Keeping Up

[clarencebunsen]

Here are a couple articles I found interesting in this month's Popular Science.

www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-02/no-pulse-how-doctors-reinvented-human-heart
There are a lot of amazing things happening. This also has an account of a woman from Clinton who received a mechanical heart.


www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-02/boy-who-played-fusion
This kid is a real life Sheldon. (If you don't get the reference you can't come to my house to play on Thursday nights.)

[Deleted]

knock, knock, knock.....Penny!

[JGRobinson]

I love both stories, man these are exciting times! I was that little boy 40 years ago but not nearly as much grey matter, just a thirst for info on anything Electro-Mechanical.

Implanted organs will be some of our greatest breakthroughs in the coming decades. None too soon, organ donations are not increasing with the needs, our safety standards for vehicles have actually decreased the available pool by saving lives. Luckily, the materials and machinery that are available to R&D these devices are 100 fold compared to the Jarvic Days! Now if we can get the battery issues worked out, people will actually have a chance to regain a full life not just maintain blood flow near a power outlet!

[clarencebunsen]

I can see three potential paths toward solving the power problem.
Better batteries - mostly chemical & engineering problems.
Growing new cells or organs - over the years I've read several times about using various muscle pieces to patch a damaged heart & more recently about attempts to grow entire organs. That seems a ways off.
Powering a device the same ways natural cells are powered - a biomechanical approach (I love making words up when I don't know what I'm writing about).

Meanwhile, here's another article along the same lines.
www.cnn.com/2012/03/04/health/artificial-pancreas/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

[dgriffin]

Mar 5, 2012 10:45:48 GMT -5 clarencebunsen said:

I can see three potential paths toward solving the power problem.
Better batteries - mostly chemical & engineering problems.
Growing new cells or organs - over the years I've read several times about using various muscle pieces to patch a damaged heart & more recently about attempts to grow entire organs. That seems a ways off.
Powering a device the same ways natural cells are powered - a biomechanical approach (I love making words up when I don't know what I'm writing about).

Meanwhile, here's another article along the same lines.
www.cnn.com/2012/03/04/health/artificial-pancreas/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Although power generated in place is the best solution where possible, another path should be Power Transport. We still transport power here on earth the same way Thomas Edison did, by wire. We should look for more efficient (and safe, of course) alternatives.

Also, the comments after the artificial pancreas article indicate that there already exists a blood sugar monitor and alarm.