etc. Archives

An Update on Altapure’s Ultrasonic Clinical Environment Sterilization System

by Scott Jung on May 16, 2012 •

Back in February, we wrote about Altapure‘s adaptation of military sonar technology to sterilize clinical environments. During our recent trip to northeast Indiana, we had the opportunity to visit Altapure’s home on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.

Since our last mention, Altapure has been able to not only get their product on the market, but is already working on a newer version of the device that clocks in at 1/3 the size of the current model but has the same power.

Altapure device An Update on Altapures Ultrasonic Clinical Environment Sterilization SystemIn essence, Altapure’s device is an ultrasonic nebulizer that creates a thick fog that permeates through a clinical environment and eradicates harmful pathogens, such as MRSA. However, unlike a fog machine you’d see at a rave party, this machine creates a fog that’s thicker than pea soup. The droplets that make up the dense cloud are sub-micron in size, giving them a tendency to spread further and more quickly and cling to surfaces. Also, each cubic foot of cloud contains three to five trillion droplets, making the cloud too dense for any pathogen to survive. According to Carl Ricciardi, Altapure’s co-founder and president, basically any liquid can be aerosolized; our tour demo used distilled water (the women in our group appreciated the free facial), but Altapure favors using non-toxic and environmentally-friendly acetic acid (which is essentially vinegar), or a low 0.88% concentration hydrogen peroxide. It’s interesting to note that Altapure is marketing their technology as a platform and not a product, as they hope that it’ll be integrated into a number of different applications.

One interesting application that Ricciardi mentioned was agriculture/food safety. Concerned that your salad may be teeming with listeria? Place it in a room with an Altapure device, and in just a matter of minutes, it’ll be pathogen-free and ready to eat!  Maybe one of these days we’ll see restaurants with these sorts things in the kitchen.

More info: Altapure…

Flashback: Sonar Technology Developed for Attack Submarines Now Used to Sterilize Clinical Environments

etc. / Geriatrics / Rehab

Disney’s Research Arm Develops Technology to Turn Any Surface Into a Touch Sensor (video)

by Scott Jung on May 10, 2012
Disney's Research Arm Develops Technology to Turn Any Surface Into a Touch Sensor (video)

We’re all fairly familiar with “Imagineering”, Disney‘s R&D branch that develops cutting-edge theme park technology and showcases the latest in moviemaking, but it’s a little known fact that the Mouse House also runs Disney Research, a group that develops technology that isn’t necessarily entertainment related.

Their latest bit of Disney magic is Touché, a technology that greatly enhances touch sensing capabilities making iPads and Androids already feel so 2012. Touché works by turning practically anything into a touch-sensitive interface, including the human body and liquids. All that’s required is a special electrode placed on the object, which in turn becomes a touch-sensitive surface, and a single wire connected to a computer. But Touché goes beyond creating touch-sensitive surfaces; multi-touch and gestures can also be used, which opens a lot of potential interactive applications.

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etc.

Philips’ ErgoSensor Monitor Tells You to Stop Slouching

by Scott Jung on Apr 9, 2012
Philips' ErgoSensor Monitor Tells You to Stop Slouching

Improper ergonomics at your workstation can lead to a potential bevy of workplace related injuries, including back and neck pain, eyestrain, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Realizing that “work should be suited to people, and not the other way around”, Philips has released an interesting new 24″ LCD monitor. Besides being an all-around nice display to have at your workstation, the new monitor has a built-in “ErgoSensor” to promote better ergonomics.

Located in the top bezel of the display where a standard webcam would usually be found, the ErgoSensor is able to track the user’s position and distance from the monitor and provide feedback if the person is not in an ergonomically correct position, for example, if someone is sitting too close to the screen or their neck posture is incorrect. When such feedback occurs, the user can reposition him or herself, or can adjust the display using a number of adjustments in the monitor’s “SmartErgoBase”.

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etc.

