health

LAS VEGAS--How would you feel if you were hospitalized and your doctor were talking to you through a 5-foot robot?

RP-VITA (Remote Presence Virtual + Independent Telemedicine Assistant) is a remote-, iPad-operated telepresence bot. It's become the first self-navigating communications robot to receive FDA certification, developers InTouch and iRobot said at CES 2013.

The machine is approved "for telemedicine consults inclusive of active patient monitoring in high-acuity environments where immediate clinical action may be required," InTouch said in a release. Specifically, it's cleared for "active patient monitoring in pre-operative, peri-operative and post-surgical settings, including cardiovascular, neurological, prenatal, psychological, and critical care assessments and examinations." … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The iSpO2 by Masimo ports the hospital checkup experience to iPhones and iPads and makes on-the-spot pulse readings available to active types wherever they are.

iSpO2 is a consumer pulse oximeter that connects to most Apple i-devices and comes with a sensor that you slip on to your ring finger for immediate oxygen, pulse rate, and perfusion index readings.

While not intended for home use, the idea behind iSpO2 is to help fitness fanatics, aviators, skiers, and extreme sports enthusiasts find out crucial information on their vitals without the need for a physician. Max Safai, senior vice president of … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Fitness gear and wearable tech are one of the burgeoning trends of this year's CES, and Fitbug was at the CES Unveiled press event previewing scale, heart rate, and blood-pressure monitoring gadgets.

The Fitbug Orb is a $49 wearable device with both clip-on and watchband attachments, competing in an increasingly crowded space. It uses the same technology and infrastructure as Fitbug's other wearable tech including the Fitbug Air, and works with the iPhone 5, 4S, fifth-gen iPod Touch, third-gen iPads and higher, and the Samsung Galaxy S3. Bonus: it has an "underwear clip" for discrete … Read more

Quick! Which keys on your keyboard are the filthiest? The most infested with nasty germs?

Come on down, E, S, T, return, and space bar! You're the most likely to harbor abhorrent bugs like E. coli. We need you to communicate but hate your freeloaders. What to do?

Enter the Influsaber, an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.

This wand from Japan's J-Force slays bugs with ultraviolet rays, namely UV-C light, which can penetrate the outer walls of viruses and bacteria, altering their genetic structure and killing them. … Read more

Norovirus is a particularly nasty virus that causes severe gastrointestinal upset. It's famous for turning cruises into nightmares. It's a tough little number that spreads easily and is hard to kill. To study it, you can't just ask a bunch of sick people to pop down to the lab and vomit on demand. That's where a robot nicknamed Vomiting Larry comes in.

Larry is a one-robot upchucking machine in residence at the Health & Safety Laboratory in Buxton, U.K. He's an anatomically correct model and his favorite hobby is barfing for science. He helps scientists determine how far the norovirus can spread. … Read more

Pneumonia, which claims the lives of more than 1.2 million children under the age of 5 every year, is the leading cause of death in children worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. And in certain regions, such as South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, pneumonia alone accounts for 85 percent of pediatric deaths.

So it comes as little surprise that Microsoft, through its Imagine Cup Grants program, has awarded its second-place prize of $75,000 to a team out of Australia that is developing a tool to diagnose the infection quickly and affordably. (The first-place prize went to a … Read more

San Francisco startup Basis Science confirmed pricing and availability for its Basis health tracker today. The $199 watch-style gadget hits the market in early December, continuing the evolution of wearable fitness technology for everyday consumers. … Read more

As a child, I used to concentrate really hard on things like pencils and pebbles, trying to get them to budge with the sheer power of my mind. It never worked, but technology is getting us a little closer to the mind control dream. The Muse brainwave-sensing headband from Interaxon is a step in the right direction.

The Muse uses two sensors on the forehead and two behind the ears. You wear it positioned kind of like a pair of glasses. It measures your brainwaves and sends the information to a smartphone or tablet. Viewing that data in real time can show you if your mind is wandering, if you're relaxed, or if you're in a state of intense concentration.… Read more

Battery Health is, as its name implies, designed to tell you about your MacBook's battery, including current capacity and current charge level. Since battery health is an important factor for many of us on the move, knowing how healthy our battery is and how long we can depend on it can help prevent losing power when you need it most. Knowing when it is going to need replacing is also a handy piece of knowledge.

Battery Health is a small utility that installs quickly and easily. When launched the first time, Battery Health asks if you want to run … Read more