SciAm's Invention is reporting the filing of a patent for a vomit ejector -- a ultrasonic pulse that irritates the wall of the trachea triggering the patient too cough:
Patients who overdose on drugs or alcohol can easily drown on their own vomit because they are too intoxicated to cough. Doctors must dread the thought of giving mouth-to-mouth to such a patient in an emergency.
So inventor John Perrier from Queensland, Australia, has come up with an ultrasonic device that promises to make anyone cough, no matter how ill or sedated they are.
The handheld device, which resembles a rechargeable torch, has a curved section at the front that fits over a patient's throat. This section contains a transducer that generates ultrasound pulses at frequencies above 20 kilohertz.
Presumably the utility of this item exceeds simply expelling vomit. Think of all the other things you could get people to cough up: action figures, margaritas, the keys to the car, etc. In fact, I think there should be a home model because sometimes you can never be certain that your roommate is alive -- and want to check by torturing them a little.
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