Medgadget

Safe Life A400: A New Look for an N95 Respirator

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:32:45 -0800

Safe Life Corporation (San Diego, CA) recently released a new respirator that looks and feels more like a traditional surgical face mask. We received a copy of the A400 respirator for review and spent about a half hour wearing it to see how it feels.

The new Safe Life A400 N95 Respirator can filter 95 percent of the airborne particles that can carry viruses, bacteria and other pathogens, while looking and feeling similar to a normal face mask. It's light, durable and easy to use. Safe Life made this respirator by infusing iodine into a polymer, making it safe for wearing while oxidizing microorganisms to death.

The disposable mask comes in two sizes (S/M and M/L) and is said to be cost effective, though there is no information about the price.

Doing activities around the house with the Safe Life N95 Respirator was fine, until 30 minutes after wearing the mask it became slightly uncomfortable as the neck straps are quite tight and pull the unit firmly onto the face. Another marginal issue was with the padded metal band that creates a seal around the nose area. It was a bit rough and could use softer support padding.

Other than the mask being slightly irritating, the Safe Life N95 Respirator does the job, and it's been certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to be a true N95 class respirator.

Overall, we can say that Safe Life created an innovative product that does what the mask was supposed to do. It comes in a small package, it is relatively comfortable, and is a bit less conspicuous than traditional respirators.

Press release: Safe Life Introduces First Comfortable, Breathable N95 Respirator with Antimicrobial Protection ...

Product page: Safe Life N95 Respirators ...

A New Form Factor for Personal Water Filtration

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:21:29 -0800

Korean designers Woo sik Kim and Duck soo Choi have a new idea for a water filtration system to be used by people living in remote environments. The "happy basin" is placed onto unclean water and, as it's pushed down, filters the water to create a contagion free source for drinking and washing up.

From the designers (forgive the broken English):

To help this serious problem, what we've done is breaking the stereotypical box of basin.
Based on general belief, it's difficult to imagine that 'basin with holes' because it cannot store the clean water properly. Here is the Question, "What if there's no clean water for storage?"

This is the spot of innovation. We need the totally different type of product. [sic]

Link @ Yanko Design: happy basin...

Google Flu Shot Finder Goes Live

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:05 -0800

Google has released a new tool to help Americans find local pharmacies and clinics offering seasonal and H1N1 flu shots. So far the database is far from complete and Google hopes providers will share information about availability once they get word of the service.

From the Official Google Blog:

At the moment we have data for locations of flu vaccine directly from 20 states and counting. We are also continuing to add information from chain pharmacies and other providers in all 50 states; today, you'll find results from chains such as Walgreens, CVS and PDX participants, such as Kmart, Duane Reade, WinnDixie and Giant Eagle.

Link: Flu Shot Finder...

Ford's Inflatable Airbags to Bring Extra Safety Up Close

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:49:31 -0800

Ford is going ahead with seatbelt airbags in the next generation Ford Explorer. The system uses compressed gas which, for safety, inflates the seatbelt at a slower speed than traditional airbags using chemical explosives. Apparently, Lexus is planning to release a similar system in its higher end vehicles next year.

Press release: Ford Introduces Industry's First Inflatable Seat Belts to Enhance Rear Seat Safety ...

(hat tip: Engadget)

Camera Phone Microscope Uses Holographic Processing to View Cells

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:33:23 -0800

Aydogan Ozcan, an assistant professor at University of California, Los Angeles, has developed an attachment for camera phones that turns these devices into microscopes useful for histological and microbiological analysis. Interestingly, the device uses no additional optics but relies on processing the interference patterns of light coming from the samples to recreate the image.

A snippet from the New York Times:

For this electronic system of magnification, inexpensive light-emitting diodes added to the basic cellphone shine their light on a sample slide placed over the phone’s camera chip. Some of the light waves hit the cells suspended in the sample, scattering off the cells and interfering with the other light waves.
“When the waves interfere,” Dr. Brady said, “they create a pattern called a hologram.” The detector in the camera records that hologram or interference pattern as a series of pixels.

The holograms are rich in information, Dr. Ozcan said. “We can learn a lot in seconds,” he said. “We can process the information mathematically and reconstruct images like those you would see with a microscope.”

Delivery Method for Iomai's Transcutaneous Vaccine

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:00:03 -0800

We've previously covered Iomai Corp's (now part of Intercell) transcutaneous vaccination technology, with the idea being that if you're able to vaccinate patients through their skin, you can take advantage of the high density of Langerhans cells in the epidermis to activate an amplified immune response. Also, since transcutaneous vaccination does not involve systemic exposure, you're able to use more potent immune stimulants. These factors, in addition to it being needle-less, make transcutaneous vaccination an appealing option because you need less vaccine for an equal immune response. Additionally, having the vaccine in this dry, patch form also allows it to last much longer without refrigeration (possibly up to six months).

