Ultrasound-On-A-Chip Can Make Medical Imaging So Cheap?

Medical Imaging Device 

Entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg has begun the creation of what seems to be like a scanner, the size of an iPhone that can be held up to a person’s chest to see a moving 3D image of what is inside. Rothberg has raised a $100 billion for the development of the medical imaging device which is as easy as a stethoscope and will help doctors in the most amazing way.

 The technology according to patent documents is dependent on a new type of ultrasound chip which would eventually lead to ways in destroying cancer cell with heat or deliver information to the brain cells.

Marrying semiconductor technology to problems in biology is a knack which Rothberg has and he had created and sold two DNA sequencing companies, a `454 and Ion Torrent Systems’ and `A Semiconductor DNA Sequencer’, for over $500 million.

The imaging system is being developed by Butterfly Network which is a three year old company that is far advanced on several ventures which according to Rothberg would be coming out of 4Combinator, an incubator which he has created to begin and finance companies that combine medical sensor together with a branch of artificial intelligence science known as deep learning.

Versatile New Ultrasound Scanners 

Rothberg has not commented on how exactly the Butterfly’s device would work or what it would like, but states that the details would only come up when on stage selling it which would probably be in the next 18 months.

However, he guarantees it to be small, which would cost a few hundred dollars and would be connected to a phone as well as be capable to do things like diagnose breast cancer or even visualize a foetus.

Butterfly describes its aim in the patent application as a means of building compact, versatile new ultrasound scanners which could create 3D images in real time.

This could be held up to a person’s chest and one could view through `what seems to be a window’ in the body, as per the documents. Butterfly seems to be betting on the largest bet ever, that any company could have placed on an emerging technology in which ultrasound emitters are etched directly on a semiconductor wafer, together with circuits and processors and the devices are known as `capacitive micro-machined ultrasound transducers or CMUTs

Ultrasound – Type of Imaging Test 

Ultrasound is often used by doctors than other type of imaging test which includes viewing a baby at the time of pregnancy, to locate tumours in soft tissues like the liver as well as a recent development in treating prostate cancer by heating up cells with the help of sound waves.

Several of the ultrasound machines tend to use small piezoelectric crystals or ceramic in order to generate and receive sound waves though they have to be carefully wired together and attached through cables to a separate box in processing the signals.

Those who are capable of integrating ultrasound elements directly on a computer chip can manufacture them in a cheap manner in large batches and also create a kind of arrays which can produce 3D images.

This vision of the product was around for several years and it is perhaps a matter of time to wait and watch to see if the product will make its ways into a market validated reality.

Malware Might Use a Voice Synthesizer to Bypass Security Controllers

Development in Voice Control Features

According to researchers, malware could use a voice synthesizer to sidestep some security controllers. Voice control features have been developed in order to provide PCs as well as smartphones with the ease of use especially for users with disabilities which could also provide hackers to bypass security issues and access data stored on devices.

Features which can be accessed could be good to a certain extent and can make it easy to control what could happen on the graphical user interface without the need of editing though if they are not designed properly, these features could also be misused.

At Georgia Tech, researchers have identified that they could sidestep security protocols with the use of voice controls in order to enter text or click buttons. The researchers have described in a paper on the work, on twelve ways in which to attack phones with Android, Ubuntu Linux and iOS operating systems which includes some that would need physical access to the device. This paper would probably be presented next week at the conference of the CCS’14 in Scottsdale, in Arizona.

Malware Attack on Smartphones


One such attack portrays how a type of malware could use Windows Speech Recognition in order to talk its way in running commands which would normally need a higher level of privilege. A demonstration portrayed indicate how malware can attack a smartphone and exploits the fact that Google Now, which is a voice controlled assistant which comes with an Android operating system could use a voice print instead of a typed pass code.

With Google Now you could do a lot of things like performing web searches, obtain translation, call and text messages, plan events and reminders, locate addresses and obtain directions, get sports updates, check out the weather forecast and much more. For voice control users, this is one of the greatest features of Android.

The researchers have also portrayed how an attacker would record the authentication phrase on a Moto X phone and also use a generic text to speech program for other commands as though it were the user.

Hackers Remotely Invade on Vulnerabilities 

According to the director of the National Security Institute, Radu Sion, at Stony Brook, University, he states that `this is an important wake up call for major OS vendors, Microsoft, Linux and Apple community while the Georgia Tech computer scientist, Wenke Lee, who led the work states that the issue appears to be the result of incorporating speech recognition along with other features in the phone being late in the development cycle.

According to him, the fundamental issues here are difficult to fix and these features were added only after the OS was implemented. Hence these features do not have the same kinds of security checks’.

According to Lee, hackers could invade on the vulnerabilities in a remote manner to initiate an attack on any device and though the phone which speaks to itself could be obvious to the user, a malicious app could keep track of motion data as well as wait till the phone does not move for some period of time indicating that the user was probably not nearby.

Echo, a Stunning Piece of Technology Brought about by Amazon

Amazon’s Echo is like your personal Siri stuffed into this amazing portable speaker, except it is so much more. This insanely clever little item is the solution to all your technological problems. It is almost like your personal genie which can grant (most) of your wishes.

Whether you need information or are just in the mood for some relaxing fun and music, it is capable of adapting itself to the best of all worlds. And the best part? The device does not compromise on any front. Priced at $199, this device is well worth the extra bucks.

As a limited period offer, Amazon offers a whopping discount for its premium members who can save $100. It is available only by invitation.

How does Echo work?

Echo works by voice recognition technology. It stays on continually and processes all the information you need as soon as you say the word that makes it work, “Alexi”. The uppermost part of the cylinder has a set of seven microphones which uses a beam forming technology and noise cancellation that adapt to you voice and gives you any information you desire.

