8 Brilliant Advances in Medical Technology in 2015

Biggest Medical Innovations in 2015

Modern medicine and technology go hand-in-hand, as scientists and researchers continually make incredible advances within the medical field. Whether it’s designing robotic limbs or pioneering new vaccines, we have come a long way in terms of medicine and healthcare. It was only just in 1928 that antibiotics were first discovered by Alexander Fleming, and since then a lot has changed. Doctors and scientists now use technology to achieve things that couldn’t have even been imagined just thirty years ago. While we still don’t have a cure for cancer, it won’t be long until there is one. In the meantime, there are currently many amazing medical advances that the industry has seen in just this year alone. While you could go on forever discussing them, we are going to take a look at 8 brilliant advances in medical technology that happened in 2015.

8. Holographic Keyboards

Holographic keyboards might seem like a trivial and useless technology for the medical industry, however that is far from the case. While modern hospitals aim to be as clean as humanly possible, people still wind up getting infections from germs within hospitals. Actually, around 100,000 people each year die from hospital infections, and holographic keyboards can help reduce the spread. Technologies like the HaptoMime would provide hospital staff members with a virtual screen that you can interact with, without touching it at all. These devices then would curb the spread of deadly infections.

7. Electronic headache “medication”

Those who suffer from headaches and migraines will often find themselves periodically reaching for Aspirin or other headache medication. While it’s a good short-term cure, it can be problematic on the liver and it’s not the best long-term solution. The worst sufferers would be those that experience cluster headaches, which there is currently no cure for. Well researchers at Autonomic Technologies are pioneering a device that can combat these severe headaches. They are working on a small electronic device that is attached to the SPG, a facial nerve, that can detect oncoming headaches and eliminate them by sending bursts of electricity to the neurotransmitter. Cluster headaches are an extremely debilitating and crippling ailment, and this new technology is extremely promising.

6. Blood Nanobots

While the technology is quite there just yet, many researches and companies have made breakthroughs with nonobots this year. Places like the Foresight Institute and the Institute for Molecular Engineering are working hard to make blood nanobots a reality. These nanobots can do anything from act as white blood cells and fight diseases to transporting oxygen throughout the body; their uses are truly limitless.

5. The MelaFind Optical Scanner

Melanoma is the most deadly and dangerous form of skin cancer, and it can often be harder to detect that you might think. There are plenty of moles and skin defects that can be found on any given body that look dangerous, but turn out to be completely harmless. Biopsies leave noticeable scars on the skin and expend time and money, so to reduce the need for biopsies and to better detect melanoma, Mela Sciences has created the MelaFind Optical Scanner. This scanner, while not a definitive diagnosis tool, can help doctors determine if they need to conduct a biopsy by simply waving a scanner over the mole in question.

4. Brain Preservation Technology

It’s always been a common theme in science-fiction: a human brain that has been preserved and linked with a computer, thus being able to function independently outside of the body. While that seems impossible, it will soon become a reality. Researches at the Brain Preservation Foundation are pioneering various ways to preserve the brain outside of the body. Currently their two methods are called “Plastination” and “Cryonics”. While the technology isn’t there just yet, they have made many breakthroughs and strides recently and their results from their studies are very promising.

3. The Leadless Cardiac Pacemaker 

The technology used for pacemakers have gone largely unchanged since the device was first developed back in the late 1950’s. These devices have saved countless lives, but now a new form of the pacemaker exists. It’s called a leadless pacemaker, and it’s smaller, more reliable, and easier to implant than other pacemakers. Pacemakers are installed through a surgical procedure and require things called “leads” which are essentially silicone and polyurethane micro-wires that attach themselves to the hear muscle. These leads transmit the electric impulses to cause the heart to beat, but they can dislodge or wear down over time. The leadless pacemaker, like the Nanostim developed by St. Jude Medical, does not use any leads at all. These wireless systems are obviously much better, and the procedure to install them is also better for the patient. Doctors actually steer the device without surgery, through a femoral vein and into the hearts right ventricle rather than cutting into the patient.

2. Intraoperative Radiation Therapy 

Intraoperative radiation therapy is a fairly new type of radiation treatment/technology that is used to combat breast cancer. Breast cancer is pretty much the most common form of cancer found in women, and it often can be very deadly. Even if doctors catch it early, a lumpectomy or a partial mastectomy of the breast is a serious matter. Well this new form of radiation therapy, abbreviated as IORT, has shown to be extremely promising at eliminating breast cancer when it is caught early. Through a special applicator, doctors can specifically target the tumor with radiation without harming other parts of the body. Older methods would target the entire breast, so IORT is obviously much more appealing and a single treatment takes only about 30 minutes.

1. Robotic Surgeons and “RoSS”

Before the advent of modern technology, young surgeons and doctors would learn how to perform surgery on human patients. This is obviously not ideal, but luckily technology has helped us out. There is a new system out called the Robotic Surgery Simulator or “RoSS”, which is essentially exactly like what it sounds. Basically the machine produced by Simulated Surgical Systems, allows doctors and surgeons to virtually practice how to perform various types of surgery. If they make a mistake, there is no harm or foul. It’s really the perfect tool for up-and-coming doctors in training. Additionally we also see a variety of different robotic devices that can even perform surgery themselves. Many surgical accidents are the result of human error, and when you take the human element out, surgery becomes a lot safer and more practical.

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Written by Sebastian Hensiek

From Philadelphia, Sebastian is a fan of music, writing, art, and entertainment.