Tag Archives: disease

Transparent skin patches promise psoriasis patients better human-centered treatment

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Given how much of it is exposed for everyone to see, skin conditions can easily become a source of embarrassment or even depression for anyone. This is especially true for diseases that require prolonged treatment where afflicted people have to endure not only physical but also mental and emotional suffering during that period. Those with chronic conditions such as psoriasis might feel forced to cover up those blemishes, which might not be good for treatment. Those treatment options often revolve around the technical aspects of the medicine or the physiological condition of the patient, disregarding psychological effects. This wearable medical patch, in contrast, offers a solution that isn’t just innovative but, more importantly, human-centric as well.

Designer: 3M x Feathm Design Studio

Psoriasis patients often feel more than just the discomfort or pain brought about by their long-lasting condition. They also feel some level of hopelessness and anxiety from living with the disease. Treatments for psoriasis do exist, ranging from ointments to injections, but patients still have to endure the sight of their disfigured skin while that treatment is still ongoing. Worse, they can’t cover up those affected patches of skin, at least not without unfavorable consequences in the long run.

The 3M Psoriasis Prescription Patch design tries to alleviate patients’ suffering by hitting two birds with one stone. For one it’s a medical-grade skin wearable that easily lets people apply the patches in affected places, and although the prototype is shown to have a transparent or translucent surface, it’s not hard to imagine 3M applying its technologies and patents to make the patch seemingly blend with the skin or cover up those areas with more aesthetic designs.

More importantly, the patches can actually administer medicine to the skin, making it trivial to apply the right amount of dosage needed for treatment. In other words, these are patches you will actually have to wear to get better, which will hopefully help increase the patient’s confidence while undergoing treatment. The patches also employ a perforated honeycomb design that makes it easier to tear off sections to match the specific shape of the area that needs to be covered. Perhaps it can even be used to create interesting patterns that call attention to the patch in a more favorable way.

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like a medical patch is something ground-breaking, but it’s an innovation that puts a paradigm shift in dermatological treatment. Rather than just the application of medicine, it focuses on the effects the processes have on the mental and emotional well-being of the patients. And with a disease that everyone will be able to see, it’s even more important to take a human-centered design approach that will not only heal people’s skins but also their spirits.

The post Transparent skin patches promise psoriasis patients better human-centered treatment first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Infectious Disease Coloring Book: Now I Don’t Feel So Good

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Because what better way to raise a future doctor (or dissuade your child from becoming a future doctor) than with a coloring book full of infectious diseases, The Infectious Disease Coloring Book (affiliate link) from Nicholas Wright is advertised as “a gruesome coloring therapy adventure.” I agree on the gruesome coloring part, although I question the book’s merit as a therapy adventure. Have these statements even been verified by the FDA?

Eat your crayons, then grab your colored pencils and prepare to immerse yourself in the world of gory ailments, coloring depictions of diseases such as leprosy, syphilis, flesh-eating bacteria, herpes, and MORE. Obviously, I just bought ten of the coloring books to use as stocking stuffers this year for all my young nieces and nephews.

Am I going to start using the Infectious Disease Coloring Book to self-diagnose ailments instead of spending money on a trip to the hospital? Of course not; that’s what WebMD is for. And according to my most recent diagnosis, I have everything.

This wearable gadget measures skin oxygen levels to detect and diagnose early signs of illness

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An aesthetically designed medical gadget to detect all the problems that prop up from the dysfunction of underlying skin tissues and capillaries which can be problematic in the long run.

Detecting the first signs of ailment is a determinant in the future treatment and the overall health of an individual. For people with some kind of disease related to peripheral capillaries like peripheral arterial disease (PAD), it becomes even more important to take proactive action once it is identified. Designer Deokhee Jeong has come up with a wearable medical gadget to help patients suffering from this problem to keep a close tab on the earliest signs. This is done by measuring the skin oxygen levels accurately courtesy of the wearable patch Deokhee calls the Transcutaneous Oxygen Sensor.

The wearable medical gadget is still in the concept prototype stage but unlike other designs, this is created in complete synergy between the design team who give direction to the aesthetic requirements and the technology team who ideate the concept. The end result, a functional gadget that solves the intended purpose while being aesthetically ideal for practical usage. Here it is, the accurate detection of blood oxygen levels of the skin tissue and underlying vessels and capillaries. The oxygen detector is designed for ASON Co. Ltd. and it is highly likely it will make it to the mass consumer market in a couple of years.

Transcutaneous Oxygen Sensor uses luminescent gas sensing and soft electronics technology to make the readings. It is far more superior to the SPO2 sensor and much simpler than some of the methods used to detect the disease by medical professionals. Things like Pulse volume recording (PVR) waveform analysis, Photoplethysmography (PPG), Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) or Doppler ultrasound flow studies.

