(Credit:
PediSedate)
Sometimes we hear about gadgets that are made for good but could definitely be used for evil. Take the PediSedate, a combo gaming device and sedation machine.
It's essentially a Game Boy system modified to distract kids ages 3 to 9 with Tetris or something while they're pumped full of nitrous oxide to knock them unconscious for dental surgery. Sounds evil, even though it's intended to make things easier on the kid.
But that's not all it does. The colorful headset includes systems to monitor the patient, such as a pulse-oximeter to slightly adjust the flow of gas in real time, meaning it's safer for the kid than just raw gas.
Boston-area anesthesiologist Dr. Geoffrey Hart, the company's founder, received grants totaling $1.8 million from the NIH and the Albert Einstein Society to make his vision into a product. New England product design company Design Continuum delivered prototypes.
No word whether a DSi version might be in the works to update the idea, but we wouldn't doubt it. The PediSedate is not exactly brand new, but we've apparently been anesthetized, so we're wondering if any of our readers have ever come across one.
(Via OhGizmo)
(Credit:
Zap Lasers)
We're not sure how comfortable we'd be with our dentist using equipment made by an outfit called Zap Lasers, but it's probably better than a pair of rusty pliars.
The "Styla" is a pen-like device that's billed as the first microlaser for making soft-tissue incisions. Measuring less than 7 inches long and weighing under 2 ounces, it can be used for such procedures as performing biopsies and removing tissue. It can sense whether the person using it is right-or left-handed and, for the novice, even has eight pre-programmed procedures, according to Gizmag. (Shudder.)
A word of caution: The Styla gets signals from a foot pedal that runs on a 2.4GHz frequency, so make sure your dentist or oral surgeon isn't a gadget freak who has a bunch of phones and other wireless devices that could interfere with the connection. Because the last thing you need is an unnecessary root canal caused by a wrong number.
Personal Computing Environment Station
(Credit: PCE)
Dentist chair
If you were to combine a dentist chair and a workstation, while throwing in a crane perched precariously above one's head for good measure, you'd probably have something that looked pretty close to the "Personal Computing Environment Station" from PCE. As GeekSugar says, the manufacturer claims that it is designed to "enhance your gaming experience and improve your productivity." (Aren't those mutually exclusive goals?)
Regardless of its intended purpose, this Rube Goldberg-looking setup seems more like an updated version of a medieval torture device than a workstation. For one thing, how do you even get in and out of this contraption?
It does include an LCD screen, console connections and supposedly ergonomic seating. But frankly, it smacks of some corporate conspiracy to keep us chained to our desk--or, in this case, our apparatus. You know, like that Big Brother boss-man robot that follows you around the office.
Besides, if we were going to go this route, we'd just as soon have an "Alternative Computer Control System" or even an "Ergopod 500." At least then we could take things lying down.
(Credit:
Medgadget)
This isn't exactly at gadget you'd want to purchase for your home (we hope), but trust us--you'll want to know when it's available. The University of Buffalo is leading research into dental work that can be done without drilling or anesthesia, based on a device that uses ozone to repair cavities.
The bacteria-killing ozone machine, which is being used in Europe, "fits over a tooth and forms an airtight seal in arresting tooth decay," according to Medgadget. Researchers say the technology is being tested now in the United States and, if approved, could be available to U.S. dentists in two years. We could say that we're aching to try it, but that would be wrong.
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