German Engineers Develop Wireless Power Technology for Implanted Medical Devices

by Gene Ostrovsky on Apr 4, 2012
German Engineers Develop Wireless Power Technology for Implanted Medical Devices

Researchers at Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS in Dresden and Hermsdorf, Germany developed a wireless power transmission system that may one day energize implantable medical devices.

It relies on a transmitter that creates a modulating magnetic field and a receiver that has a metal bead that moves along with the changes in the field.  This movement is transferred into electricity and so can power internal implants as long as the magnetic field is within range.

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etc. / Public Health

Silk Transformed into Bactericidal Fabric

by Stanley Darma on Mar 15, 2012
Silk Transformed into Bactericidal Fabric

Scientists from the US Air Force Research Laboratory have found a way to convert ordinary silk into an antibacterial fabric by dipping it into certain chemicals. After the coating process the silk can kill bacteria and even coated spores. The research results were reported this week in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Previous research showed that other fabrics dipped into chemical solutions could damage biomolecules. Silk was chosen because it is widely available around the world, has excellent mechanical properties and offers good biocompatibility.  A chemical solution similar to household bleach was used to coat the silk. After letting it dry, the silk could kill E.coli and spores of bacteria similar to Bacillus anthracis (anthrax). Some possible applications are using prepared silk as a filter material for treating contaminated water or for cleaning air from pathogenic spores.

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etc. / Public Health

Sonar Technology Developed for Attack Submarines Now Used to Sterilize Clinical Environments

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 17, 2012
Sonar Technology Developed for Attack Submarines Now Used to Sterilize Clinical Environments

Two specialty companies, ITT Exelis (McLean, VA) and Altapure (Tomahawk, WI), have developed a sterilization system that uses a uniquely different technology than other systems on the market. The device relies on a piezoelectric ceramic-based nebulizer that generates a heavy cloud of sub-micron droplets that kill everything they get to. The technology seems to be intended for sterilization of large spaces, including compromised buildings and military aircraft that serve as air hospitals.

More from Altapure’s technology page:

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etc. / Military Medicine

Operating Rooms on Wheels Help Hospitals Renovate, Offer Emergency Relief When Needed

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 6, 2012
Operating Rooms on Wheels Help Hospitals Renovate, Offer Emergency Relief When Needed

What does a hospital do when it needs to conduct major renovations while continuing to be able to conduct surgeries? Turns out one company makes mobile surgery trucks that offer a complete surgical theater and can be setup in an hour by just a couple of people.

The Miami VA Medical Center is actually using five of these Mobile Surgical Units from MMIC (Mobile Medical International Corporation) to continue operating on patients without missing a beat.  Of course, these are also useful in disaster relief and for military operations.

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Art / Diagnostics / etc. / Telemedicine

Corning Shows Us a Future Made of Glass

by Scott Jung on Feb 6, 2012

Corning lately may be best known for their ultra-durable Gorilla Glass found on Apple products as well as other smartphones and computers, but it also has a historic and revered research and development arm that was responsible for the glass found in innovations that include the original Edison lightbulb and the first liquid crystal displays. Corning is also dedicated to supporting the life sciences industry: PYREX, for example, is a common glass found in today’s laboratories.

The 104-year old R&D research arm recently released a video of its glass-filled vision for the next 104 years. Some of the concepts presented are already in development, but one intriguing section in the middle of the video visualizes the use of Corning glass in the medical lab. We’ll start you off at the 3:07 mark and you’ll see glass used in futuristic, transparent medical terminals and tablets. You’ll also see glass (which is antimicrobial) used in a holographic examination table integrated with a cool-looking MRI scanner.

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etc.

New Material Provides Extra Grip Without the Tackiness

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jan 23, 2012
New Material Provides Extra Grip Without the Tackiness

KRAIBURG TPE, a maker of thermoplastic elastomers based on HSBC (hydrogenated styrene block copolymers) out of Waldkraiburg, Germany, has released a new surface material that promises much greater grip during dry and wet conditions than conventional thermoplastic elastomers.

Not having to use tackifiers, chemical compounds that provide extra grip but make the surface feel sticky and tacky, can be a benefit for all sorts of medical devices where precision control is important.

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