examination of these organs still
experience the thrill of having a
comparatively thick endoscope
shoved down their throats.
However, the folks at the Fraunhofer
Institute for Biomedical Engineering
( www.ibmt.fraunhofer.de) have
come up with a prototype system
that allows the camera to be steered
magnetically.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LENOVO.
“In the future, doctors will
be able to stop the camera in the
esophagus, move it up and down,
and turn it, and thus adjust the angle
of the camera as required,” according
to team leader Dr. Frank Volke.
“This allows them to make a precise
examination of the junction between
the esophagus and the stomach ...
Now, with the camera, we can even
scan the stomach walls.”
The steerable unit is not much
different from its predecessor, consisting of the camera, transmitter, battery,
and a few cold-light diodes that work
like flashbulbs. Its location can be
controlled, however, via a hand-held
device, and it can be kept in the
esophagus for up to 10 minutes, even
if the patient is sitting upright.
The camera — in case you were
wondering — is disposable, so there is
no need to collect it as it exits.
■ The Lenovo IdeaCentre K210 offers
log-on via facial recognition and a
germ-killing keyboard.
that reside on the fingers of friends
and family members who share
your computer.
Other available features include
Intel Core 2 quad processors, Intel
GMA integrated graphics, a Blueray
HD-DVD combo, high-def audio, and
the ability to upgrade to ATI Radeon
2600 XT for gaming.
In a somewhat mysterious
marketing strategy, Lenovo does not
sell its Bright Eye camera separately in
the US, even though VeriFace does
not work without one. So if you buy
one of the new machines, be sure
that the vendor bundles the camera
as part of the package. The base
price is $379, plus $229 for a 19-inch
monitor, after rebate.
access. The drive is packaged in a
rugged case and wrapped in a
floating and shock-absorbing interior
to prevent impact damage, and the
3. 3 x 5.2 x 0.9 inch ( 8. 4 x 13.2 x 2.3
cm) unit weighs in at less than 8 oz,
making it particularly useful for
travelers. The device is Windows
and Mac OS X compatible, includes
mobile versions of the Firefox
browser and Thunderbird e-mail
client, and includes Buffalo’s
TurboUSB technology, which is said
to increase transfer rates by up to 20
percent on Windows XP machines.
You also get Memeo AutoBackup
software. A recent check of Internet
outlets found the 160 GB version
available for about $105, and the
320 GB one for $156 and change.
ANATOMICALLY
CORRECT WEBSITE
COMPUTERS AND
NETWORKING
LENOVO ENTERS
DESKTOP MARKET
DATA SECURITY IN A
MINI PACKAGE
Lenovo ( www.lenovo.com) is
perhaps best known for having
acquired the ThinkPad laptop and
notebook lineup from IBM in 2005.
But the Chinese company recently
entered the world market for desktops with its IdeaCentre K210, based
on Intel Core 2 quad processors.
Among the included bells and whistles
is the VeriFace™ facial recognition
technology that allows you to log in
without a password, assuming that
you did nothing the night before that
drastically altered your appearance.
It also comes with an antimicrobial
keyboard that inhibits bacterial growth,
so you will no longer have to worry
about catching disfiguring diseases
Given the current epidemic of
data breaches, secure transfer
and storage is becoming ever more
critical. One solution is the MiniStation
DataVault from Buffalo Technology
( www.buffalotech.com). What you
get is a compact hard drive
with hardware-based,
government-grade,
NIST-certified
AES-128 encryption.
Simply remove the
drive from your
computer and it
automatically locks
itself to prevent
unauthorized
■ The MiniStation
DataVault provides
up to 320 GB of
encrypted storage.
PHOTO COURTESY OF
BUFFALO TECHNOLOGY.
There’s no shortage of depictions
of human anatomy on the
Internet, but one that’s even suitable
for children has been launched by
Argosy Publishing. The Visible Body™
( www.visiblebody.com) is billed
as the world’s first site providing
interactive 3-D models of all human
body systems. It allows visitors to
“visualize and quickly and easily
explore relevant areas of the human
body, enabling them to explain how
more than 1,700 anatomical
structures — including major organs
and systems — work together.”
The site was initially aimed at
educators and health and medical
professionals, but has turned out to
be of interest to more
general audiences; as of
this writing, more than
150,000 users have
registered, and the site is
generating more than three
million page views per month.
The site is currently free to
users and supported by
advertising, so if you want to
peddle pharmaceuticals,
biotech devices, or other
medical paraphernalia, contact
the marketing department. So
far, you have to have a PC
running Internet Explorer with
September 2008 13
