Health and Wellbeing
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A voice from the grave, cyber style
April 29, 2005 Australian Internet Company EVOL launched its new online messaging service this week and though the technologies employed are not new, the concept is quite interesting as the messages are primarily intended to give users a voice from the grave. The idea came when entrepreneur Andrew Chan was regularly travelling overseas and on one particular outward-bound trip, was mindful of leaving his young family behind. He had a legal will in place, and his assets and insurance policies would ensure he had provided well in the event of an accident, but he still felt there was more he could do, and in that space created by 12 plus hours of international flight, he conceived an on-line messaging system to deliver final and important audio and video messages to significant others. (read more...)
New Contact Lenses for ASTIGMATISM enables consistent all-day vision
April 28, 2005 Disposable contact lens specialist Vistakon has announced the availability of the first silicone hydrogel daily wear contact lens for individuals with astigmatism, a common vision problem experienced by millions of children, teenagers, and adults. The Acuvue Advance For Astigmatism utilises a new stabilisation technology that harnesses the natural pressures of a blinking eye to balance the lens in place while the eye is open and quickly realign the lens if it rotates out of position, providing patients with astigmatism with consistent, all-day vision and comfort. Most currently available soft contact lenses worn by individuals with astigmatism are prone to rotating with the eyelids' movements, causing wearers to experience some blurriness or fluctuation in vision. The new lenses also feature Hydraclear, a proprietary technology that combines an oxygen-rich material with a moisture-rich wetting agent that gives the lenses a moist, smooth feel. (read more...)
L'Oreal Paris Introduces the First Mass Market Men's Anti-Aging Line of cosmetics
March 10, 2005 L'Oreal Paris Dermo-Expertise, the leader in technology-driven skin care treatments, has announced an April 2005 launch of the first comprehensive men's anti-aging line to hit mass market retailers nationwide across America. The announcement is significant as mens cosmetics has been a small niche market until now and L’Oreal’s lead could precipitate a general change of perception towards mens cosmetics. (read more...)
UltraCane uses ultrasonic echoes to offer spatial awareness to the vision-impaired
March 9, 2005 The Ultracane is a new electronic mobility aid that might look like the old white cane for visually-impaired people but adds a remarkable array of technology to enable the person to see objects around them. It works exactly the same way that bats "see" using ultrasonic echoes to provide users with the ability to "feel" objects in their environment through the cane's vibrations. The UKP399 Ultracane is getting rave reviews from all those who try it. (read more...)
MyHeart research project explores ways to prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease
February 28, 2005 At the TEDMED conference late last year, Philips showcased MyHeart, a European project led by Philips with a budget of EUR 33 million and 33 project partners, among them Nokia, Vodafone, Medtronic and the Mayo Clinic. MyHeart is a research consortium that is studying options for smart electronic solutions and associated services that empower people to play an active role in maintaining their health. The project aims to make a significant contribution to the emerging market in products for consumer health and wellness. (read more...)
AWOL releases single user machine
February 26, 2005 Alcohol WithOut Liquid (AWOL) has launched a small portable, home version of the controversial commercial AWOL machines launched last year into pubs, clubs and bars. The personal AWOL machine will be named AWOL 1 and will be priced at US$299, a significant reduction from the commercial two and four person AWOL machines, priced at US$2595 and US$2895 respectively. The price reduction has been enabled by substituting the oxygen generator used in AWOL 2 and 4 for an air compressor used in AWOL 1. Both methods deliver alcohol into the bloodstream in the same way - a method that has caused controversy on both sides of the Atlantic, though some US states seem intent on taking silliness to new extremes. (read more...)
Intelligent mirror shows what you will look like in 5, 10, 20 years
February 14, 2005 Accenture Laboritories is working on an intelligent mirror that analyses your behavioural patterns and can show you what you'll look like in five years time. The mirror is designed as a health-aid to assist people in visualising the long term outcomes of their behaviour and modify their behaviour accordingly. In actual fact, the mirror is a computer-driven LCD screen that captures your image with a digital camera and then based on what the entire system is monitoring of your lifestyle and behavioural patterns - the complex mix of diet, exercise, calorific input, activity levels and the amount of social drugs such as alcohol, tobacco et al imbibed and so on. (read more...)
Toothbrush Sanitizer by Philippe Starck
January 2, 2005 A report by the U.S. Surgeon General in September 2000 directly linked oral hygiene to general health. The findings concluded that a single toothbrush can harbour millions of microorganisms that translate into bacteria - bacteria which thrive in the warm, moist environment of the average bathroom. The VIOlight Toothbrush Sanitizer & Storage System was created to address these problems. Most people simply rinse their toothbrush after each use and put it in a cup or holder, believing that they have removed these bacterial threats. This is not the case. As the Centers for Disease Control stated in their January 2002 report, "Even after being rinsed visibly clean, toothbrushes can remain contaminated with potentially pathogenic organisms." In addition, brushes kept in a common holder may cross-contaminate one another, spreading colds and flu among family members. The VIOlight Toothbrush Sanitizer & Storage System is a consumer product that utilises a Germicidal UltraViolet (UV) bulb - the same technology used in hospitals and dental offices - to eliminate germs and bacteria. (read more...)