The microphones are so powerful that it can even catch your words over any song that it plays. It can process a variety of queries, like setting alarm, playing songs, and answering any question from Google or Wikipedia.

The cylindrical box has a volume panel to alter the volume levels with two buttons, one for switching it on or off and the other for turning the microphones off.

How is the sound system? 

The interior of the cylindrical base has a long reflex port that deepens the bass of the woofer without distorting the sound output quality. The2.5 inch woofer is insanely powerful and produces deep sounds.

Often woofers forget the higher notes, which distorts the music on a whole, however, the Echo solves all those problems effectively using the 2 inch tweeter which hits all those high notes with superb precision.

The result? Crystal clear sound capable of matching any of its contenders in the same size. Listening to your favourite songs will be a treat owing to this small 9.5-inch baby. The cylindrical shape also allows for 360 degrees surround sound, which immerses you in the experience totally.

How is the voice recognition feature? 

Since Echo operates on Amazon’s web services, it continually improves its dictionary and becomes more suited to your accent and the searches you regularly perform to give you results based on your needs.

Additional features

Echo has an app compatible with android, iOS and desktops so that you can manage your searches and alarms even when you are not at home. Echo works with an active Wi-Fi connection or on your home network if you are using the app. Echo can also play any song via Bluetooth and use services like Google Music and Spotify.

Echo promises a lot but it is only time that will prove the performance of the gadget. It sports a sleek black colour and can be a good gift for a loved one. So request that invitation today and enjoy this smart piece of technology.

MixRadio Discloses Natively Built Personalized Recommendation Engine

MixRadio has been successfully providing genuine digital music service from past 5 years and they have been able to reach out to as many as 20 million users across India. According to a recent research conducted by the company, the mobile music streaming in India is expected to grow heaps and bounds and as much as 110% in the coming 4 years.

This indicated that 1 out of 15 mobile streaming all around the world will be taking place in India. Based on the outcome of this research, the company has indicated that the personal radio will keep on dominating the market and the millions of users will have increasing access to existing data as well as preferences. MixRadio’s newly disclosed personalized engine will be able to give a completely new level of experience to the millions of users in India.

On the 4th November, MixRadio opted for the MixRadio Music Connects event held in Mumbai for making the global announcement pertaining to their newly and natively built recommendation engine. This new personalized recommendation engine will be providing “Play me” one touch option for the music lovers and audiences globally.

What is special about this new engine? 

This new engine is expected to be delivering a greater breadth of music and in a more personalized way when compared to the earlier days. The engine has been created to deliver a completely unique and relevant listening experience due to the fact that it will be using billions of data points from millions of customers globally. The music listeners will be able to see a complete catalogue of the artist and listen to the selected song, they will also come across tracks which either has gone unnoticed or forgotten at times. The aim is that the music listeners will be able to discover more and more about the music they like. The Play me option has been evolved in this new engine which adds to the experiences of the listeners.

According to Head of MixRadio, Jyrki Rosenberg, the main roadblock that was faced by the development team was the organization of the large catalogue of music which includes 32 million tracks for just a single listener making it entirely relevant and personal. What we have promised the listeners is the fact that they will be getting their own personalized radio station and that too by touching a single button. The company has been able to develop an engine which is delivering what they have promised.

According to Rosenberg, this new engine was in development and evolution stages since 2010. Although not known to many, but MixRadio was moving their existing listeners towards this new engine and today they have completed the final shifting. According to the preliminary reports, the new recommendation engine has been able to have a positive impact in the retention as well as the engagement level of the customers in the new service. This is expected to be a new experience for the Indian music listeners in terms of how and what they enjoy. According to the Company development of this new engine has been the most effective business model they have adopted in recent times.

Microsoft's Unveils RemoteIE To Test Web Pages In Internet Explorer On Any OS

The ultimate aim of this move by the company is to attract as many developers as possible so that they can develop websites which is compatible with their browser’s latest version. So, the latest version or so called developer tool that was unveiled by the company has been named as “Remote IE”, which basically will allow the latest version of the IE to work on any operating system like OS X devices as well as iOS and Android. At the moment this launch has been limited at the testing level.

The company is hoping that the developers will be able to run the browser preview build without the need for them to be actually on the latest version of the OS or Windows. Currently the Remote Internet Explorer, the company’s had made sure that it runs on the company’s cloud computing platform called Azure and they can’t expect all the developers to use their windows platform. According to Microsoft, at present the service has been reserved and restricted to safeguard their server resources and that is the reason the remote IE has been kept at the testing level.

The company has made sure that no single session last more than 60 minutes and any session kept idle for even 10 minutes will log out the user. Moreover, there are some tradeoffs considering the fact that at the moment Remote IE has been made free for everyone and also the company’s focus was completely on getting the attention of more developers to modify their websites to make it compatible with the new Internet Explorer.

At the end, you are among the developers, irrespective of software or system environment you work in and use, Microsoft has come up with a blessing in which you will be easily able to test your website’s compatibility with that of Microsoft's browser. On the other side, Remote Internet Explorer has been given access to the latest builds of the IE that are currently in the testing process for use on Windows 10 technical preview.

How the developers can use the service: 

In order to use this service, the developers will be required to register themselves on the Remote IE website. They will be directed for downloading a client application for selected operating systems. The developer can either press F12, or use the IE menu to get access to the developer tools. The previous version of IE is not available for testing as the current Remote IE is based on the Windows Server 2012 R2. According to Microsoft they are working towards getting the previous version to be available for testing.

At the moment testing time limits have been set and the company is working on increasing the same depending on the demand and the resource availability. One this user’s will have to remember is the fact that they can’t make any changes in the settings in the application, but certainly the web developers will be able to test their unique creations.