Artist's Cyborg Implant Translates Color into Sound
Image copyright Neil Harbisson

 In 2004, in response to his achromatopsia, a rare condition that only allows him to see in black and white, artist Neil Harbisson developed the eyeborg, a device mounted on his body that allows him to effectively “see” color by translating color into sound. The eyeborg features a head-mounted antenna that picks up colors and translates them into corresponding sound frequencies based on the wavelengths of the light.

In the eight years since first creating the device, Harbisson has worn his eyeborg constantly (his official ID even features a picture of him wearing it). And last month at TEDGlobal he...
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July 10th, 2012
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Is Medical Device Data a Civil Right?

Hugo Campos.

Photo credit: Laura A. Oda, San Jose Mercury News

Guitar in hand, Hugo Campos launches into a variation of the classic protest song “It Isn't Nice” by Malvina Reynolds. Not a professional singer, his voice is nonetheless calm, not self-effacing, “That's not right / I've told you twice / It isn't nice, it isn't nice...”

But Hugo is talking about the usual civil rights issue. He's talking about access (actually the lack of) when it comes to data in his implanted medical device. A few years ago, Campos was given an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), in response to a genetic heart defect. The device is able to wirelessly transmit...
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June 4th, 2012
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This Week in Electronics: Device Tax Repeal Effort Leaps Forward; NBA Star Backs Medtech

Effort to Repeal Device Tax Leaps Forward

The House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday became the first congressional panel to sign off on Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen’s top legislative priority, a bill to do away with an Affordable Care Act tax on sales of complicated medical devices set to take affect next year.

Minn Post

Former NBA Star Backs Device Industry

[Bill] Walton, who's a paid spokesman for NuVasive's "Better Way Back" program, was the keynote speaker at the Medical Device Manufacturers Assn.'s annual meeting, which began [May 31] in Washington, D.C.

...

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June 1st, 2012
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Liquidmetal Shows Promise as Material for Medical Electronics

Liquidmetal generated a lot of buzz when word leaked that it might be featured in a new version of the iPhone, but the material has applications beyond consumer electronics. Stronger than titanium and lighter than steel, it's already being used in two medical electronics devices that have made it to market.

Liquidmetal, an amorphous liquid metal alloy first discovered at the California Institute of Technology in the 1990s, is used as the housing for two products made by Biolase Technology (Irvine, CA), the ezlase Diode Dental Laser System and iLase, a handheld pen laser for dental procedures. Matt Duncan, president and...

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May 29th, 2012
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Returning Healthcare Data to the Sender, the Patient

Earlier this month, The Health Care Blog featured a piece titled “Will Regina Holliday Become Health Care’s Rosa Parks?” Like the famed civil rights activist, Holliday is also an advocate for freedom and rights. The details, however, differ considerably as Holliday is a patient-rights arts advocate behind “The Walking Gallery,” a series of paintings on suit jackets and blazers that are on display at health meetings across the world—now on five continents. Holliday became a patient advocate since the loss of her husband Fred Holliday II to cancer in 2009.

...

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May 23rd, 2012
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This Week in Electronics: Facebook as a Model for Medicine; Rethinking Pediatric X-Rays

Facebook as a Model for Medicine

Think about it for a second: a single tech company, launched in 2004, is worth more than most makers of medicine. More than that, this single company has done as much to create very rich people as, basically, the entire medical device and drug industry.

Forbes

Medical Devices and Homeland Security

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning about the role of medical devices in compromising IT networks and patient data.

In its alert "Attack Surface: Healthcare and Public Health Sector," issued on May 4, DHS says medical devices that connect to IT networks may pose a threat to...

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May 18th, 2012
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This Week in Electronics: Prescriptions for Apps; mHealth Gaining Steam

Happtique Lets Doctors Prescribe Apps

Happtique, a mobile health app store aimed at healthcare professionals, will launch a trial of mRx, which it touts as the first program to enable physicians to prescribe mHealth apps to patients.

Happtique officials say more physician-to-patient services will improve compliance and health outcomes, and that Happtique's patent-pending technology will help physicians in all specialties to prescribe apps to patients.

Healthcare IT News

iClickCare App Gets Nod of Approval from Steve Wozniak

At the American Telemedicine Association’s annual meeting in California on May 1, keynote speaker...

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May 11th, 2012
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How Much Money Do Medical Electronics Engineers Make?

Even if you got into the business of medical electronics design because you love the work, you have to wonder if that electrical engineering degree you got is paying off financially. Statistics recently released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics may provide an indication.

Of the top 10 highest-paying engineering jobs in the industry, electronics engineers and electrical engineers fell right in the middle, at No. 5 and No. 6 respectively. Both jobs earned an average annual wage of more than $85,000 per year—about $10,000 less than the highest paying engineers (materials engineers) and around $11,000 more than the average for all engineering jobs in the industry.

Here's the complete list:

...
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May 10th, 2012
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This Week in Electronics: Waiting for a Highly Successful mHealth App; Implantable User Interfaces for Medical Devices

Why There Hasn't Been a Homerun mHealth App

The mobile health movement has generated huge buzz over the last several years with its promise of bringing better, more personalized care at a cheaper cost to a wider number of engaged consumers. So it’s only natural to wonder if and when mHealth will give birth to its own Instagram. It hasn’t happened yet but it’s “a virtual certainty” that it will, said Rick Valencia, vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Life and a 25-year technology veteran.
Medcity News

FDA Needs Tracking System

Right now, the FDA depends mostly on voluntary...

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May 4th, 2012
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Facebook Dabbles in Health and Wellness with Organ Donor Status Update

On the heels of Google’s Project Glass, Facebook is the latest Internet giant to debut a feature that could have an impact on healthcare. The company announced May 1 that users of the social networking site can now share their organ donor status via their profiles.

Facebook users can add their organ donor status, including where and when they registered, to their Timeline, the site’s chronological user interface. Those who aren’t yet donors can follow a link to sign up with the appropriate registry.

The site also offers other options for sharing health and wellness lifestyle events with followers. There are...

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May 3rd, 2012
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