Don't get any ideas now but Samsung has just filed a patent for a phone that can detect the chances of a lady getting pregnant. The phone calculates how far the lady is in the ovulation process, allowing them to know how safe it is to have sex. It would be very interesting to know what inspired such an idea.

The phone works by using a distance sensor (either laser or ultrasound based) to measure how far the ear is from the phone, and an infrared ray temperature sensor will measure process temperatures inside the eardrum.

The phone then translates the data taken from the ear to read the Basal Body Temperature of the body. The BBT data is essential in monitoring the cyclic ovulation of females.

It's a step safer than other measures for safe sex to be sure, but perhaps it wasn't wise to directly associate sex with a phone. Pavlov's dog effect will not bode well in this situation.

People may look toward a future that doesn't include having to submit themselves to large, intimidating medical equipment. Siemens has taken a good step toward this future, by unveiling the Acuson P10 ultrasound system. The two-piece P10 ultrasound device that has its own built-in display is small and lightweight enough for doctors to carry it around while doing their rounds. Doctors don't have to lug around heavy lap-top based portable ultrasound, nor will they have to move patients into the ultrasound room.

The device was previewed at World Congress of Ultrasound in Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, where it received rave reviews from Emergency Physicians, Emergency Medical Technicians, and other critical care professionals.

The best thing about Siemen's new medical product is that it can be carried around everywhere, thus making it an essential emergency tool that can be stowed in the bag, ready for use. They also power on instantly, and can be used anywhere as long as there is a trained physician or medical personnel who can use the device properly. The Acuson P10 is scheduled for launch in the fall of 2007.

Peter Hofstee is one of the brilliant minds behind the Cell that powers our PlayStation 3 (PS3) video game consoles. Designs for the technology, which started seven years ago, include multiple uses aside from playing video games. And the fruits of his labor, including those of Microsoft's and IBM Corp.'s, are beginning to be realized today.

Aside from the Folding@Home Project that has received a very warm welcome within the gaming community, the Cell technology is being used quite differently in Rochester, Minnesota. Mayo Clinic researchers are currently using an IBM Cell blade server and the clinic's own software to accelerate the processing of 3D medical images such as magnetic resonance imaging.

Germany Fraunhofer Institute scientists, on the other hand, used several Cell servers to reconstruct a 3D image of a beating human heart from MRI scans. The importance of this is that it allowed doctors to view the organ with special glasses and make virtual incisions in real time.

Also, the University of Washington in Seattle utilized the technology last year by demonstrating how the Cell technology can improve the quality and speed of ultrasound scans. "In the future, you might be operating on somebody and repairing their heart valve while only making minimal incisions and not even having to string a camera inside," commented Hofstee.

Hofstee's own PS3 is one of the 30,000 units newly lined up to participate in the Folding@Home project. Currently, more than 270,000 systems are actively helping, two-thirds of which are PS3 units.

Ultreo has finally launched the Ultreo ultrasonic toothbrush - the latest weapon in the ongoing effort to further advance dental hygiene. While it's not exactly a revolutionary idea (sonic toothbrushes like Sonicare have been around for a couple of years now), Ultreo promises that this new toothbrush will bring about "the ultimate clean" with its combination of ultrasound waveguide technology and sonic bristle action.

According to its creators, Ultreo uses a tuned sonic/ultrasonic (over 20,000Hz) combo to clean teeth as compared to the more traditional sonic units that only use audible frequencies of 20Hz to 20,000Hz. The Ultreo also has a programmable replacement indicator that tells you to change brush heads every three months as well as a two-minute auto shut-off timer so that you can get more cleaning mileage out of it.

The Ultreo ultrasound toothbrush ships Spring 2007, dental hygiene addicts (which should be all of us) can pre-order one now for US$ 149.00.

The pristine unborn, still pulsating in its mother's womb - images not too many of us have ever seen, except maybe during our last visit to our high school Biology lab. Given the various leaps we have had into viewing the vast reaches of space, maybe it's about time we took a look into the inner universe of the uterus.

First the first time, a lot of us will be taking our first glimpse of animals before birth, still growing in the wombs of their mothers thanks to a combination of ultrasound scans, micro cameras, and computer images brought together by Jeremy Dear's film team for Pioneer productions.

"The images in the film are a testament to the ingenuity and patience of the production team led by Yavar Abbas and Dr David Barlow, who worked with some of the world's leading vets to obtain these pictures." As Dear said, "Animals were trained to sit still near the scanners and we also inserted cameras into the womb via the elephant's rectum-But it has been worth it. In one sequence we follow an elephant developing. When it is finally born, there is not a dry eye in the house."

The pictures taken from a total of three different animals in different stages of development: An elephant, a golden retriever, and a dolphin. These pictures are going to be featured in the two-hour National Geographic Channel program "Animals In The Womb", which will be expected to air in North America some time next month, and also on Channel 4 in the UK by next year.

Think you've seen the coolest USB device ever? We think again because this is IT! It's the plug-and-play USB Ultrasound Probe by Direct Medical Systems. The plug and play ultrasound probe system (Ppups) is a complete ultrasound imaging system built into a small USB-compatible probe for B-mode imaging. The probe captures images and sends them to a PC or laptop for processing. The Ppups comes in 3.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 12MHz for the most common ultrasound applications.

"Once FDA approval comes in the fourth quarter of this year the possibility for uses of the Ppups are endless, third world countries, ambulances, military, OBGYN, urology, dermatology, you name it," Mark Falkowski, President & CEO of Direct Medical Systems states. "This ultrasound can go anywhere and for a price anyone can afford."

The probe is priced at under $3,700. If only I could afford that thing we'd have lovely images of places where the sun don't shine posted with this article.