Your World On A Pen Tip

It’s one of the truisms of our Tech Age that computing capacities are rising while processor sizes are falling. That hasn’t been lost on University of Michigan researchers who have developed a computer which fits on the tip of a pen.

This is a special-purpose computer designed for one specific task, notes Dick Eastman, who blogs on genealogy, computers and technology.

“It does not contain a keyboard or a video screen,” he writes. “All output is performed by a wireless radio with an antenna that can transmit data to an external reader.”

The millimeter-scale computing system can hold up to a week's worth of data when implanted in something as small as a human eye.

The computer, called the Phoenix chip, is just over one cubic millimeter in size and was designed to monitor eye pressure in glaucoma patients.

“This is the first true millimeter-scale complete computing system,” says Dennis Sylvester, a professor at the school and one of the researchers on the project.

Within the computer is an ultra low-power microprocessor, a pressure sensor, memory, a thin-film battery, a solar cell and a wireless radio, according to Eastman.

The micro computers and their wireless networks also could one day be used to track pollution, monitor structural integrity, perform surveillance, or make virtually any object smart and trackable, researchers say.

Not Any Chip

The Phoenix chip sips power. It has a power-gating architecture with an extreme sleep mode that wakes the computer up briefly every 15 minutes to take readings, and it uses an average of just 5.3 nanowatts each time it turns on, writes Lucas Mearian for computerworld.com.

The Phoenix chip has a photovoltaic charging system which requires 10 hours of indoor light or 1.5 hours of sunlight to fully charge the battery.

The chip's micro radio automatically tunes into whatever wireless frequency is available in order to download data to a reader. The data can then be used as part of an electronic medical record for treatment.

“Our work is unique in the sense that we're thinking about complete systems in which all the components are low-power and fit on the chip,” Sylvester says. “We can collect data, store it and transmit it. The applications for systems of this size are endless.”

What Lies Beyond

Researchers in this field point to Bell's Law, which states that there's a new class of smaller, cheaper computers about every decade. With each new class, the volume shrinks by two orders of magnitude and the number of systems per person increases.

The law, named for computer engineer and manager Gordon Bell (above right) has held true from the mainframes of the 1960s through the personal computers of the 1980s, the notebooks of the 1990s and the today's smartphones, they say.

“When you get smaller-than-handheld devices, you turn to these monitoring devices, says David Blaauw, another professor and Phoenix chip researcher at the University of Michigan.

“The next big challenge is to achieve millimeter-scale systems, which have a host of new applications for monitoring our bodies, our environment and our buildings,” Blaauw says.

One Eastman blog reader asks: “How small can a computer be and still be useful? How about cell phones with quad-core processors? They'll be here by Christmas.”

With smartphones becoming like electronic wallets, the blog reader is probably right. It's a small world after all ... and getting smaller all the time!

Ken Cocuzzo

Tech May Melt Plastic Money

Even with more than 180 million credit card users in this country, there are major technology changes which could render plastic money less desirable if not obsolete, according to industry experts.

Apple reportedly is adding a new level of tech in its new iPhones and iPads that enables consumers to swipe their cell phone in front of a reader for purchases.

A Near Field Communication chip inside a phone would allow the device to be used this way. Apple would have direct access to your bank account, and the process would work the same as a debit card.

The new Apple tech, scheduled for release in April, could change the way consumers purchase retail goods. Even so, some forms of this tech are now available to consumers.

One app is in credit cards with PayPass, a feature that allows credit card owners to tap and pay, or have it on a keychain. PayPass was released in 2005 and companies, including McDonald’s, use the technology, but it’s still in the context of a credit card.

Also, there are some smartphones with NFC chips, such as Nokia’s C7, which debuted in late 2010.

Other Nokia phones also have the chips, but the software isn’t functional yet for consumers. When the software is released, you’ll be able to upgrade your phone.

State of Market

There are several apps right now which envision smartphones replacing old habits.

For example, you can now have your boarding pass on your smartphone instead of getting a hardcopy pass with your credit card when you arrive at the airport.

And Starbucks has a new app that enables you to purchase drinks using your smartphone instead of cash on your credit card.

NFC Tech Security

If you lose your smartphone, is there a way to freeze your account?

Apple can not only locate your phone through GPS, but it can shut down the application remotely.

