MobiUS is a simple medical ultrasound imaging system like many others—but it has one rather astonishing plus: All you need is the wand, some gel, and a smartphone. More »
To celebrate Australia Day this week, we’re looking at some of the best inventions to ever come out of our sunburnt country. Today, we pay homage to David Robinson and George Kossoff, who helped give every expecting parent the joy of being able to see their unborn child through the wonder of Ultrasound. More »
While some work toward an invisibility cloak, University of Illinois professor Nicholas Fang is taking steps to create a similar material, only for sound, that could, for example, make ships invisible to SONAR. To successfully do this, of course, requires we break the laws of physics. But, you know, whatever.
We’ve seen bat-like drones, and even heard of genuine bat weaponry, but now the Pentagon is after micro UAVs with genuine echolocation bat-senses, for real. The Air Force has just awarded a new contract to develop swarms of micro drones that use bat-inspired echolocation for navigation through the complex airspace in urban environments cluttered with trees, wires, buildings and poles. Test flights are due by 2010 apparently. And if the idea of hordes of tiny, flapping military spy drones fluttering though the air doesn’t creep you out, you’re clearly not in the Halloween spirit yet. [AviationWeekDanger Room]
If you’ve ever been afraid that you’ve already popped one too many advils, but the pain still hasn’t gone away, an Israeli medical company is offering a less medicated version of relief in the form of ultrasound. NanoVibronix’ PainShield MD, which just received FDA clearance to be marketed in the U.S., uses therapeutic ultrasound waves to treat pain and encourage soft tissue healing.
Heart surgery is usually a case of “be still my beating heart” since it’s easier to work with static tissue, despite the risk of brain damage and all the complications of cardiopulmonary bypass machines. No longer, perhaps: some clever bods at Harvard University and the Children’s Hospital Boston have come up with a robotic system that can compensate for the movements of a heart in real time…meaning certain procedures can be performed to fix a dicky ticker without halting its beat.
From a trusted Crispin Porter source, we’ve learned that the internet has jumped the gun and that the Microsoft Gates/Seinfeld ads have not been axed. It’s true, Microsoft apparently asked the agency to focus on the new “I’m a PC” spots. And it’s true, the agency has gotten plenty of “I don’t know what this means” response in their measured statistics of the Gates/Seinfeld ads. But no one has pulled the plug on the dynamic duo just yet.
Even the roughest of characters among us would have to admit that babies can be cute. Not necessarily at first, but once they start smiling and giggling and stop crying and pooping all the time, they can be a symbol of pure beauty in this world.
But what about before they’re born? We’ve already seen 3D ultrasounds that can be copied to your iPods to watch your unborn child writhing around inside the uterus, and the general consensus in the comments was that there wasn’t anything too cute about that. Of course, it’s not just about appearances – the technology also offers medical benefits, like the ability to spot defects and illnesses earlier in the pregnancy.
Now Philips is showing off its concept for what ultrasounds will look like in the future. Aside from having the child look like it’s in a pod that you can reach out and touch, the biggest change to the process for Philips is creating a more welcoming atmosphere than the stench of death that tends to waft around hospitals (or is that just disinfectant?).
I’m not a parent yet, so I’m not really one to comment, but I don’t like going to a hospital for any reason. What do you guys think? Would you prefer to be able to walk up to a weird-looking pod with a 3D ultrasound of your unborn child in a relatively welcoming environment?
