PERSONAL HEALTH

best of what's new VICKS UNDERARM THERMOMETER Ergonomic pit probe: the civil way to toke a temp

Neither of the two traditional ways to take a child's temperature is particularly comfortable. The Vicks Underarm Thermometer, winner of a 2004 Industrial Design Excellence Award, is a welcome alternative to oral and rectal probes. The pancake-shaped digital thermometer fits snugly in the hollow of the armpit, and its curved, stainless-steel heat sensor gauges body temperature in 60 seconds or less (other digital thermometers can take up to three minutes to generate results). The form-tilting design keeps the probe in place for accurate readings, and viewing the temperatures is as easy as taking them, thanks to an oversize LCD and an internal memory chip that recalls your last reading. Ideal for children from two to six years old--and their flustered parents.

RESPONSIVE NEUROSTIMULATOR SYSTEM Pacemaker for the brain short-circuits epileptic seizures

Of the 2.5 million Americans who suffer from epilepsy, many don't respond to medication. For them, an alternative is finally on the way. The Neurostimulator System, a matchbox-size microprocessor that is surgically implanted into the cranium, scans for potential seizures and prevents them from happening. Preprogrammed to detect patient-specific seizure patterns, the titanium-coated device uses electrodes to pick up abnormal electrical activity. When the neurostimulator detects an oncoming seizure, it automatically delivers a 0.5- to 10-volt burst of electricity that overwhelms and resets the brain's electrical circuitry, stopping the seizure in its tracks. (Where exactly the electrodes are implanted varies from patient to patient.) The battery-operated system, in clinical trials since February, communicates wirelessly with a laptop loaded with telemetry software so that a physician can use a keyboard rather than a scalpel to reprogram the device.

THE MERCI RETRIEVAL SYSTEM Uncorking a quick method for dislodging blood clots

Blood clots account for nearly 85 percent of the 700,000 strokes diagnosed every year in the U.S. This new corkscrew-like tool, engineered by scientists at Concentric Medical in Mountain View, California, is the quickest and most effective way to remove them. The current standard therapy, a clot-dissolving drug called Activase, is administered to fewer than 5 percent of stroke victims mostly because they arrive at the hospital too late (the medication loses its effectiveness three hours after the onset of a stroke). Activase also takes an hour or more to work. The Retrieval System, approved by the FDA in August and now available at 50 U.S. hospitals, can be used for up to eight hours and removes the blockage immediately.

BRAINGATE NEURAL INTERFACE SYSTEM A prosthesis for the human brain

This year BrainGate became the first brain-machine implant government-approved for clinical testing in humans. The 16-square-millimeter silicon wafer is by far the most advanced device designed to help patients with total paralysis, enabling them to control a computer cursor using their thoughts alone. When implanted onto the brain's motor cortex--the region that controls motion--the chip intercepts electrical nerve signals intended for the spinal cord and reroutes them to a computer, which translates the data into specific cursor commands. The able-bodied stand to benefit too: Implanted chips may one day control common household electronics such as TVs, lights and robotic vacuum cleaners.

ORAQUICK RAPID HIV ORAL ANTIBODY TEST The only government-approved oral HIV test makes screening more accessible

The test is fast and painless, and trained technicians can administer it virtually anywhere. Approved by the FDA in March, the dipstick-like device has an absorbent pad at one end that's used to swab a person's gums; when soaked in a developing solution, the pad detects HIV antibodies in as little as 20 minutes. The results are 99.6 percent accurate, on par with traditional lab tests, which typically take days or even weeks. And because the procedure requires no blood, health care workers have significantly reduced exposure to infections. For those still in the dark about their HIV status, there are no more excuses. Get tested

LIGHTSPEED VCT Go-to diagnostic device gets a boost in power and clarity

Using high-powered x-rays instead of a scalpel, the computed-tomography (CT) scanner has spared countless patients from invasive exploratory surgery. GE's Light-speed VCT can scan a beating heart in five seconds and an entire body in 10 seconds, more than twice as fast as conventional multi-slice CT scanners. And it does so without sacrificing clarity--its submillimeter resolution offers unprecedented views of veins and arteries. (One 0.35-second rotation of the scanner produces 64 images.) For doctors, that means new diagnostic power, including single-scan angiograms and rapid, noninvasive tests in the ER for stroke and chest-pain victims. For patients, the machine means less x-ray exposure and less time spent on the examining table.

SMART FLUID ORTHOTICS Rehab goes mobile

"Smart fluids" transform a simple knee brace into a computer-operated resistance device for rehabilitation. The 10-pound brace, being developed by roboticist Constantinos Mavroidis of Northeastern University, is outfitted with a pair of actuators containing electrorheological fluids, which change viscosity when subjected to an electrical field. Higher viscosity creates more resistance, and vice versa, as the wearer flexes his or her knee to exercise leg muscles. An external computer regulates the voltage, but in future models, the computer could be internal. Although these wearable rehab machines won't be commercially available for at least five years, eventually they could replace today's bulky physical-therapy equipment, enabling therapists to fine-tune workouts remotely while injured patients exercise at home.