Either way, the Aria set tracks weight, percentage body fat and calculates BMI, meshing those results with the feedback from the Fitbit dongle. That way, the company reckons, you can see which elements of your exercise regime are really working. It can also feed into a food planner, with users logging their diet and getting suggestions on calorie consumption.

An iPhone app allows you to track your progress while on the move, and all eight users of the scales have private accounts so that you can’t see how much everyone else weighs. User identification is based on weight, so it might not work if you’ve suddenly lost or gained a huge amount, or live with people who all weigh the same.

The Fitbit Aria scales will go on sale in late April 2011, priced at $129.95. They’re available to pre-order now.

What this band represents is the simplest way to get the beats of your body, it able to connect to your profile through mybasis.com and update you on how your body is working out. This Web dashboard is updated by data you feed to it through the microUSB port on the side of the face of the band. The whole thing is also waterpoof for you sweaters out there.

You’ve got an accelerometer, Galvanic Skin Response sensors to track perspiration and body temperature, and your ambient temperature as well. You’ve got a lot of running to do, in other words, and uploading your worst days might just be more fun now than uploading your best – have at it! We’ve got photos of the device here as well as hands-on video incoming soon – stay tuned!

The scientists, based at the San Antonio Military Medical Center in Texas, opted for women who had previously experienced breast cancer as using groups of women merely believed to have some likelihood of developing the disease would have prolonged the study across several years. Testing is still pre-third stage – that is, broad clinical trials – and the experts are cautious of over-blowing the potential, but early signs are impressive.

E-75 works by using the patient’s own immune system to battle cancer, training it to be familiar with a common protein found on cancerous cells. The immune system, when tutored in that way, can identify and destroy the cells. Whereas 20-percent of women in the control group – given no medication – subsequently developed cancer again, only 10-percent of those taking E-75 suffered a recurrence.

In comparison to existing breast cancer drug Herceptin - an expensive medication prescribed to late-stage patients – E-75 apparently worked for far more women in the trial. Herceptin is effective in roughly 20-percent of cases, E-75 project chief Col. George Peoples says, whereas the new drug was compatible with roughly 60-percent.

Third-stage trials will begin early this year, with the army team partnering with Galena Biopharma on a 300 patient project conducted across twenty sites worldwide. The belief is that NeuVax will prove even more effective if administered in combination with Herceptin.

GPUs were originally found in desktop PCs, but have since moved on to use in mobile phones and video game consoles. Their popularity rose partly because of their efficiency in handling an intense amount of sequencing data in a timely manner. This, coupled with their very low cost, makes them a great processor over standard CPUs. The result BGI saw from the heavy reliance of a GPU was huge, but where do geneticists go from here?

Geneticists are still unraveling the finer details of the human genome. Although scientists are now able to retrieve the data at a quicker rate, they are still unsure what to do with it, according to Kevin Davies, editor-in-chief of Bio-IT World. The human genome is so dynamic with many varieties, that it takes researchers a great deal of time to determine which variety is medically significant. However, this is definitely a stepping stone of what is to come in the medical field.

[via Wired]

Hardware

A 14 x 14 x 2.5 cm white plastic box, the goLITE BLU is fronted by a pair of panels: a sizable blue LED array on top, and a smaller, blue-backlit touchscreen underneath showing time, light settings and battery status. The only physical control is a power button on the right side; on the left is a socket for the included AC power adapter. Philips also throws in a set of international plug adapters.

A notch on the lower rear panel holds a metal rod, which can be slotted into a hole to prop the goLITE BLU up. Magnets keep the rod in place in both, and there’s a faux-leather slip case for transporting the whole thing. Unfortunately there’s only one possible angle at which you can stand the light unit at, rather than an adjustable base.

Setup is straightforward. Tapping the bell button sets the alarm, using the plus and minus buttons to adjust the time; the stopwatch icon sets the length of time the light is on for. Alarms can be either an audible tone or the LED lights, or a combination of both, while anything from 1 minute to an hour – in minute increments – can be set as the duration.

As well as waking up to light, you can trigger an impromptu session manually. Pressing the power button once turns on the touchscreen, and a second press turns on the LEDs; you can adjust the intensity – in 25-percent increments – and the length of time the goLITE BLU is on for. A temporary pause in a session can be added by pressing the power button briefly, or turning the intensity down to zero, though if you leave it paused and running on battery power for over five minutes, the goLITE BLU will automatically power off.

