Apple iPad X-ray view of "The Fighting Heart of the Jeep"

John Howard 1944 Saturday Evening Post "The Fighting Heart of the Jeep", a photo by ThisOldJeepDotCom on Flickr.

John Howard predicted the future of the Apple iPad and its massive impact on medicine way back in 1944.

Today iPads are leading the way in an information revolution. You're going to see more kiosks with permanently attached touchscreens in hospitals so patients can look up information. Apps are leading the way in this growing industry. Patients charts are streamlined and work flow is improving thanks to iPads in Hospitals.

This practical and elegant solution is also influencing the next generation of doctors in medical education. iPads are now becoming the primary source of medical teaching at many institutions. They are an ideal means of teaching in small environments.

As in the Jeep / heart image - one of the top apps out called the Airstrip Cardiology, that allows health care professionals to review a patient's ECG history and can forward key information to the client with the swipe of a button.

Kudos to John Howard in his amazing insight into seeing the future of medicine by looking deeply in the heart of a Jeep 4x4.

Nissan DeltaWing as Sleep Aid

I appreciate Nissan in their “throw away the rule book” innovation applied to their DeltaWing racing car. The concept of the car is to half the aerodynamic drag, half the power, half the mass, half the fuel consumption, half the tire consumption, and still achieving the performance of our competitors. Technology gains from endurance racing the 24 hours at LeMans are said to translate into real-world benefits to the Nissan engine program. According to Ben Bowlby, Nissan DeltaWing Chief Technology Officer, "it’s about guilt-free high-performance motoring.” The industry is all about efficiency, but do we really need to move in this direction? So we can sleep at night?  

2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8

2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, a photo by lee.ekstrom on Flickr.

Dan Neil of the Wall Street Journal describes the new 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 as "one angry whale."

I love this article on so many fronts. Neil states the SRT8, "corners like an 80-foot sperm whale." And goes on to add that "This is the vehicle version of Ray Kurzweil's singularity theory."

Had to look that one up.

His ode to Melville's classic Moby Dick is entertaining to say the least. Check out the full article and corresponding video here:

Exerpt from the article:
"With a 6.4-liter, 470-horsepower Hemi V8 in the powder magazine and a series of very smart clutches and differentials delivering torque to all four half-shafts, the SRT8 hurls its 5,200-pound bulk to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and barrels through the quarter-mile just fat of 13 seconds. By those metrics, the hyper-Cherokee is the murdering, harpoon-straightening, bang-for-buck champion in performance SUVs, as fast as or faster than the pricier Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG, Porsche Cayenne S, Range Rover Sport Supercharged, BMW X5 xDrive 35i or Audi Q7."

He goes on to say, "Now it starts to get interesting, because—as the SRT8 proves—we're getting to the point where vehicle type doesn't really matter. If the computer programming is supple enough and the on-board processing is fast enough, engineers can now virtually nullify effects caused by vehicle height, weight, roll centers and center of mass. Throw enough code at it and you can get a Ferrari to drive great in the snow, an Audi A8 with Quattro to drift like a tail-happy Toyota Supra, and you can get an 80-foot sperm whale—I mean, a Jeep Grand Cherokee—to corner like a sport sedan. This is the vehicle version of Ray Kurzweil's singularity theory."

Wow - this is great stuff. About the Kurzweil thing, as I understand it ... The 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 represents a paradigm shift in vehicle capability through an exponential growth in technology and computing power. But whose responsible for "throwing the code" at the SRT8? None other than a creative and technologically savvy Jeep engineer named Jeff Roselli. He created a game-changing machine that is taking the performance world by storm.

Perhaps Roselli's title should change from Lead Vehicle Engineer and Development Manager for SRT8 to "Captain Roselli."

Now go to your local Jeep dealer and pick up one for yourself. But please, please leave your harpoons at home.

Revolutionizing Rehab

Running can be brutal on muscles and joints. That's all changing thanks to the Alter-G M300-series treadmill. The special training treadmill has a sealed enclosure around the runners waist that uses upward air pressure to support the body for surreal anti-gravity workouts. The pressurized environment can take away up to 80% of the user's body weight, helping to reduce pounding on the joints.

The trainer was originally conceived for use by NASA for astronauts during space flight. Robert Whalen, head of the Musuloskeletal Biomechanics Laboratory in the Gravitational Research Branch at Ames Research Center, along with colleague Dr. Alan Hargens proposed the idea of using a special treadmill to add weight to an astronaut's body during low gravity exercise in space. Thankfully the opposite effect takes place on earth.

Athletes conditioning and speed training for the Olympics have been able to record sub world record times thanks to the leg-up provided by high-tech training machine. They say it's like running on air. The machine allows athletes to overcome chronic pain, push through injuries and best of all, helps runners regain their confidence in running again.

Professional sports teams like the Oakland Raiders and Miami Heat have used the Alter-G G-Trainer to fast track the recovery process from game-day battle bruises. Now they're being joined by the common man thanks to a huge price drop in equipment. The new Alter-G M300 treadmill has a starting price of $24,500. The a big drop from the original $75K Alter-G P200 treadmill used by the pros.

Two years ago the FDA approved it for medical applications. The M320 Anti-Gravity Treadmill is sure to become the standard in rehabilitation and training across the industry. Current uses of the trend-setting treadmill include:

• Aerobic conditioning
• Weight control, gait training for neurological patients
• Rehabilitation after total joint replacement
  
• Rehabilitation following injury or surgery of the lower extremity (hip, knee, ankle or foot)
• Strengthening of elderly patients
• Help amputee veterans learn to walk with prosthetics
• Aid in relearning balance caused from traumatic brain injury
  

You're going to see more and more of these units in colleges, health-care rehabilitation units, nursing homes, and even leased-units in garages of high school athletes. The term "revolutionary" is often and freely used in relation to this training tool ... in this instance, it is wholly appropriate.

Who needs airbags?

Wouldn't it be nice if all vehicles on the road had sensors and computers that could sense when another vehicle was going to pancake it in the next five seconds? A new Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility (PUMA) two-wheeled vehicle recently introduced by General Motors and Segway Inc have introduced a novel electric vehicle that literally depends on that premise.

Puma is small, lightweight and has minimal safety equipment. What it does have: two wheels, two seats and a brain. What it doesn't have: airbags and most traditional safety devices (they add too much weight).

Popular Mechanics articles and science fiction novels have proposed similar ideas for years - vehicles would drive themselves based on tracking technology (based today on GPS technology and a vast communications transponder network). Roaming deer, joggers and pedestrians would be safe from drowsy drivers and drunkards. Vehicles would communicate with each other and allow a regulated flow of traffic.

The PUMA prototype can reach speeds of up to 35 miles-per-hour and ventures up to 35 miles on a single charge thanks with its lithium-ion battery. The pod uses Segway's proprietary two-wheel balancing technology, along with dual-electric motors.

PUMA echoes of the Camper Lotus Personal Commuter concept of 2006. Similar technology was used on the battery-driven I-Bot Transporter back in 2000 and gasoline-powered gyroscopic Garavaglia Monowheel of 1904.

Kind of reminds me of doing wheelies and spins in the spare wheelchair at church when I was a kid (here's a kid I took under my wing). About the same time my parents upped our insurance policy.

Do these Michelin's come with a 60K warranty?

Michelin tires has moved its sticky know-how to tennis shoes. The Research & Development lab at Michelin mated proven auto racing technology with a special Optimized Cell System that features seamless circular micro-cells for inspiring grip and optimized durability. Word is we might even see a pair on the court at the U.S. Open.