Health and Wellbeing
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An intelligent metered dose inhaler (MDI)
March 5, 2007 Here’s an interesting new inhaler that provides metered dose inhaler (MDI) users with breath-activated delivery and dose-counting capabilities. From Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, the MD Turbo offers significant advantages for the users of many of the 40 million MDIs prescribed each year in the United States alone. Studies show that many patients using traditional press-and-breathe pMDIs (pressurized metered dose inhalers) to control asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), regardless of age or MDI experience, cannot successfully coordinate the press-and-breathe action necessary for drug delivery to the lungs. More than 70% of MDI users do not know the number of doses remaining in their inhalers at a given time. (read more...)
New drugs promise two days without sleep and improved alertness and cognitive powers
March 5, 2007 Two years ago, we wrote about the “time-shifting” drug, Modafinil that enables you to stay awake for 40+ hours with close to full mental capacity and with few side effects. The drug is a eugeroic and offers improved memory, mood enhancement, improved alertness and cognitive powers, and has a much smoother feel than amphetamines because they work differently. Popular Science is now reporting that we’re just about to see new forms of super eugeroic called armodafinil (Modafinil’s creator Cephalon is awaiting FDA approval for the drug), and a drug code-named CX717 from Cortex. Both drugs promise even longer periods of wakefulness, and in experiments with Ampakine CX717, sleep-deprived rhesus monkeys on the drug often outperformed their own well-rested but undrugged best efforts on mental-performance tests. While these drugs will be marketed to assist people with sleep disorders like narcolepsy, it’s their potential as recreational and workplace performance-enhancing drugs that make them worth watching. The times they are a changing … (read more...)
The amazing InnerScan Segmental Body Composition Monitor
March 2, 2007 We’ve written about Tanita’s Innerscan previously, but the newly released Tanita BC-545 is such a leap forward in technology that it deserves more than just a mention. The BC-545 is designed to assess the impact of your training routine on different parts of your body. It is able to give individual body composition readings for five body segments (each arm, each leg and the trunk area). The measurements are taken quickly and accurately by standing on the 4 footplates and by pulling the hand electrodes that are housed in the base using retractable connecting cables. The monitor then sends a safe low signal from the hand and footplate electrodes through the body. The resistance to the measurement (known as Bio-electrical Impedance Analysis or BIA) is then fed into researched equations to provide your personalized body composition readings. As the device includes a calendar function, it can track the changes over time for you, so you can create comparison graphs showing a history for each segment of the body and for each of the body composition readings, so that you can see your progress, day by day, week by week and month by month over a three year period. The backlit buttons and animated illustrations are clear and user-friendly, and the scales come with batteries included and a three year guarantee. Needless to say, because the device sends electrical signals through the body, it is highly inadvisable to use this device if you have a heart pacemaker. (read more...)
First 3D structure from a key influenza protein sheds light on transmission of flu between birds and humans
February 27, 2007 The term Spanish Flu seems almost innocuous to those who are unaware of its history. Spanish Flu swept the world in the years after World War One, killing somewhere between 2.5 and 5% of the human population of Planet earth. Around 20% of the world population suffered from the disease which killed more people than had WW1 and more than the Black Death of the 1300s – it remains the most deadly outbreak of disease in world history. Spanish Flu was caused by a mutation of the bird-specific H1N1 strain of the influenza virus. More recently, another highly infectious avian strain (H5N1 also known as Bird Flu ) has caused great concern that it might also mutate to allow human-to-human transmission and cause another catastrophic pandemic. Specific mutations in a viral protein, the polymerase, contribute to the ability of the bird virus to jump the species barrier to humans. European researchers have now produced the first three-dimensional image of part of this key protein. The study, which is published in the current issue of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, investigates the structure and function of the protein and sheds light on how polymerase mutations contribute to transmission of avian flu to humans. (read more...)
