Falling ill isn’t something that can be outrightly averted, so it isn’t a matter of choice but a result of things that happen to us that we fall ill. Some are born with illness, while others become ill over their lifespan. We have come by numerous inventions and technological advancements in medicine, that’ve brought down the morality rate the world over, but diseases have grown faster than illnesses, therefore many ailments are such for which we still hunt a remedy. These technological products stated in the list would someday have answered more than a few answers we’re searching for in medicine, so I thought they deserved a mention. Here, in no particular order, I leave you to have a quick read of the technologies patients wished were real for them.
Contact lenses with superimposed circuits
Researchers at the University of Washington seem to add a circuitry to the eye. Researchers are working on contact lenses with circuits. The development tested without side effects on rabbits for up to 20 minutes, is an unexpected boon for the virtual world, owing to it; the virtual displays are bound to take a new high. It is a stunning feat, a technological advancement that’s surely a step forward en route to guaranteeing super- human vision, read more.
Heart-powered pacemaker
British scientists have used a microgenrator in their experiment to successfully produce enough electricity from the heart to run a pacemaker. The microgenerator used is made of two individual liquid-filled balloons, which are placed at different locations within the heart, but remain connected to a silicone tube consisting of a moving magnet. The heartbeats press the balloons alternatively, forcing the fluid in it to move the magnet past the coil in the silicone tube, producing electricity in the process, read more.
Bra that detects breast cancer
The thermography-enabled bra would detect cancerous growths before they can spread to other areas and help in prognosis. The bra uses thermography, a type of infrared imaging science, and a camera that detects cancerous tissue, which stands out metabolically against healthy background tissues. Usually cancerous tissue needs a greater blood flow, and hence the temperature surrounding that area is elevated. This is detected by the infrared camera. Microwave antennae, which are incorporated into the fabric of the bra, collect information of the abnormalities and transfer them via conducting polymers, which in turn is analyzed by a controller. Read more.
Home Chare wheelchair
The Home Chare is a comfortable mobile chair, which also transforms into a stair climber. The wheelchair designed with all posture considerations is equally comfortable for the user when sitting, standing or reclining. The chair has a container attached for human excreta, making it an ultimate combo device for the uniquely abled, read more.
Self-assembling stomach-bot
In what could prove to be a major breakthrough in the field of medicine, researchers have started working on a self-assembling-stomach-bot, which could help in diagnosing and treating a number of ailments. Scientists and researchers from Given Imaging, Israel is working on a swallowable camera that can be used to diagnose and treat illnesses. This camera would be controlled by robotic technology and can provide valuable insight into the functioning of a patient’s internal organs, read more.
Voice controlled robotic wheelchair
The Robotic Wheelchair is an advanced autonomous machine that relies on pre-registered location information to wheel a user around. Unlike the joystick-controlled automated wheelchairs that we see today, the MIT machine takes vocal commands from the user and follows them accurately. For instance, when a user requests to be taken to “his bedroom,” the wheelchair does so without any additional input, read more.
BrainPort Vision Device
The BrainPort device has been developed specifically for people with visual impairments. The basic premise of this device is in creating tactile images on the tongue, and thus enabling the patient to ‘feel’ the images. The input for this device comes from visual information gathered by a user-adjustable head-mounted camera. The processed information is sent to the BrainPort base unit, which converts it into electrical patterns projected on to the tongue. The resulting image is perceived as stimulation, read more.
The Voice Stick
Braille is the only possible way the visually impaired can read and/or write, but not many can tackle the intricacies of using Braille. Taking a leaf from which designer Sungwoo Park is developing an ultra-savvy gadget, the Voice Stick. The Voice Stick scans and then reads out the words in a comprehendible way to an impaired. It can scan, translate and read books, newspapers, and mails etc, read more.
Headphones for hearing aid
Designer Brian has developed specialized headphone concept that double up as hearing an aid for the deaf. What we cannot see and lies in our blind spot, can be replicated with the help of the concept headphones, which relate to the relationship between the visual and auditory sensors in our body. The headphones feature 5 infrared sensors, which work with sound microphones to replicate the perception felt in the blind spot. The intuitive sensors then help the wearer to feel the vibrations to ascertain what the sound might have been like, read more.
Glaucoma control lens
A new type of contact lens developed in the US could not only correct vision but also save it too. The lens contains antibiotic nanosilver particles which help it continuously map the pressure in the human eye. The lens also administers medication to the eye directly, which could help people from contracting eye- blinding disorders such as glaucoma, read more.
Swallowable robot
Researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University are developing a miniature robot that can be swallowed like a normal tablet and can safely stick to the intestine without damaging the soft tissues. The robot after reaching the intestine can be anchored wirelessly and therefore it could be a great help in biopsies, drug delivery, heat treatments and more especially in diagnoses and cure of Crohn’s disease, read more.
Cellphone with a Braille keypad
Mobile phones have seen a major transition, but sadly still, not much is done to make communication easier for the differently abled. But to provide a viable alternative to the Blind and probably the deaf, designer Serghei Tanas has come out with a new concept. This cellphone features a Braille keypad and a sensory ring with surface scanners, which will enable the blind to use the phone like any other conventional phone. The cellphone also features a large screen to allow the impaired navigate easily and efficiently amidst the phone’s various features, read more.
Voice activated wheelchair is also a bed
The voice controlled wheelchair will allow patients who are not physically able to maneuver a joystick, control and use a wheelchair. Using voice recognition software to allow the user command the chair what to do. There are a few voice controlled wheelchairs we have seen but this one stands apart with its ability to convert into a bed for the patient, only using voice commands. The wheelchair is embedded with obstacle detection software and is also fail-safe, read more.
Echography
The expecting mother has to undergo numerous scans to understand and see how the baby in the womb is responding and developing. Taking a leap beyond the ultrasonography, the mothers have another way to see the best medical images of their fetus in the presence of both kith and kin. Echographic images 4-D offers comfortable and detailed information, in color, of the fetus and the facial expression of the unborn baby, read more.
Functional bionic eye
Biomedical engineers at the University of Southern California are designing a functional bionic eye, which will open the colorful canvas to blind or others with any sort of malfunctioning in vision. A camera implanted within the lens of the eye, will record images and send them over a wire to a chip located at the back of eye. This chip will transfer the images to the nerve-cells to enable an electronic vision, read more.
