The electromagnetic fields from iPods won’t interfere with cardiac pacemakers, says an FDA research team, contrary to last year’s rumours. After a whole bunch of experiments using saline-filled bags and sensitive coil detectors to simulate the effect of a variety iPods on the body, the researchers concluded “that no interference effects can occur in pacemakers exposed to the iPods we tested.” [Reuters]
Peter Houghton takes his metaphors a bit too seriously. The first lifetime recipient of a Jarvik 2000 ventricular assist device (i.e. an artificial heart) is grateful for the fact that he’s, you know, alive, but thinks he’s lost his emotions since getting the fake ticker. Dude, your emotions come from your brain, not from your heart, despite what all that poetry you’ve been reading says. One theory about his newfound lack of feelings is that his brain isn’t meant to be getting a steady stream of blood, which the Jarvik 2000 gives him, and is instead optimized for short bursts of it, like a real heart provides.
Designed to help previous heart attack victims regain confident mobility, this unnamed prototype heart monitor takes frequent electrocardiogram readings and uploads them to a customized cellphone via Bluetooth. The phone is equipped with an ECG analyzer that watches for signs of impending heart failure. If your ticker stops ticking, your ECG is sent in an SMS text to your local hospital along with a cry for help. But can the paramedics find you in time?
The Beurer GmbH heart rate monitoring glove ditches the traditional belt system used by other companies, like Polar, in favor of a new method called plethysmography. Instead of wearing an obtrusive belt across your chest to pick up your EKG signal, this little glove measures the reflected light from an artery found in the index finger.
That’s right, no other restricting equipment to strap on that you have to worry about falling off. All you do is slap on this little glove, and go. It will even measure blood pressure.
On a side note, when your willy isn’t working, plethysmography is typically used to see what might be the cause of your erectile problem. So there you go, erectile dysfunction methods are now being applied to more than just old men, that is unless old men have started to jog now.
Heart Rate Monitoring Glove Based On Plethysmography [OhGizmo!]
Besides reminding you that “life’s click,” the Heartbeat Indicator Mouse uses sensors positioned under your thumb to assess your level of health (like, surprise, your heart rate). It also keeps tabs on how long you’ve worked, or at least how long you’ve been holding the mouse. Better yet, it can transmit all of this info via mobile phone to your doc (or wife, maybe) if they want to track how close you are to seizing up in a Red Bull/Doritos coma while you’re cruising Second Life. – Matt Buchanan
Heartbeat Indicator Mouse [Yanko Design]