Performance

Philips recommends 15 to 30 minutes of time in front of the light each day, initially starting off at 50-percent brightness and increasing if you don’t notice a difference after a week. Rather than sitting directly in front of the LEDs, basking in their glow as you might a tanning lamp, Philips advises putting it off to one side so that it shines tangentially onto your face. That, along with the limited angle options from the stand, can make finding the best position tricky, though it’s easier if you’re working at a desk at the time.

Instant results aren’t promised, but the idea is that if you invest several weeks you can gain more energy, alleviate your mood or even help bypass jetlag. Using the goLITE BLU in the morning, when you first wake up, is supposed to make it easier to get out of bed, while a quick session in the middle of the day can, so Philips says, top up your energy levels when you more normally might be flagging.

By using the goLITE BLU for a few days before you travel, you can help your body clock reset itself to the new timezone at your destination: a few morning sessions when traveling east, or a few evening sessions when going west. Normally, though, Philips doesn’t recommend using light therapy in the evening, because of its body-clock tweaking tendencies.

Does it work? That’s a tricky one to judge: unlike, say, a smartphone battery test or laptop benchmarking, there’s no way to conclusively say whether the goLITE BLU is working or not. All we can go on is my personal experience with the light.

After a week or so of use – running the Philips light for 15 minutes in the mid-morning each day – I felt more alert and found myself working continuously for longer periods without realizing it. It’s not like the jolt of energy you get after a strong cup of coffee: instead, I simply felt more balanced and less aware of time passing. Following a 7-10 days of use, I could scale down to using the goLITE BLU every other day, and still feel suitably perky.

Philips rates the goLITE BLU’s battery as good for between three and five sessions. In practice, at 15 minutes each time, I found it was capable of as many as eight.

Wrap-Up

With street pricing at around $132/£190, the Philips goLITE BLU is an expensive buy if you find it doesn’t work for you. Philips does offer a 30-day guarantee just in case, mind, and has plenty of research to say it will have an impact.

Waking up with the goLITE BLU proved somewhat jarring – imagine throwing open the curtains as soon as your alarm goes off, on an incredibly bright day – but as a daily top-up to your energy levels I had a good experience. You pay for the convenience of an alarm, portable form-factor and a rechargeable battery, though.

Hardware

Electric toothbrush technology usually falls into one of two camps: either you have actively wiggling, sliding or rotating bristles, or some sort of high-speed vibration. Philips’ Sonicare system falls into the latter category, promising the equivalent of 31,000 brush strokes per minute with its patented diamond-shaped bristles.

It’s worth noting that this is the UK version of the DiamondClean, and the US package may differ slightly. Still, both give you a decent range of accessories, certainly more than we’re used to seeing from a regular toothbrush. The DiamondClean itself is a fairly long, slightly tapering matte white rod, with a single power button and – only revealed when it’s turned on – a column of mode lights and a battery status indicator. It’s easily held and weighted relatively evenly along its length. Philips throws in a pair of brush-heads, which slot on easily, along with a hard-sided carry case with room for the toothbrush and both brush-heads.

The carry case isn’t just for protection, however, it also recharges the DiamondClean. On the outside edge is a mini USB port, and when you place the toothbrush inside and plug in – either via the included USB AC adapter, or into one of your your computer’s USB ports – it charges it up. However, there’s also a second charging option: a water glass. That sits on top of an inductive charger puck – powered by a regular shaver plug – and rejuices the toothbrush when you stand it up inside. It’s certainly a little more convenient than lining up the usual notched base on a typical rechargeable toothbrush, though those looking to pick up a DiamondClean for all the family should note that you can only use the glass with a single toothbrush at a time, and it won’t work with previous Sonicare models.

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean hands-on:

Unlike most brushes, there are five modes to choose from on the DiamondClean. The default is “Clean” with a simple two-minute brush, while “White” adds an extra thirty seconds on top for you to give the front teeth some extra attention. “Polish” is a minute session of intensive front-teeth buffing, while “Gum Care” pairs the “Clean” experience with a further minute of gentler gum massage. Finally, “Sensitive” ramps down the enthusiasm of the Sonicare system for those with sensitive teeth and gums. Pressing the power button cycles through each mode in turn, then shuts the toothbrush off.

Performance

If you’ve not used a sonic-style toothbrush before, the DiamondClean’s high-speed vibrations take a little getting used to. Nonetheless, we soon got into the habit of gently guiding the brush-head around our teeth and gums, relying on the Philips’ useful 30-second interval buzz to remind us to move between the four quadrants of our mouth and stick at it for the dentist-recommended two minutes.