Mayo Clinic Health software for mobile phones
February 23, 2007 Mayo Clinic and Digital Cyclone (a subsidiary of Garmin) have collaborated to develop a software application that delivers an array of health information and tools directly to cellular phones. The Mayo Clinic InTouch wireless health program will be available next week offering wireless phone subscribers a rich health resource directly on their phone with immediate access to step-by-step first aid tips, a symptom checker that provides self-care guidelines or advises emergency care for more than 45 common symptoms in adults and children, health news videos, health alerts and drug watches. (read more...)
Intel and Motion pilot new mobile clinical assistant (MCA) device
February 22, 2007 Intel Corporation today announced its mobile clinical assistant (MCA) is ready for primetime. Motion Computing’s C5 is the first product based on Intel’s MCA platform and has earned support from clinicians and nurses participating in pilot studies around the world. As Intel’s first platform built specifically for healthcare, the MCA is an important step in the company’s efforts to better connect clinicians to comprehensive patient information on a real-time basis. The lightweight, spill-resistant, drop-tolerant and easily disinfected MCA allows nurses to access up-to-the-minute patient records and to document a patient’s condition instantly, enhancing clinical workflow while reducing the staff’s administrative workload. The Motion C5 features wireless connectivity to access up-to-date secure patient information and physician’s orders; radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for easy, rapid user logon; a digital camera to enhance patient charting and progress notes, to keep track of wounds as they heal; and bluetooth technology to help capture patient vital signs. (read more...)
Breakthrough VeinViewer Imaging System
February 20, 2007 VeinViewer is a vein-contrast enhancement device that uses an infra-red camera to highlight blood (the underlying vasculature) and projects the image in real time onto the skin. With this device, physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals can find veins easily and avoid multiple needle sticks to patients. Venipuncture, the collection of blood specimen from a vein, is commonly seen by nurses as one of the most painful and frequently performed invasive procedures. According to an article in the Journal of Phlebotomy, an estimated one billion venipunctures are performed annually. In one study in the Journal of Nursing, the number of needle sticks for successful catheter placement ranged from one to at least 14. Ninety percent of inpatients require peripheral IV access and approximately 25% of patients need central venous access which consists of a small flexible tube being implanted under the skin so medications can be delivered directly into larger veins. (read more...)
The Bionic Eye approaches: the next generation of Retinal Implants
February 19, 2007 Patients who have gone blind are a step closer to perhaps one day regaining some of their sight with the news that the United States FDA has approved a study to evaluate an artificial retina. Researchers at the USC Doheny Eye Institute are developing the technology that hopefully will help patients with retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration regain some vision using an implanted artificial retina. The announcement by Mark Humayun, professor of ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and associate director of research at the Doheny Retina Institute, came at a press conference at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco. (read more...)
World's largest condom on display
February 18, 2007 In recognition of National Condom Week, a Washington retailer of sex products will sail a monster condom balloon the height of a two-story building, tethered on a 120-foot line over its Tukwila store. The condom will fly through the weekend to remind citizens of the importance of condoms and safe sex. The sturdy 20-foot pink condom has a diameter of 6-feet and is filled with 450 cubic feet of helium, a volume that requires the contents of four large welder’s tanks to fill. In a classic case of getting the events out of sequence, National Condom Week is celebrated the week AFTER Valentine’s Day each year. It was started in 1978 by students at the University of California-Berkeley and over three decades has become an important global event in the promotion of condom use as an effective method of decreasing the risk of AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, not to mention reducing the risk of pregnancy. (read more...)
Calorie Burning Sodas named as leading Food and Beverage Trend for 2007
February 14, 2007 The diet soda market has been traditionally one where the calories are reduced in comparison to the syrupy full-calorie sodas. In October last we wrote about the coming of a Coca Cola-owned softdrink which puts a new spin on diet soda – the soda actually raises the metabolism and burns calories. Now research company Datamonitor has named the category of calorie burning beverages, as the number one food and beverage trend for 2007. As it turns out, Coca Cola’s Enviga did not make it to market first. That honour goes to Celsius, making it the first calorie burning soda and hence a category buster. Celsius has been clinically proven to burn calories, boost energy, and increase metabolism, on average 12% for up to 3 hours. Both Enviga and Celsius are based on Green Tea. (read more...)
