5 ms·

Ask your dentist to take an x-ray of the cable you may be concerned about. We're all digital and it only takes a second. If your guy is cool, he'll do it.

ceejayoz 7y ago
That won't be much good against random third-party cables from Amazon, where you don't have a "it should look like this" scan to compare against.
- qrbLPHiKpiux 7y ago
  I told you _my_ dentist was cool. This is a 3rd party Amazon cable. https://i.imgur.com/RdxDYF4.png https://i.imgur.com/RdxDYF4.png Just acquired.
  - MichaelApproved 7y ago
    Nice! How about the other end?
    - qrbLPHiKpiux 7y ago
      Here's the other end: https://i.imgur.com/RioQXMn.png https://i.imgur.com/RioQXMn.png
      - MichaelApproved 7y ago
        haha that's great. You really have a good dentist.
  - falcolas 7y ago
    Try it with a USB-C. They all have chips in them as part of the spec. Identifying a rogue chip will be a bit harder.
  - ceejayoz 7y ago
    My dad's a radiologist, so access to scans isn't an issue, but the sticking point would be knowing what's normal and what's not. That looks like a bog-standard USB cable, but Apple's Lightning and USB-C cables are far more complicated, with actual chips onboard. https://www.chipworks.com/blog/systems-analysis-apple-lightning-usb-cable https://www.chipworks.com/blog/systems-analysis-apple-lightn... I don't think there's much possibility of me vetting one of these sorts of third-party cable based on an x-ray, or even a physical teardown.
  - michaelt 7y ago
    Make sure the implant chip is completely inside the metal shield, you say? :)
    - qrbLPHiKpiux 7y ago
      No, you can vary the contrast to look more, I was lazy and didn't do it before - Here's the same image adjusted contrast: https://i.imgur.com/uf6AJ4M.png https://i.imgur.com/uf6AJ4M.png
HyperTalk2 7y ago
Where do you find these "cool doctors"? I once tried to bribe six different doctors in my area with $3000 in exchange for agreeing to allow me to get an exploratory MRI and they all said no.
- qrbLPHiKpiux 7y ago
  You gotta be one!
- falcolas 7y ago
  An exploratory MRI has inherit risk (even if minuscule) to your life, and thus their livelyhood. A very big difference from asking for an x-ray of a cable.
  - ebg13 7y ago
    > An exploratory MRI has inherit risk (even if minuscule) to your life As far as I've ever heard, an MRI without contrast has no risk itself, and any risk comes from acting on the data.
    - ska 7y ago
      That is not true. It doesn’t involve ionizing radiation, so not a dose risk like CT. But look up PNS and SAR (peripheral nerve stimulation and specific absorption rate), for example. This is mostly handled well for standard pulse sequences of course, but not “zero risk”. Beyond that, there is a reliance that you do not have any implants etc., even some tattoos. And you tell the truth about it. From the clinics point of view too risky.
      - mattkrause 7y ago
        I don't think that's what they're especially worried about; those are fairly minor. Instead, think about interacting with someone who a) is so convinced that they need an exploratory MRI but b) can't convince a doctor of that need. I'd be afraid that either I'll be stuck dealing with someone perseverating over a totally normal anatomical variation (and everyone has a few). If they get sick later, I might also get dragged into a debate over whether I should have noticed something on that scan, done a different scan, or whatever, possibly with big legal implications. This is why our techs will happily scan a fruit or something, but don't run an ad-hoc clinic.
lorenzhs 7y ago
Used dental X-Ray equipment can be surprisingly cheap (obligatory "don't try this at home if you don't know what you're doing" warning applies). I know some guys who are mad enough to buy and operate it: https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1123745053032292357 https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1123745053032292357 and https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1113902554931449858 https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1113902554931449858 You can find a few examples of x-ray images they took on their twitter feeds as well: https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1125606579540246528 https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1125606579540246528 and https://twitter.com/JanHenrikH/status/1127033349246279680 https://twitter.com/JanHenrikH/status/1127033349246279680 and https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1149386796352069633 https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1149386796352069633

ceejayoz 7y ago

That won't be much good against random third-party cables from Amazon, where you don't have a "it should look like this" scan to compare against.