In keeping with other electric toothbrushes, we’d like to see the DiamondClean continue to run beyond the last timer buzz: as it stands, the Philips shuts off straight away, and there were times we were caught short and would’ve liked to have carried on brushing for a little longer. The longer Gum Care mode does factor in some extra time, however. We also quickly learned to switch between modes while the brush-head was in our mouth, otherwise you give the bathroom mirror a good toothpaste spattering. Previous Sonicare models had two buttons – one for choosing mode, one to start – which is a tidier way of handling it.

Compared to an Oral-B electric brush, the Sonicare system did seem to get teeth to that “tingly fresh” stage more consistently. It’s worth noting that the Oral-B we’re used to was a sixth of the price, however. The diamond-shaped bristles proved adept at getting into the gaps between teeth, and tricky to reach back teeth felt cleaner after the DiamondClean than with a rotating-head electric brush.

In comparison to a manual toothbrush, there’s little competition: unless you have a bionic arm you’re unlikely to get a traditional brush moving fast enough to compete with the Philips.

Battery

A full charge of the non-user-accessible battery is good for up to three weeks, Philips suggests, a figure our testing would support. In fact, we were at closer to four weeks before the DiamondClean began protesting. We’d like to have seen a segmented battery icon to give a more granular indication of remaining charge; instead, you have to wait for it to turn orange and then start blinking to know you’re running short.

Having two methods of recharging is neat, though we never envisaged ever having to scold a toothbrush manufacturer for opting for mini USB instead of the more common micro USB standard. There’s also no room in the carry case for the USB cable itself, which seems a missed opportunity.

Price

$300/£250 is a huge amount to spend on a toothbrush. Even with a street price closer to $190/£150, it’s an expensive option. Brush-heads add to that as well, with a pack of two – Philips’ recommend changing every three months – priced at $30/£20 (street price closer to $23/£14). In contrast, other Philips Sonicare brushes can be had for well under $100, though only this particular model uses the newest DiamondClean heads that are said to contribute in no small amount to the overall experience.

Wrap-Up

Philips promises “to brighten your smile in just one week” which is a somewhat tricky thing to judge. Nonetheless, we found our teeth and mouth felt cleaner and fresher after switching to the DiamondClean from our regular electric toothbrush, both immediately after using it and in the hours that followed. Whiteness is a more subjective matter, and after around four weeks of use we’re yet to see noticeable changes. That’s in keeping with other user reports, however, that indicate closer to 2-3 months of frequent use is required before a distinguishable change in whiteness is observed.

On that front, although it’s not as quick as a dentist whitening session, it’s cheaper in the longer term. Making more use of the dedicated whitening mode could accelerate the process as well. For convenience and geek-appeal, the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean certainly has its strengths; we’d advise shopping around for the best price before committing, however.

Since that official launch, there have been some issues with the UP wristband that have some owners complaining. Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman has posted up a letter to all users of the UP bracelet to apologize for the performance issues that are keeping many people from using the device as it was intended. According to Rahman, the issue with the UP devices has been pinpointed to a pair of capacitors inside the band for the power system that are failing.

The issue with the band generally surfaces in the first 7-10 days of use according to the maker. Jawbone is taking it on the chin and is offering any UP buyer a full refund with no questions asked. They will even allow you to keep the UP bracelet and still get your money back. I would wager that a new version would be made and offered for sale. The question is will buyers still be interested after the issues that have plagued the current system.

The water-resistant band has a rechargeable battery good for up to ten days use, along with motion sensors and a vibration motor similar to what you’d find in your cellphone. Jawbone splits the functionality into three parts: first, exercise tracking, combining data from the UP wristband and the app to show where you’ve gone via GPS, how fast you got there, and how hard a workout it all was.

Then there’s sleep, with UP tracking how many hours you slept, whether you were in deep or light sleep, how much time you spent awake, and what the overall sleep quality was. Learning from that data, UP can subsequently wake you up – with a vibration rather than a blaring alarm – at what Jawbone says is the optimum time in your sleep cycle.

Finally, there’s eating smarter, using your iPhone’s camera and the UP app to track your meals and – after answering questions about how each meal makes you feel – pulling out the patterns of which foods leave you happy and which just make you bloated, miserable and apathetic. Jawbone leverages social challenges to spur you on to better behavior in all three categories.

Three sizes will be offered, along with seven different colors - Dark Black, Dark Brown, Dark Red, Bright White, Bright Silver, Bright Red and Bright Blue – to hopefully match your Lycra shorts.

