Smartphone Otoscope for the Masses

The geniuses at UC Berkley (Cellscope) have developed an otoscope that can attach to a smartphone allowing visualization of the eardrum on the phone's screen.

Possible applications include allowing parents to take pictures of their child's ear on the smartphone and emailing to their physician rather than a clinic visit for diagnosis of an ear infection, fluid behind the eardrum, or eardrum perforation.

Not for sale yet... as far as I know...

Here is their original research paper describing this idea which extends not just to eardrum visualization, but any application where magnification is required.

Reference:
Mobile Phone Based Clinical Microscopy for Global Health Applications. PLoS ONE 4(7): e6320. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006320

Revolutionary Camera Takes "Living" Pictures

Lytro has introduced a new type of camera that may have tremendous implications in medical photography.

It is a camera that takes a "living" picture. What does that mean?

In essence, it is a camera that takes a picture taking ALL the light information that is present such that the picture can be manipulated as if you haven't taken the picture yet.

It sounds confusing, but practically speaking, it means that one can literally refocus any part of a picture AFTER it has been taken. We are not talking about photoshopping using the blur or sharpen filter. It is literally refocussing a picture AFTER it has been taken!!!

You need to see it to believe it...

Click here to view some sample pictures. Touch (click) to refocus any part of the picture; pinch (double-click) to zoom.

I can't wait to see some medical photography done with this camera which starts at $399.

Purchase through the company's website.

"Mouthwatering" Foods May Be a Misnomer?

In the spirit of Thanskgiving where thoughts of food predominate, British researchers have determined that humans are NOT able to produce more saliva by merely thinking of foods whether hungry or not.

This includes looking at pictures of sumptuous foods.

What researchers did determine is that SMELLING foods increased salivary production significantly. Tasting and chewing was even more influential in salivary production.

So at least for humans, unless the food is smelled, tasted, or chewed, mouthwatering just does not happen.

Of note, salivary production was determined by placing cotton pledgets inside the cheeks (saliva produced by the parotid glands) and a suction device under the tongue (saliva produced by the submandibular glands) on healthy volunteers.

Read MSNBC report here.

Reference:
IS THE MOUTHWATERING SENSATION A TRUE SALIVARY REFLEX? Journal of Texture Studies Special Issue: Food Oral Processing - Physics, Physiology, and Psychology University of Leeds, U.K. Volume 42, Issue 3, pages 212–216, June 2011