Health Tech

Everyday office paper tests for pregnancy, medical conditions

Researchers are developing a special process meant to replace the custom "paper" found in home pregnancy and other tests with plain old office paper -- a way of creating ultracheap methods of medical testing that could quickly diagnose pregnancy, malaria, diabetes, and more.

Ultimately, the idea is to replace the current standard, which relies on a membrane called nitrocellulose that sticks to molecules of interest, with cheap and ubiquitous paper that can stick to a whole fleet of chemicals, including DNA, antibodies, and sugars. And a University of Washington researcher wants to make the already cheap tests even … Read more

Cows' lady parts text farmers when it's time for a booty call

Old McDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O. And on his farm he had a cow with a wireless intravaginal temperature sensor. E-I-E-I-O.

Swiss farmers are helping to test a new system that sends them alerts when their dairy cows are in heat. Stresses and supplements have led to cows showing fewer visual signs of being in heat. That's where technology is stepping in.

The system from Swiss company Anemon consists of a wireless sensor (installed where the sun don't shine) and a transmitter box that attaches to the cow's collar. An accelerometer in the transmitter collects activity data.

When the cow reaches an optimal temperature (also know as "feeling frisky"), the transmitter text messages the farmer to arrange for a bull rendezvous or artificial insemination. … Read more

Researchers unveil ultra-thin electronics that dissolve in body

The same researchers who last year developed "electronic tattoos" that bend and stretch on skin are now unveiling similar ultra-thin electronics, only these dissolve when their job is done.

Made of silicon, magnesium, and magnesium oxide and surrounded by a protective layer of silk, these "transient" electronics aren't built to last but rather to melt away and, in the process, reduce the need to pass or surgically remove tiny medical implants, researchers from Tufts and the University of Illinois write in the current issue of Science.

The researchers -- who have begun using their devices … Read more

See how healthy your lungs are -- just blow into your phone

Today, patients with chronic lung conditions such as cystic fibrosis or asthma can't easily monitor how their airways are doing. Instead, they have to go to the doctor's office and blow into a special device called a spirometer as hard and fast as they can.

So for the past two-plus years, grad students at the University of Washington in Seattle have been working to develop an app that can measure lung function just as accurately but without the need for additional hardware. (Existing apps either require hardware or are for entertainment purposes only.)

In other words, they've been trying to turn a smartphone into a spirometer.… Read more

Smart glove gives voice to sign language gestures

I have a very basic grasp of sign language, including the alphabet and few simple words like "thank you," "snake," and "chicken."

The last time I spoke with someone who was speech impaired, we resorted to a scrap piece of cardboard and a pencil to get our messages across. A new invention may help break down those barriers.

The EnableTalk smart glove recognizes sign language gestures and sends them for text and voice translation to a smartphone or other device. … Read more

Teens who sext more likely to be sexually active

After reviewing data from 1,839 14- to 17-year-old high-school students in Los Angeles, researchers are confirming what may otherwise seem obvious: sexting and sex go hand in hand.

But which of these activities comes first -- sex or sexting -- remains unclear.

"What we really wanted to know is, is there a link between sexting and taking risks with your body? And the answer is a pretty resounding 'yes,'" lead author Eric Rice, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, told Reuters Health.

Rice and colleagues, who just published their findings in the journal Pediatrics, … Read more

Your sleep patterns, now in soundtrack form

I had that dream again the other night. The one where I (oops!) forgot to go to class all semester and it's time for the final, and OMG, but wait, maybe somehow I can fake my way through it?

Apparently, this dream plans to dog me no matter how far away from college I get. I've had it so many times it deserves its own soundtrack. And now, it turns out, it can get one.

Computer scientists from Finland's University of Helsinki have developed software that makes music out of sleep patterns. … Read more

Man hacks Kinect to help his mother e-mail after stroke

It's been 12 years since Chad Ruble's mother suffered a stroke that led to aphasia, a disorder that affects language processing but not intelligence. Most of the one million Americans who have the disorder experience difficulty both reading and writing, according to the National Aphasia Association, and Chad's mother Lindy was unable to recognize text and thus unable to use a keyboard.

So Chad did what any computer-savvy son should: he hacked a Kinect to help her.

After designing a visual dashboard of emoticons (happy, sad, angry, tired, etc.), each of which can be further qualified by an amount (expressed as signal strength -- one, two, three, or four bars), Chad says he turned to a Kinect, some gesture recognition code, and the simple OpenNI library for Processing to track the position of his mother's hand. A green arrow button sends the email and a red X resets the screen.… Read more

Sunglasses designed to clear things up for the color blind

Color blindness, also known as color vision deficiency, is not an issue I've had to deal with. In fact, it's not something that crops up in women much. Statistics show about 1 in 10 men have some form of color blindness, so if you're not color blind yourself, you probably know someone who is.

That means there's a good chunk of the population that wouldn't mind a little assist in the color department. This is where sunglasses maker EnChroma hopes to make its mark. … Read more

Latest BeBionic hand has stronger kung-fu grip

It's still no match for the human hand, but RSL Steeper's BeBionic 3 looks way cooler.

The company is launching a more powerful, durable version of its prosthetic today at a gathering of the American Orthotic Prosthetic Association (AOPA) in Boston.

The BeBionic 3 has an aluminum chassis, improved electronics, a redesigned thumb, and new motors that increase the power grip strength from 16.8 pounds to 31.5 pounds, according to SteeperUSA.

In hook mode, when a weight is carried by all fingers, the hand can bear 99 pounds, up from 70.5 pounds. … Read more