The miCoach SPEED_CELL is designed to help improve individual performance for athletes in a broad range of sports, including soccer, football, basketball, tennis, and running. It lets each user track their unique stats such as average speed, maximum speed, number of sprints, distance at high intensity levels, steps, and strides during play. Up to seven hours of data can be stored onboard the SPEED_CELL to be wirelessly transferred later to a smartphone, tablet, or PC.

The device fits in a specially designed cavity in the outsole of compatible Adidas footwear. The company intends to introduce a full range of compatible sneakers for basketball, football, and tennis starting later this year through 2012. The device itself will cost $69.99 and will launch with a series of apps, starting with miCoach Soccer and miCoach Running, on December 1.

[via Engadget]

This spray is amazing, comes in several lovely colors, and is both without odor and without taste. Food Finish is what it’s called, and it was developed by a group called The Deli Garage in collaboration with a small food factory that generally specializes in high-quality fine pastries with otherwise also-odd food colorings. And before you ask – yes, more than likely if you spray this stuff on a wall, it’ll wash off if you lick it. But don’t quote me on that. The Snozberries taste like Snozberries.

Right this minute there are four colors, each of them sort of chrome-like, red and blue, then the obvious gold and silver. Right this minute you can pick up a single can for approximately $34 USD plus whatever shipping ends up being. Of course, again, they’re only available in parts of Europe, and again, you can’t get them shipped to the USA. Also I’ve been told by a close associate of mine that we don’t know everything there is to know yet about regular food coloring and dyes, so I wouldn’t truly recommend using these sprays without taking them to the science labs first.

[via TrendLand]

Doctors will inject anything from 50,000 to 200,000 stem cells into each patient’s eye, using a narrow needle slotted in behind the retina. The process is expected to take roughly an hour and be an outpatient operation. Those behind the trial hope that dying RPE cells – which cause a loss of the rods and cones responsible for vision – will be replaced by the newly injected cells.

The trial is set to begin in December this year, and will run in tandem with a similar study in the US. There, one patient has been treated already, at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. Although those invited to take part are all late-stage dystrophy sufferers, doctors expect the most striking results to be among those caught early in their diagnosis.

The wheelchair works by allowing the user or their caregiver or user to set waypoints around the house. The wheelchair will then automatically navigate to the location, such as a bedroom or kitchen and the sensor will see any obstacles in the way and avoid them. This is a particularly good thing for people that are unable to use their hands and require controls that are used with the mouth like a sip and puff system or a joystick controlled using the tongue.

This would mean that a quadriplegic might be able to simply tell the chair where they need to be in the home and the chair would take them or they could use the standard controls to select a location and then the chair would take them. The only downside I see to the design in the video is that the netbook brain of the system would be vulnerable to spills and bodily fluids that could ruin the netbook and leave the chair inoperable.

[via Gottabemobile]

The toothbrush is crazy fast with 31,000 brush strokes per minute and it has two DiamondClean brush heads. Philips claims that the toothbrush removes 100% more plaque than a normal toothbrush. Philips also claims that you can see improvements in gum health in only two weeks. The toothbrush also whitens teeth and has five modes to choose from.

The battery inside the toothbrush is good for 42 two minute brushings and it has a glowing icon for indicating the battery life. The little display on the brush handle shows the mode you are using and is invisible when the power is off. The toothbrush isn’t cheap at around $220.

As we’ve seen from other such tracking systems, the bracelet itself is a basic collection of sensors – Jawbone isn’t specifying exactly what, but we’re guessing an accelerometer figures prominently – along with a battery inside a waterproof housing. Both pink and blue designs are shown, along with an iOS app for your iPhone.

That app will gobble down all your movement, sleep and nutrition information, and then work with “an open platform” (yet to be specified) to “motivate you with personal and social recommendations and challenges tailored to your goals.” We’ve seen similar systems from Nike with the similarly iOS-dependent Nike+, that aggregates your exercise data into an ongoing log, as well as more complex systems that can measure stress and other factors.

Jawbone says that the UP will launch later in 2011, though hasn’t said exactly when or for how much.

The display is always-on, with a multicolored backlight triggered by the touch-sensitive lamp button. Those colors – and an on-screen chart – would be used to show just how drunk you are and whether you’re safe to drive, operate heavy machinery or text old girlfriends.

There’s no indication that Tokyoflash have any intention of actually manufacturing this particular design, though the company has crowd-sourced demand for potential products before so there’s always a possibility it could jump from drawing board to wrists if interest is high enough. Still, reading a regular Tokyoflash timepiece is difficult enough as it is: if you’re even mildly drunk then you’ll probably realize it straight away when all the blinking LEDs blur into one heaving mass.

