While texting at lightning speed and sharing your pictures in real time are great innovations, technology has given us incredible capabilities that go beyond limits that were previously unimaginable.
In the health industry, specifically, modern technology has provided options to the physically challenged, given sight to the blind and provided a new realm of possibilities in surgical procedures. Its reach however, is not limited to health. Extraordinary innovations in technology have proven more than capable of providing an easier life by taking imaginative leaps of faith and attacking everyday problems in simple ways.
1. Controlling dementia with an iPod
Based on extensive neuroscience research the iPod has found a new use in the treatment and control of people living with a wide range of cognitive and physical challenges. It has proven to be a simple, elegant and very effective tool for helping people living with these conditions to find meaning and connection through personalized music.
Music taps into deep memories that are not lost to the deterioration that is prevalent in brain disorders. This has brought patients “back to life” and enabled them to feel like themselves again, while allowing them to stay present, converse and socialize. The results have been termed as “nothing short of miraculous,” removing reliance on antipsychotic medication.
2. Sustain the earth with an Android app
Ecorio is an App that allows you to track your carbon footprints. The app analyzes your planned trips, suggests options, and allows you to inspire others, by offering share options on twitter or Facebook.
It provides you with the ability to offset your carbon footprint by linking you to sites affiliated with Carbonfund–an organization that supports carbon offset projects for renewable energy, reforestation efforts and energy efficiency.
3. Create art with your eyes
Generally, for someone missing vital limbs such as their arms automatically meant they either had to figure out how to write with their mouths, or just never write. The Eyewriter is a set of glasses that detects where someone’s eyes are looking and actually allows them to “draw” with their eyes. The goal is to develop the inexpensive eye-tracking headset, coupled with open source software, to give physically challenged people all over the world the ability to create art on their own.
4. Bionic Arms for amputees
Named the Luke arm (after Luke Skywalker), this bionic arm is the most advanced prosthetic ever created and gives the user 18 degrees of freedom, as opposed to the 3 degrees that traditional prosthetics provide. Wired to muscles and nerves, it even allows the user to sense the amount of pressure they are applying when gripping objects.
5. Replace your optician with liquid
A British inventor known as Josh Silver created the Eyejuster. These are a set of reading glasses which can adjust its own degree of strength. This makes them perfect for the developing world or in scenarios where access to an optician is limited, or far too costly for the general population.
They contain a liquid–filled sac which, when deflated, makes the glasses weaker, and when filled makes them stronger. They rely on the principle that a fat lens makes glasses more powerful and therefore the glasses can be instantly adapted to the required strength; no optician required.Subscribe to the Podcast