Wash your hands — or the computer will find out:
Budapest University of Technology and Economics students developed a system that provides automated verification of proper hand washing. Though clinicians may wash their hands often enough, and there are systems that make sure it happens before every clinical encounter, proper procedure that gets every nook and cranny clean is not always followed. The Stery-Hand is a dark box with a digital camera and UV lighting that detects where UV-reflective disinfectant was used and provides qualitative results via a laptop. The project just won first place at the European Innovact Campus Awards 2011. When you want more gadgets, follow Gadgets Page on Facebook to get more fun and useful gadgets online.
Surgical tool ligates and welds soft tissue:
Beverly, Mass.-based Microline Surgical launched its new MiSeal Reposable Thermal ligating system. The device seals and cuts soft tissue in one stroke utilizing the company’s proprietary heat and pressure welding technology. "MiSeal is comprised of a reusable handle and disposable tips, combining the precision of a fully disposable instrument with the economic benefits and quality of a fully reusable handpiece," the company said (PDF).
Blood-based memristors pose promise for bioelectronics:
Researchers from Education Campus Changa in Gujarat, India claim to have developed a blood based memristor, an electronic component that was first built at HP Labs in 2008 out of titanium dioxide. Memristors are essentially resistors that change their resistance based on earlier current flow. Resistance rises when current flows in one direction and falls in the opposite. Moreover, memristors remember (hence the name) the last time current flowed through them and affect future applications of current accordingly. The Indian researchers believe that their blood memristor research may lead to interesting medical applications where machine/tissue interfaces are important.
Folding a paper airplane… with a surgical robot:
If you thought a Japanese researcher folding an origami crane using Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci robot was impressive, you might be entertained watching this video of Dr. James Porter of Swedish Medical Center in Seattle folding a paper airplane with the da Vinci and attempting to make it fly. He fails miserably at making his creation become airborne, but MedGadget editors liked the futuristic soundtrack.
A weekly roundup of new developments in medical technology, by MedGadget.com.