Breakthrough in quest for mindreading
February 12, 2007 It appears that the ever more omnipotent computer is set to add another remarkable by unravelling the secrets of mindreading. Every day we plan numerous actions, such as to return a book to a friend or to make an appointment. How and where the brain stores these intentions has been revealed by John-Dylan Haynes from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, in cooperation with researchers from London and Tokyo. For the first time they were able to "read" participants’ intentions out of their brain activity. This was made possible by a new combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging and sophisticated computer algorithms. By imaging patterns of activity in the brain's prefrontal cortex as subjects concentrated on their choice of two future actions, researchers have been able to distinguish cortical activity patterns that correspond to the subjects' different plans. (read more...)
Genes involved in coffee quality have been identified
February 8, 2007 The world’s caffeine addicts got some good news this week when it was announced that the genes involved in coffee quality have been identified. Since 2001, CIRAD and the Agricultural Institute of Paraná in Brazil (IAPAR) have been working on joint research into understanding the biological processes - flowering, fruit ripening, etc - that determine coffee’s distinctive characteristics. Some compounds (sugars, fats, caffeine, etc) are known to play a role in coffee quality. Their accumulation in the plant, and particularly in the beans, is a determining factor. Sucrose is considered to play a crucial role in coffee organoleptic quality, since its breakdown during roasting releases several aroma and flavour precursors.how coffee beans ripen. Using molecular biology and biochemistry techniques, they have characterized the key enzymes in the sucrose metabolism during coffee bean development. The quality of coffee makes a big difference at market, which is good news for all concerned as coffee is still the second most traded commodity in the world behind only petroleum. (read more...)
The Intellidrug tooth implant
February 2, 2007 Man has been producing and administering drugs since the neolithic period. Initially these drugs were administered orally mixed with a liquid with the advent of pills making inhalation and the intramuscular or intravenous injection following. These days, the majority of the world’s drugs are administered via pills – pills offer an accurate dosage, but they are so convenient that it’s often possible to forget when you’ve taken them. Chronically ill patients get muddled when constantly having to swallow different numbers of tablets at different times, while those with dementia simply cannot cope. Now EU researchers are developing a better, more accurate and more convenient way – a dental prosthesis capable of releasing accurate dosages into the mucous membranes in the mouth. As it can administer accurate micro amounts over continuous periods, the prosthesis overcomes the peak concentrations that occur with taking pills and even offers the ability to monitor and maintain consistent blood levels of any drug. What makes the Intellidrug prosthesis unique is that, unlike existing drug prostheses and implants, it is small enough to fit into two artificial molars. Inside the patient’s mouth, it is readily accessible and can easily be maintained and refilled. (read more...)
Worldmapper draws attention to the world's health inequalities
January 30, 2007 When it comes to the inequality in people's health across the globe, says Professor Danny Dorling of the University of Sheffield, "you can say it, you can prove it, you can tabulate it, but it is only when you show it that it hits home." This is the philosophy behind Worldmapper, a collection of cartograms that rescale the size of territories in proportion to the value being mapped. The project aims to create new world maps in explanatory posters, and provide raw data and technical notes on many of the most prominent available world major datasets. "What I think matters most," says Professor Dorling, "are the new ways of thinking that we foster as we redraw the images of the human anatomy of our planet in these ways. What do we need to be able to see—so that we can act." (read more...)
The CelluBike burns cellulite and detoxifies the body while you work out
January 29, 2007 The CelluBike integrates cardio-vascular exercise with modern infrared technology to assist in weight loss and the reduction of cellulite. The CelluBike developers claim the infrared energy penetrates the body to warm and soften the hardened cellulite, then flushes it away through the increased cardio activity and accelerated metabolic processes. In addition to aiding in flushing cellulite from the body, infrared helps in ridding toxins from the body that are stored in the fatty tissue. This means the multiple-technology bike has many applications in the health, rehabilitation, wellness and medical professions, as it facilitates a deep cleansing treatment for the body, aiding detoxification of narcotic drugs and hormones, heavy metals, hydrocarbon residues, alcohol, nicotine, sodium and cholesterol. To its biggest market, the Cellubike looks like a more natural, less invasive alternative to liposuction with exceedingly bright prospects. In some of those other industries, it looks even more promising. Whatsmore, the monitor that tracks and displays your progress is also an entertainment centre to help you while away the hours. (read more...)