The SX-01 doesn’t rely on new technology – NEC Avio have been offering infrared thermography devices for a long time now, supplying kit for airports and seaports during SARS and flu epidemics – but it does promise to make it more affordable. A regular NEC Avio contact-free thermometer costs upward of $6,000; however the Thermo Mirror is expected to come in at around ($1,186) for the entry-level SX-01A.

To achieve that it only measures temperature at a single point – usually the forehead – and uses basic lights to show health: green for the all-clear, red (and an alarm) if you’re burning up. A more advanced version, the SX-01B, will be able to trigger external devices and combine its own measurements with those of external sensors.

That means you can check body weight, lean & fat mass and calculated body mass index (BMI), all from the comfort of your couch. Of course, if you want to do something about those numbers, you’ll have to get up and stop watching television.

Press Release:

Withings and Panasonic Connect Your Body Scale with Your Television

Now, users of the Withings Scale can access their Health Dashboard directly on their Panasonic VIERA Connect™- enabled VIERA® HDTVs

Las Vegas, Nevada – January 6, 2011- CES / North Hall / Booth #3619- Today, what seems like an unlikely pair, your body scale and your television, comes together seamlessly with the partnership between Withings and Panasonic – a leader in high definition and connected TV entertainment — as users of both innovative devices can now access their Withings health dashboard right on their VIERA ConnectTM-enabled VIERA HDTV screen with the touch of a button.

The WiFi Body Scale is a revolutionary product that transforms an ordinary bathroom scale into an automatic weight tracking device for up to 8 people. It wirelessly records a user’s body weight, lean & fat mass, and calculated body mass index (BMI) onto his/her own secure webpage and/or free Withings iPhone application, WiScale. Now, this data dashboard can be easily accessed directly from the VIERA CAST™ menu page.

“Withings is working towards a new era in connected health devices and this partnership is yet another move in that direction, said Co-Founder of Withings Cedric Hutchings. “Making your health data as easily accessible as possible is a key feature of the WiFi Body Scale. Now, you can access all your information via your MAC, PC, mobile device or television.”

Panasonic’s VIERA Connect IPTV feature allows owners of VIERA ConnectTM-enabled 2011 VIERA HDTVs to enjoy internet content directly on their television with the push of a button and without the need for a PC. VIERA Connect offers a robust collection of applications including expanded video streaming, and two-way interactive features from gaming to social networking, and fitness programs.

“We are very excited to have Withings as part of our VIERA Connect IPTV offerings in 2011,” said Panasonic Corporation of North America Vice President Merwan Mereby. “VIERA Connect is taking connected TV to a whole new level of interactivity for consumers to deliver an unprecedented, more robust, two-way interactive set of features such as Withings’ WiFi Body Scale for consumers to interact with directly through their Panasonic VIERA® HDTVs.”

For more information, contact PR representatives below or visit www.withings.com/press.

This gadget is just what it sounds like, a blood pressure system that works with the iPhone. You connect the cuff device to the iPhone charge and sync port and then an app on the iPhone gives you the BP readouts and your pulse. The app can also store the readings to compare over time and share with a doctor for managing your blood pressure.

The app also interfaces with the Withings API that allows it to upload those BP readings to the Microsoft HealthVault or Google Health. The gadget will also work with the iPad or the iPod touch and will sell for $129 with availability set for this month.

The Gaiam Strap-Free Touch Trainer is actually 2mm thinner than any other heart rate monitor on the market and with the soft silicon strap it makes for a comfortable and stylish workout.

The device utilizes ECG technology to liberate you from wearing anything other than the monitor itself, which means that you will no longer have to wear a chest-belt.

To find out your current heart rate, simply place one or two fingers on the lens sensor and your rate will appear onscreen. In addition to reading and reporting your heart rate, the Gaiam also can calculate calories burned, and has clock, calendar, and alarm functions.

You can pick up your own Gaiam Strap-Free Touch Trainer for $99.99.

Video demo after the cut

It’ll also apparently work with other iOS devices, like the iPod touch and iPad, though obviously not work as a case. The reading isn’t as comprehensive as a full 12-lead electrocardiogram, but is enough to monitor for arrhythmias or other heart pattern issues.

The iPhonECG is expected to debut at CES 2011 next week; no word on when it will actually go on sale, however.

[via OhGizmo!]

