There might come a day when you can leave the doctor's office and have your check up without returning. The doctor could simply turn on a computer and monitor your progress online.
Sound super futuristic? It may come sooner than you think.
The folks at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are working on a radio frequency system for implantable biosensors � ones that could go inside a person.
Rainee Simons, branch chief at the NASA Glenn Research Center, says the Radio Frequency Telemetry System for Implantable Bio-MEMS Sensors -- or BioMems for short -- were originally planned for astronauts, but the space suits complicated things.
The research center teamed up with Endotronix in Peoria, Ill., for the product's newfound focus on heart patients.
But Rainee says there's no limit to the Bio-MEMs' success. NASA Glenn Research Center was recently contacted by a company in Texas, inquiring about the device's possible use in spinal monitoring.
"The advantage of our system is that the device is extremely small (1mm x 1mm) and it is does not require batteries and there are no wires," Simons says. "And it's is non-invasive; therefore it prevents any toxicity."
Without batteries, the device works through a real-time inductive system, meaning it is charged from the outside of the body.
Not surprisingly, the Bio-MEMs has gotten some attention. The system was awarded a 2010 NorTech Innovation Award. Also in 2009, the device was runner-up for best invention by the Wall Street Journal.
The device is currently undergoing trials, and there is no timetable set for market entry, Rainee says. But, he adds that Endotronix is considering a move to Cleveland � which could create countless jobs in Northeast Ohio.
Source: Rainee Simons, NASA Glenn Research Center
Writer: Colin McEwen