With all this RFID implant business going on, the Magic School Bus days are getting closer and closer. We already have a pill that’ll show you your insides, so what’s next? How about a robot you can swallow that attaches to your intestinal wall which can then perform biopsies, deliver drugs, or administer localized treatment to your gut? Metin Sitti, a professor at NanoRobotics Lab at Carnegie Mellon, and his team were looking for an appropriate adhesive to adorn the robot’s feet with so it would be able to attach itself to the intestinal wall easily.

With no luck, the team looked to insects like beetles, directly drawing inspiration from the oil-like liquids they secrete along their foot hairs in order to stick securely to surfaces. With their homemade “beetle juice”, the team was successful in having the robot attach to an animal intestines as well as on an animal esophagus. I’d hate to be the poor animal that gets to shit that robot out.

Link (via)

TENS is Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation for short. It works by disrupting the pain signals originating from the nerves near the pain spot, so the area that would normally be in pain is reduced to a mere tingling sensation. It’s like having a constant little massage at the point that causes you the most discomfort.

You can’t get one of these godsends without a prescription from your doctor. Further more, you can’t use the TENS unit to charge a battery or jump a car. It’s wise to only be used for two hour intervals at a time. A break must be taken in between, otherwise the electrode pads would get too hot, then you’d really have something to cry about.

Link (via)

A lot of people are very skeptical about seeing a psychologist to discuss their problems. A huge part of the skepticism is probably due to the fact that other psychologists are other humans. Who really feels comfortable talking about their juiciest problems with a fellow human?

Developed by two Dutch psychologists specializing in Neuro Linguistic Programming, the MindMentor is programmed to ask questions in order to reach the unconscious mental resources of the client, allowing clients to come to their own sane solutions for mental issues. MindMentor is not made for extreme psychological disorders, such as schizophrenia, but is designed to help deal with stress, depression, and all of the side-effects. — Andrew Dobrow

Link [via]

As the rate of obesity grows, so does the number of people with diabetes.  After watching an 8 year old clunking around a bulky insulin pump, designer Nicole Schmeidel figured there had to be an easier way to administer the life-saving fluid. The fruits of her labor yielded this Insulin Watch concept, which not only keeps the insulin pumping, but tells the time.

Piezoelectricity generated from the user’s body help keep this watch up to sink with how much insulin to supply. The watch body, though pretty slender looking, can hold two to three weeks supply of the liquid. Looking more like an average watch than a medical device, this concept would help diabetics better cope with their disease, and not have to tote around syringes everywhere they went. — Andrew Dobrow

Link [via]