04/25/2014 Weekly Tech Article

A Pacemaker Powered by Heartbeats

• A pacemaker's battery needs to be swapped out about every five to eight years, requiring surgery. Engineers are now working on a device that converts the mechanical energy of a beating heart into electrical energy and could last indefinitely. A prototype tested in farm animals has generated a microwatt of power, enough to keep a pacemaker going.
• The Parts:
• A) Flexible polymer holds system in place.
• B) Piezoelectric ribbons harvest energy.
• C) Rectifier switches current.
• D) Microbattery stores energy.
• E) Leads connect battery to pacemaker.
• F) Pacemaker controls heart rhythm.
• http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/pacemaker-powered-heartbeats?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=1&con=a-pacemaker-powered-by-heartbeats

04/11/2014 Weekly Tech Article

How it Works: Surgical Snakebot

• Surgery has always been synonymous with incisions. But the new snake-inspired Flex System from Medrobotics could reduce bloodshed and hasten healing by traveling through a convenient (if unsettling) alternative: a natural orifice, such as the mouth.
• During a Flex procedure, the surgeon stands or sits within arm's reach of the patient and a video console, and alternates between steering the robot with a joystick and manually operating the instruments threaded through its tip. Since the bot curves and pivots to maneuver around tissue and organs, Medrobotics claims it's more versatile than laparoscopy, which often requires multiple punctures to insert a camera and tools.
• The company is now submitting Flex for approval in the United States and Europe for head and neck procedures, such as the removal of throat tumors. But the snakebot's ultimate destination is the abdomen, via a small incision---or a private orifice. It's an approach that, while distressing to imagine, could revolutionize surgery.
• http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/how-it-works-surgical-snakebot?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=6&con=how-it-works-surgical-snakebot

04/04/2014 Weekly Tech Article

A Telescope That Finds Stars For You

• For non-astronomers, stargazing may seem simple: Just plop down a scope, and peer toward the heavens. It's usually not quite that easy. Scopes can be tricky to set up and celestial objects elusive. The Celestron Cosmos 90 GT uses a Wi-Fi connection with a smartphone to do the hard work for you. To align it, users point it at any three bright objects in the sky; the scope uses them to triangulate its precise location. Through an app, users then select the celestial body they want to see from Celestron's 120,000-entry database. Motors in the base position the scope in seconds.
• http://www.popsci.com/article/gadgets/telescope-finds-stars-you?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=3&con=a-telescope-that-finds-stars-for-you