BodyTite is a device made by Invasix. It uses a patented radiofrequency assisted liposuction (RFAL™) technology to contour the body as well as contract the skin. There are other types of laser assisted lipo machines on the market but this removes the hot liquefied adipose tissue immediately, as well as tightening the skin in a one-step procedure that is 4x faster than others.

Read more: Bodytite Radiofrequency Assisted Liposuction by Invasix

A panel set up by the FDA has recommended by a vote of 15-0 that they will approve the first fully-implantable hearing aid for patients with moderate to severe hearing loss.

The Esteem®-Hearing Implant™ developed by Envoy Medical is different from all other microphone-based hearing devices (hearing aids, other middle ear implants or cochlear implants). This is because it uses the eardrum to process the incoming sound and thereby preserving a natural way of hearing. The Esteem®-Hearing Implant™ is 100% implantable and therefore invisible.

The device works by being implanted under the skin behind the ear. Sound waves travel into the ear canal and set the ear drum into motion by causing the bones of the middle ear to vibrate. The device senses these movements and delivers a customized dose of energy to the cochlea which then transmits the signals to the brain. The brain interprets the signals as hearing, which in turn provides the patient with improved hearing.

Read more: Esteem Fully Implantable Hearing System

Google Goggles is likely to be the beginning of augmented reality on a mass scale. It works by searching the web for information based on a picture or photo. Its been designed for smart phones as well as the chrome browser. Basically anything you see is what you can search. Due to concerns over a backlash from privacy advocates, Google has decided to blur faces that are used with the application. So it seems for now we have to live with only searching for objects and places.

Read more: Google Goggles Beginning of Mass Augmented Reality

The Argus II artificial eye is manufactured by Second Sight Medical Products Inc. It's designed to take the place of damaged photoreceptors. Although these devices are still experimental, Second Sight is seeking approval to market the device which may come as soon as next year in Europe and the U.S.

In May 2009 they received approval from the US FDA to trial the Argus 2 in 20 more people. Since then there have been various news articles showing promising results.

Read more: Bionic Eye From Second Sight

Boston Dynamics has developed this walking robot prototype called PETMAN. The final version is due to be completed in 2011 and will be able to able to walk and crawl for simulating combat suits.

Although this is being developed for military testing, the natural heal-toe walking could make some good human like bionic legs. Or the auto stabilization software applied to existing exoskeletons could one day allow for disabled and elderly people to walk again.

View the product page at http://www.bostondynamics.com/robot_petman.html

The monthly poll for October 09 asked the question,

"Would you get a microchip implant for monitoring your health?"

The results are 67% of people who responded said yes, 28% chose no way I'm never getting an implant and 4.8% said I'll wait until it develops a bit more. Although only 21 people voted this month its still an interesting result.

I personally thought a higher percentage would say no way, but then again people who visit this site are probably into that type of thing in the first place.

Clinicians and researchers at Mayo Clinic have been testing a new device that can monitor patients with heart problems at home in hopes of keeping them healthier and out of the hospital longer. A monitoring device is strapped on the chest and measures things like heart rate, blood pressure, breathing and activity.

The information is collected and sent to a software program where trained technicians can analyze the data. The program can even ask questions back to the patient like "Do you feel any symptoms?". The information gathered can then be used to suggest seeing a doctor or to adjust medications.

It's currently only used by congestive heart failure patients but in the future it could be used by more people as a constant health monitoring tool.

Source: Mayo Clinic channel on Youtube

Celling Technologies has now launched its latest method for the isolation of adult stem cells. The Res-Q device was developed by ThermoGenesis Corporation to provide an easy to use, point-of-care system to compliment their MXP system currently being marketed in the United States and several international markets.

The Res-Q device is the second point-of-care cell processing system by Celling that utilizes a functionally closed system to eliminate sterility issues while providing consistent, reliable adult stem cell concentrations within minutes.

Read more: The Res-Q System for Adult Stem Cell Therapy