Scientist-led conferences at Harvard, Stanford and MIT
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Israeli Make-a-thon empowers the disabled
TOM – Tikkun Olam Make-a-thon, is underway in Nazareth, Israel. In this Arab city, the hometown of Jesus, in an industrial complex built by Israeli Stef Wertheimer, makers, brain researchers, designers and physical therapists are empowering the disabled. Participants have 72 hours to build open source, affordable, working prototypes of devices and apparatus to improve…
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Google Fit platform aggregates health data
Using a single set of APIs, Google Fit collects and aggregates data from fitness apps and sensors to manage a user’s fitness stream. The platform will work with wearables and other peripherals. To protect privacy, permission is required and data can be deleted. Initally, Adidas, Nike , Intel, LG and Motorola will participate. Nike will add…
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Self powered piezoelectric pacemaker
KAIST professor Keon Jae Lee and Yonsei University professor Boyoung Joung have developed a self-powered artificial cardiac pacemaker operated semi-permanently by a flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator. The flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator directly stimulated a living rat’s heart using electrical energy converted from body movements. This could facilitate the use of self-powered flexible energy harvesters, prolonging the life of cardiac pacemakers…
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Quadriplegic moves hand with thoughts
Neurobridge, developed by Ohio State University and Battelle, enabled a paralyzed man to move his hand and fingers with his thoughts. The device is an electronic neural bypass for spinal cord injuries that reconnects the brain directly to muscles, allowing voluntary and functional control of a paralyzed limb. The experiment used a chip, implanted in…
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Biometric shirt monitors astronaut vital signs
Astroskin is a prototype medical monitoring shirt and headband for astronauts that could be used to continuously monitor patients. Its sensors record and analyze the wearer’s vital signs, sleep quality and activity level. Data is relayed to medical teams on the ground to monitor a crew member’s health, behavior and performance during daily operations and…
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Context sensitive robot understands casual language
Cornell professor Ashutosh Saxenam is developing a context sensitive robot that is able to understand natural language commands, from different speakers, in colloquial English. The goal is to help robots account for missing information when receiving instructions and adapt to their environment. Tell Me Dave is equipped with a 3D camera for viewing its surroundings. Machine learning has enabled…
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Electric stimulation headband tested for Alzheimer’s and MCI
Ybrain is a wearable device that targets brain regions with electrical signals. Two sensors are embedded in the front of a headband, providing stimulation for 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week, at home. It is intended for both Alzheimer’s and Mild Cognitive Impairment patients. The company has built a prototype and will begin…
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Sensor enabled prosthetic grip improvements
Touch Bionics has introduced “Grip Chips,” bluetooth enabled devices that can be attached to objects to trigger a pre-programmed grip configuration when detected by motion sensors. They are useful for triggering specific grip patterns that are used regularly, but perhaps not enough to warrant programming to the prosthetic itself for triggering via muscle movement. For example,…
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Wearable computer creates muscle memory
Georgia Tech Professor (and Google Glass technical lead) Thad Starner has invented a wearable computer that could provide muscle memory to enable someone to play music or learn dance steps. It is based on haptic feedback, and might one day help the visually or hearing impaired learn Braille or Sign Language. In a piano-playing experiment,…
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Apple patents more wearable sensors
Apple Insider reports: “A batch of Apple patent filings published on Thursday describe a system of interconnected sensors — some being wearable devices — that work with an iPhone hub to monitor activity levels, dynamically set or cancel alarms and manage push notification settings, among other automated tasks.” The patents include: Method and Apparatus For Personal…
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“Brain controlled” exoskeleton boosts limb power
“Hybrid Assistive Limb” or “HAL” is an exoskeleton by Cyberdyne that detects electrical pulses on the skin when one’s brain sends a “move” message to a limb. The robotic suit recognizes the intended motion, and then moves “naturally” with the arm or leg, providing additional power.
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Microwave helmet for early stroke diagnosis, treatment
Medfield Diagnostics and Chalmers University have developed “Strokefinder,” a microwave helmet that quickly determines whether a person has had a stroke, enabling early and appropriate treatment. It has been tested on 45 patients. The helmet uses microwave typography to determine whether a stroke is caused by a clot or bleeding. Strokes caused by clots…
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