to be inside. Many people find them cramped and claustrophobic, which can be particularly difficult since you have to lie perfectly still for long periods of time to get a clean image. So GE has created a considerably smaller MRI machine that’s specifically designed to be used for imaging a patient’s limb.
Besides requiring smaller rooms and being considerably more affordable for a hospital, the new Optima MR430s is also far more comfortable for the patient. They sit or recline in an adjustable padded chair and insert their arm or leg into the machine. And since they’re more comfortable while the MRI is doing its thing, they’re less prone to moving about which results in clearer images and results. What sets GE’s new compact MRI machine apart from other compact solutions is that it still uses a powerful 1.5T (Teslas) magnet which means there are no compromises when it comes to image quality. And while the MR430s is limited in that it can only handle limbs, it does free up a hospital’s full-body machine when only a limited part of a patient’s body needs to be imaged.
Even if you don’t have kids, we all know that a baby can be expensive. And finding a way to save money and make every dollar count is an important part of raising a family. So instead of going to an expensive obstetrician for regular checkups during your pregnancy, you can now monitor your baby at home and save! Chinavasion’s selling this BabySound fetal heart rate monitor for ~$23 that lets you keep tabs on your unborn infant’s heartbeat. Whether it be for peace of mind, for listening for worrisome anomalies, or just plain curiosity. It’s apparently completely safe to use, and is sensitive enough to pick up a heart beat from as early as 10-12 weeks in to your pregnancy.
And from what I can tell, it’s probably still useful after your child is born too. When placed against a bedroom door it could be used to monitor private conversations or phone calls. Perfect for the concerned parent who develops into a nosy one.
I understand why people living in crowded, urban city centers are often seen wearing face masks. But it doesn’t make it any less unnerving for me. I always think they’re fleeing some plague cloud I’m unaware of, and the fact that most of their face is obscured doesn’t help.
That’s probably why the Masclear caught my eye. It provides most of the same protection of a paper or cloth face mask. Namely stopping the wearer’s saliva and breath from spreading to others, and vice versa. But it’s made from a clear plastic shield so the wearer’s mouth is always visible, and it’s easy to clean and reuse again and again. They seem ideal for applications where someone wearing a mask has to deal with the public (and hence smile) and are available in small and large sizes that are further adjustable to fit every wearer.
Related Tags: application, iPhone, Medical
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