InventorSpot

I've gradually become aware, over the course of my last 500 or so ideas, that there are several modes of thinking from which ideas for inventions emerge.

This new MRI table and accompanying breast detection software not only take better pictures, but they allow immediate medical intervention, if needed. That's why the Vanguard System inventor, Cameron Piron, President of Sentinelle Medical Inc. just received a Best Innovator 2008 Award from the Ontario Premier.

Where does an inventor who wants to innovate, create and improve products seek out their best potential? Must we re-tool our thinking and change often? Where do our ideas come from and where do we look for them?

Dr. Martin Fisher, inventor of the MoneyMaker irrigation pump has won the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for sustainability for his invention. The pump, available now in three versions, has helped more than 300,000 African farmers become entrepreneurs and rise out of poverty.

Tokyo-based designer Nendo has been all the buzz in the design world as of late, stepping up to the plate in a big way for the likes of giants Lexus and Issey Miyake. What follows is three of his latest creations.

In March of this year the Postal Service launched a Free Recycling Through the Mail program. Right now the service only exists in 1,500 Post Offices in 10 areas across the country. Three of the areas include: Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and San Diego.

In the summer of 2007, Season Two of American Inventor aired. One of its contestants, Elaine Cato, introduced the Six in One Backless Bra. In the season finale of American Inventor, Elaine Cato was announced as the runner up to the Guardian Angel (a fire alarm for christmas trees). Norah Alberto, a Senior Style Director from Maidenform, came on stage and offered Elaine a chance to work with Maidenform. Nine months later and just in time for the spring fashions, Maidenform and Elaine Cato has announced the production of the Breakthrough Backless bra by Maidenform®.

There have been numerous Inventors throughout the ages that have helped push human progress to the next level. I want to discuss one such Inventor that has been sadly overlooked. His name is Wile E. Coyote.

If three kid inventors have anything to say about it, all vegetables will taste like chocolate... even brussel sprouts! Yep! Three third-graders from Annapolis, MD have invented "The Micro Flavor Machine," and won a shot at the finals of the 2008 Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision Awards.

IntelliDrug is a pair of prosthetic molars which could be used to administer scheduled medication.

In an age when the humanization of pets seems to have few boundaries and little purpose but self-amusement, false teeth for cats might be grouped with cat clothing and wigs in the 'eccentric cat lady' category. But is false teeth for cats or any animal so crazy?

The Intel (formerly Westinghouse) Science Talent Search is on us again. The 40 finalists from around the country gathered in Washington D.C. on March 11 to take part in the distribution of $1.25 million in scholarships and prizes.

To succeed in business, you must have a business plan. Business plans serve as the roadmap for your start-up. It also helps the entrepreneur view the economic viability of his proposed business by analyzing its various aspects.

New inventions are difficult to market. Why? Because despite its many features designed to help the average Joe, in reality, you will always have to educate your target audience for your invention.

Just about anyone can have an idea. Not everyone, however, is an inventor. The truth is most people are just content to have their big idea sitting pretty in some cobwebbed portion of their brain--

Ever watched the Design Squad? Design Squad is a kids program on PBS consisting of 8 young engineers. As a team these young engineers take on engineering challenges for an actual client such as Ikea. There are 13 episodes per season. In the final episode the top two contestants compete, "for the Grand Prize-a $10,000 college scholarship from the Intel® Foundation".