New Electronic Inventions

ElectronicPills - Collecting Data Inside The Body

Israel-based Given Imaging and the researchers at the University of Buffalo in New York have developed ingestible capsules that record data from inside your body.

These pills contain sensors or tiny cameras that collect information as they travel through the gastrointestinal tract before being excreted from the body a day or two later.

These new electronic inventions transmit information such as acidity, pressure, and temperature levels or images of the esophagus and intestine to your doctor's computer for analysis.

Doctors often use invasive methods such as catheters, endoscopic instruments, or radioisotopes for collecting information about the digestive tract. So device companies have been developing easier, less intrusive ways, to gather information.

Digestive diseases and disorders can include symptoms such as acid reflux, bloating, heartburn, abdominal pain, constipation, difficulty swallowing, or loss of appetite.

"One of the main challenges is determining just what is happening in the stomach and intestines," says Dr. Anish A. Sheth, Director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Program at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Doctors can inspect the colon and peer into the stomach using endoscopic instruments. But some areas cannot be easily viewed, and finding out how muscles are working can be difficult.

Electronic pills are being used to measure muscle contraction, ease of passage and other factors to reveal information unavailable in the past.

Sources: givenimaging.com; buffalo.edu

Transparent Smartphones

Inventors, Jung Won Seo, Jae-Woo Park, Keong Su Lim, Ji-Hwan Yang, and Sang Jung Kang, who are scientists at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, have created the world's first transparent computer chip.

The chip, known as (TRRAM) or transparent resistive random access memory, is similar to existing chips known as (CMOS) or metal-oxide-semiconductor memory, which we use in new electronics.

The difference is that TRRAM is completely clear and transparent. What is the benefit of having transparency?

"It is a new milestone of transparent electronic systems," says Jung Won Seo. "By integrating TRRAM with other transparent electronic components, we can create a total see-through embedded electronic systems."

The technology could enable the windows or mirrors in your home to be used as computer monitors and television screens.

This technology is expected to be available within 3 to 4 years.

Source: www.kaist.edu Photo: www.yankodesign.com