The Washigton Post reports that NASA is developing a personal health monitor, that is similar to a blackbox found on planes.

NASA describes its device:

It's a compact, portable, wearable device -- a single piece of equipment that gathers a wide variety of vital signs. About the size of a computer mouse, a CPOD is worn around the waist. It's comfortable enough to be worn while sleeping. It's non-invasive. It takes only minutes to don. Importantly, it can track a person's physiologic functioning as they go about their normal routine -- they don't have to be tethered to some stationary device. It can store data for eight-hour periods for later downloading; alternatively, it can send it wirelessly, in real time, to some other device...

The CPOD typically tracks heart performance, blood pressure, respiration, temperature, and blood oxygen levels. Using three tiny accelerometers, it also tracks a person's movements -- it can tell whether they're running, for example, or spinning or tumbling.

And it can be reconfigured. If researchers choose, almost any kind of sensor could be plugged into the device. The CPOD could, for example, keep track of ambient air pressure, or monitor the concentrations of atmospheric gases.

To read more about the device at NASA...

WaisMed website...

At Globes [online] we read about an Israeli company First Care Products, the manufacturer of the Emergency Bandage, a personal field dressing.

Company's description of the product:

The Emergency Bandage is for the untrained lay person as well as the paramedical professional. The bandage combines design and quick and easy application to free the caregiver from searching for additional equipment. Focus and control in treatment are enhanced.

The Emergency Bandage saves time in an emergency situation where every second is crucial. The sooner the treatment begins the better the victim's chances of survival, particularly in cases of hemorrhaging. As one unit the bandage performs multiple functions, and therefore enhances the treatment provided.

The Emergency Bandage provides injury victims acting alone the ability to accomplish the entire bandaging operation independently, including tourniquet application, even if using only one hand.

The Emergency Bandage consolidates the functions of numerous (currently separate) pieces of equipment into one easy-to-use unit. Application is simple and quick. Consolidation of functions makes treatment more efficient, both medically and economically.

Compared to current treatments the Emergency Bandage proves to be an improved life-sustaining device at a competitive price.

Immediate and effective direct pressure to the wound may reduce the need for a tourniquet application.

More at First Care Products...

DefendAmerica reports on the new one-hand operation tourniquet:

The Special Operations Forces Tactical Tourniquet is the Army's newest medical device designed to help save lives and is being issued to all soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Designed for one-handed application, the tourniquet allows a soldier to apply the tourniquet to himself if needed and replaces the Army's field-expedient method, where a soldier would use a bandage and a stick to stop blood flow from a wound...

Working on the same principals as all tourniquets, "(The Special Operations Forces Tactical Tourniquet) is used to stop the bleeding from an extremity and to prevent shock," said Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Brennan, post-deployment health assessment team noncommissioned officer-in-charge, Multinational Corps-Iraq Surgeon Cell.

The tourniquet has two latches used to secure the metal handle. While only one latch is required for the tourniquet to be effective, the extra latch provides extra securing ability depending on the handle's position after tightening.

To apply the tourniquet, one slides it over the limb and pulls the tail quickly. Once the slack is removed, they twist the handle until bleeding is controlled and then secure the latch. Finally, the screw on the buckle is tightened to prevent accidental loosening.

The Special Operations Forces Tactical Tourniquet is used as a last resort to treat a wound, Brennan said.

"Try to stop the bleeding with a bandage," Brennan said to a July 4 class of soldiers learning how to use the new tourniquet. "After using a pressure dressing for five minutes, you will know if you need to use a tourniquet. If the bleeding persists, use the tourniquet."

Once the tourniquet has been applied, a pulse needs to be checked on either the hand or foot where the injury is. "No pulse means the tourniquet is working," Brennan said.

After the tourniquet is in place, three rules apply: "Never loosen it, never take it off and don't cover it up," Brennan said.

Any ideas if this one is different from the Combat Application Tourniquet?

FLASHBACKS: SAM Pelvic Sling.

LMA North America, Inc. describes its recently introduced LMA CTrach™:

The LMA CTrach™ is designed to increase intubation success rates in difficult airways. The LMA CTrach™ mask enables ventilation during intubation attempts while built-in fiberoptics provide a direct view of the larynx and real time visualization of the ET tube passing through the vocal cords.

The LMA CTrach™ can be inserted exactly the same as the LMA Fastrach™. However, unlike the LMA Fastrach™, once the airway is secured and patient is being ventilated, the viewer is switched on, placed in the magnetic connector and a clear image of the larynx is displayed in real time. The ET tube can be viewed as it enters the trachea. Once the patient is intubated, the viewer is removed and the mask is removed leaving the ET tube in place.

More at LMA North America...

The De Beers-owned company describes the system that was originally designed to find stolen, in-the-cavities gems:

The Statscan Critical Imaging System is a flexible format digital radiography (DR) system aimed specifically at the needs of emergency medical centers and is designed to meet the radiography needs of both trauma patients and standard emergency patients. Statscan gives critical life-saving information to the medical staff by enabling them to have a complete picture--literally from head to toe--of a patient's injuries, faster and with less interference with patient stabilization efforts than ever before possible.