qrbLPHiKpiux 7y ago
I told you _my_ dentist was cool. This is a 3rd party Amazon cable. https://i.imgur.com/RdxDYF4.png https://i.imgur.com/RdxDYF4.png Just acquired.
- MichaelApproved 7y ago
  Nice! How about the other end?
  - qrbLPHiKpiux 7y ago
    Here's the other end: https://i.imgur.com/RioQXMn.png https://i.imgur.com/RioQXMn.png
    - MichaelApproved 7y ago
      haha that's great. You really have a good dentist.
- falcolas 7y ago
  Try it with a USB-C. They all have chips in them as part of the spec. Identifying a rogue chip will be a bit harder.
- ceejayoz 7y ago
  My dad's a radiologist, so access to scans isn't an issue, but the sticking point would be knowing what's normal and what's not. That looks like a bog-standard USB cable, but Apple's Lightning and USB-C cables are far more complicated, with actual chips onboard. https://www.chipworks.com/blog/systems-analysis-apple-lightning-usb-cable https://www.chipworks.com/blog/systems-analysis-apple-lightn... I don't think there's much possibility of me vetting one of these sorts of third-party cable based on an x-ray, or even a physical teardown.
- michaelt 7y ago
  Make sure the implant chip is completely inside the metal shield, you say? :)
  - qrbLPHiKpiux 7y ago
    No, you can vary the contrast to look more, I was lazy and didn't do it before - Here's the same image adjusted contrast: https://i.imgur.com/uf6AJ4M.png https://i.imgur.com/uf6AJ4M.png

HyperTalk2 7y ago

Where do you find these "cool doctors"? I once tried to bribe six different doctors in my area with $3000 in exchange for agreeing to allow me to get an exploratory MRI and they all said no.

qrbLPHiKpiux 7y ago
You gotta be one!
falcolas 7y ago
An exploratory MRI has inherit risk (even if minuscule) to your life, and thus their livelyhood. A very big difference from asking for an x-ray of a cable.
- ebg13 7y ago
  > An exploratory MRI has inherit risk (even if minuscule) to your life As far as I've ever heard, an MRI without contrast has no risk itself, and any risk comes from acting on the data.
  - ska 7y ago
    That is not true. It doesn’t involve ionizing radiation, so not a dose risk like CT. But look up PNS and SAR (peripheral nerve stimulation and specific absorption rate), for example. This is mostly handled well for standard pulse sequences of course, but not “zero risk”. Beyond that, there is a reliance that you do not have any implants etc., even some tattoos. And you tell the truth about it. From the clinics point of view too risky.
    - mattkrause 7y ago
      I don't think that's what they're especially worried about; those are fairly minor. Instead, think about interacting with someone who a) is so convinced that they need an exploratory MRI but b) can't convince a doctor of that need. I'd be afraid that either I'll be stuck dealing with someone perseverating over a totally normal anatomical variation (and everyone has a few). If they get sick later, I might also get dragged into a debate over whether I should have noticed something on that scan, done a different scan, or whatever, possibly with big legal implications. This is why our techs will happily scan a fruit or something, but don't run an ad-hoc clinic.

lorenzhs 7y ago

Used dental X-Ray equipment can be surprisingly cheap (obligatory "don't try this at home if you don't know what you're doing" warning applies). I know some guys who are mad enough to buy and operate it: https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1123745053032292357 https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1123745053032292357 and https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1113902554931449858 https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1113902554931449858 You can find a few examples of x-ray images they took on their twitter feeds as well: https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1125606579540246528 https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1125606579540246528 and https://twitter.com/JanHenrikH/status/1127033349246279680 https://twitter.com/JanHenrikH/status/1127033349246279680 and https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1149386796352069633 https://twitter.com/FauthNiklas/status/1149386796352069633