medical tech – SomeGadgetGuy

March 27, 2018March 27, 2018

#SGGQA 032: Smartphones And Hearing Loss – Interview With Dr Alison Grimes Audiologist At UCLA

Are smartphones creating a deaf generation?

The smartphone as we understand it today is a creation only ten years in the making, but over that decade it rapidly reached a critical saturation point. For many consumers, a phone is their primary media consumption tool, and these pocket computers can supply uninterrupted entertainment all day, with little need for a break.

At the same time, we are starting to see some disturbing emerging trends in health and etiquette. One trend to watch, increasing numbers of teens and young adults experiencing significant hearing loss.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Alison Grimes, director of Audiology and Newborn Hearing at UCLA, to discuss some of the misconceptions surrounding hearing loss, the current state of research as to what might be causing this damage, and to ask for her best practices in protecting your hearing.

Continue reading “#SGGQA 032: Smartphones And Hearing Loss – Interview With Dr Alison Grimes Audiologist At UCLA”

May 5, 2015

Glucose Monitoring App Coming to Android Wear for Diabetics Using Dexcom Monitors

This is a perfect example of where we can start pushing the boundaries on consumer wearable technology.

Dexcom makes medical equipment to help manage diabetes. Patients were a small sensor, plugged into their skin, which continuously monitors their blood sugar. This is a far more convenient and accurate way to get a sense of trends and to manage health than solely relying on individual blood tests on strips.

Of course there’s always room for improvement. Dexcom’s CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) sends a Bluetooth signal to a little standalone unit, which is another little gadget to keep track of and charge. What if we could send that monitoring info to consumer devices like phones or watches to get near real-time data?

Dexcom has brought an official app to the Apple Watch which displays info and graphs, but using the same general connection protocols, a developer is working on the same connection for Android Wear watches. Unofficial Apps xDrip and NightWatch pull the info from the Dexcom unit and send it to an Android Wear watch.

Once connected, users can get updates every five minutes with their blood sugar and can see daily trends displayed as a graph.

You can check out the XDrip and NightWatch projects via Stephen Black’s page on GitHub for more info.

September 9, 2013

Bionic Vision Australia performs 1st successful implant of prototype artificial eye.

SCIENCE!

I hate to say it, but someday, probably within my lifetime, this will be an elective surgery and I’m TOTALLY on board.

Researchers at Bionic Vision Australia have implanted a prototype “Pre-Bionic” in a patient who suffered severe vision loss due to retinitis pigmentosa. Using a device implanted behind the retina connected to a series of 24 electrodes, this first unit is capable of generating pulses of light. This is a crucial first step in understanding how our “wetware” might interface with our current hardware.

Future bionic eyes will incorporate more electrodes which should result in higher quality information being fed to the brain. We’re cresting that push into true cyborg territory, and I love it!

(via Scientific Wizard)