Further, the user will need to have password protection to help prevent hacking into the phone’s files and other sensitive data.

Who Will Benefit?

If the NFC technology connects with the public, Apple will likely benefit the most since it will become the new middleman for banking and transactions.

Apple wouldn’t have to pay processing fees to other credit card companies, as it does now when you make an iTunes purchase.

How it will affect business owners?

They will have to purchase the device to accept payment through an iPhone (the same way businesses have to purchase the device that accepts PayPass).

So, while consumers may be onboard and ready to start using their iPhone and iPad for mobile transactions, they may be limited by how many businesses actually accept this form of payment.

Consumers will benefit because of ease of use.

When the iPad debuted, many people liked being ahead of the tech curve. Consumers also might see benefits and loyalty programs evolve because the phone would be a one-stop shopping hub.

No Perfect Solution

Someone can hack into your smartphone without you knowing it, and there’s also the risk of losing your phone and its sensitive data.

It’s possible some people will spend more by downloading music or other apps. They already have your credit card number, and charges of 99 cents can really add up.

What Lies Ahead

WMB doesn’t envision NFC tech as something consumers are going to adopt en masse.

We don’t see credit cards becoming obsolete. We view the new tech as just another and easier way for people to buy goods and services.

The tech, however, could evolve into the new norm, with credit cards serving a back-up role.

WMB also believes this new tech may be the prelude for electronic currency, a much more convenient method than traditional coin and paper.

TechMan

Cancer Detector Boosted

Johnson & Johnson has partnered with Massachusetts General Hospital to develop and market a unique blood test for detecting cancer that could transform our treatment approaches.

Researchers claim the test can find a single cancer cell among billions of healthy ones circulating in a person’s blood. This test is expected to hit the market within the next few years.

Experts think this development has the potential to transform how tumors are treated and to quickly determine if a treatment is working. It is believed the test may potentially transform care of many types of cancer, especially breast, colon, prostate and lung cancer.

Ultimately, the test may offer another way to screen for cancer besides mammograms, colonoscopies, and other diagnostics now in use.

So how does it work? A micro-fluidics chip was designed to capture cancer cells circulating in the blood.

The test is close to clinical use because of a newly formed partnership between Massachusetts General Hospital and Veridex, a diagnostics company owned by New Jersey-based J&J.

The technology “will enable (circulating tumor cells) to be used by both oncologists as a diagnostic tool for personalizing patient care, as well as researchers to accelerate and improve the process of drug discovery and development,’’ the company says.

A prototype, developed by Mehmet Toner and collaborators at MGH, consists of a business-card-size silicon chip dotted with tens of thousands of microscopic posts.

Each post is coated with a molecule which binds to a protein unique to cells from a specific type of tumor, such as prostate, pancreatic or breast cancer. As blood flows through the chip, tumor cells stick to the posts.

In 2007, the research team first demonstrated that the chip can capture these rare cells, which make up just one in a billion cells in a blood sample. This is high enough to analyze them for molecular markers.

The goal is to use the device to tailor cancer treatments to individual patients by monitoring cell counts and by identifying the molecular attributes of an individual’s cancer.

For example, specific markers can highlight a more aggressive form of cancer or a tumor that will respond to specific cancer drugs, while genetic changes in the tumor might prompt a treatment change.

MGH and four other research institutions have received a $15 million grant from the Stand Up To Cancer organization to test the prototype. But the technology is expensive and complicated to use. Each chip costs about $500, according to The Boston Globe.

“We’re limited by our ability to make it fast, easy, cheap, and something that could be done on a global scale,’’ says Dr. Daniel Haber, director of MGH Cancer Center. “Our goal is to build together a third-generation technology … that would be so easy to use and so standard, it wouldn’t have to be a research tool.’’

WMB believes, as the researchers do, that this test could ultimately evolve to become an inexpensive, noninvasive complement to the CT scans and tissue biopsies which oncologists traditionally use to characterize tumors, many times too late.

For example, regular blood tests assessing tumor cell count might be used to determine if a particular treatment is effective.

Toner’s group recently developed a new version of the chip that can capture even more cells.

The inner surface of the device has a herringbone design which generates a vortex in the blood flowing through it, allowing the cells to be in greater contact with the antibodies on the chip's surface.