New fruit label indicates ripeness
2 January 2005 The next few years will see the development of many new forms of intelligent packaging, capable of far more than the labelling and branding roles packaging has served until now. Intelligent packaging that changes colour to indicate the ripeness of fruit it contains is destined for our supermarket shelves this year. Developed in New Zealand, ripeSense packaging technology is expected to bring significant efficiencies to the fresh fruit industry, reducing wastage and forever eradicating the old selling process of selling loose, usually unripe, fruit into bins, where it is bruised, squeezed and prodded to determine its ripeness. (read more...)
Modafinil - the time-shifting drug
The wonders of pharmacology keep appearing regularly, each new drug seemingly too good to be true. In recent times there have been several killer apps for the drug industry – chemical substances that replace depression with a happy disposition or bolster a flagging sex drive to royal command performance (with encore) levels. Prozac and Viagra provided benefits so compelling they have entered everyday language and have a global following. Now there’s another “drug-most-likely-to-succeed” – this one enables you to stay awake for 40+ hours with close to full mental capacity with few side effects (read more...)
Power napping becomes a legitimate business
November 29, 2004 The accelerated pace of working life is increasingly shaping social dynamics and forcing global culture to multi-task functions that were once constrained to the home. First there were tanning salons, then oxygen bars, and now, entrepreneurs in New York City have made a business of power napping, offering workers 20-minute naps in customised, futuristic-looking pods from a suite in the Empire State Building in a trend that could quickly spread worldwide. (read more...)
Harm-reduction gadget helps smokers quit
November 27, 2004 Smoking is a filthy habit as even users will concede, but despite a myriad of quit smoking products like nicotine patches and chewing gum, smoking is still one of the hardest habits to shake. Another weapon is now available to would-be quitters in the form of the "Cigarette Counter" - a small, US $5 electronic counter designed help smokers keep their habit under control and reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke. The Cigarette Counter clips to the top side of the cigarette pack. It has four buttons - Reset/ Add/ Subtract/ On-Off - and has a display that shows the numbers. (read more...)
'BrainGate' Brain-Machine-Interface takes shape
December 7, 2004 An implantable, brain-computer interface the size of an aspirin has been clinically tested on humans by American company Cyberkinetics. The 'BrainGate' device can provide paralysed or motor-impaired patients a mode of communication through the translation of thought into direct computer control. The technology driving this Brain-Machine-Interface breakthrough has a myriad of potential applications, including the development of human augmentation for military and commercial purposes. (read more...)
Fitness cards break the monotony of exercise
November 20, 2004 FitDeck, a new cardgame developed by a former Navy SEAL, enables the creation of your own random fitness workout by simply shuffling the deck and performing up to 50 exercises pictured and described on the card faces. The novel approach to fitness introduces the element of fun and breaks up the monotony of standard exercise regimens. (read more...)
Bionomic Seating an ergonomic sitting solution
November 15, 2004 The most important piece of office equipment is arguably the chair, as it has the most direct influence on the user and contributes to health, efficiency and productivity over extended periods of time. Yet many people continue to suffer from bad seating that causes back and spinal problems and occupational health and safety issues for business. Now Australian based Bionomic Seating Solutions has unveiled a new design in ergonomic seating that works to save your entire body from the stress of sitting. The result is an optimal body posture, which means less fatigue and higher productivity for you and your team. (read more...)
Freeze-Framer helps you train your own physiology
November 13, 2004 The Freeze-Framer software and hardware package from Heartmath is an interactive program that measures stress levels and their effect on your physiology to help better manage your emotional and physical performance and facilitate heart-brain synchronisation. Using Freeze-Framer's fingertip or ear pulse sensor that plugs into the USB Port on your computer, you can watch in real time how thoughts and emotions affect your heart and autonomic nervous system. With the Freeze-Framer you can objectively monitor your heart rhythms and confirm when you have achieved an autonomic nervous system balance, just like a one-on-one personal coach that helps you reach your own goals. (read more...)
Chunc an innovative design in wheelchair technology
November 5, 2004 An innovative design has been fused with modern technologies and contemporary aesthetics in the Chunc Junior, a manual attendant controlled paediatric wheelchair for children and young adults with moderate to profound disability. Mobility products makers Chunc designed the Chunc Junior in conjunction with a clients and healthcare professionals to take into account the users needs as well as the impact of the wheelchair on those it comes into contact with. The wheelchair has been designed for both indoor and outdoor use, but not specifically for rough terrain, so care should be taken when operating in extreme environments. (read more...)
