Pop-Sci Core77 Design Challenge

Earlier this week Gizmodo was the first to report on a prototype bluetooth bandaid from a Popular Science design competition. Well, we poured through the entries and compiled a list of our favorite medgadget prototypes.

The LifeSavers is a series of conceptual devices that would revolutionize the way first responders, nurses, and physicians would monitor the influx of information from their patients.

As the term clearly indicates, LIFE SAVERS save peoples lives by the mere fact that they SPEED up the process of treatment. Life savers are a system of devices which are linked to each other and to hospitals. They comprise of a tag, a ban-aid, capsule and paramedics pad.
The personal tag is an ideal situation where every one has one and in case of emergency it serves of great importance. In case of an accident and if the person is conscious, he can notify the paramedic and the nearest hospital and they can retrieve all the data’s required for the treatment ( like blood group, allergic to drugs … ) and the victims medical history, and if the person is unconscious and has the tag the paramedic can down load relevant information on to his pad from the tag.
In case a person forgets to wear a tag the paramedic after reaching the site, has a band aid and a capsule, which helps him in the process. The ban aid when stuck to the victims body will give details such as blood group, the drugs which the victim is allergic to etc there by saving on precious time wasted on analysis required before the treatment. It is not necessary that all the people involved in an accident are critical, few people might have minor injuries. The ban-aid when stuck to the persons body can be assigned a different color depending on the criticality of the victim so that one can easily demarcate an proceed with the treatment.
The capsule is used by the patients as well as the paramedic. For eg : In case of diabetic patients the blood sugar level is monitored by the capsule and injects insulin as and when required. It will of great help for people who are likely to have heart attacks etc.
Paramedic pad, as the very term indicate, is a device mainly used by paramedic. One can retrieve data’s from the ban aid, the tag and the capsule placed on the victim suing this pad. The device is also networked to all the hospitals so that he knows the closest place to get in time for further treatment and also send relevant information’s required by the doctors at the hospital before the patients arrival.

Life is stressful enough, right? Thats why this next product would monitor your stress levels, or bio pace, and subsequently control the influx of messages if it believes you’re too stressed.

The speed of information is quickly out pacing our bodies ability to deal with it. The result is increased stress levels which eventually lead to burnout or disease. I’m proposing a system that will moderate the pace of information coming into our lives with our own natural bio pace. this system includes a wrist mounted transmitter which monitors bodily functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature (all factors in the measure of stress). this info is sent to a central hub, which is also monitoring incoming information from sources such as email, telephone, and PDA text messages. As a person’s overall bio speed increases into a red zone, the hub begins to block or reroute information into folders to be resent at a later time when the users bio speed has slowed to a more comfortable level. Information would be filtered according to its urgency ie, spam would be totally blocked but a phone call from an associate would be automatically voice mailed while the CEO’s call or email would pass through. Hence the term the Workplace pacemaker as the system seeks to manage ones bio speed in accordance with the rate of incoming information.

SERENITY NOW! If you hate your co-workers or are just prone to fits of frustration or anxiety, this next device may be just the calming influence you’ve been looking for.

To be aware when and where our minds wander, to be more loving towards our work and thereby be more productive, to forgive people when they are unaware, to be centered, to be… this is like meditation as we understand it. And the concept we have sketched is an attempt to help all of us in the endeavor to realize this centered state of being while we catch up with our wandering minds.
TEN COUNT is attached directly to the skin and has a lifetime of about a week. It is water proof and stretchable. The plastic inner membrane contains the sensor membrane, which has three sensors embedded in it; the breath sensor at the solar plexus, just below the rib cage, is attached to the body first, followed by the sensors at the chest and stomach. The power for both the sensors and the thermoelectric strips come from a flexible wafer power source placed in the central membrane. Between the inner and central membrane we have the cooling zone above the stomach region. This is connected to the cool side of the thermoelectric device. Between the central and outer membrane we have the fragrance zone, above the chest region. This has the hot side of the thermoelectric device with a fragrance wafer directly on top of it. The fragrance wafer emits its aroma by absorbing heat from the thermoelectric device. The three thin plastic membranes are sealed together to form the product, TEN COUNT.

If you despise running in place at the gym, then you’re going to love Nate Forsberg’s and Julia Finnegan’s prototype treadmill.

The CardiOasis takes you out of the health club without taking you out of the health club. The unidirectional tread pad lets you run in any direction by using ball and socket style bearings. The tread pad also senses where you are going. As you run, signals are sent to the top mounted projectors and the scene is laid out before (and behind) you. It’s a 360 degree environment for you to enjoy. There are even fans and speakers bracketed to the aluminum exoskeleton to control temperature and simulate wind and sound.
Using the CardiOasis is a superior experience to using a common treadmill. Why would you want to run in place, staring at the wall, with no sense of accomplishment? With the CardiOasis you can run laps around the island, cut
through the jungle, find your way back to where you started. You will never be bored. The CardiOasis is pre-programmed with several island trails, so when you tire of one, you can choose to run on another.
This virtual running machine is light in weight and under 8 feet high allowing it to fit into most rooms. It enables the user to control their environment and choose their own path. It gives the user that sense of speed that they desire and makes the running experience as pleasurable as possible. Breathe deep, enjoy the run.

Is this a sign of the times? Are we heading for a time when we’ll be so genetically modified that we PAY to have our ‘original’ DNA sealed in titanium capsules and stored subcutaneously?

Capturing the memory of our “original self” in the age of genetic modification. An implanted DNA storage capsule that archives original genetic identity for humans that have been modified.
We are on the brink of a genetic revolution. Scientists have mapped the human genome, doctors have begun to perform genetic modifications in the form of gene therapies, animals have been cloned and food has been genetically enhanced. It is just a matter of time before human genetic material will be manipulated in a lab and babies will be created in a laboratory instead of a bedroom. Future generations will be protected from disease, be able to live longer, and could become “designed” according to their parent’s desires.
The birthmark™ DNA capsule provides the service of archiving an individual’s original DNA, before any modifications are performed. Blood from the fetus is taken at 10-12 months, the DNA from the child is extracted from the mother’s DNA and split into 2 batches. The first DNA batch is kept intact and stored in the birthmark™ titanium capsule to be implanted into the child at birth. The second batch is modified to the parents’ specifications (for instance: the double helix model provides the child with a higher IQ), the enhanced DNA is then reinserted into the fetus.
When implanted, birthmark is nearly invisible to the eye but it is there, much in the same way that fingerprints are there, as an identifying marker that it unique to the individual. The child will always have a copy of their “original self” in case they ever need access to the genetic information stored in the birthmark™ capsule.
“birthmark™ DNA capsule provides a lifetime of secure and reliable storage to accompany any enhancement. Implanting a birthmark™ assures your child will be prepared for all of life’s changes.”

Check out the PopSci/Core77 Design Challenge for more amazing inventions . . .