For Your Health

By Maryanne Murray Buechner, Lev Grossman and Anita Hamilton Sunday, Nov. 10, 2002
    • Love Patch
    The perfect birth control device, when someone invents it, will be totally invisible yet impossible to forget: no pills, no shots, no condoms. This year's newest entry, OrthoEvra, is not perfect, but it's close. It's a patch about the size of a matchbook, but as thin as a piece of tape, that delivers the same estrogen and progestin found in a standard birth-control pill. The hormones pass from the patch through the skin and into the bloodstream. It's waterproof and won't fall off; just find a discreet place to stick it on your body, and change it once a week. If only it were invisible.
    INVENTOR Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical
    AVAILABILITY Now, $25 to $40 a month
    TO LEARN MORE www.orthoevra.com

    Better Than Altoids?
    Tired of seeing its venerable Listerine mouthwash (first introduced in 1914) getting chewed up in the market by various lozenges, drops and gums, Pfizer this year introduced Cool Mint Listerine PocketPaks, tissue-thin strips that melt in your mouth and deliver a bracing, breath-freshening punch. They were an instant hit, with more than 100 million sold.
    INVENTOR Pfizer
    AVAILABILITY Now, $1.49 a pack
    TO LEARN MORE www.prodhelp.com

    Virtual Fetus
    Ultrasound images allow expectant parents to see grainy images of their developing fetus. Soon they may also be able to "feel" the fetus, thanks to a new PC-based ultrasound device called the e-Touch Sono. The system combines data from a regular ultrasound machine with a force-feedback mechanism like those used in some video games. Touch the image of a fetal cheek with a hand-held stylus, and signals sent from the computer to mechanical motors in the stylus will simulate the sensation of pressing against soft skin. Move the stylus across the fetus' face, and you will feel the contours of its nose, lips and ears.Watch the baby's form appear onscreen as you "touch" it with the stylus. What's next? 3-D sculptures that would-be parents can bring home months before their due date.
    INVENTOR Novint Technologies
    AVAILABILITY Now, $250 to $350
    TO LEARN MORE www.novint.com