Some pictures over at Reference Scan, my Magnetic Resonance Imaging blog, of an explosion in Atlanta. It’s neat.
Month: February 2007
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Wii Play
I picked the Wii Play title up from Walmart this morning, and gave it a whirl with the 4yr old this evening. The game is a package of 9 mini games on one disc, plus one extra Wiimote controller, for $50. This means you’re essentially getting a game for $10, and given the simplistic nature of the games on the disc I think it’s a pretty good value (though Ars Technica was not impressed; perhaps the author doesn’t have kids?).
IN any case, Nintendo knows what it’s doing. Shigeru Miyamoto, the inventor of Mario and Donkey Kong, lends some insight into the target audience. In a nutshell – moms: (more…)
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MRI explosion in Atlanta
In December, an MRI machine exploded due to a liquid nitrogen leak:
Two workers moving an MRI machine were injured Thursday after an explosion blew part of the machine into a wall. The workers were moving the machine at Atlanta Diagnostic Center in Kennesaw, said Firefighter Denell Boyd, a spokeswoman for the Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services Department. Boyd said liquid nitrogen leaked from the machine and caused the blast, knocking a 10-foot by 10-foot hole in the wall.
Several photos of the damage to the facility were taken by the MRI techs and distributed on the SMRT mailing list. Copies of these photos below the fold:
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They’re taking the hobbits to Isengard!
I think Stareagorn would appreciate this.
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One key to rule them all
Using only a retail copy of the King Kong HD-DVD and an XBox-360 DVD drive, a hacker reverse-engineered the copy-protection for both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs. They did it not by cracking the code but by simply tracking data as it moved between the disc and system memory.
UPDATE: There’s a lengthy essay and rumination on DRM issues at Kaedrin weblog, which I recommend in particular to interested readers arriving via Meta Filter.
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MRI-compatible pacemaker
Medtronic began the evaluation of its EnRhythm® MRI SureScan™ pacer, a technology designed for safe use in MRI machines, “under specified scanning conditions.” The company did not disclose what these specified scanning conditions are.
There’s a copy of the press release, too. I assume that certain kinds of scans are off-limits, like diffusion imaging. Eddy currents are probably the major concern. The press release does mention,
The EnRhythm MRI SureScan pacemaker includes modified hardware to minimize the level of energy transmitted through the lead/device connection point. The pacemaker also includes a new SureScan™ feature that can be programmed “on” before an MRI scan to eliminate the impact of MRI-generated electrical noise, which can prevent necessary pacing therapy or cause the device to oversense and deliver unnecessary pacing therapy. When the SureScan feature is on, the device’s data collection and monitoring functions are temporarily suspended, while allowing the device to continue providing asynchronous pacing if needed.
Imagine the future of this technology… what would be truly cool would be a pacemaker than can be interfaced to the scanner directly, so that pacing can be synchronized with the pulse sequence itself.
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Superconductor breakthroughs imminent?
2007 may be a big year, at least according to industry spokespeople:
Low-cost MRI machines, super-fast Internet routers, and high-capacity power lines top the list of likely breakthroughs in the field of superconductivity in 2007, according to a ‘Top-10’ forecast list released today by Elie K. Track, Ph.D., senior partner, HYPRES Inc., a leading developer of superconducting microelectronics technology.
Dr. Track compiled the list of expected breakthroughs through comprehensive industry research, conversations with numerous scientific experts around the world, and through his work at HYPRES. The list was developed in an effort to pull together information on the wide variety of superconductivity projects worldwide and begin a dialog about the innovative advancements and breakthrough applications that are well positioned to occur next year.
“In my conversations with many respected colleagues, I continue to hear about new and exciting applications and breakthroughs that are likely to take place in 2007, largely because of the involvement of superconductor-based technologies,” said Dr. Track. “I thought it would be useful to pull all these together into one list so we can truly realize and appreciate the profound impact that superconductivity will have on various industries, the scientific community, and the average person in the coming year.”
