Philips receives FDA clearance to market MicroDose SI Mammography System

Philips has announced FDA clearance of its MicroDose SI full-field digital mammography (FFDM) system. In addition to the capabilities of the original MicroDose approved in 2011, the company touts the SI model’s ability to do single-shot spectroscopy, yet that particular feature is not yet available in the U.S.

The MicroDose device use X-ray photon-counting detectors to perform breast tissue imaging at a considerably lower dose compared to traditional mammography. It is hoped the technology will improve the ability of radiologists to spot tumors within dense breast tissue.

1 million dollar TED prize for 'Hole In The Wall' education project

Sugata Mitra, an Indian innovator in the education field, has been awarded the $1 million TED Prize for his bold idea in making computer-based education more accessible to children. Mitra, an education technology professor at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, said he will use the prize, awarded by TED, an annual global ideas conference, to launch a global initiative for self-directed learning that builds on his discovery.

TED called Mitra’s "Hole In The Wall" project an “innovative and bold efforts towards advancing learning for children". Mitra and his colleagues on this project dug a hole in a wall near a Delhi slum in 1999. The team then installed a web-enabled computer and left it there. The project’s aim was to show that children can learn almost anything without the need for a classroom environment or a mentor or teacher.