Acoustic Scalpels
Sound is no stranger to the medical field, but researchers at the University of Michigan are taking sound waves beyond the use of ultrasounds and breaking kidney stones and converting it into an “invisible knife” of sorts. “As reported in the current issue of Nature’s journal Scientific Reports, the team was able to concentrate high-amplitude sound waves to a speck just 75 by 400 micrometers (a micrometer is one-thousandth of a millimeter),” an article published by Futurity.org explained. “Their beam can blast and cut with pressure, rather than heat.” Researchers believe this technology will eventually give them the ability to eliminate small cancer tumors or plaques. In testing it has already removed a single ovarian cancer cell.
Creating Human Telephones
Researchers at Disney have officially put a new twist to the game of telephone. The team created a device called the “Ishin-Den-Shin,” a Japanese expression that refers to unspoken mutual understanding, which allows its wearer to transfer a looped recorded message to another person by simply touching them. The technology relies on the ability to create electrostatic fields that cause tiny vibrations when the device’s wearer touches anything. If the person touches another person’s ear, that field is able to relay a previously recorded looped message in a way that only the person in physical contact can hear.