Whether or not gaming really does cause children to become violent, adults to withdraw from society, and gamers in general to lose sight of their physical needs is decidedly up for debate, and there are compelling arguments made on either side. The fight between the two parties has been going on for years, and I don’t plan to rehash them here.

But I do want to get into what gaming does for me.

In my daily life, I’ve found that finding time to play a video game for at least a half hour each night helps me keep some balance between work and life. It gives me some time to decompress after a long day. And it provides me with a level of entertainment that I don’t necessarily enjoy during other parts of the day.

And I suppose I should say, for the record, that gaming didn’t make me violent as a child, I haven’t withdrawn from society, and I think I’m in relatively good physical condition.

Gaming makes me feel like a more balanced person. It provides me with that time each day to just, well, relax. And as many of us know all too well, we need more of that in our lives.

Now, I realize that people find relaxation in other entertaining exploits, like reading a book, exercising, watching a movie, or having a hobby. And among gaming critics, those actions are considered more valuable.

But as much as those critics might disagree, I’m a firm believer that gaming really does provide some value in peoples’ lives. And to say that it doesn’t, or to denigrate the impact it can have on helping to build a more well-rounded life for people is, at least in my opinion, a great disservice.

As far as I’m concerned, there is simply no reason to believe that gaming isn’t as valid as other tools used to help keep people happy.

So, although everyone has their own way of achieving a comfortable level of work-life balance, I think I’ve found mine through video games. Say what you will about the industry, the stories, or the way in which people play video games, but when it’s all said and done, gaming serves an important purpose in my life. And like many others, I’m happy about that.

But that’s just me. Do you find time for gaming in your life? Let me know in the comments below.

The self-sterilizing door handle was designed by Choi Bomi, and the design won a Red Dot Design Concept award. It’s a pretty simple, straight-forward idea. Door handles are dirty, so we need a way to make sure that they’re clean. Using UV lights, When the door handle is not being used, the UV lamps turn on, and start sterilizing the handle while it’s not being used. As soon as someone touches it, and turns it, then the UV lamps turn off. So, when the handle returns to its resting position, the lamps turn back on, and start killing bacteria and germs. A great idea, to say the least — so let’s hope it actually happens.

[via Yanko Design]

So you’ve got your Urban Camouflage Vending Machine Costumes, your Technology Dispensers, and your Mix on the Spot Froobee machines, but do you have a “H.U.M.A.N.” machine? It stands for Helping Unite Man and Nutrition and it aims to do just that, in a friendly yet somehow pushy branded machine!

How does it reduce your energy usage? Features like LED lighting, triple paned glass, a more efficient cooling system than your average machine, and yes, it helps you workers too. With a much healthier menu with things like granola bars and healthy juices, with an emphasis on local produce.

What could be better than this? Probably the Pizza Vending Machine. Probably that would win in a fight, if there were a vending machine battle. Pizza machine forever.

[Via Good Clean Tech]

This video game Trainer is a Humana bankrolled and branded videogame. Last month it received a $20,000 grand prize in an Apps for Healthy Kids Competition, and at homepage for the USDA, Humana is praised for “generously provid[ing] a gift to fund the development of the [Trainer] game…that will help children and their families live healthier, happier lives. No child is alone on the road to better health.” Truly kind words from a group that I must believe doesn’t know the connection between the lack of coverage and push for the game.

[Via TechDirt]

According to a new article published today by Swiss researchers Andreas Arnold and Peter Itin, which was published in the journal Pediatrics, the Toasted Skin Syndrome is a real thing, and it is dangerous. In one particular case, a 12-year-old boy actually developed a skin condition that looked like a sponge-pattern. The discoloration was a result from the boy playing computer games for several hours every day over the course of several months.

The researchers point out that the syndrome is harmless for the most part, but it is possible to cause permanent skin damage. Furthermore, in very rare cases, it can have damage leading to skin cancer. Back in 2007, there had been 10 cases of laptop-related incidents of dermatosis reported for the last six years. The main takeaway would be not to put your laptop on your lap for too long, and if you need to, put something between the laptop and your legs.

[via CNET]

According to MIT, Poh managed to make his camera “learn” how to study someone’s face, and then measure “slight variations in brightness produced by the flow of blood through blood vessels in the face.” In the design stage, this was the step that caused Poh the most trouble, but as soon as he figured out how to account for variations in lighting and image quality, everything else came together.

