Health+Perspective

= __**Kindle Fire**__ = The kindle fire, itself, does not have any direct health issue besides, just like any other screen, can lead to dizziness and hurting your eye sight when you stare at it for a long period of time. The major health risks on this device, does not come from the device itself, but from the applications that can be downloaded onto the kindle fire. These applications include social networks, like Facebook or Twitter, and games. Social networks that can be downloaded on this device can lead to addiction, that is seen a lot less rarely now-a-days. Being addicted to these social networks can also lead to laziness and obesity. Many people do not realize how long that they spend on these applications, instead of going outside or to the gym and getting their excersize in and staying healthy. Any type of addiction, no matter what it may be to, can be bad for your health. Just like the social networks, the games can also become very addictive leading to the same problems as the other applications. It is not a good thing when a child plays on a device so much that he or she becomes dizzy and this can also lead to being lightheaded. On another note, the kindle fire can also lead to good health benefits. There are plenty of apps out there that can help you stay in good health, while eating right and maintaining a good workout. Another great benefit to the kindle is that you can download almost any book, magazine, or newspaper. This is a great feature because it makes it very easy for anyone to read anything and expand their knowledge on just about anything. Promoting reading to people, especially to younger children, can lead to them liking to read and letting them learn by doing so instead of just sitting around and playing angry birds all day. So in all, the Kindle Fire does have some health risks that can also lead to social issues but you can also use the device to your benefit health wise. Instead of sitting and playing games for hours on the tablet, or scanning over your newsfeed, download some books and read and learn. If parents keep track of how much of each of these activities their children are doing on the tablet, the Kindle Fire is a great device, at a much cheaper amount of money than any other tablet out on the market these days. In personal experience, I have a Kindle Fire and it is a great device but i have caught myself getting too involved in certain games and ending up with my eyes being shot out from staring at the device too long. As long as you can show some self discipline, the health risks are not that serious at all and like I stated before, this device can be used to better your health by downloading fitness and diet applications that help you maintain and keep track of everything you are doing to support a health life style.

**__Brain-Computer Interface__**  The Brain- Computer Interface is a great thing from a health perspective. It can help paralyzed people to communicate. Most of us take the ability to communicate for granted. We talk and write. But what if you're paralyzed and can't speak? Each year, stroke silences tens of thousands of Americans. One of the most devastating consequences is "locked in" syndrome—a situation in which people are unable to move a muscle or utter a sound. Severe head injuries, spinal injuries, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease) are also responsible for this bleak condition. "It is hard to overestimate how much of human life is communication—being able to listen and then respond," points out William J. Heetderks, M.D., director of extramural science programs at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). Since the early 1990s, Jonathan R. Wolpaw, M.D., a neurologist and chief of the Wadsworth Center Laboratory of Nervous System Disorders, New York State Department of Health, Albany, has led a team of researchers in developing a brain-computer interface (BCI) system to help the profoundly paralyzed communicate. Dr. Wolpaw has received support from two NIH Institutes—NIBIB and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development—and the James S. McDonnell Foundation. "For the locked-in, the BCI is like being let out of jail—only better," Dr. Heetderks emphasizes. The Wadsworth BCI system works on brainpower, not muscle control. It uses the team's specially developed software platform (called BCI2000) and consists of a laptop computer, portable amplifier, and a skullcap containing eight electrodes hitched to the computer. The electrodes record the user's electrical brain waves, which the computer analyzes and translates into specific commands, such as writing e-mails, selecting computer icons, or moving robotic devices. No surgery is required and users typically master the system within an hour or two. Currently, the Wadsworth team supports seven patients, five in the United States and two in Germany. Much time is required for system maintenance and technical support. "Our major challenge is to produce a trouble-free, reliable, affordable system that can be used at home by patients and their caregivers," Dr. Wolpaw says. Although BCI research has been under way since the 1970s, NIBIB's Dr. Heetderks says it has taken off only in the last five years or so, thanks to substantial improvements in signal processing. In particular, he attributes such progress to "clever people like Dr. Wolpaw for making sense out of how to find and process information (the brain's electrical signals)." The Wadsworth BCI2000 software accepts and analyzes any brain signal and can be used with a wide range of output devices—from computer icons to wheelchairs. It is now in use by more than 140 research laboratories worldwide.