The Japanese seem to have a thing for pretty humidifiers. It’s not the first time we’ve covered one, although this time we have a tiny bit more information on the product. The above is called the PlusMinusZero Humidifier Version 3, by Naoto Fukasawa design. It looks like a fancy bedpan, but will keep your nostrils hydrated and your sinuses free of pain instead. Coming in brown, red or green, this particular humidifier will break the bank at a cool $352. Of course when you’re serious about decking out your living space with unique looking things, money can quickly become the least of your worries.
As was pointed out to us last time we discussed exsanguination, applying a tourniquet is not always the smartest thing to do. It should only be done when someone’s life is seriously at risk. And you should always be mindful that there’s a chance they could lose a limb is it’s kept on for too long. Of course, if you’re bleeding profusely from somewhere and don’t do something about it, you might die. Applying pressure to the wound is one solution, but the ITClamp goes about it slightly differently:
Inspired by a simple hair clip, Filips designed a device called the ITClamp. The ITClamp is essentially a sterile, plastic clamp approximately five centimeters in length, with curved needles along the “jaws” of the device. In a trauma situation, the responder clamps the device along the wound. The curved needles and the shape of the ITClamp draw the wound up into the device and anchor it with even pressure, allowing the blood underneath to create a clot around the wound and help stop the bleeding until the victim receives further medical attention.
Yeah so… the teeth basically bite into your flesh and then the clamp sucks it up and clamps it shut. Ouch! But hey, beats dying.
The company expects the product to sell for around $65 sometime in late 2012, pending regulatory approval.
This product has likely been around since forever, but it’s a first for us. Superfocus glasses are an alternative to bifocals. A progressive slider on the bridge lets you adjust the lenses’ focal point, so that you can see near or far with the entire viewing area, rather than being confined to a small are on the bottom.
Each “lens” is actually a set of two lenses, one flexible and one firm. The flexible lens (near the eye) has a transparent distensible membrane attached to a clear rigid surface. The pocket between them holds a small quantity of crystal clear fluid. As you move the slider on the bridge, it pushes the fluid and alters the shape of the flexible lens. Changing the shape changes the correction. This mimics the way the lenses in your eyes used to perform when you were younger.
This allows you to choose the exact correction that works best for you at any distance and under any lighting conditions.
They appear to come in only one style, John Lennon. And they’re not cheap, not one bit: $700+. You have to call or customize online to get an exact quote.
Being in a wheelchair, especially if it’s because you’re paralyzed from the waist down, is really not a lot of fun. Not only is your mobility compromised, but things we take for granted are taken from you: reaching for items in higher racks in shopping aisles, or washing your hands in some restrooms are just two examples of things you simply can’t do when paralyzed. But a new chair currently in development in Turkey could change all that. The Tek Robotic Mobilisation Device features a spring assisted lever arm that can raise you from a sitting to an upright position with a simple tug of the arms. Movement and direction are then controlled much like regular electric chairs, via a joystick. It can even make getting into it easier: instead of having to hop from your bed to your chair, you can summon it with a remote control and just tie yourself in right from where you’re sitting since a detachable seat stays with you when you’re off it.
It has already undergone clinical trials and is awaiting approval for sale to the public. We don’t know the price, nor whether it’ll even be available outside of Turkey.
If you want to see a video of it in action, hit the link below.
It’s been around for a couple of years, but we just found out about the Panasonic EW-NA11, or the Neck Refre as JapanTrendShop calls it. It’s Panasonic’s idea of a neck massager and it appears to work by stimulating the muscles in your neck to contract involuntarily, in a manner that’s supposed to be relaxing. It’s kind of like those pads you see on late night informercials promising you six-pack abs with no effort. Except Panasonic’s gone ahead and registered this as a “medical” device. Well, what do we know? Some reviews online have given it a positive spin and at $87, there are worse ways to try and get rid of a stiff neck.
Very few of you reading this website right now are blind. It’s hard to imagine how hard life can be for the visually impaired and as a tech writer, I can affirm that tech made specifically with them in mind is rather rare. Especially when it comes to smartphones, there really isn’t much. The DrawBraille Mobile Phone concept that Shikun Sun envisions can only be used by the blind, or anyone that would have taught themselves to read Braille. Almost any piece of computing tech requires inputs, which are then manipulated by the software and output in a manner that the user can interpret. In this case, the flatter section is the input area of the phone, where a braille user can form letters and digits. And the other half is obviously the output, where a matrix of six-dotted regions can physically change to produce words the user can touch and read.
But sadly, the above is nothing more than a concept. We hope that some manufacturer could one day make this, although we’re doubtful as making a cellphone is a costly enterprise and the visually impaired are a demographic unlikely to make a good ROI.
Still, hit the jump for a series of renderings and a video.
This product has been used in battle for the last couple of years and now it appears you can get your own. It’s called the BattleView Infrared Vascular Trans-illuminator and is made specifically for situations where using visible light might get you killed. Like setting up triage on the side of a mountain at night in Afghanistan for example, where lighting your helmet light simply gives the enemy a beacon for your location. The BattleView features 4 near-infrared LEDs running off a single 3-volt CR123A lithium battery. Put it on a patient’s hand (or other body part) and the venous blood will fluoresce making it instantly visible to anyone wearing night vision goggles. You’re then free to get your IV going as if it was broad daylight.
The fact that it’s near-infrared also means that it will
There are several ways to detect colorectal cancer. The more uncomfortable of them involve a colonoscopy, which is pretty much the insertion of a camera down the wrong end of you. Another method has been to swallow a pill sized camera while doctors get a view from within you without having to you know, actually go in… And now there’s news of the Check-Cap, a pill that emits radiation outside the visible spectrum (XRays), which go through soft tissue and food.
Yeah, Japan again. We love you guys, but what’s with these things? The above image shows a poor lady being paid to demonstrate the Face Slimmer Exercise Mouthpiece. You put it in there and say vowels repeatedly, allegedly exercising the muscles in your face and getting rid of wrinkles and sag.
But why does it have to… look like that? You and I know what this looks like. The kids don’t know. But we know what’s going on here.
Related Tags: Design, Household, Medical
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By David Ponce
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