It's becoming clear that medical devices is probably the single biggest arena in which design engineers can have a huge impact. Here we have a case where the technology was already in place and someone came up with an application which is an incremental advance on what was previously available. But there are also numerous opportunities to push the tech envelope forward in search of new devices. Even if they're just for one-time use. . .
The idea of operator control with such a device is indeed compelling. Add in the benefits of 3D visualization and there's no telling what can be detected and erradicated with this kind of technology. This this the kind of engineering advancement we want to hear more of.
This is a great advancement from traditional devices. Being able to control the device while inside the body will allow doctors to really explore areas they think are problematic and will be able to help a lot of people. The size of the mermaid is rather large, and I wonder if people will shy away from the technology because of its size.
Very cool. I would imagine this is just the beginning of putting devices inside the body to look around and take readings. As technology gets smaller, I would imagine we'll see a wide range of applications for inner-body exploration.
If there is one consolation for our bloated military-industrial complex and our bloated health care system, it is that they seem to be funding some incredible research and development.
The remaining design issue here is size. Fortunately, the history of silicon electronics shows us that size reduction is relatively predictable. In a decade, this pill will be easy to swallow.
Great. It can be controlled from outside one's body. There's NOTHING in the article about what it feels like to the patient. And no, I never swallowed a goldfish.
What's the turning radius? That behemoth looks like it could turn inside the stomach, but that's it. Can you see a new operator getting jack-knifed in the small intestine? Do we send a second one down to tow it free? Or can it be dislodged by several well-placed thumps to the abdomen?
Interesting comments TJ. From what I've heard, one of the doctors behind the development said he had no trouble at all swallowing it, experiencing no discomfort. The again when was the last time a doctor said, "this won't hurt at all"?
Apparently the device can navigate the small intestine. Maybe they do have to lead it to wider spaces though for that U-turn.
On April 21, NASA launched a novel project, putting into orbit three satellites that employ an off-the-shelf commercial smartphone as the control system.
The legacy endpoint devices that control our critical infrastructure (utility systems, water treatment plants, military networks, industrial control systems, etc.) are some of the most vulnerable devices on the Internet.
In a switched-capacitor filter, capacitors and switches take the place of resistors and accurately reproduce the characteristics of continuous-time Bessel, Butterworth, and elliptical filters.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
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For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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