Topping the list is an expected breakthrough announcement of laboratory demonstrations that can lead to an advanced, low-cost MRI machine that leverages superconducting technology.
It’s not clear to me how advances in supercon would lead to cheaper MRI machines. If room-temperature superconductors are developed, then design of MR machines can be simplified dramatically of course – no more cryo. But wouldn’t such new technology be expensive as well? I think it’s more likely that breakthroughs would lead to smaller MRI systems, ultimately even the fabled desktop unit. But cost savings aren’t going to come down the pike for years, even if high-temp supercon arrives tomorrow.
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Galatica season 4 confirmed
Season 3 ends in March, and Season 4 was just greenlighted:
For a while, things looked iffy for “Battlestar Galactica.” After the Sci Fi Channel last month moved the third-season drama about a human resistance movement against an occupying race of robots from Friday nights to Sunday nights in an attempt to goose ratings, viewership remained stagnant.
The network has ruled, however, that the show won’t live by numbers alone: The Sci Fi Channel is expected to announce Tuesday that it has renewed the series for a fourth season. At least 13 new episodes will be produced this summer for a premiere next January.
The show’s audience has always been modest, especially when compared with those for basic cable’s “The Closer” and “Nip/Tuck,” which typically reach double or triple the audience of “Battlestar Galactica.” Since moving to 10 p.m. Sundays, the science-fiction show’s episodes have averaged 1.7 million viewers overall and 1.1 viewers ages 18 to 49, the key demographic targeted by advertisers.
But “Battlestar Galactica” stands as one of the most critically acclaimed series on television. It also won the prestigious Peabody Award and was counted among the American Film Institute’s top 10 outstanding TV programs two years in a row. Critics often describe the show in lofty terms, referring to it as a multilayered allegory for a post-9/11 world that raises questions about the ethics and politics of war.
The Sci Fi Channel cites the series’ strong buzz and critical praise – a halo effect that can’t be quantified in ratings points or ad dollars – as the reason for its renewal.
I am thankful. Ratings alone shouldn’t be the sole driver for a series viability; the article mentions that strong DVD sales were also taken into account. Ultimately if you cater towards ratings and nothing else, you are explicitly aiming for least-common denominator fare. That about fits my low expectations for broadcast TV but SciFi, as a cable network, knows better.
That said, am I a hypocrite? I don’t actually contribute to the Galactica revenue stream in any way directly. If I had the option of a la carte cable, SciFi would be on my list of channels I’d pay for in a nanosecond. I’d also be willing to pay a dollar or two if I could download the episodes to burn to DVD without commercial breaks. But that’s not an option either. So I have to torrent the show to stay current; and Galactica’s future remains under threat for want of revenue. Surely the cable companies and content providers have an incentive to offer me, the consumer, better models for consumption? Wouldn’t we all benefit? Except for producers of reality television, of course. They must have a good lobby.
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Keith Richards – Pirate
AICN has a scan of a British tabloid that shows Keith Richards in full Pirate outfit for Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Richards plays the father of Captain Jack Sparrow, which is fitting because Johnny Depp invoked Richards as inspiration for Sparrow’s swagger.
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Girl Genius
While you’re waiting for your fix of DMotR this week, check out Girl Genius. I discovered this when a friend sent me the first graphic novel, but the entire series is online. In a nutshell, it’s a steampunk-victorian world where certain people are called “sparks” – blessed with an innate gift of genius for creating mechanical marvels. Just imagine: a world literally dominated by mad scientists. Some of the visuals are almost Miyazaki-esque in their imaginativeness. And some less so; the heroine tends to work in her underwear, though she really is a wholesome type, it’s just accidental. On her part anyway. You can get up to speed with the “GG 101” class andthen when finished, start reading the “Advanced Class“. The 101 Cast List is also very useful as a side reference. New comics come out M-W-F so it’s very satisfying. It’s well worth your time.