Drug-dispensing contact lenses
November 2, 2004 Scientists from the Singapore Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology have invented a method of manufacturing polymeric lens materials that can be loaded with eye medication for ophthalmic drug delivery applications. Currently, when a person suffers from eye ailments they will be prescribed eye drops. However, 95% of the medication administered in this manner flows to where it is not needed. The drops usually mix with tears and drain into the nasal cavity, where they can flow through the blood stream to other organs and cause serious side effects. In addition, dosage through eye drops is inconsistent and difficult to regulate, as most of the drugs are released in an initial burst of concentration. To counter these problems researchers have been studying the use of contact lenses to deliver eye medication. One proposed method was to pre-soak the lenses in the drug solution, while another involved incorporating the drug solution in a hollow cavity made by bonding two separate pieces of lens material. However, neither of these methods proved very effective at delivering medication for extended periods of time. (read more...)
Digital Angel chip now FDA approved for medical use
As reported way back in the first issue of Gizmo, US-based Digital Angel has produced the VeriChip, an implantable computer chip which monitors human biometric functions and transmits the data with GPS technology. The VeriChip has now been approved for human medical use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of America, opening up the age of implantable technology. The VeriChip system is already being used in a variety of innovative solutions, including monitoring the vital stats of at-risk patients, farm animal management systems, locating stolen property, managing commodity supply chains, monitoring the location of parolees and providing a tamper-proof means of identification for enhanced e-commerce security. The FDA's green light of the VeriChip will help doctors access stored medical information about their patients and speed delivery during medical emergencies. (read more...)
Using robotics to learn how to walk again
October 27, 2004 The Lokomat is a bio-treadmill with robotic arms to move a stroke and paralysis victim's legs, allowing them to feel the 'pattern' of walking - which rebuilds muscles faster and speeds recovery. Designer and manufacturer Hocoma specialises in developing innovative equipment for applications in medicinal engineering and now their new 'Lokomat' bio-treadmill is helping people with disabilities to walk again. (read more...)
Philips TV-based study to help manage health from home
October 13, 2004 Philips has launched a pilot study to test a secure, personalised healthcare communication platform that connects chronic disease patients at home to their care providers through their television. Philips will be testing this platform - called Motiva - over coming months with the Cardiovascular Associates of the Delaware Valley (CADV), a US-based physicians' group providing complete cardiovascular care to patients. (read more...)
FAB Card prevents allergy reactions in restaurants
Not all innovations that have the potential to save lives are high tech, as the new FAB card proves. With More Than 11 Million people suffering from food allergies annually in the United States alone, the New Food Allergy Buddy card simply instructs chefs about which ingredients to avoid for particular patrons. Launched earlier this month, the FAB Dining Card is a free and personalized ingredient card that restaurant patrons can present to waiters and chefs detailing and easily communicating their food allergies. Chefs will then alter their recipes accordingly to ensure patron food safety. Consumers can log onto www.FoodAllergyBuddy.com to easily enter in their allergy information. They may then print out numerous business-sized cards that easily fit into their wallet or purse. There's no cost for the service or the cards, which are available in adult and children's designs. Users are assured that the information entered into the FAB system is not collected. (read more...)
Ferrari unveils a gym machine
Ferrari is one of the world's most valuable brands, bestowing its values of success, style and engineering prowess on any product wearing the prancing horse logo. In recent times the licensing department has been working overtime as Ferrari has collaborated in the design of everything from digital cameras to notebooks. Now Ferrari is now entering the fitness market with the Unica, a multi-purpose fitness-training machine. (read more...)
Miniature robot for exploring your inner self (quite literally)
A fantastic journey in medicine is beginning with recent advances in miniaturisation by Japanese company RF System Lab. The Norika 3 RF Endoscopic Robot Capsule brings the body alive with live video of the patient's gastrointestinal system. Norika 3 uses a 1/6 inch colour 410,000-pixel CCD camera inside a micro capsule that is swallowed by the user. Image technology allows for variable focus by disc type magnets and a profound and dynamic range of microscopic data. The capsule camera travels through the digestive system and can be controlled by rotor coils for tilt control by remote operation with a joystick. Lighting volume can be adjusted and switched to infrared spectrum for multiple analyses. (read more...)
The 1st Class Sleeper
The 1st Class Sleeper is a new and vastly improved design based on the same principles as theold blow-up neck support that gives some respite from the discomfort of an extended flight in cattle class. The light weight pillow folds to the size of a travel umbrella and is great for supporting your back, neck and head when you are in any recliner, though it clearly has a market as an in-flight accessory above all others. The First Class Sleeper can be purchased on-line at the company's web site for US$ 49.95 (read more...)
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