Bluetooth Stethoscope and Flu-Killing Face Mask Lead the List of “Best of What’s New” in Health
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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – New York, NY — Popular Science magazine has named the top health innovations of 2009 as part of its annual Best of What’s New Awards, an accolade honoring the top 100 technologies in 11 categories. All are featured in the magazine’s December issue, on sale today.
According to the magazine, the most influential health technologies of the past year are:
· 3M Healthcare Littmann Electronics Stethoscope Model 3200 with Zargis Medical Corp. Cardioscan: This stethoscope wirelessly beams a patient’s heartbeat to a PC equipped with Cardioscan software, which detects abnormalities. The system may help doctors diagnose—or dismiss—concerns more confidently, ultimately preventing unnecessary tests and saving billions.
· Filligent Limited BioMask: The only face mask that actually kills flu virus on contact. The mask’s cellulose fibers bind to bacteria and viruses and the zinc and copper within them destroy cell walls, preventing the wearer from inhaling germs or spreading theirs around.
· Xela Innovations Purleve Hygienic Door Handle: The restroom doorknob is usually packed with infection-causing bacteria. This system stores thousands of spooled antimicrobial plastic sleeves inside, and advances a new, clean sleeve following each use of the door handle.
· Medical Acoustics Lung Flute: 10 million Americans suffering from COPD rely on medication and strenuous coughing to break up mucus. The Lung Flute does the job in just 15 -20 puffs of air. Blowing into the reed instrument sends a 16-hertz vibration to the chest, dislodging mucus so it’s easier to cough up.
· ClearCount Smartsponge: Each of these surgical sponges is embedded with an RFID tag and monitored by a tableside scanner that tracks sponges used during a surgery. The system alerts docs if any sponges are left behind before the surgery is complete.
· Xhale Hygreen: This sensor system reminds hospital staff to wash their hands. After using an alcohol-based sanitizer, doctors and nurses place hands under the HyGreen sensor, which sniffs for alcohol and sends a wireless “all-clean” reading to a badge worn on the shirt. Wireless monitors on patient’s beds search for the message—if absent, the badge vibrates, reminding the doc or nurse to wash up.
· Insound Medical Lyric Hearing Aid: The first hearing aid that can be worn for months straight without surgical implantation. The bean-sized device parks in the ear canal just one-sixth of an inch from the eardrum, and maximizes the outer ear to capture sound naturally. Users adjust volume by waving a magnetic wand near the ear, and have the device replaced every 3-4 months.
· Neuronetics Neurostar TMS Therapy System: This headpiece could help millions of depression sufferers. As a patient sits, an electromagnetic coil pulses magnetic fields to the left prefrontal cortex, stimulating release of dopamine. After 30 daily sessions, half of patients in a clinical trial experienced significantly reduced symptoms.
· Hothead Technologies Football Helmets: Overheating during a football game can cost a player his life. A Hothead helmet gets players off the field before heat stroke sets in by measuring temperature every 10 seconds and transmitting the information to a PDA monitored by a sideline coach. An alarm sounds if a player’s temperature rises with two degrees of the danger zone.
· Trufocals: The first eyeglasses with adjustable focus. Each lens consists of an outer lens corrected for distance vision, and a flexible inner lens. Attached to the latter is a membrane filled with a silicone-based liquid. Flicking a slider mechanism on the specs’ nose bridge squeezes the liquid, changing the curvature of the membrane to bring other objects into focus.
· Sam Medical Celox Trauma Gauze: This is the only two-in-one medical gauze that can seal gashes and cool burns. Woven from chitosan fibers, it absorbs 16 times its weight in blood. For burn victims, medics can wrap the wound and add water, turning the bandage into a gel that evaporates to cool burns for up to 20 hours.
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