Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
of the night-vision goggles was light intensification. In caves there is simply
no light to intensify. The principle of operation of the infrared detector is
that they don't see light, they see heat. A person is easily visible even in total
darkness. However, a new advantage emerged when we determined that a
handprint on the wall was visible for many minutes or even hours. We could
tell not only if someone was there, but also if that person had been there for
hours before we arrived. The light-intensification goggles had no capability
in this area. Even with this advantage we had to adjust the development. We
had to drive the cost down. I sent the commercial developer to Walmart to
buy a Sportsman flashlight. I directed them to put the guts of their unit in
the case of the flashlight. Our primary market was not combat forces but law
enforcement personnel, and the cost was critical to generate volume.
Looking at this infrared technology from a medical sense, the question
emerges, “What medical use could it have?” I took it to a dentist and experi-
mented with looking in a patient's mouth to determine whether there was
any gum irritation or infection. Since the unit can detect .0057 degrees of
differential temperature, this was easily accomplished. Subsequent to this, I
have found an infrared detector connected to a computer that can recognize
the vein structure in the palm of your hand and is used to secure a com-
puter from access by anyone other than the authorized user. The operator
hovers his hand over the mouse, which has an IR camera facing up. The
recorded vein structure of the palm of the user is as unique as the iris or the
fingerprint.
We need to look at other technology areas for potential capabilities. This
one factor is the reason that I rarely recommend a single technology for an
application. It is important to look for technology options instead of looking
for a single-technology solution. There are frequently a number of differ-
ent technologies able to provide the capabilities that are requested by the
customer. Not all of these technologies are at the same maturity level. Some
of them are laboratory experiments that have exceptional potential but need
several more years of development. Some are commercial products that may
provide an 80% solution immediately. There may also be more than one
way to accomplish the task requested by the customer. Looking at various
options frequently yields new viewpoints on how to accomplish the outcome
that is desired.
We also need to look at the motivation for the change in technology from
the existing path being used to the new path being requested. If a new sam-
pling technique for bacteria enables the user to do immediate triage at the
site of the sample rather than sending the sample into the laboratory and get-
ting results back in three days, then the motivation might be a great savings
in time for the emergency technician. These factors are defined in several
theories that delineate the reasons controlling the adoption of innovations.
We frequently think it is only the technology that the decision is based on,
but many times the decision criteria are based on much more subtle fac-
tors, such as peer or supervisor pressures. There is also a great difference in
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