Second Opinion Medical Experts

Idea: A while ago I published an idea about WebDoctors on this forum. While it generated some interest, seemed far fetched to most people who communicated to me. So here's an idea which is only incremental and uses the existing infrastructure of medical system. Many times I've gone to my dentist and come back confused. Did my dentist examine me properly? When she said everything was okay, was I really fine? When she said I needed some procedures urgently, could I really not wait? Sometimes I didn't agree with my dentist's priority about the work needed in my mouth. What if the medical (or dental) examination reports could be published online in a standard format, and I could show it to some other doctor (or dentist) for second opinion for a small fee? It would be like having both the doctors examine you at the same time, and having their consolidated opinion. After all, medicine (or dentistry) is not a perfect science.

Reward: Peace of mind. If your family doctor is not in the same town (or country), this way you can still seek her opinion despite being far far away. Since she knows you since your childhood, her opinion would really matter a lot.

Bonus: Once these reports are online, they can be made anonymous and can be studied by various people for satisfying their curiosity, for learning or for journalizing. Systematic research on this information could lead to improvement in diagnosis through collaboration.

Car that shouts "Safety First!"

Idea: There were nearly 6,420,000 auto accidents in the United States in 2005. The financial cost of these crashes is more than 230 Billion dollars. 2.9 million people were injured and 42,636 people killed. About 115 people die every day in vehicle crashes in the United States -- one death every 13 minutes. The number of auto accidents have not decreased from year 2000 despite improvements in car technology, stricter law enforcement and enhanced infrastructure. Top reason for these accidents is falling asleep on the wheel due to tiredness, and close second being DUI(Driving Under Influence). What if we could mandate DUI sensors in all cars, which automatically dial 911 when it detects drunken state of the driver? Taking a step forward, we could install facial expression recognition software, which upon detecting tiredness/sleepiness on the driver's face, could ask (or force) the driver to stop (and get fresh).

Rewards: Safer roads. I believe we could really get rid off this artificial cause (actually #1 cause of deaths in US) of human deaths.

Bonus: The intelligence system in the car can also be programmed to contact nearby cars to inform them about drunken state (or tired state) of the driver, alerting them to be careful.

Roadvertising

Idea: Advertising is a form of communication whose purpose is to inform potential customers about products and services and how to obtain and use them. Fact: With the rise of Corporation, the advertising industry really flourished. Fact: Google makes almost all their money from advertisement. Idea is simple. Advertise on roads. Of course, it does sound distracting at the first glance, but with careful thinking, this can made to work. Instead of flashy/gaudy text, companies can just put their logos on the road. If not on freeways, these advertisements can take place on city streets where traffic is already slow. You can utilize the footpath too. Government can lease the space for roadvertising and make some extra bucks.

Reward: More advertisements, more sales. Every footstep could now be translated into money through roadvertisement.

Bonus: Government could delegate the maintenance work of the block of the road or footpath to the advertising company, thereby distributing the work. This will guarantee that the roads are in excellent condition all the time. Read those ads, and say goodbye to those nasty puddles.

Online recipes targeted for your kitchen

Idea: Google the words "online recipes" and you'll get more than seven million results, all serving up free recipes. You can narrow them down by specific cuisines, or split them in vegetarian recipes and non-vegetarian ones. But frankly, nobody has got enough time to sort through all the information overload. Often times, all I want is given my current food inventory, what are the various dishes I could make? I propose a website where using various forms you maintain current status of your kitchen inventory online. Using various forms, you could enter various veggies, fruits, beans, pulses, meat forms, spices, herbs, oil, dressing, bread, sauce, pasta ... you have stocked up in your kitchen. The backend could be driven by a large recipe database. On a user request, a simple (or complex) query on this database could just return the information the user is seeking.
Reward: Now you can stop freaking out about what to cook. Just maintain your online kitchen inventory and expect suggestions in your email.

Bonus: The website could also provide you with a list of what to buy during your next grocery shopping to maintain inventory level for the recipes your like. It can also suggest adding a new ingredient to your inventory to increase your food options, for variety or for a more balanced diet.

Dreamcatcher

Idea: All of us dream. We remember some of them, while forget the most. Most dreams leave a trace of images, thoughts and feelings in our memory. It's their flirtatious nature that continues to amuse us. Though experienced by everybody on almost daily basis, dreams are not yet fully understood and is often topic of speculation and interest. What if we could actually record all our dreams? We know that dreams are strongly correlated with REM or rapid eye movements. We could device an alarm which wakes us up immediately after REM gets over or just after you're done with your dream. Your memory about the dream is still fresh. You wake up, make a few notes about your dream, and go back to bed.

Reward: Now you could record, share, discuss, analyze all your dreams. This will be a giant step forward in human psychology.

Bonus: Although recording your dream may sounds like a good idea to you, you might not like to wake yourself up from a deep sleep. So you could enhance our alarm to monitor your sleep stages and wake you up only during the first light sleep stage after your dream. That way your sleep is not disturbed much and yet you retain most of your memory about the dream you just had.

Your TV, your Waiter!

Idea: Television Cooking shows have been perennially popular. Watching the host dish out mouth watering recipes from scratch, makes you want to recreate them yourself. You rush for the pen and paper, jot whatever you could catch while the show breezes through and at the end of the day, looking at your notes, you hardly feel the enthusiasm to make it yourself. What if it wasn't so hard? Each one of us visit restaurants but very few know the "how" of the dishes we enjoy so much. How about having a "Watch and Order" television show, in which you get to see some of your favorite dishes being made from first principles and then you get to order the very same dish as soon as it is prepared? The host can make five such dishes(of course with helpers around) and you get to choose your dish. It's almost like pressing a button to get the dish come to you through your TV.

Reward: The dish being prepared under your very own eyes - hence no chance of it being tampered with. No scary cooking ways behind the food you eat!

Bonus: You can customize your dish by giving real-time feedback about what more you would want added or deleted from your dish. You can also send in your original recipes and earn money on the show when customers order what you cook, and how well you plate it. Many bored housewives can have their afternoons filled with learning and earning!