And, while it may seem like a gimmick, it isn’t. According to tests, the webcam was able to come to the same results as FDA-approved pieces of technology. It only gets better when Poh reveals that he has only used technology you can find in most homes, and hasn’t been working with some government grants using never before seen tech. The result, of course, is the possibility that this system could easily be installed in homes, or hospitals, or anywhere else for that matter pretty easily.

Poh believes that this new webcam-based system would be a lot more preferable to patients, where putting on sensors may not be the route they want to go. Something as simple as a webcam, put anywhere, could mean that patients all over the world are a lot more comfortable when they go into the doctor’s office. But, Poh believes that this technology could be used to expand on this idea, and even tell when you’re lying about something, or nervous. Check out the video below to see how the webcam would work installed in your normal bathroom mirror.

[via Fast Company]

Much like the other automatic machine, the hair washing robot was specifically created for the healthcare industry, as well as medical workers. The robot is designed with a hand, built with 16 fingers, and two separate arms. These two arms take 3D real-time scans of the patient’s head, and then the 16 fingers wash the scalp. The 3D scan is designed so that the 16 fingers know just how much pressure to apply, and where the skull is. Three separate motors inside the arms control pressure, swing, and the massage motions make everything run seamlessly and in order. And then, to make sure that nothing goes wrong, there are the power detection sensors that run in real-time, double-checking everything as the process takes place.

Perhaps the most curious part of the video, is that the researchers are sticking dummies into these machines, and not actual people. It’s possible that the video was taken during early testing stages, and therefore no one wanted to put a human in there just yet. What do you think? Would you let this 16-fingered robot wash your hair? Check out the video below.

[via CrunchGear]

The hair washing robot was specifically created for the workers at hospitals and other health care facilities. Over the years, it’s become more obvious that nurses and doctors are stretched too thin too often, and the hair washing robot is here to help that. Utilizing a “hand” with 16 fingers to gently massage and clean a person’s scalp, the machine also incorporates two separate arms that take 3D scans of the person’s head, so that the robot knows just how much pressure to apply, and where to clean, based on each person’s individual head size. Each arm is equipped with three separate motors, each of which control the amount of pressure, the massage motions, and swing. There are power detection sensors to double-check everything in real-time. And, to save time, the designers have made sure that the robot can remember skulls.

Panasonic’s Electric Care Assistance Bed, the Electricbed, managed to wrangle in plenty of praise when it was shown off. The bed was created under the flag of a special project, called New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), which is meant to incorporate robots and safety technologies into every day life. This new bed from Panasonic can actually be separated into two parts, and the company managed to simplify the whole design. Removing unnecessary motors and fixtures, while modifying the overall components. The idea is to reduce the risk of moving someone from the wheelchair, to the bed. There are voice warnings and guidance systems, as well as LED indicators, that tell the worker when the bed is able to be separated from the chair.

[via Akihabara News]

I am sure that all parents of new babies have gone through this. A company called Exmovere has announced new product called Exmobaby that will ease these fears for new parents. The product is a garment that the baby wears that uses sensors inside the fabric to remotely monitor the heart rate, emotional state, and behavior of the infant.

The wireless sensors use Zigbee to connect and send the information about the baby to parents via some sort of monitoring system. This is very cool and will let new parents just glance at a monitor to tell that their baby is all right.

Exactly how the Raisin came by that name is a mystery considering from the images it looks nothing like a raisin and the sensor seems to be very large. The sensor can capture data like heart rate, physical activity, body position, and other logged events.

The data can then be sent via Bluetooth to devices like the iPhone or a computer for merging with mHealth applications. The sensor sticks to the skin of the user with an adhesive bandage. Pricing and availability of the Raisin Personal Monitor is unknown.

The ruling also calls for more obvious information on the dangers of hearing loss presented by unduly loud headphone use to be included on PMP packaging.  According to the EU research, five years of high-level volume for just one hour per day could lead to permanent hearing loss; more recent MP3 players, they suggest, are capable of maintaining high quality sound while at louder volumes, and as such users are not discouraged from turning up their PMPs by distortion.

While the vision the implant allows for won’t be as clear as true 20/20 sight, what it will do is allow users to recognize faces and navigate more freely.  The MIT team are banking on that being a boost to self-confidence: “If they can recognize faces of people in a room, that brings them into the social environment as opposed to sitting there waiting for someone to talk to them” explained one project member.

The system works by wirelessly sending information from the camera in the eyeglasses, via an inductive coil, to a titanium-clad microchip either inside or attached to the outside of the eyeball.  That chip triggers electrodes which simulate light hitting the cones and rods inside a healthy eyeball, signals which are then sent to the brain.  The hope is that the chip will last for ten years use at a time.

