Medical Technology

Advances in Medical Technology

Lamont Keith Daniels

For EN105

November 25, 2014

Abstract

Recent developments in medical technology have been quite mind blowing. Advancements through technology in the medical field include “bioartificial” organs, imaging and artificially powered exoskeletons.

Advances in Medical Technology

For thousands of years, mankind has looked to advance through the use of technology. First it was fire, then it was the wheel. Next came agriculture, but through it all mankind sought to advance his knowledge of medical issues as well. If you were to show a cave man what current technology can do, he just might think of you as god like. Imagine what the future holds for humanity as medical technology advances to the level of what was once thought of as Science Fiction.

Advances in Organ Reproduction

Imagine that your kidneys were damaged in a car accident and they are failing. Now imagine the doctor growing a new kidney in the lab or simply printing you a new kidney just like a college student would print a research paper on the advances of modern medical technology. More than 100,000 people are waiting for organ transplants in the U.S. alone; every day 18 of them die (Glausiusz, 2011). The problem is not only do donors and patients have to be closely matched genetically in order to prevent rejection, but also that organs are in short supply. One solution is to incubate bioartificial organs grown from the patient’s own cells. Researchers take healthy cells from a patient’s damaged organ, cause them to multiply in petri dishes, then apply them to a balloon-shaped scaffold made partly of collagen, the protein found in cartilage (Glausiusz, 2011). The whole process takes six to eight weeks. Solid organs with lots of blood vessels, such as kidneys or livers, are harder to grow than hollow ones like bladders. However, scientists have recently made a functioning piece of human liver. One tool...