Baby monitors have become quite commonplace over the past 20 years or so, and come in many variations. Exmovere (a company that previously produced the wearable Chariot) has debuted a new type of monitor, however, which are actually part of the baby’s pajamas, and which are said to help monitor heart rate, emotional state and behavior. The outfit — called Exmobaby — uses the Zigbee wireless standard, effectively connecting the baby to the home wireless network, enabling the parents (or you know, whoever’s around) to track the babies various states via icons on their mobile phones. Sound great? Well, it’s heading to limited retail in 2011, though no pricing has been announced yet. Full press release is below.

Continue reading Exmovere shows off Exmobaby biosensor pajamas for babies, coming to retail in 2011

Exmovere shows off Exmobaby biosensor pajamas for babies, coming to retail in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s an interesting one. Just years after a researcher in Japan realized that lasers could stimulate nerves, a professor of biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University along with cohorts from Case Western Reserve have found that the same is true with the heart. By using an Infrared laser on an early embryonic heart, tests were able to show that the muscle was “in lockstep with the laser pulse rate.” The crew also found no signs of laser damage after a few hours of experimenting, though obviously more extensive research would be required before any medical agency allowed such a device to be beamed underneath a human chest. The hope here is that this discovery could one day lead to ultra-small, implantable pacemakers, or better still, to “pace an adult heart during surgery.” There’s nary a mention of when this stuff will actually be ready for FDA oversight, but there’s a downright creepy video of it all in the source link. Consider yourself warned.

Infrared laser shown to quicken heart rate, gives hope for ultra-small pacemakers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’ve got to imagine the Japanese are green with envy right now, as the BBC report not one, but two different drug vending machines are being tested out under Her Majesty’s watchful eye. The first of these experiments is run by supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, which has installed a pair of drug dispenser machines in its stores. They identify users by their fingerprint or a unique number, demand PIN verification too, and then finally accept your prescription. Then — and this is the really silly part — a pharmacist comes along, picks up your prescription, fills it out, and deposits it in the machine for you to pick up. So it’s impersonal and unnecessarily convoluted, great. PharmaTrust seems to have a slightly better idea with its videophone-equipped, ATM-style robo-vendor: it’s intended to allow pharmacists to approve prescriptions off-site and out of usual working hours by letting them speak to you via videophone. It could in fact be a big benefit in more remote areas, depending on how patients take to it — we’ll know more when the trial starts up in participating hospitals this winter.

Continue reading Drug vending machines start trial in UK, allow awkward videophone conversations with your pharmacist

Drug vending machines start trial in UK, allow awkward videophone conversations with your pharmacist originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 07:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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