Statscan is based on enhanced linear slot-scanning technology which produces very high quality radiographic images of any size in seconds. Because of its unique flexible-format digital radiographic (DR) capability that produced images of large and small body areas, comprehensive diagnostic procedures can be completed in a matter of 4-5 minutes and at a greatly reduced overall radiation dose to the medical staff and patients, making it particularly beneficial for use on children and pregnant patients. The Stat Scan is also perfect for the near real-time bone fracture reduction requirements of Orthopedic radiography and the large field of view radiography needs of bariatric patients. Statscan's high throughput patient triage capabilities make it an exceptional tool for Disaster and Military-related patient injury management.

Recent developments have now raised the distinct possibility that Lodox technology will not only be able to produce "fit for purpose CT" images in the near future, but also at considerably lower x-ray dosage levels than other CT systems. Imagine taking a head and neck CT right there on the same gurney that was used for treating and x-raying your patient!

Statscan also greatly benefits Forensic Pathology imaging and Crime Investigation experts to quickly assist in the determining "cause of death"accuracy, improve investigational proficiency, shorten perpetrator arrest cycles and increase criminal prosecution accuracy.

More at Lodox...

Ron Nagar and Benny Pesach, the founders of Glucon, Inc., have created a watch-like device that reads blood glucose levels without the need to stick, poke, or prick the skin. Based on photo-acoustics research first done at Tel Aviv University in Israel, their device uses lasers, ultrasound, and advanced software algorithms to get a reading that is as efficient and accurate as pin-prick tests. And, says Glucon's CEO, Dan Goldberger, it won't be any more costly than testing kits, which today average between $1,500 and $2,000 per year for a patient.

At the heart of the Glucon device is a laser tuned to a frequency that resonates with blood glucose. When the laser comes into contact with blood glucose, it creates sound waves emanating from the molecule. Then a miniaturized ultrasound sensor detects those sound waves and a computer chip translates the raw signals into usable data. The device is worn like a wristwatch. Data and warning signals -- say, "Sudden glucose drop" -- would appear on the faceplate of the device.

More at Glucon...

Company describes its device:

Designed to save the lives of U.S. soldiers injured in combat, HemCon Bandages are manufactured from a natural product called chitosan, a substance found in the shells of shrimp, crab and other crustaceans. The positively charged chitosan material bonds with red blood cells and forms a clot that stops hemorrhaging. Based on the strength of the innovative technology, the HemCon Bandage was ushered through the FDA in October 2002 and is the second fastest approval of a medical device granted by the FDA. The HemCon Bandage has now evolved into the standard treatment for severe hemorrhaging and is included in the recommended guidelines for all three casualty management phases of "Tactical Combat Casualty Care".

More at HemCon, Inc...

VEID™ beeps when the IV needle is ... intravenous! Developed by an Israeli company Vascular Technologies Ltd., the electronic gadget makes a sound within 0.1 seconds of the needle's entrance into the vein's lumen.

Globes [online] reports:

Matalon [Eli Matalon, the company's founder-ed.], a former IDF medic, conceived the idea after realizing how difficult it was to insert a catheter into the vein of a battlefield casualty. Development of the product began in 1998, with the help of a team of eight engineers. Since then, Vascular Technologies has obtained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Matalon says research conducted by his company at the Schneider Children's Medical Center, headed by Dr. Yaakov Katz, found that success rate for inserting a needle and catheter into children rose from 70% to 91%. Among patients with hard-to-find veins, the success rate rose from 26% to 90%.

The device, called Vein Entry Indicator Device (VEID), comprises a pressure sensor, signal processing unit, battery and miniature loudspeaker. It operates by sensing the change in pressure when the needle penetrates a vein. One tenth of a second later, the VEID beeps, completing the procedure. The VEID currently costs $120 per unit, and can be reused about 2,000 times. The cost of a VEID-catheter adaptor is an extra $0.20.

Vascular Technologies has also developed a special catheter that includes a VEID, thereby eliminating the cost of the adaptor. Because of these costs, Vascular Technologies' target market is patients with hard-to-find veins.

More at Vascular Technologies Ltd...

Jacksonville Fire Rescue and pediatric emergency personnel are working on an infant. His name is Ryan and he stopped breathing. A bag valve mask is used to help the baby get some air. Soon, it's clear the baby is stabilized; but this isn't a real baby, it's a baby simulator.

Ryan, also known as Babysim, is a new interactive medical simulator. At 21-pounds and 28-inches long, it has the physical characteristics of a three to six-month-old infant...

Babysim acts and reacts just like a real baby. It blinks its eyes, it cries, it has a heart beat, can wet its diaper and can be a boy or girl; but it can also die if someone makes a serious mistake.

Wayne Hodges is the Education Coordinator for Trauma and Flight Services at Shands. "What it does is truly mimic the physiology of an infant and the response of that infant to therapy we give."

Go to WJXX ABC-25 to watch a video about the device.