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Mobile Phone in Your Teeth!
thumbtack writes "News.com is running a story that reports that British researchers claim to have developed an implant that could be placed in a tooth and used as a mobile phone. According to the article, the sound would be transferred to the inner ear by bone resonance, and could be listened too anytime anywhere, with complete privacy." This is awesome. Course it would kinda suck if your phone rang when you were asleep.
Upgrading to the newest version would be a pain in the ass^Wmouth.
Michael Loves Me!
I thought holding the antenna too close to your head with a normal cell phone increased your exposure. Having the phone in your tooth sounds like really asking for it. Maybe the tooth phone could do double duty though. If your food has gotten cold, the phone microwaves could re-heat it while you're chewing.
Presumably, a filling in the space vacated by cavities. Should be the best use of bluetooth we'll see...
First, nothing begins if not opening
Much depends on why it is you've become hearing impaired. There are three sections of the ear, external, middle, and inner. This kind of thing would only help those with external ear problems, as it still relies on the middle ear and inner ear to pick up the sounds. As it happens, many external and middle ear problems are correctable already via surgery or other medical treatment. Folks with inner ear problems -- that is, those with neural damage -- wouldn't be helped at all, and would rely on technology such as cochlear implants.
On the other hand, I know my father (who is significantly hearing impaired) absolutely hates many aspects of his hearing aids. He has to deal with fit, visibility, feedback from the compact size that places the mic near the speaker, etc. Sounds like this sort of thing could make one heck of a stealth-device for people like him.
The news.com story leads you to believe that these researchers have developed a tooth phone. This is in fact not the case. Instead, they have developed the technology to allow signals (not specifically cell phone) to be transimitted to your inner ear through bone resonance. This is much cooler because aside from the obvious security issues, it is much more versatile and could easily be "turned off." I still wonder about how they plan to power it though...
"Essentially the futuristic tooth would use wireless technology, such as 802.11 or bluetooth, to take signals from audio devices such as mobile phones, radios, stereos or computers, Auger [one of the two main researchers] explained to ElectricNews.Net. These signals would be changed into vibrations that would travel from the tooth, to the skull, eventually creating audible sound in the user's inner ear. No one but the user would be able to hear the sounds."
A more accurate story from ElectricNews
Also of interest is this site. It is James Auger's personal site about his research. It was up before, but I was having some problems with it moments ago.
Is anyone else reminded of the scene from "Real Genius" ?
Kent.
This is God.
You've been a very naughty boy.
...
I want you to think about what you've done. And until then, STOP PLAYING WITH YOURSELF.
:-)
Normally, I don't get so upset at this sort of thing, but for some reason, idiocy like this has pissed me off today. No, the eardrum does NOT translate vibrations to sound, or any other such nonsense.What the eardrum (or timpanum) does is to act as the first step in hearing something.
Sound waves travel through the air, striking the eardrum. The eardrum vibrates, causing the bones of the middle ear to vibrate as well. Now, I can't remember the order of vibration, but I can tell you that one of those three bones is attached directly to the eardrum, and it, in turn, causes the other two to vibrate. Finally (and I'll admit that my knowledge becomes more hazy here), the third bone is attached directly to the cochlea (or inner ear), which translates those vibrations from the third bone directly into nerve impulses, which are sent to the brain.
The eardrum itself is nothing more than the starting point for the whole sequence. If you can directly vibrate the bones correctly, you can create a sound which nobody else can hear.
GPL made simple: What was my stuff is now our stuff. If you improve our stuff, please keep it our stuff.
Good idea, but there had better be some good encryption and security in place. Or some evil haxor might start beaming 'Take Me Down to Funkytown' in a loop to your head.
Michael Loves Me!