New Medical Wrinkles

Doctors have long sought a way to handle night calls. Latest system, launched in London: a firm that takes doctors' calls, like a telephone answering service, immediately dispatches substitute physicians in prowl cars with two-way radios. Doctors can subscribe to the service for a night (cost: $1.05), a week (cost: $7.56) or a weekend (cost: $4.20).

Other new wrinkles:

P:A dental X-ray machine that takes a single panoramic picture of the whole mouth in 40 seconds.

P:A cheap, simple meter to measure blood flow directly. It was made by Dr. Henry H. Swain of the University of Michigan from the pinion gear of a discarded alarm clock, stiff wire, rubber tubing, glass bulbs. The tube is inserted directly into an artery. Blood passes through the tube, moves a pen that records on a graph any changes in the blood flow. Cost: $10.

P:A Dictaphone that can be used by patients totally paralyzed except for speech muscles. The machine is operated by a face mask with switches that can be tripped by the tongue. Cost: $539.

One old gimmick was given a new boost by Dr. Walter P. Blount, an orthopedic surgeon. He called for a revival of the walking stick, which he said prevents fatigue, lessens stress on the joints. To make canes more appealing, they should be outfitted with flashlights, umbrellas, bottles (although "hidden swords are no longer permissible").

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