The TASER C2 Personal Protector
January 10, 2007 TASER is well known for its advanced personal protection devices (AKA stun guns or non-lethal weapons) which have now been on the market for five years and are widely used by law enforcement personnel. Now the company aims to give the general consumer an effective way of defending themselves, with the unveiling its new consumer-model US$300 TASER C2 Personal Protector at the Consumer Electronics Show. The TASER C2 is powered by lithium batteries, has a 15-foot range, a 10 year shelf life, and can shock up to 50 people without replacing the battery. There's also a single use cartridge you can clip on to shoot electrodes. The TASER C2 also incorporates a public safety background check technology called SureCheck. TASER C2 units are shipped in an inactivated state and cannot be used until the end user successfully completes a background check using a secure web site. If approved after the check, the user is issued an activation code unique to their serial number. If you were figuring this non-lethal gizmo would be ideal and humane way to rob banks, think again, because each time the C2 is used, it disperses 20-30 bits of serialized confetti, which identifies the owner of the TASER system. First shipments are scheduled for April, 2007. That's TASER co-founder and chairman Tom Smith with the new C2 - and inside are lots of images of playboy girls because TASER and Playboy co-sponsor a racing car which was used on the stand at CES. (read more...)
FDA issues draft documents on the safety of cloning animals for food
December 31, 2006 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued three documents on the safety of animal cloning -- a draft risk assessment; a proposed risk management plan; and a draft guidance for industry. The draft risk assessment finds that meat and milk from clones of adult cattle, pigs and goats, and their offspring, are as safe to eat as food from conventionally bred animals. (read more...)
Non-invasive "liposuction" while you wait!
December 31, 2006 We’re a funny bunch us human beings, and there’s no greater testimony to this than the number of liposuction procedures performed each year in the United States, which shows numbers growing from a mere 50,000 15 years ago, to an annual number approaching half a million. It’s the most popular plastic surgery procedure, mirroring US$35 billion a year sales of weight loss products and US$63 billion a year sales of low carb, fat, sugar, and calorie products. Liposuction is used to remove localized areas of fat so the body can be sculpted. The procedure is performed by vacuuming excess fat from the body using a cannula which is inserted through small incisions in the natural creases of the body. It’s a routine and safe procedure these days, but recovery takes at least a few days off your normal activities and you could still be wearing compression bandages up to a month later. Now a new procedure similarly reduces fat from localised body regions, (e.g. stomach or thigh or in industry parlance, your Banana fold, Buffalo hump, Cankles, Chubb, Doughnut or Wings), without requiring an incision or a lengthy recovery time. The procedure focuses high-intensity ultrasound through the skin into precise locations within subcutaneous adipose tissue, permanently disrupting the adipocytes without damaging the epidermis, dermis, or underlying tissues and organs. Treated tissue is resorbed via normal inflammatory mechanisms. LipoSonix has the potential to be offer non-invasive body sculpting to the masses with low cost and even lower time and recovery overheads. One to watch in 2007. (read more...)
Rapid prototyping to be used for human implant development
December 31, 2006 Colorado-based Medical Modeling is set to begin using an EBM (Electron Beam Melting) Metal Rapid Manufacturing and Prototyping System to design and build titanium implants for insertion into the body. The company is also planning to provide surgeons and medical device manufacturers with titanium models for improved surgical planning and implant development. Using data acquired from CT or MRI (Computed Tomography or Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans, Medical Modeling creates highly accurate, three dimensional anatomical models of bone structures – such as the skull, pelvis and spine – and soft tissue – such as the brain and organs. Using its Arcam EBM system with titanium material, Medical Modeling can create fully dense, fully functional models of surgical instruments, guides and potentially implantable devices. The rapid manufacturing and prototyping system is a Stratasys Arcam EBM S-400, which manufacture real parts or prototypes from metal. (read more...)
