By Bryan Bergeron
The microMedic Kit
This is a review of the microMedic Contest Kit, designed to support
the 2013 microMedic National Contest sponsored by the US Army's
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center ( www.tatrc.org)
in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center
and Parallax, Inc.
applications and products for possible use in the
healthcare industry, medical simulation training, and
the battlefield. As part of the contest, Parallax will
distribute 100 free microMedic kits.
To qualify for a free kit, simply submit a
preliminary description of your project idea and
promise to participate in the contest. Independent
judges will identify which proposals to reward with
a free kit on a first come, first served basis. See
http://learn.parallax.com/micromedic for contest
rules. If you don't snag one of the 100 free kits or if
you want an additional kit, you can purchase one
(Arduino or Propeller) from Parallax for $279.99.
What's in the Box?
The microMedic contest — which runs from January 4 to July 31, 2013 — provides $25,000 in awards for anyone or any team submitting projects that use microcontrollers and sensors to create medical
46 February 2013
Figure 1. Basic microMedic
kit contents (Propeller version).
The microMedic kit is available in Propeller or
Arduino versions. In addition to either a Propeller
Board of Education or Arduino Board of Education
There is also a five-digit seven-segment LED display,
LED bar graph, and IR emitter, as well as a nebulizer,
blood pressure cuff, and IR remote control. The postage
