Building a smartscope

Smartphones are becoming more and more important in the medical sector, ranging from mHealth to medical applications which can turn your smartphone into a medical device. In this post I would like to talk about what someone has recently achieved by just using a Smartphone and some creativity: user Yoshinok from Instructables web site has managed to turn a smartphone into a microscope.

Well technically he didn't use just a smartphone. You'll need also a small box, a LED light and a laser pointer lens. With all this in place, you can increase the zoom of your smartphone 175x, allowing you to observe plant cells and details of objects, like a real microscope.

The invention seems to work perfectly. At least, in the video the user gets to see cells and details of coins, among other things. It also allows you to take a photo or video of the analyzed object... This invention only proves that when you use your creativity the possibilities are endless.

OR Revolution

Brainlab a step ahead?

Brainlab has launched what we could describe as a super-sized iPad (42 inches) which allows manipulating medical images among other possibilities. They have called it "Buzz Digital OR", a system that integrates all intraoperative imaging. It can be used for viewing DICOM images, but it also performs video management, routing video between sources and destinations, and includes options for fast and easy documentation of surgical procedures. The HD display comes with an integrated sound system, webcam and microphone. It can connect with a multitude of video signals and route content to multiple, full-HD displays. All data can be relayed across the hospital IP network. Like the normal iPad, it has drag and drop functionality which, for example, makes easier to navigate through the different images. 

Indeed, 2012 is being a great year for Brainlab guys since last March they succeeded in winning the coveted 'red dot award', beating over 4515 designs in an international competition. For its benefits, Curve™ inspired the experts and was awarded the "red dot award: product design". Curve incorporates the latest in medical technology. This advanced surgical navigation system for the brain and the body includes the latest software for image-guided advanced 3D displays. Curve features a great ergonomics, two multi-touch terminals, digital HD, hi-fi and wi-fi.


Brainlab Digital Buzz, copyright Brainlab

Gesture Control Technology 

TedCas, a small Spanish company, has invented a system based on Kinect technology, the Xbox game console camera, which allows gestural control of computer applications in ORs and other environments, just as Tom Cruise did in the movie "Minority Report'. The application allows surgeons to use image guidance in the computer without touching it, thus decresing the possibility of bacterial transmission. The number of people who contract an infection each year in operating rooms is around 300,000 cases per year in Spain alone. If we talk about the European Union framework, this figure rises to four million, causing public administrations to spend billions. 

The Spanish system also helps to improve process efficiency in ORs or radiation therapy rooms. Right now there are three options: to have someone managing the computer from outside the room, or the surgeon comes out to do it himself, which is a bit tedious because you have to repeat the whole process of sterilization, or the screen is within the room itself which, despite being protected, remains a risk of infection. Thus, gestural control makes easier for the surgeon to control how the medical information is displayed during the operation. 

At Sunnybrook in Toronto surgeons can now benefit Kinect system during operations, as you can see in the video below:

Source: medgadget, http://www.brainlab.com/art/3401/6/brainlab-introduces-new-multi-touch-surgical-information-hub/