The autonomous wheelchair raises the promise of assistive mobile robots
December 17, 2006 There are few areas in which technology can make such a great difference as in mobility assistance for the disabled and aged market. We’ve already written about Kanagawa Institute of Technology’s Power Assist Suit, Independence Technology’s iBot, and a mind-controlled wheelchair, but the announcement this week that researchers in Sweden have developed a wheelchair that can be driven manually, by remote controlled or fully autonomously suggests that devices enabling the most severely handicapped people to achieve independent mobility are inevitable . (read more...)
Discovery opens door for drugs for alcohol addiction
December 14, 2006 The connection between nicotine and alcohol has been known for some time, though the fact that alcoholism is ten times stronger among smokers than among non-smokers is not as widely known ... and it’s not just because many people smoke at parties. When sober alcoholics are tempted to fall off the wagon, the same receptor in their brain is stimulated as is activated by nicotine. This has been demonstrated in a doctoral dissertation at the Sahgrenska Academy at Göteborg University in Sweden. The discovery may lead to new treatment for alcohol abuse. (read more...)
The Molecular Condom - vaginal gel releases Anti-HIV drug when exposed to semen
December 13, 2006 Once likened to “taking a shower with a raincoat on”, the condom may be the safest method of protection during sex, but it significantly detracts from the experience. Last week we featured the spray-on condom designed to offer a better fit but we’re betting that new work being done by University of Utah scientists will get a lot of attention due to its likelihood of overcoming the many shortcomings of the condom. It is in fact a "molecular condom" for use by women. The liquid is vaginally inserted daily and prevents AIDS by turning into a gel-like coating and when exposed to semen, returning to liquid form and releasing an antiviral drug. The ultimate hope for this technology is to protect women and their unborn or nursing children from the AIDS virus, but the molecular condom is five years away from tests in humans and roughly 10 years until it might be in widespread use. (read more...)
Sexperience – the world's strongest sex pill?
December 11, 2006 What does a rhinoceros horn, a Tiger’s penis, a bar of chocolate, Turtle Eggs, the elements Arginine and Zinc, oysters, and the drug Bremelanotide all have in common. They are all aphrodisiacs, as are a host of other naturally available nutrients such as Ginkgo Biloba, Kava Kava, Asian Ginseng (Panax), Yohimbine (the alkaloid derived from yohimbe bark) and Avena-Sativa/Oat extract. There are many aphrodisiacs found in nature. Some may have rare nutritional compounds that enhance sexuality in unknown ways, while others may fill nutritional gaps. For example, zinc is needed for libido, and a low zinc status is balanced by eating zinc-rich oysters returning zinc levels and sexual prowess to normal. Since time began, herbalists, hucksters, scientists and alchemists have sought the ultimate product, the sure fire aphrodisiac. Now a new non-prescription, all-natural sexual enhancement pill is taking to market claiming it is the world's strongest sex pill. It might make a novel Christmas present for a friend whose love life is flagging. (read more...)
US retailer to trial 3D foot footwear measurement system
December 7, 2006 Stride Rite, the leading US children's footwear retailer and manufacturer, has begun a trial to evaluate a 3D foot gauge, a system designed to produce highly accurate foot measurements. Foot gauges were installed in three Stride Rite stores in the Boston area earlier this month following the signing of an evaluation contract with UK company QinetiQ. Stride Rite has been making shoes in the US for over 85 years and operates a nationwide chain of nearly 450 stores. Last year we previewed Intellifit, an ingenious measurment system for clothing that could revolutionise the global clothing market. The 3D foot gauge could have similar long-term effects on the footwear market. (read more...)
Computerised Mannequins for medical training
December 7, 2006 The University of Portsmouth has opened a UKP4.85million high-tech teaching facility with computerised mannequins to train the health-related scientist of tomorrow. The new facility - called the ExPERT Centre (Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning) - features state of the art mannequins in two fully-kitted out simulation suites (operating theatre and hospital ward). The life-like mannequins - or human patient simulators - have computerised sensors that react to any treatment students apply. (read more...)
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