
Engineers Create the First Dust-Sized Wireless Implantable Human Sensors - triplesec
http://sciencenewsjournal.com/engineers-create-first-dust-sized-wireless-sensors-can-implanted-human-body/
======
dkbrk
I think calling a device with dimensions on the order of a millimetre 'dust-
sized' is a bit of a stretch. While dust particles might adhere together to
form structures at the millimetre scale, a google search for 'dust size'
confirms that dust particles are generally at the micron or sub-micron scale.
That's a fairly substantial difference.

~~~
Retric
Dust mites are 0.2–0.3 millimetres so calling 1 millimeters dust sized is not
that unreasonable.

~~~
grangerg
Seems dust-size is appropriate.

Though 1 cubic millimeter is significantly more volume than something 300
microns long (1000 microns = 1mm)

~~~
wonkaWonka
Rice is not "dust" and sand is not "dust" by any stretch of parlance.

These things will fall on the ground and you'll hear them hit the floor in a
quiet room.

These things will not float on windless air, suspended in a sunbeam.

They are not saw dust, either. They are not iron filings. They are not crushed
slivers of glass. They are something more.

Look at the picture. Maybe relative to other implantable electronics, they are
certainly very small. But _qualitatively speaking_ , not soot, not smoke, not
powder, not dust.

------
isuckatcoding
While I'm excited by the impact on the health industry (among other things), I
wonder how this will affect spying (whether it is government or otherwise).
Then again, I am just paranoid.

NSA: _heavy breathing intensifies_

~~~
adreid
Since you have to feed it ultrasonic energy to power it, I suspect it is not
too bad because, IIRC, ultrasonic has a short range.

You could feed it electromagnetic energy - but then all you really have is a
smaller version of the Great Seal bug
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(listening_device)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_\(listening_device\)).
I wouldn't be surprised if those already exist in about this size and the
paper linked to from the web page talks about several such devices (and how
they are not as well suited for implantation).

------
adreid
From reading (ok, skimming) the paper, it seems that the sensor is powered by
an external ultrasonic transducer and, I think, returns data by modulating
that signal (a bit like RFID). That means that you lose power when the
ultrasonic is removed.

It seems that you could do a lot more with it if you added a battery and some
memory so that it can record signals when the ultrasonic is not present? I am
thinking of things like the Michigan Mote which was also about a cubic
millimetre. [http://www.eecs.umich.edu/eecs/about/articles/2015/Worlds-
Sm...](http://www.eecs.umich.edu/eecs/about/articles/2015/Worlds-Smallest-
Computer-Michigan-Micro-Mote.html)

~~~
andrewflnr
Dang, that gave me flashbacks to "A Deepness in the Sky".

------
salyangoz
I see them using not one but 2 myo sensors on the arm at 1:08 which is amazing
because those act like an implant but theyre very inaccurate and even then
theyre getting ok movement for the fingers etc.

I made an arm which moves in a a similar way but i didnt make fingers which is
the hardest part actually. Human fingers are an amazing boon from nature to
us. Theyre incredibly accurate and sensitive tools with so many sensors on
them which is what makes them so hard to replicate.

------
digi_owl
Wonder if it can be paired up with a smartwatch to give me on the go blood
analysis.

