Medical Marvels: The Evolution Of Tech Health

Technological advancements are in every part of our lives, including the medical field. X-rays once made on film now are digital and can be transmitted anywhere in seconds.

The amount of oxygen in one’s blood can be measured by sliding a soft, thimble-like device onto the end of a finger. A pill-size video camera/transmitter can be swallowed to give a doctor an inside look at the digestive system. Inflatable plastic bags serve as splints for broken bones.

The advancements in medical technology keep coming...

REMOTE MONITORING

A company called Eko has created a device that attaches to a regular stethoscope and creates digital displays and recordings for physicians. The information can be transmitted to others for study. Eko also has developed a small monitor about the size of an open flip-phone that can be used in an exam room or sent home with a patient to monitor heart and lung information that can be transmitted elsewhere later.

GLUCOSE DETECTIVE

Echo Therapeutics (not to be confused with Eko above) is working to develop a patch that detects glucose levels in a patient’s blood without having to poke a needle into the patient. The information is sent wirelessly to a remote unit that collects long-term data and sets off alarms if glucose levels go out of bounds.

ELECTRONIC ASPIRIN

Autonomic Technologies of California is waiting for approval of its electronic aspirin, which it says will help relieve the pain of migraine and cluster headaches. A nerve stimulator is surgically inserted in the mouth, and when the patient feels a killer headache coming on, the touch of a remote control causes the stimulator to send electrical impulses to a set of nerves, countering the headache. Tests of electronic aspirin on severe headaches have shown about a twothirds success rate.

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