Erick Peralta's Blog

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Invention Awards 2014: Seal Combat Wounds in 15 Seconds

When bullets or shrapnel strike a soldier, standard first aid calls for stuffing gauze as deep as five inches into a wound and applying pressure. If bleeding hasn't stopped after three minutes, the old gauze is pulled out---and the new gauze shoved in.
There's room for improvement. Military doctors estimate that, during the most violent years of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, blood loss killed about 90 percent of the wounded that might have otherwise survived with better emergency care. To save more lives, a group of veterans, scientists, and engineers known as RevMedx has created a pocket-sized device called XStat: a faster, more effective way to plug wounds. The polycarbonate syringe slides deep into a wound, such as a bullet track. When a user pushes down on the handle, it deposits dozens of pill-size sponges that expand to stem bleeding. Meanwhile, a substance in the sponge fights infection while clotting blood.
http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/invention-awards-2014-seal-combat-wounds-15-seconds?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=1&con=invention-awards-2014-seal-combat-wounds-in-15-seconds

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:

http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/pacemaker-powered-heartbeats?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=1&con=a-pacemaker-powered-by-heartbeats

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

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

Elephant Trunk Robot Learns like a Child

Four years ago, German engineering firm Festo came up with a concept for a robotic arm. Somewhere between an iron snake, a mechanical claw, and a sci-fi tentacle, the Bionic Handling Assistant is functionally most similar to an elephant's trunk.
But what should a robot arm grab? For inspiration about learning what to do with hands, the scientists turned to babies. The arm remembers movements that have been guided by a researcher, much like how a baby grabbing onto a parent's finger will let his arm be moved when the adult moves. The programming behind the robotic trunk teaches it to remember positions that worked for grabbing.
http://www.popsci.com/article/science/elephant-trunk-robot-learns-child?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=6&con=elephant-trunk-robot-learns-like-a-child

How it Works: An Electronic Cigarette (Are They Safe?)

Since electronic cigarettes hit the market in 2007, yearly sales have reached $1 billion in the U.S. Although they're popular, it's still unclear how safe they are. Last year, a study from an international group of scientists showed that the toxins in e-cigarette vapor are 9 to 450 times lower than in tobacco smoke. The Food and Drug Administration is still determining its regulatory stance. It's sponsoring more research while sorting out its position.
Labled Parts: A. LED, B. Sensor, C. Battery, D. Heating Element, E. Nicotine Liquid, F. Mouthpiece.
http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/how-it-works-electronic-cigarette?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=8&con=how-it-works-an-electronic-cigarette

Slug-Inspired Glue Can Heal a Broken Heart

When it comes to mending a broken heart, researchers say they may have found the key. And it comes in the form of a slug-inspired glue. Most heart defects today are fixed via surgeries that involve stitches or staples, but these sutures can do damage to the heart's fragile tissue, especially because the heart still has to stretch and strain to pump blood as it heals. And while surgical glues do exist, they are mean to close up skin wounds---some are toxic while others simply can't stick to a wet, beating heart.
The slug-inspired glue could lead to less-invasive surgeries and faster healing times, which is good news for the 40,000 babies born with congenital heart defects in the U.S. each year. The researchers say it could be used on other slippery moving parts like the intestines, as well as emergency surgeries where quick sutures are necessary to take care of trauma.
The paper, published in Science Translational Medicine, suggest this stuff could be ready to roll out to market in two to three years, assuming long-term trials and human testing prove successful.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2014/01/09/slug-inspired-glue-can-heal-a-broken-heart/#.UyIiYvldUpY