[Thanks Robert!]

The BrainPort works by decoding signals that are sent from a camera that’s mounted on your head and transforming them into electrical impulses that hit your tongue gently. These impulses are then experienced as spatial awareness and even an ability to read text.

The device is currently awaiting FDA approval, but if all goes well, the BrainPort should be available early next year. However, pricing is expected to fall in the $10,000 range.

With it, medical professionals can identify malaria parasites in blood smears, together with sickle-cell anemia, while sputum smears could be examined for signs of tuberculosis.  While ambient light is usually clear enough for most samples, a white LED array and filter is also in place for using the system as a fluorescent microscope.

Future developments could include colored LEDs to broaden the range of cells the microscope will work with, and even using the camera’s abilities to label suspect images or geotag samples to track disease outbreak.  More details of the system at the research article here.

[via picturephoning]

ZQ is affected by how long you stay in REM phase sleep, deep sleep or light sleep.  Those ZQ readings are stored on an SD card, which you can upload to Zeo’s website.  The team there will then give you daily email guidance – or “personal sleep coaching” – suggesting ways in which you can improve your bedtime performance.  Since the measurements are tracked and displayed every day, Zeo suggest you can use them to try out different relaxation techniques and instantly see what impact they have.

The Wall Street Journal’s Melinda Beck tried it out, and seemed impressed; however, she points out that Zeo have only apparently trialled the system on around 140 people so far.  That means you’re basically paying to be a beta tester, and it doesn’t come cheap: the $399 sticker of the Zeo system includes six months of “coaching”; another six months is a further $99.

[via technabob]

A blue light on the device tells you you’re sitting the correct distance from the display, but if you get closer than 35cm that changes to a flashing red light and, if you haven’t disabled it, a loud chiming.  Power is supplied by the USB port but there’s no other use for it; don’t expect data logging of your posture or anything so complex.

Looking at the design, the Posture Corrector seems more intended for desktop PC than laptop use; you may have trouble perching it on top of your MacBook, for instance.  Still, if your kids are perpetually leaving eye-juice smears on your CRT, $21.69 might not be too much to spend.

[via GadgetsAlerts]

Video demo after the cut

The project was developed using funding from Microsoft, and promises low-cost portable ultrasound access for medical care in non-traditional settings.  The software for the USB ultrasound probe is open-source, and they’re currently working on trying to bring the device down to under $400.

Of course, just as digital cameras have made it easier for annoying photographers to snap your photo and then attempt to sell it to you as a “reminder of your day”, there’s every chance this technology could fall into the wrong hands.  Stand clear for drive-by ultrasound attacks, as pregnant women are accosted by rogue clinicians, illicitly scanned, and then offered expensive snapshots of their beloved fetus.

[via Hacked Gadgets]

Palm Pre Classic emulator video demo after the cut

Apps have access to the data connection, and to the emulator it’s as if they’re loaded on an SD card.  There’s no HotSync tethering, but according to the emulator’s developers there’s a “compatibility mode” which should get around that; we’re still waiting to see exactly what format that will take.

The video demo also shows Epocrates, a digital prescription handbook that’s well-loved on classic Palm OS hardware by those in the medical profession.  It’s great to see Palm have actually looked at what gets the most use from their legacy devices, and planned accordingly for the Pre.  More Pre news from CTIA here.

That can be anything from 30 minutes to two hours, in 30 minute increments.  There’s also a proximity sensor that flashes a red light should your face get too close to the DS; you can set that to “short”, “medium” or “long” distance, depending on how long your neck and arms are.

Frankly this could be the most frustrating peripheral ever, if you’re in the midst of a mammoth online gaming session when it decides your delicate peepers have had enough.  That’s enough reason for me to like it, anyway.  On sale now for 3,990 yen ($40); there’s a video of it delighting a lady here.

[via DVICE]

A compact white box, the Minutes Gym plugs via composite connection into your TV.  You then enter your personal details – gender, height, weight, etc – and hold the two contact-points: that lets the Minutes Gym work out your body fat percentage.  From those details a custom exercise routine is figured out, led by one of six animated characters (including a dog).

There are apparently over 100,000,000 different guided workouts, each lasting three-minutes, and the Minutes Gym can store and display up to three months of your workout history.  It weighs just 10g and measures 48 x 120 x 24mm, running off three AAA batteries; that means it’s easy enough to take on holiday with you.  It’s available now for $73.

[via OhGizmo!]