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Mar. 25th, 2008 08:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
plutherusI went to the Obama rally this weekend. The guy's an amazing speaker. Unfortunately, none of the blog posts I made during and immediately after the rally made it through. Damn Iphone.
Anyway, I'll post my impressions of it later. For now, I have recently discovered this, thanks to a link from Schlock Mercenary. More cyborg gear. A grid of pixels are "tattooed" into the skin, and the device that activates them implanted underneath. The example given is an interface to a cell phone, but I can think of several other uses for such technology. Aside from animated tattoos, think of the medical uses of such a device. Since it's powered by a blood fuel cell, it uses the recipient's own blood to power it. Since it's using the blood, it can monitor the blood. From the press release: "It also continually monitors for many blood disorders, alerting the person of a health problem: A human version of the check engine light." Imagine the boon to diabetics or anyone else who has to constantly monitor their blood sugar or other properties. Instead of drawing a drop or two of blood out and testing it several times a day, one of these implanted can be constantly monitoring it, letting you chart it minute by minute, and even sounding an alarm if it gets out of bounds.
Come to think of it, it could even connect to another device attached somewhere that could deliver insulin or sugar or whatever's needed, as soon as it's needed, and pretty much completely replace the body's natural system, thus providing a permanent "cure" for diabetes. I'm imagining a secondary device implanted under the skin, maybe on the belly, with a couple of "ports" for refilling.
As long as it's monitoring, it can pick up all sorts of things: counting white blood cells, it can alert to leukemia for example within hours of it starting, long before any symptoms show up. Hell, it could even tell you if you need more iron, or calcium, or vitamin C, or whatever, and direct you to take an appropriate pill, or interface with a device that can just mix up a cocktail of whatever is needed at the time.
And, of course, there's always the sinister side. Your insurance company will want to make them mandatory, or at least charge you triple if you don't have one, so that they can be constantly downloading the information so they can drop you or raise your rates if any risk factors are indicated.
And courts will want to order them, starting with people convicted of drunk driving. If it can check blood alcohol content, it can alert the police if you try to drive, or talk to another device on your car that refuses to allow it to start. Not too long from there to schools or employers insisting on the devices to monitor for drug use.
And since it's bluetooth, and implanted, it can serve as a key you never lose. Or a universal ID that can track everywhere you ever go, by communicating with various check points.
OK, I started off this post with a wow-this-is-really-cool-I-want-one sort of attitude, but now I'm scaring myself. Oh, yeah, I love new technology...
Anyway, I'll post my impressions of it later. For now, I have recently discovered this, thanks to a link from Schlock Mercenary. More cyborg gear. A grid of pixels are "tattooed" into the skin, and the device that activates them implanted underneath. The example given is an interface to a cell phone, but I can think of several other uses for such technology. Aside from animated tattoos, think of the medical uses of such a device. Since it's powered by a blood fuel cell, it uses the recipient's own blood to power it. Since it's using the blood, it can monitor the blood. From the press release: "It also continually monitors for many blood disorders, alerting the person of a health problem: A human version of the check engine light." Imagine the boon to diabetics or anyone else who has to constantly monitor their blood sugar or other properties. Instead of drawing a drop or two of blood out and testing it several times a day, one of these implanted can be constantly monitoring it, letting you chart it minute by minute, and even sounding an alarm if it gets out of bounds.
Come to think of it, it could even connect to another device attached somewhere that could deliver insulin or sugar or whatever's needed, as soon as it's needed, and pretty much completely replace the body's natural system, thus providing a permanent "cure" for diabetes. I'm imagining a secondary device implanted under the skin, maybe on the belly, with a couple of "ports" for refilling.
As long as it's monitoring, it can pick up all sorts of things: counting white blood cells, it can alert to leukemia for example within hours of it starting, long before any symptoms show up. Hell, it could even tell you if you need more iron, or calcium, or vitamin C, or whatever, and direct you to take an appropriate pill, or interface with a device that can just mix up a cocktail of whatever is needed at the time.
And, of course, there's always the sinister side. Your insurance company will want to make them mandatory, or at least charge you triple if you don't have one, so that they can be constantly downloading the information so they can drop you or raise your rates if any risk factors are indicated.
And courts will want to order them, starting with people convicted of drunk driving. If it can check blood alcohol content, it can alert the police if you try to drive, or talk to another device on your car that refuses to allow it to start. Not too long from there to schools or employers insisting on the devices to monitor for drug use.
And since it's bluetooth, and implanted, it can serve as a key you never lose. Or a universal ID that can track everywhere you ever go, by communicating with various check points.
OK, I started off this post with a wow-this-is-really-cool-I-want-one sort of attitude, but now I'm scaring myself. Oh, yeah, I love new technology...
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Date: 2008-03-25 07:10 pm (UTC)