Okay, this awesome doodad was dropped off at my office last month. I took some shots of it when I had time, but didn't get to put them up until now.
This AMAZING doohickey thingamajig is designed to demonstrate how gout happens.
So let's start with the first shot. The yellow slider is on the right, showing a LOW blood level of uric acid. The patient on the left looks comfortable, and the joint shown has a soothing shade of blue.
BUT NOW we slide the yellow switch over to the left, RAISING the blood's uric acid level. The patient's joints now glow red (get it? He's hurting?) and the big joint on the right is now bright red, with sharp, ugly, uric acid crystals causing gout pain.
Isn't it amazing what technology can do these days? And I can't even use it for a fish tank. Look for it at my next garage sale. After I remove the AA batteries to use in my Wiimote.
21 comments:
Hmmm...wondering why a Dr. Grumpy treats a joint disease. What are the neurological aspects of gout?
That's a really good question, Gen. I have no idea why they call on me, either. But I do thank them for the toys.
So that's a slider switch with little light bulbs? LOL.
"Bringing you 1950's technology to you today."
Haha, you should be hocking this stuff on ebay.
I'd love to take this to college to show the other biomed students and be all educator-y and 'GOUT EVERYBODY, MYSTERY SOLVED'.
Is that educational? Really? Do you think the average gout sufferer needs a toy to tell him that when his uric acid levels go up, his joints hurt like hell????
Not any of the gout sufferers I've ever met. What are they thinking?
On the other hand, maybe it's to educate the spouses. The ones who don't believe their hubbies when they say it hurts too much to clean out the garage or fix the sink.
Maybe a teacher would make it available to some kid for a science-fair project.
Do people even GET gout anymore? We had to memorize four different anti-gout drugs for Pharm, and all I could think about was Medieval England.
If drug companies stopped spending money making crapola like this, the cost of their product would go down. Then maybe we could afford to get our Rx's filled, thereby making more sales and more money for the company!
Crownedwithvistory- no, they'd just increase the CEO's bonus. You wouldnt' see any of it.
You should send it to me! My brother has gout and this would make an excellent birthday gift :P
Don't you think "low" should have been on the LEFT, and "high" on the RIGHT? The way they have it, goes against my instinct! Or do I just have some peculiar neurological problem?
Agree, that they seem to have them reversed. Maybe the designer is used to reading Hebrew right to left.
The slider is reversed because the display is designed to have a drug's name under the slider.
Sliding to the right corresponds to increasing levels of GBG. (GoutBeGone)
Unfortunatly FDA approval for GBG was delayed so the label was changed since it was too late to cancel the contract for the educational display.
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The real problem is that the above started as a joke but is too realistic to be funny.
Um, if you'd send it to me, I'd make a contribution to your favorite charity. My husband has gout and I'd love to give it to him as a...gift.
BTW, I love your blog and sincerely hope that some of the patient interaction is due to their being there for neurological problems!
Christina
You are so right about the CEO's. I forgot to add that into my equation.
My children love the gadgets, I always convince the doctors to hand them over. They are too well informed when one very nice doctor who knew that I collected them, but did not know I gave them to kids, gave me an ob/gyn model. Boys were just a little too well informed when they opened that box!
Whatever became of the Lidoderm fish tank? Was it destroyed in conversion, or is it now Ed's home?
It was destroyed in an attempt to make it into a fish tank.
Hmmmm, I never thought about asking for those for kids. My kids adore them and play with every one they encounter as well as reading all of the flip info things (gee, I hate it when topomax hits me).
Ooohh...I didn't know you could get gout in other joints...another disease to investigate as my cause of pain while I'm earning my Google MD degree.
I know this is an old post, but that doodad reminds me of the kids' game "Operation" where the patient's nose lights up and a buzzer goes off if you hit the the wrong thing during the operation.
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