 |
EVestG Basis For Star Trek 'Psychotricorder'
EVestG is the shorter trade name for electrovestibulography, a new diagnostic technique that could diagnose depression in an hour flat, according to inventor Brian Lithgow. A biomechanical engineer, he refers to the device as a "ECG for the mind".
Lithgow worked with psychiatrists from Monash University to see if it is possible to identify the unique electrical signals of mental illnesses like depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and bipolar disorder. The inventor claims that the device can successfully determine the nature of a disorder before it has manifested in obvious symptoms. The device does not require that a physician operate it; the procedure can be done by a medical technologist. The university is working with a corporate partner to market the technology, calling it EVestG, rather than the more descriptively polysyllabic "electrovestibulography".
To see how it works, watch this surprisingly detailed explanatory video.
(EVestG electrovesibulography demonstration video)
The CEO of Monash University's corporate partner Neural Diagnostics, Dr. Roger Edwards, remarked on the potential of the new technology:
"This could be one of the most significant inventions ever to come out of Monash. CNS disorders cost upwards of $US2 trillion globally and affect one in four people sometime in their lifetime. At present, diagnosing these conditions is done almost exclusively by qualitative measures, through questions and interviews, and it can take many years for sufferers to be correctly diagnosed."
If you're a Star Trek fan, you might be thinking of the psychotricorder, a special version of the tricorder technology that is programmed for use by psychiatrists. The psychotricorder did not require that Dr. McCoy operate it; a medical technician performed the examination. The psychotricorder scanned the patient's brainwaves during questioning and diagnosed mental illness immediately. The device was used in an original series episode Wolf in the Fold, first aired in 1967. In the story, Scotty was an apparent victim of amnesia.
From Science Daily; thanks to Moira for the tip and the reference.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/23/2009)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion (Back On) ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Medical ")
CARMAT Bioprosthetic Total Human Heart Replacement
'George Walt's corporate existence proved the workability of wholly mechanical organs...'- Philip K. Dick, 1964.
Physical Exam? We've Got Apps
See the future of handheld, personal medical devices used with your smartphone.
Japan's Nursing Home Robot Plan
Let's make the Roujin Z-0001 Robotic Bed!
Mini-Livers Made By 3D Printer
Organlegging may not be the growth industry that some fear.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
MIT Robot Cheetah Video Shows Gait Transition
'The legs are long, curled way up to deliver power, like a cheetah's.'
TrackingPoint Smart Rifle
Not your typical 'smart bullet' approach.
'Hello, Computer!' Google Now Highlighted at IO13
'Hello, computer!'
Sky City's 220 Stories Are Go
'It rested among green parklands and... stood in total isolation, a glittering block of whites and flashing windows dotted with colors.'
CARMAT Bioprosthetic Total Human Heart Replacement
'George Walt's corporate existence proved the workability of wholly mechanical organs...'
Personal Sniffer Robots
'...The ticking combinations of the olfactory system of the hound.'
Physical Exam? We've Got Apps
See the future of handheld, personal medical devices.
The Interplanetary Internet, Vint Cerf Speaking
'This was the center of Interplanetary Communications.'
Drosophila Robotica, The Mechanical Fly
'... the Scarab [flying robot] buzzed into the great workroom as any intruding insect might...'
Robo-Raven Flapping Wing Robot Bird
'When he had first built them, they had been crude indeed, flying mechanisms with little more than a reflex-response unit.'
Japan's Nursing Home Robot Plan
Let's make the Roujin Z-0001 Robotic Bed!
Samsung Smart TVs With Gesture Control
'He waved his hand and the circuit switched abruptly.'
Swiss HCPVT Giant Photovoltaic 'Flower'
'...leaning against one of the slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector.'
Mini-Livers Made By 3D Printer
Organleggers may experience an employment downturn.
Smartphone Sensor System Tracks Gunfire
'Sound trackers on the roof could zero in on weapons action...'
Bacteria Now Make Biofuel Like Oil
'They have ... germs that eat pretty near anything, and produce oil as a waste product.'
