A lot of advancements have been made in the medical field over the centuries. Since the discoveries of penicillin by Fleming and of anesthetics that made surgery painless, the medical field continues to advance. New discoveries are being made and the older discoveries continue to be refined and their efficiency improved thanks to the advancement of technology. Many medical research labs are being set up and researchers trained and recruited. This is as the world strives to try and mitigate medically related effects. That said, let us now get down to the nitty-gritty of the advancements in the medical world.
Patient Monitoring and Diagnosis Technology
Patients, especially at critical stages such as in the ICU, require a lot of care. This led to the creation of artificial intelligence algorithms that predict the patients with highest chances of having their conditions worsen. The system then automatically alerts the doctor or nurse in charge. This means the patient’s situation can be remedied before the situation gets out of hand. The technology will help bring down mortality cases as well as reduce nuisances caused by alarms in the ICU room that may be discomforting to the patient at times.
The adoption of video chat technology has helped in monitoring and patient diagnosis. After being discharged from the hospital frequents check-up back and forth that can be strenuous are avoided. The patient and doctor can just chat over the video where the doctor can assess the patient’s progress, allowing the patient visit the hospital only when it is completely necessary.
Disability Alleviation Technology
The invention of prosthetic limbs has really helped people without limbs attain a sense of normalcy. Through improvement in the technology, prosthetic limbs with neural connections have been developed. Enter Hugh Herr, an amputee himself who developed the Bionic leg. The bionic leg exhibits all the features of a normal leg with automatic adjustments on the ankle and fingers in relation to the motion.
Remedies to severe spinal injuries leading to complete immobilization have also been worked on. Brains of paralyzed people can now be imparted on a computer interface and words on their minds displayed on a screen. This provides them with a communication channel. The most successful patient so far was able to display 39 words.
Advancement In The Field of Surgery
Since the invention of surgeries, there has always been a need to reduce the cost, duration and post-surgery complications. This has motivated scientists to develop new technologies that improve surgical procedures. Development in 3D technology has allowed making of replica molds of the body parts being operated on. This allows surgeons to have prior practice and hence decide on the fastest, most accurate and safest way to perform the operation.
Advancements have also made possible removal of an object inside the body without necessarily opening up the stomach. This has been showcased with the removal of a toothbrush from one David Charo’s stomach, at the Coast General Hospital, without any surgical operation.
Heart-Related Advancements
People with heart problems have often required pacemakers to aid in regulating their heartbeat. Problem is that most pacemakers have wire connections that can cause infections. Technological advancements have led to the development of wireless pacemakers for the heart. These minimize infections. Another big plus is that they don’t require surgery on the heart to be implanted as their implants are done through the femoral vein. A lot of money and research is currently being done in the development of artificial hearts, which will help reduce the agony of looking for a donor, in the near future.
As technology continues to advance, advanced methods of diagnosis, treatment, and cure of diseases continue to be developed. Medical equipment are becoming less costly, more accurate and more user-friendly. This gives hope of a better future where poor health will be a thing of the past.
