mip's scan

$6 Million Dollar Man, Here We Come?

When I was a kid, I loved watching the Six Million Dollar Man.  I always wondered how I could get a good bionic arm like Steve Austin.  It's that childhood interest and my exploration in robotics that made this article an interesting read for me.

Scientists at Pittsburgh University have create a robotic arm that can be controlled via thought. 

...monkeys had tiny probes inserted into their brains and had their limbs restrained - but were then able to manipulate the robotic arm...

Quite amazing that the monkeys were able to control the arm to do things like feed themselves.  Imagine how amazing this would be for people who have lost a limb or the use of their limbs?  To read the complete article, click here.

Humbled by Nature

I've sat a few times at my PC wondering if I should write anything here about this terrible disaster that has occured, with such an unimaginable lose of life.  At the present time of writing, they are saying that 116,000 people have lost their lives due to the Tsunami that occured.  The event has nothing to do with technology and really doesn't belong here in mip's scan, but it dawned on me that nature often does remind us that no matter how advanced we become as a society, no matter how much technology we have at our disposal, unforseen acts of nature can easily overcome us.  It is a humbling feeling.

Additionally, out of this terrible occurance, another of natures amazing aspects reveals itself.  I read an interesting observation in Wired magazine

Sri Lankan wildlife officials have said the giant waves that killed over 24,000 people along the Indian Ocean island's coast seemingly missed wild beasts, with no dead animals found.

"No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit," said H.D. Ratnayake, deputy director of Sri Lanka's Wildlife Department. "I think animals can sense disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening."

It would seem that our fellow earthly inhabitants have achieved something that our technology has not.  My thoughts and prayers go out to all who have suffered in this sad time.

Video Games and Surgery

I'd written in July a post title Cancer Fighting Video Game that was about how a video game was used to educate children about cancer.  I'd had a number of parents who'd emailed me after that as they'd found the info useful and their children had found the game to be both entertaining and informative.

So I thought I'd post this evening about another video game story and children awaiting surgery.   I read the article on CNN and it provided some pretty interesting (although not surprising I guess) info on a limited study that was done.

Letting children play video games on a Game Boy in the operating room before undergoing surgery can help relax them better than tranquilizers or holding Mommy's hand, researchers say.

Mouse Alternatives

A friend of mine telephoned the other day to ask me a question about mouse alternatives. He's got an elderly family member who has Parkinson's which is making using the mouse on her computer difficult. He was hoping for some suggestions that might allow her to continue to use the computer more comfortably, so I set out to see what I could come up with.

Capsule Endoscope

We hear so often how technology and the minituration of technology will continue to bring tremendous advances to medicine. The whole area of nanotechnology is quite fascinating to me. So I thought I'd post some details / thoughts around this rather interesting medical invention that is currently in use (to date its been used by 100,000 people world wide). From the website of Given Imaging they describe their latest technology, the M2A, as follows:

Given Diagnostic System is a first-line tool in the detection of abnormalities of the small bowel. To date over 100,000 patients worldwide have swallowed the M2A and experienced the advantages of Capsule Endoscopy.

M2A Capsule Endoscopy has already been utilized to diagnose diseases of the small intestine including Crohn's Disease, Celiac disease and other malabsorption disorders, benign and malignant tumors of the small intestine, vascular disorders and medication related small bowel injury.

So what is it exactly? Its a small capsule that looks a bit bigger than a Tylenol. You swallow it and inside is a small camera and flash that is snapping pictures of your inards. This continues for 8 hours and the photos/video/data are transmitted back to a device you wear around your waist. It is meant to replace the intrusive procedures that exist today and I would think that because it is so much less intrusive than techniques used today, it could prompt people to seek out their doctor and have tests done earlier than in the past. As technology like this continues to come into effect and evolve I think that we'll see more and more of this type of near-real-time monitoring of our health.

So this is a all great but its probably not available to us in Canada yet right? Wrong. I used the physician locator form on the web site and was sent a prompt email with the following locations close to where I live.

Ste. Justine Hospital (Pediatrics Only) - Montreal, QC Contact: Dr. Ana Sant Anna (514-345-4931 x3566)

St. Michael's Hospital - Toronto, ON
Contact: Dr. Rima Petroniene (416-864-5388)

Digestive Health Clinic, Inc. - Thornhill, ON L3T 2C6
Contact: Dr. Par Nijhawan (905-731-9311)

McMaster University - Hamilton, ON M4M 5K3
Contact: David Armstrong, M.D. (905-521-2100, ext. 76404)

F. T. Bray, M.D. - Ottawa, ON K2G 1W2
Contact: Endoscopy Clinic (613-823-0901)
Website: www.drftbray.com

The Beresford Clinic c/o The Trillium Hlth Ctr Retail Mall - Ontario,
ON L5B 1B8
Contact: Dr. Robert Clark / Dr. Elaine Chin (905-848-7979)

So the future continues (as always) to be closer than we think as this non-invasive technology for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal (GI) tract disorders is a perfect example of that.