Virtual Reality In Medicine

Virtual reality is used in both the medical and dentistry fields where it has several advantages over conventional systems. The dental applications of this technology are discussed in more detail in our virtual reality in dentistry article. But what about medicine you ask yourself? We know virtual reality is used in surgery, especially the field of robotic surgery where it has proven to be very successful. This is discussed further in our virtual reality in surgery article. Virtual diagnosis This article concentrates on virtual reality within a medical setting. For…

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Medical Tech 

Synthetic Cardiac Valves, Arteries, and Veins for Practicing Surgical Techniques

A recent publication in the journal Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology describes the production and utilization of synthetic heart valves, arteries, and veins by surgeons and medical residents to practice and improve their cardiac bypass surgical skills, without the use of animal or human cadaver tissues. Researchers from the University of British Columbia used a polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel to create the synthetic tissue, which unlike animal and human tissues, does not decompose or become contaminated.   The treatment of arteries from animal or human cadavers with preservatives to prevent decomposition alters…

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IT 

Industry heavyweights come together to standardize the Internet of Things

AT&T, Cisco, GE, IBM and Intel are the latest companies to band together with the aim of standardizing interoperability across smart machines and ultimately, drive adoption of an Internet of Things. Announced last week, the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) is a not-for-profit open membership group created to establish common frameworks for development of inter-connected digital and physical worlds. While the notion of device-to-device communication holds great potential across a range of industries, with different manufacturers using different engineering standards, development has been slow-moving in the eyes of some. In December last…

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IT 

Fastest home internet access ever rolls out in US city

Some residents of Minneapolis, Minnesota, received a holiday gift this December – the fastest home internet speed available just about anywhere in the world. US Internet, based in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka, announced this week that it has begun rolling out 10 gigabit per second internet access, ten times faster than Google Fiber‘s much-publicized gigabit connections, and similarplanned networks in the UK. It’s also much faster than typical speeds in South Korea, often cited as having the fastest average connections in the world. The company says that compared to the…

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Other Tech 

Packable device keeps mosquitoes away in the boonies

Beyond heated insoles, Thermacell makes a variety of battery-powered gadgets for outdoor lovers, among them a line of mosquito repellers. The company is preparing to launch a lighter, more compact repeller designed to go deeper into the wilderness. The packable Backpacker Repeller drops Thermacell’s mosquito-fighting technology into your pack so you can easily carry it to even the most faraway backcountry destinations. We’ve used one of Thermacell’s larger repeller lanterns and can say that it’s an absolute pleasure. Thermacell claims 96 percent effectiveness against mosquitoes, black flies and other pesky flying…

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IT 

Augmented Reality vs. Virtual Reality: What are the differences and similarities?

Technology is improving at a rapid pace, as many things are possible today that were not possible 10 years ago even if we tried our best to make it happen. Today, some of the impossible things are rising to the occasion in the form of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. But what are they exactly? Let’s find out. Back in the 1990s, virtual reality was on the lips of everyone as multiple companies tried and failed to make it happen. The most notable device back then was the Nintendo Virtual…

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Medical Tech 

Rapid Test Identifies Protein Disease Biomarkers Within 10 Minutes

Scientists at University of California, Los Angeles have developed a rapid new test for spotting proteins within blood and plasma. Unlike current tests that can take up to four hours to perform, the team’s technique takes only 10 minutes and can be done right inside the doctor’s office instead of a clinical lab.   Typically, enzymes are used to amplify the protein signal, but they introduce their own problems such as difficulty in handling, high associated costs, and false positives. Instead, the team did away with enzymes altogether and focused…

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Other Tech 

Digital Deception: How to Spot a Lie Online

There are three things you can be sure of in life: death, taxes – and lying. The latter certainly appears to have been borne out by the UK’s recent Brexit referendum, with a number of the Leave campaign’s pledges looking morelike porkie pies than solid truths. But from internet advertising, visa applications and academic articles to political blogs, insurance claims and dating profiles, there are countless places we can tell digital lies. So how can one go about spotting these online fibs? Well, Stephan Ludwig from the University of Westminster, Ko de Ruyter from City University London’s…

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IT 

9 Ways Quantum Computing Will Change Everything

Computers built on the principles of quantum physics—as opposed to ‘classical’ physics—promise a revolution on the order of the invention of the microprocessor or the splitting of the atom. D-Wave, a small Canadian company backed by Jeff Bezos, NASA, and the CIA among others, is the first firm to sell a so-called quantum computer—at roughly $10 million a pop. The vast increase in power could revolutionize fields as disparate as medicine, space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Inthis week’s TIME cover story, Lev Grossman writes that D-Wave’s machines are “so radical…

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Transport Tech 

Google Car Moves Into the Fast Lane

John Leonard watched spellbound from the back seat as the Lexus he was riding in drove through downtown Mountain View, Calif., one July day. The steering wheel spun right and left without a driver touching it. The car stopped at lights, switched lanes and even punched its accelerator as it merged into traffic. For Leonard, a roboticist at MIT, riding in a car outfitted with Google’s self-driving technology reminded him of another iconic moment in transportation: when the Wright brothers ushered in the age of air travel 111 years ago.…

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