Longer-lasting batteries to be offered in U.S.

Americans and Europeans will soon be able to buy a more powerful battery that promises enough juice for twice as many digital pictures as regular batteries.

The Oxyride battery, developed by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., maintains higher voltage and output longer because its electricity-producing materials can be packed more closely inside the cell.

Matsushita, which makes the Panasonic brand, also developed techniques for stuffing the cell with more electrolyte, a key ingredient that leads to longer battery life.

The growing popularity of digital cameras, portable music players, handheld video game machines and other gadgets is boosting demand for powerful batteries.

The Oxyride battery will be available in the United States and Europe in April, a year after it was first sold in Japan. AA and AAA Oxyride batteries will cost about 10 percent more than regular, alkaline batteries, Matsushita officials said.

Yahoo to offer real-time traffic conditions

Many travelers by now are accustomed to getting maps and driving directions on the Internet. A new offering from Yahoo Inc. will now provide real-time traffic conditions as well.

Using information from radio traffic reports, police scanners, embedded road sensors and traffic helicopters, Yahoo will warn motorists of construction and other delays along a planned route. In some cases, the new service will also provide weather advisories issued by state and local jurisdictions.

Yahoo will also provide the current travel speed — a green dot on the map means 55 mph in that direction; a yellow or red dot means delays. The speed alerts are available for 22 of the more than 70 U.S. metropolitan areas currently covered.

But for now, the service won’t be available where it would be most useful: on cell phones and car navigation systems, said Yahoo spokeswoman Terra Carmichael. Those features, she said, may be added later.

New technology developed for ambulances

Researchers are developing technology for ambulances to improve communications and add virtual doctors.

Mountains, valleys, bad weather and long distances between hospitals make communication with emergency room physicians iffy.

“It always seems to happen when we’ve got a critical patient and you’ve really got to talk to a doctor,” said Jim Effinger, a paramedic with 23 years experience in rural Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Office of Naval Research is funding research for the First Responder Emergency Communications-Mobile.

The FREC-M uses an international maritime satellite and varying frequencies to bridge communication gaps. It has multiple cameras inside and outside and satellite and GPS domes on top.

Aboard the FREC-M, a patient’s vital signs and other data are beamed to the closest trauma center, where doctors can instruct paramedics in the field, and prepare to treat the critically injured once they arrive.

A single FREC-M costs about $250,000, more than three times the cost of an average ambulance. Mike Shanafelt, a senior adviser on the project, acknowledges that ambulance companies and hospitals are not likely to commit until it is proven in the field.

Video games may have medical applications

Hollywood visual effects wizards and video game programmers: U.S. military doctors want you.

The military sees technologies from the entertainment industry as potential tools for honing the skills of military medics.

They could better simulate the difficult conditions and types of wounds medics are likely to encounter during war time, said Dr. Greg Mogel, West Coast director of the U.S. Army’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center.

“When you see Spider-Man climbing up the building in a very realistic way, I can use the same technology to create a patient that has Parkinson’s and create motion disorders,” Mogel said.

“When a character in a video game or movie is killed … the graphics they use to show what that wound would look like is absolutely something we need to expose all health care workers to.”

While the military has long used video game technology to train pilots and other personnel for combat, it is just beginning to consider similar uses for medics.