Swallow a Camera?
The United States Food and Drug Administration recently approved a swallowable video capsule for marketing in the US. You don’t want to endure those uncomfortable intestinal tests and exams? Now, all you may need to do is take a pill. The capsule itself is a bit larger than an aspirin, about 11 mm x 26 mm in size and about 4 grams in weight. It is called the M2A and is not a medication, but rather a single-use video color-imaging capsule. Besides the miniature color video camera, the capsule contains a light source, batteries, a transmitter, and an antenna. Once swallowed, this capsule/camera travels easily through the digestive tract and is naturally excreted. It sounds futuristic, but it’s here now!

Mind Moves Cursor
Researchers at Brown University have successfully harnessed the power of a monkey’s brain to control the movement of a cursor on a computer screen. Three monkeys were taught to play a computer game using a joystick to move the cursor to chase a moving target on the screen. Then a very small device was implanted into each monkey’s brain. This thumbnail-sized device uses a tiny array of electrodes to record, interpret, and reconstruct brain activity that controls hand movement. After the implants, the monkeys still moved the joysticks with their hands. The joysticks, however, were completely disconnected. The monkeys were actually controlling the cursor on the computer screen with their thoughts. The monkey’s brain, rather than their hands, moved the cursor. The implications of this study are astonishing. This project has spawned several others that show a great deal of promise for the disabled.

Sight for the Blind
A three-year nine million dollar grant, from the Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research, is now funding five national laboratories, a private company, and two universities who are involved in a research project for the blind. The idea is to position micro-electro-mechanical electrode chips on the retina of a blind person. The electrodes will be linked to retinal nerves that will send electrical impulses to the brain for processing, just as the eye does. A tiny camera and radio frequency transmitter positioned in the frame of a patient’s glasses will transmit information and power to electrodes in the eye. While the research is not yet complete, scientists are hopeful that this may be a solution for more than two hundred thousand people in the US who are blinded each year by age-related macular degeneration and other diseases that render a person blind even though neural paths to the brain are in tact.

HEliOS Personal Oxygen
More than a million Americans require supplemental oxygen 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Before HELiOS, that meant needing a big, awkward oxygen tank the size of a golf bag that forces patients into an inactive lifestyle. New technology, however, has developed a three-and-a-half pound oxygen system the size of a small backpack that replaces the large tank. The HELiOS Personal Oxygen System carries about ten hours of oxygen before needing a refill from a large reservoir tank that can be stored at home. This is a big breakthrough for the oxygen-dependent.

Vision Aid - JORDY
Doug Webber, a legally blind 18 year-old, used a set of high-tech JORDY glasses to independently earn a high school diploma. The JORDY 2 glasses incorporate a miniature, auto-focus digital video camera to project images directly on to the user's eye at up to 30x magnification. This allows those who have low vision conditions to see again. Wearing the 8 oz. JORDY glasses, Webber was able to read books, see the teacher, participate in class, complete his homework and even enjoy television with friends. If you are a Star Trek fan you will recognize the similarity of these glasses to the ones worn by Jordy, a blind Star Trek crewmember, who is able see with the help of a visor that covers his eyes.

Heart Surgery Hi-Tech Style
Holes between the upper chambers of the heart are more common than you might expect. Repair of such holes used to be a major procedure. Now with two new tools, the Acunav diagnostic ultrasound catheter, and the Cypress echocardiography system from Siemens the repair procedure can be performed while the patient is awake. Both the procedure and the recovery are speedier than ever imagined.

iBOT High-tech Wheelchair
iBOT is a high-tech wheelchair that can safely climb up and down stairs, as well as going over curbs. The wheelchair can also travel over grass, gravel, sand on a beach and other forms of uneven terrain. Users can reach high places independently and talk to people at eye level with an elevating feature on the device. At $29,000 this chair is very pricey, but it is the next step in helping the wheelchair-bound gain more freedom.

Many of these breakthrough technologies are almost unbelievable. They will help us all live better and longer lives as scientists, researchers, and medical professionals harness technology to solve health-related problems.