surgery

Teen listens to iPod during brain tumor removal

They say some music just gets into your brain. But not so often into your brain surgery.

Gavin Brooke, an 18-year-old from the United Kingdom, needed surgery to remove a brain tumor. But his doctors needed him to be awake throughout the operation so that they could be sure that they wouldn't damage his brain.

The solution was to hook up the iPod to the operating room's sound system. The first track Gavin chose for this six-hour headbanger's opera was Apologize by Timbaland, featuring One Republic.

This reflected the fact that, in his mind, he wanted to … Read more

Save your friends and family

Perform microsurgery on your friends and family in this fun game that brings back memories of old-school arcade games. You play as Dr. Awesome, a young doctor just getting his feet wet in the OR. The game uses your iPhone contact list for the patients you will need to operate on to remove several virus strains. The gameplay is much like the arcade classic Qix in which you move your icon to capture sections of the gameplay screen in an effort to capture a set percentage of the entire screen. In Dr. Awesome you need to cut away (or capture) … Read more

CBS video: Brain surgery gets 3D assist

Fiber-optic technology has long helped doctors get at problems in a patient's body without having to resort to major surgery. But for all the technological wonder of being able to see deep inside the body through a tiny tube, the view has been largely limited to the typical two-dimensional rendering of a TV or computer screen.

Now, however, surgeons are able to make use of 3D imaging--best known as a sometime Hollywood special effect--for delicate procedures such as removing tumors from the brain. One such surgeon is Dr. Theodore Schwartz of the Weill-Cornell Medical Center in New York, … Read more

The 404 128: Where Jeff's not late

Apologies for the late start, but Jeff was with some good ole folks from Sony. Today, Russ Frushtick from UGO.com joins us today to talk about video games and the such. Justin has to leave early because of an unexpected meeting, but MTI dawns his superhero shorts to save the day. Along the way, we talk a lot about boobs. I mean a lot. And how not to make chocolate at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. EPISODE 128 Download today's podcast

A microlaser for the gadget-freak dentist

We're not sure how comfortable we'd be with our dentist using equipment made by an outfit called Zap Lasers, but it's probably better than a pair of rusty pliars.

The "Styla" is a pen-like device that's billed as the first microlaser for making soft-tissue incisions. Measuring less than 7 inches long and weighing under 2 ounces, it can be used for such procedures as performing biopsies and removing tissue. It can sense whether the person using it is right-or left-handed and, for the novice, even has eight pre-programmed procedures, according to Gizmag. (Shudder.)

A … Read more

Where Randall hates the majesty of film

EPISODE 92

Iron Man takes the box office by storm, Indiana Jones 4 looks promising, and Speed Racer most definitely will not be good (we promise). Plus, Amy Winehouse pulls out of a James Bond movie, and plastic surgery officially makes people look funny.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Bluetooth implants: Why not?

Question: How did the Borg--the not-so-lovable cyborgs in Star Trek--get to be that way?

Answer: it all started with Bluetooth headsets.

I see more and more people walking around with Bluetooth headsets lodged behind their ears every day. Most states are passing hands-free laws for drivers. Even my technophobe wife wants one.

I could be wrong, but I think it's only a matter of time before some enterprising startup comes up with an implantable device.… Read more

Dr. Mini Robot will see you now

If you're really into robots, maybe it's time a robot got into you. Literally.

This miniature robotic prototype developed by researchers at the Ritsumeikan University and the Shiga University of Medical Science in Japan can be inserted into a patient's body through a small incision.

The doctors use prior MRI imaging of a patient as a sort of internal Google Map. Once it's in there, the robot can be controlled by doctors outside the body to capture images, take tissue samples, deliver medicine, and even perform minor surgical procedures.

As advanced as the robot is, it … Read more