Application of the vaccine, however, first requires you to scrape off some of the keratinized epithelium to gain access to the Langerhans cells. This abrasion needs to be consistent, painless, and easy enough that it could be self-administered. At TEDMED, we've heard from IDEO's CEO Tim Brown, whose design firm was hired to develop the application technique for the transcutaneous vaccine patches. IDEO came up with a band aid looking device with a bulls eye and an attached tab. Pressing at the center and pulling the tab draws an abrasive strip across the skin, as well as leaves an ink mark to show where the vaccine patch should be placed. The application device and patch is also made using only standard processes and materials so they'd be easily manufactured in developing countries.

The administration device and patch are currently in phase two clinical trials for pandemic influenza.

Product page @ IDEO...

Flasback:Immunity That's More Than Skin Deep...

Quick and Easy Test for Pesticide Presence in Food and Drinks

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:30:43 -0800

Scientists from McMaster University in Canada have developed a dipstick that changes color when exposed to organophosphate pesticides. The test provides results in a matter of minutes, is reportedly inexpensive to produce, could be used for food testing, and perhaps might lead to a marketable product that one day could be found in food stores.

From the abstract in Analytical Chemistry:

A reagentless bioactive paper-based solid-phase biosensor was developed for detection of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors, including organophosphate pesticides. The assay strip is composed of a paper support (1 x 10 cm), onto which AChE and a chromogenic substrate, indophenyl acetate (IPA), were entrapped using biocompatible sol-gel derived silica inks in two different zones (e.g., sensing and substrate zones). The assay protocol involves first introducing the sample to the sensing zone via lateral flow of a pesticide-containing solution. Following an incubation period, the opposite end of the paper support is placed into distilled deionized water (ddH₂O) to allow lateral flow in the opposite direction to move paper-bound IPA to the sensing area to initiate enzyme catalyzed hydrolysis of the substrate, causing a yellow-to-blue color change. The modified sensor is able to detect pesticides without the use of any external reagents with excellent detection limits (bendiocarb ~ 1 nM; carbaryl ~ 10 nM; paraoxon ~ 1 nM; malathion ~ 10 nM) and rapid response times (5 min). The sensor strip showed negligible matrix effects in detection of pesticides in spiked milk and apple juice samples. Bioactive paper-based assays on pesticide residues collected from food samples showed good agreement with a conventional mass spectrometric assay method.

Abstract in Analytical Chemistry: Reagentless Bidirectional Lateral Flow Bioactive Paper Sensors for Detection of Pesticides in Beverage and Food Samples

Statement by the American Chemical Society: An inexpensive 'dipstick' test for pesticides in foods ...

AED Location Database Points to Nearest Life Saving Device

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:55:12 -0800

Automatic external defibrillators (AED's) are becoming more common in public places like airports, theaters, and sports stadiums. To be effective, you must quickly find the nearest AED while in an unfamiliar environment, a task that's not immediately obvious when seconds count. Bertalan Meskó at ScienceRoll is reporting that Lucien Engelen, a technologist at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in Holland, has a project to geolocate AEDs, and make the data available for mobile browsers. Additionally, you can use a location aware application like the Layar Reality Browser to pinpoint immediately where the AED is located in your vicinity.

Link: AED4EU...

Product page: Layar Reality Browser

(hat tip: ScienceRoll)

MedPageToday Unmasks the Surgical Mask

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:16:08 -0800

MedPageToday has published an interesting article that looks at the evidence of whether surgical masks, as well as tight seal respirators, such as N95, provide any protection to healthcare workers or patients. So what's the article's findings? The evidence that masks provide any meaningful respiratory shield is indeed quite slim, even for the operating room environment. Hence the conclusion:

"Masks and respirators should be considered the 'last line of defense' in a hierarchy of infection control measures."

Full story: Unmasking the Surgical Mask: Does It Really Work?...

Image credit Eneas @ Flickr...

Microsoft Unveils H1N1 Swine Flu Response Center

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:38:29 -0800

Today Microsoft in partnership with Emory University unveiled the H1N1 Flu Response Center to help people experiencing symptoms of sickness to triage themselves, thereby keeping ERs unclogged for those who might really need clinical help. We participated today in a conference call with David Cerino, General Manager, Microsoft Health Solutions Group and Dr. Arthur Kellermann, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Associate Dean at Emory School of Medicine about this free public health service.

The simple website poses a series of questions based on three levels of assessment developed by Emory with guidance from CDC recommendations. Using basic English, that just about anyone can understand and what a primary care physician would be asking, a series of questions is presented. First, the system identifies whether you meet the CDC criteria of flu. And if so, it proceeds to look for symptoms of potentially severe illness, immediately suggesting you to see a doc. If the illness is not severe enough, the questions then try to identify associated risk factors of becoming sick with the flu, finally leading to a recommendation of whether to seek professional help. Currently operational for people 12 years of age and older, the system should be functional to include children in the next few days. Additionally, Microsoft promises to soon include services from TelaDoc, linking patients with real physicians for further assessment of their condition.

Link: Microsoft H1N1 Flu Response Center...