The design team and the techie minds come together to blur out all the hassle of these methods and consolidate them inside this compact medical gadget that’s wearable. The patient has to simply stick it onto the back of the hand and the wrist area to do the test. When everything is done, simply put it in the pocket or the closet for next time use. It is that compact!

Designer: Deokhee Jeong

This disease-repelling jacket made from a copper textile could be the new future of clothing

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Don’t worry, it’s still surprisingly comfortable though…

Metal may not really sound like an obvious candidate when it comes to textile options for clothing, but the guys at Vollebak make a pretty good point when they say that the next 100 years won’t quite be like the last. The climate’s changing, the ice caps are melting, and if Bill Gates is right, COVID-19 may just be the proverbial tip of the iceberg. It doesn’t mean we’re going to completely surrender fabrics like cotton, wool, or denim entirely, but it just means we need to start looking into future-fabrics that do much more than clad us.

Behold the Full Metal Jacket… No really, this jacket from Vollebak is actually made from a germ-repelling metallic textile. Quite unlike those space-foil jackets that astronauts wear, the Full Metal Jacket actually uses a fabric with woven strands of copper, so it’s entirely breathable, flexible, and doesn’t make a crinkly sound when you move around. With as much as 11 kilometers of copper in each jacket, the apparel relies on copper’s innate ability to kill off any bacteria or viruses that it comes in contact with.

Making clothes from metal yarn is more complex than you’d think. Sourcing metal strands is expensive, has no real precedent in clothing beyond suits of armor, and there’s no established supply chain… but I honestly can’t think of a set of constraints that have ever stopped the guys at Vollebak from pushing boundaries. I mean they’ve literally made clothes from a grade of ceramic used on the International Space Station. The Full Metal Jacket comes with three separate layers, the first of which is made from a lacquered copper yarn which is woven on rapier weaving looms before being scoured, heat-set, dyed, and dried – a process that alone takes roughly a week. This process gives the jacket its grungy denim look, but as time passes, the lacquer wears away to reveal the true copper tones in certain places, giving the jacket a uniquely appealing patina that’s comparable to the aging on a leather jacket. The outer layer gives the jacket its germ-repelling properties while also allowing it to be wind and water-proof, while a middle layer made from a laminated copper fabric allows the jacket to respond uniquely to external temperature. This middle fabric, dubbed c_change®, has a weave-pattern that expands during the heat to allow your skin to breathe and release perspiration, and contract during the cold to trap body heat and keep you warm. An inner protective fleece lining makes the jacket comfortable to wear, giving your skin the familiar touch of a soft yarn.

The Full Metal Jacket comes with four large waterproof pockets on the outside and three chest pockets for your belongings. Designed to be your everyday jacket, it can be worn in any sort of weather outdoors, and remains as comfortable and soft to touch as any sort of synthetic outerwear would… in fact, you really can’t even see the copper strands unless under a microscope. However, unlike most outerwear, synthetic or not, it possesses the ability to completely obliterate any sort of microorganism that comes in contact with it, a feature that makes it a standout product in our uncertain future. This brand of standout innovation doesn’t come cheap though. Each jacket retails for $1095, but that can be attributed to the jacket’s revolutionary medical-grade fabric, and the fact that it’s assembled in Switzerland, Italy, and in Romania. Besides, you probably won’t need to wash it either, given its ability to resist water, stains, germs, and even odor particles. Just leave it out in the sun for a bit and it should be as good as new.

Designer: Vollebak

AI-formulated medicine to be tested on humans for the first time

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A drug designed entirely by artificial intelligence is about to enter clinical human trials for the first time. The drug, which is intended to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, was discovered using AI systems from Oxford-based biotech company Exsc...

Microsoft backs AI in healthcare with a $40 million program

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Microsoft's deepening health tech strategy now includes a significant commitment to AI. The company is starting a $40 million AI for Health program that should help researchers and key organizations improve the quality of life for people around the...

IBM uses AI to predict progress of Huntington’s disease symptoms

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IBM is using its AI-based health prediction skills to help tackle the challenge of Huntington's disease. The tech firm has teamed up with CHDI Foundation on an artificial intelligence model that can predict when patients will experience Huntington's...

A new blood test could indicate multiple conditions with one sample

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A new blood test could use a single plasma sample to assess health and predict the likelihood of developing a range of diseases. Thanks to Theranos, this may sound familiar, but unlike that debacle, this proof-of-concept is backed by research publish...

Phone app detects eye disease in kids through photos

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It might soon be possible to catch eye diseases using just the phone in your pocket. Researchers have developed a CRADLE app (Computer Assisted Detector of Leukoria) for Android and iOS that uses machine learning to look for early signs of "white ey...