The chip could detect an isolated cluster of tumor cells, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It may help understand the cancer’s ability to spread, or metastasize, from its original birthplace.

While the true potential of the J&J blood test to detect cancer is not yet known, it’s safe to say better treatments should increase the chances for better outcomes for those with the disease.

This post is by TechMan, WMB co-author. Please share this post.

Fake Electronics Take Tech Toll

There is a growing worldwide epidemic of counterfeit microchips, routers, and computers costing the electronics industry billions of dollars annually, and the problem has serious implications not only for business but for national defense and homeland security, analysts say.

The number of bogus electronic products has more than doubled, from 3,868 in 2005 to 9,356 in 2008, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Counterfeit electronic parts cost the information technology industry about $100 billion a year, according to the not-for-profit National Electronics Distribution Association.

Typically, counterfeit electronic parts are less reliable than original design ones and may not work. Fake parts can highly compromise originally designed applications such as those involved with data storage, computer operations, and automotive functions.

A Saudi Arabian citizen was convicted earlier this year of purchasing and selling counterfeit Cisco components intended for use by the Marine Corps. These parts were intended for monitoring troop mobility in Iraq, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

“Counterfeiting is a very serious issue that impacts the entire high-tech industry on a global level, ’’ a Cisco public relations spokesperson said. “Cisco and other leading IT companies have been actively addressing this issue for several years now.”

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff, recently raised the subject at a briefing attended by reporters from around the globe. Clearly, with the threat of increased terror activity globally, authenticity and integrity of electronic parts are growing concerns at all levels, Chertoff said.

Well-known brands hit hard by counterfeiting in recent years include OEM companies such as Intel, Advanced Micro Devices, NEC, Hewlett Packard, Xerox, and IBM. It’s so bad that distributors worldwide must now examine every part they receive. One distributor, PCX, headquartered in Huntington Beach, Calif., takes the defensive position that “a part is considered suspect until we prove otherwise.”

China is where the bulk of counterfeit electronic parts originate. The economic giant supplies many of these parts to the United States, according to a recent report by the Commerce Department. In many instances, parts are “recycled” from electronic waste sent to China as scrap.

It works this way: Workers dismantle mother boards, recover components, and remove part numbers and other corporate identification. Then the workers imprint forged dates, brand names, and other bogus product codes. These parts then make their way to electronic marketplaces and other brokers before being distributed globally by “knock-off” suppliers.

Besides China, other places responsible for this illegal practice include Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Eastern European countries, U.S. officials say.

Knock-off components even may be infiltrating traditional distribution channels. Within lots, parts may be “contaminated” with counterfeit components, all from the same authorized dealer. Ultimately, dealers must provide refunds in an effort to salvage their image and brand.

Many of the bogus parts are of such high quality that it is becoming increasingly difficult to ascertain “original” from “counterfeit.” To take it a step further, some dealers are affixing “anti-counterfeit” labels to verify authenticity. In order to stem the flow of these illegal components, potential victims are banding together.

The Defense Department and National Aeronautics and Space Administration are creating standards that help users avoid buying counterfeit parts, according to the Independent Distributors of Electronics Association, a nonprofit trade organization which teaches members how to detect bogus products. Many times when distributors have been known to sell fake parts they are blacklisted.

The process of detecting counterfeit parts is increasingly difficult since hardware is getting more complex. Many of these parts require a microscope to determine their authenticity. Under a microscope, examiners determine the placement of the logo, the quality of the vacuum seal, and the depth of the etchings to help identify potential fraud.

The counterfeiting game also is moving to a higher level, with some culprits saving shavings and material coatings from original parts to make it even more challenging for suppliers to detect differences.

Even so, turnabout is fair play. Some suppliers de-pot or de-encapsulate ICs, processors, and memory chips to inspect the interior die for markings and dates. Other suppliers are even X-raying their incoming parts to determine authenticity.

Chipmakers, like Intel, have developed software to help customers identify the processor inside a computer to make sure that it’s performing up to OEM standards.

Experts in the electronics industry warn that supply chains are becoming more global and less transparent. No one can be sure which parts are going into which computers. These computers can affect everything from national security, to air traffic control towers, and weapons systems.

This post is courtesy of TechMan who tracks trends and issues in business, industry and technology.