April 24, 2007
Cool Product Expo 2007
The Cool Product Expo which took place at Stanford University this month is designed to generate interest in and excitement around "cool" products and companies in the field of manufacturing and design. An attendee walking through the expo will likely encounter budding start-ups, university research lab projects, the latest R&D from global manufacturers, the best from local design studios, and from a variety of industries that practice innovation by way of design, function, and/or technology.
One example of a cool product is a pair of laser glasses devised by a few Palo Alto high school students. The laser glasses are geared toward disabled individuals, such as quadriplegics who have limited movement. Moving their heads triggers a sensor with a laser pointer attached to the glasses. The sensor, in turn, turns a light on and off. The students designed the system as part of a year-long project to help quadriplegics and other disabled people control household electronics.
A number of exhibitors demonstrated interesting technology, for example:
NeuroSky
http://www.neurosky.com
NeuroSky has created the world's first neural-interface for the consumer market. Translation: a whole new layer of control for applications as diverse and far reaching as interactive entertainment to professional and military needs.
Brainwaves are the electrical activity of the brain's neurons. These waveforms carry information on an individual's moods and states of being. NeuroSky translates the brain's language through a combination of hardware and software solutions. We work with established partners to integrate and innovate for the future.
Apollo Health
http://www.apollohealth.com
Founded in 1987, Apollo Health, Inc. has been the leading researcher and manufacturer of products for treating circadian rhythm disorders that result in insomnia, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Depression and other mood & sleep disorders. Apollo has participated with the National Institute of Health and most leading universities in researching and finding solutions to these problems.
And many others worth a look
Cool Product Expo
April 10, 2007
Spray-On Computers in Medicine
Scottish scientists have developed "Spray-On Computers" for healthcare. Also known as 'speckled computing," this newest computing technology is entirely self-powered, self-networking digital "specks" which will be capable of collecting volumes of data on patients.
The tiny computer is the size of a matchstick head, thousands of which can be sprayed onto patients to give a comprehensive analysis of their condition. Spraying them directly onto a person creates the ability to carry out different tests at the same time, for example muscle movement and pulse rate. This allows a complete picture of the patient's condition to be built up quickly
This has been described as a the new class of computing: devices which can sense and process the data they receive. They also have a radio so they can network and there's a battery in there as well, so they are entirely self-powered
The computing innovation, being developed by scientists at Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews and Strathclyde universities, will be displayed at the Edinburgh International Science Festival this Friday as part of a talk by Damal Arvind, leading speckled computing professor and director of the Scottish consortium.
Article in the Scottsman
Edinburgh International Science Festival
Medical Matters Talks at Edinburgh Festival
April 02, 2007
MEG Scanners - A Faster View of the Brain
Magneto-encephalography, or MEG, scanners are a technology that has been around for over a decade but recent improvements in computing technology have made it one of the most powerful tools in the hands of scientists to observe important details about epilepsy, brain tumors, emotions, pain perception and more.
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Magnetic Source Imaging Laboratory and others are studying the magnetic fields of neurons, using MEG scanners to learn more about the intricacies of brain pathology.
While other types of brain scans detail the geography of the brain or detect blood flow, the MEG scanners track the magnetic signals that neurons throw off as they communicate. The interaction of the networks of the brain can be observed in real time. Measuring activity each millisecond yields significantly more information than functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI technology which measures the movement of blood within the brain. In fMRI, the scans reveal which brain areas are active and need oxygen from the blood but it takes a while for oxygen-filled blood to move in the brain. So if a brain area was active for a 10th of a second, the blood-flow response to that area would take a second or two to start. Being able to see changes faster means being able to better track the sequence of brain activation.
Limitations
One thing MEG cannot do is analyze the physical parts of the brain, so MEGs become even more powerful when combined with other technologies, such as fMRI.
Research
A number of recent studies have been conducted using MEG technology. Research in social exclusion using MEG ws conducted at the University of Georgia and research from Heinrich-Heine-University, Dusseldorf, Germany shows that pain processing is faster than tactile processing in the human brain. Another German study measured face recognition and perception.