medical

Sony will be releasing a software upgrade (1.60) to its PlayStation 3 console on Thursday, and it essentially consists of some convenience tweaks as well as a cool tie-in with a medical research project at Stanford University. Basically, Sony's taking a few more steps toward its vision of the PS3 as a living room media center rather than a gaming console. Unfortunately, it still has to deal with the Wii.

With regard to the convenience upgrades, you'll be able to connect Bluetooth peripherals, like keyboards and mice, to your PS3. You'll also be able to queue … Read more

Is that cough a symptom of some larger medical problem? Wouldn't it be great if you had the Mayo Clinic's knowledge at your fingertips?

On the go hypochondriacs and Internet diagnosis-seekers can rejoice as the Mayo Clinic and Digital Cyclone are beaming health information to your cell phone. The application, dubbed Mayo Clinic InTouch, has a symptom checker, first aid tips and can give you the location of the nearest emergency room via GPS.

To be clear, this service isn't meant as some sort of DIY replacement for 911. But at $2.99 a month, it could … Read more

If you have any doctor or nurse friends who doubt the importance of digitizing medical records, show them this.

The "CAREt System," which Medgadget says is being called the "medical iPod," is one more device that could help save lives thanks to digital databases and other updated technologies. IntelliDot, its manfacturer, describes it this way: "By simply scanning a patient wristband, the CAREt handheld device guides the nurse through all required medication administration and documentation tasks that have accumulated for a patient. Information is clear, organized and delivered right into the caregiver's hand, right … Read more

If necessity is truly the mother of invention, we must take an unusual step and thank the government for prompting the creation of this technology. As federal laws mandate the digitization of health records, technology companies such as BioMETRX have been figuring out ways to make that happen confidentially.

Its prototype "SmarSTIK-MD," for example, allows medical professionals to transfer data securely with a biometric USB storage key that uses fingerprint identification to its information, according to Ubergizmo. Other biometric devices such as palm readers can control access to material stored on computers but, given the track record of … Read more

Matsushita Electric Industrial has unveiled a bodysuit to assist those recuperating from partial paralysis. The inflatable "power jacket" sells for about $17,000, according to Ubergizmo. The 4-pound exoskeleton has sensors at the joints and can control up to eight artificial muscles.

CNET News.com reported on the robotic jacket in late September when it debuted at the Home Care Rehabilitation Exhibition in Tokyo. This popular item, however, seems to be making the rounds this month on the blog circuit, so why deprive you of photos?

(Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Given Imaging has come up with another pill for use in examining your insides.

Although it seems comical, this is one gadget you will really be happy about someday. The PillCam Colon Capsule Endoscope is essentially a large pill with cameras inside it for viewing the colon.

Like the PillCam ESO for the esophagus and the PillCam SB for the gastrointestinal tract, patients swallow the pill with water, according to Given Imaging.

The PillCam Colon can generate up to 144,000 images over a 10-hour period, and includes additional features suited to the large intestine that the PillCam SB lacked. … Read more

Actually, you have to do your part, too. But the OV-Watch--FDA approved!--monitors the salts in a woman's sweat to predict the six days when she's most fertile. Now, isn't that romantic? (It would be more so, we think, if this watch came in any color that didn't scream, "Look! I'm trying to make a baby! And I love princesses!") Be prepared to shell out $100-plus for the watch and sensors to go with it.

(Via Babygadget, Photo: OV-Watch)