Medical News: 10 Medical Technologies Shaping Up the Future

Our society is growing faster than it ever has, thanks to all the technological development and continuing medical education requirements. Each section of the society is being introduced to new technologies that are designed to make their lives much simpler; including the medical field.

Here are the top 10 technologies that came to the forefront during medical education events for reshaping our future:1. DNA Legos

DNA is the carrier of genetic information and is often referred to as the building blocks of life. A project headed by Peng Yin along with a few engineers from Harvard, is aimed at making the definition a little more literal by using DNA as building blocks/ nano-sized Legos to build structures.

The engineers identified the DNA to be coded with four letters - A, T, G and C; out of which the two pairs that formed automatically are GC and AT. To enable engineers to visualize what they are creating, they created a DNA strand that contains two of each letter like a Lego brick. These researchers programmed a robot at Oxford to do what it is asked to, using DNA.

2. Printed bones

Researchers at Washington State University have developed a hybrid material that has the same strength and flexibility as a real bone using 3D printers, naming it printed bones. The technology can be used to grow tissues and even entire organs if the right combination of materials is identified. The printer used for creating this structure is a ProMetal 3D printer, a consumer technology sold at sky high prices.

The structure is to be used as a scaffolding at the site of the fracture while the real bone grows again. Once the process is complete, the structure disintegrates. The printed bone is made up of a formula that uses a combination of zinc, silicon and calcium phosphate; resulting is faster growth of the real bone when combined with stem cells.

3. Artificial cell mimicry

With medical technology steadfastly moving towards reproducing human tissues outside the body to serve as spare parts, chemists at Harvard University reported the creation of an artificial cell membrane on December 29, 2011.

The technology uses an artificially created gel that mimics the functions of real cells in the body. The material is formed in bunches that are 7.5 billionths of a meter in width to match the requirements of the cytoskeleton - the skeletal structure of cells which is made of proteins. The gel is to be used on areas where the cells have been damaged, for example on a wound. The material takes place of the cytoskeleton in a cell on application, allowing only the fluids required for healing to pass through and keeping bacteria away.

The technology represents the idea that different structures and functions of biological cells can be replaced or strengthened as per requirement with a synthetic object. These artificial cells are polymeric or biological membranes that encircle biologically active materials.

4. Anti bleeding gel

Joe Landolina, a student at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University created the Veti-gel; a substance that instantly seals a wound and starts the clotting process instantly after application.

The gel creates a synthetic framework that copies the functioning of the extracellular matrix - a substance that helps cells in the body to grow together. It has been tested on pieces of pork and to stop bleeding on the carotid artery of a rat by Landolina, with positive results.

5. Electric underwears

Developed by a Canadian researcher named Sean Dukelow, these electric underwears/ underpants were introduced in the medical technology world as Smart-E-Pants. The pants deliver a small electrical charge every ten minutes to activate the muscles and increase blood circulation in that area - which is the same as when the person is moving on his own.

According to New Scientist, bed sores are attributed to 60,000 deaths each year, and are a direct cause of death in the 7 to 8 percent of people with paraplegia. Bed sores are basically open wounds formed due to lack of blood circulation and compressed skin.

6. Magnetic levitation

In 2010, chemist Glauco Souza and his team started research on creating realistic human tissues using nano magnets that allowed lab grown tissues to levitate above a nutrient solution.

The technology basically results in the most realistic synthetically grown organ tissues. Magnetic levitation allows the tissue to grow in a 3D shape that allows more complex cell layers, unlike those grown in a lab petri dish. The growth pattern matches with the cell growth structure in the human body and hence, this technology can be used to create artificial organs that can be successfully transplanted into humans.

7. The bionic eye

Argus II or the bionic eye has been available in Europe since 2011, but was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the year 2014. The bionic eye is currently approved only for those people who have lost their sight due to retinal pigmentosis.

The technology basically works around capturing a video signal from a camera that is built into the sunglasses; post which the images are wirelessly transmitted to the implants in the retinas of the people who have lost their vision.

It lets the person who has lost all vision regain the basic functions like walking without stumbling or tripping on things and distinguishing between black and white. The negatives of the technology include that it lets you read only one giant sized word at a time and once the retina heals itself, the quality of vision decreases.

8. Brain cells from urine

Biologists at the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health in China took out waste cells from urine and using retroviruses, created progenitor cells. Progenitor cells are what the body uses as the building blocks for brain cells. The tests conducted on this technology have resulted in zero tumors, giving hope to its usage in the neurological field.

The urine based cells shape into neurons in no time after being introduced into the body, with no unwanted mutations. Scientists are working on developing neurons that are sourced from the urine of the same person, increasing the probability of their acceptance in the body.

9. Pollen vaccines

Researchers at Texas Tech University, led by Harvinder Gill, are finding ways to use pollen as means to provide vaccines that could save lives of soldiers who are stationed overseas. The technology aims at cracking into pollen to remove its allergens, substituting it with a vaccine that is aimed at curing diseases.

Flower pollens are by far one of the most common allergens in the world because of its structure; the outer shell is tough enough to offer resistance to the disintegrating power of the human digestive system. The idea behind using pollen as the shell for the vaccine came after researchers noticed that most vaccines were broken down by the digestive acids when taken orally and hence, were of no use.

10. Paper tests for Pancreatic Cancer detection

Jack Thomas Andraka, an American inventor, scientist and cancer researcher invented a cheap yet effective paper test for detecting pancreatic cancer. The technology is meant to not just detect the cancer cells in pancreas, but also repair the damaged body tissues and regulate the antibodies.

Cancer is listed as one of the most lethal diseases and pancreatic cancer is the most deadly form of it. An early diagnosis using this technology could help many get proper treatment and increase human life.

There are a lot many technologies that are being worked on in the medical field, which when introduced could revolutionize human life in the very literal sense. Have you heard of any such research that you are longingly looking forward to? Feel free to add to this list.

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Posted by: Vanhishikha Bhargava (http://www.buzz4health.com/blog/authors.html )