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Throughout history, the field of medicine has gone through major changes.
There was once a time when pain management was nothing more than a bottle of alcohol,
but now we have pills and ointments to ease discomfort.
As the years continue to pass, we can expect to see even greater improvements, like those
listed in this Archive of the top ten futuristic advances in medicine.
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10.
Electronic Pills Imagine a pill that not only administers your
prescribed dose of medicine but then proceeds to transmit data back to your caregiver.
It’s a somewhat old concept that hasn’t seen real-world application, but German-based
Medimetrics has started the process of bringing it to life with IntelliCap technology.
Made up of a delivery pump, microcontroller, and wireless communication, the IntelliCap
will measure internal factors, transmit data to an external device, and even use this information
to better administer a proper dose.
Later implementation of electronic pills may help in the research of microbiota of the
gut and how it relates to certain health conditions.
9.
In Silico Clinical Trials Clinical trials typically involve testing
a treatment method on a group of selected afflicted individuals or animals to better
monitor side effects and efficiency.
In silico trials will look to remove the human and “living” factor from the equation,
instead, using a microchip that can mimic the human physiology.
Current technology and understanding of human biology don't quite allow for simulated clinical
trials, but continued research into the human body will eventually make it possible for
these microchips to be used in place of living subjects.
Mimicking individual organs and cells, these small chips will ultimately reduce the cost
and length of clinical trials.
8.
Personalized Medicine Today, when you receive a treatment or are
screened for a specific illness, it’s generally based off of data of the ailment rather than
the person.
Personalized medicine, which is based on molecular diagnostics and an individual’s personal
genetics, will look deeper into a patient’s inner-workings to determine the absolute best
treatment method.
Maybe even more useful than that is the belief that by understanding individual genetics,
doctors will be able to determine the likelihood of contracting an illness.
7.
Medical Tricorder It’s not uncommon for television shows to
be ahead of their time, so don’t be too perplexed when you hear that the Star Trek
medical tricorder may soon be a real-life gadget in your home.
Just as in the series, the handheld tricorder is being designed to scan a person to diagnose
their state of health.
The consumer-level device will measure vital signs, including blood pressure and temperature,
similar to early, direct-contact versions known as the Scanadu Scout and CheckMe.
Unlike the Scanadu and CheckMe devices, though, the future Tricorder is meant to also fully
scope out ailments for at-home diagnosis, just as in the Trek universe.
6.
Nanomedicine The advent of nanotechnology is exciting across
multiple fields, but its implementation in medicine could change the name of the game
forever.
Nanomedicine, or the use of nanotechnology for medicinal purposes, will use nanoshells
and nanoparticles to either assist in drug delivery to specific cells or aid in the treatment
of cancer and other detrimental illnesses.
The nanoparticle is believed to be small enough to avoid detection by the immune system, giving
it the chance to travel throughout the body without being attacked and compromised.
Additional applications in nanomedicine include linking the nervous system to an external
computer, tissue and wound repair, and cell imaging.
5.
Augmented Reality Video gaming may have run with augmented reality,
but the future of medicine will likely utilize the technology in unique and helpful ways.
AR has had minimal use in the field of medicine with apps like EyeDecide, which helps patients
better describe their symptoms, and AccuVein, which cuts down on missed veins, but advancements
are on the horizon.
Software designed by Medsights Tech is a step towards making surgeons more efficient in
the operating room while HoloAnatomy, which runs off of Microsoft’s HoloLens, creates
anatomically accurate and interactive models for medical research purposes.
4.
Virtual Reality Like augmented reality, virtual reality has
found popularity in real world use but has also begun creeping its way into the field
of medicine.
Believe it or not, the technology some considered a short-lived gimmick was found to have a
range of possible uses in the treatment of pain and post-traumatic stress disorder and
the assessment of brain damage and subsequent rehabilitation.
While not widely popular across all medical fields, virtual reality may soon become a
staple in surgical training, meditation, and even in the treatment of phobias through exposure
therapy.
3.
3D Printed Organs 3D printing isn’t a new technology, but
the ability to print functional 3D human organs is one that may be just on the horizon soon
enough.
During the 2015 Inside 3D Printing Conference, researchers at Princeton University and Johns
Hopkins University unveiled a printed outer ear prototype built from hydrogel, silver
nanoparticles, and cells that formed cartilage.
While it may be unlikely – at least in our lifetime – that a 3D printed, functional
heart would be produced, regenerative medicine researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical
Center in North Carolina allegedly implanted 3D printed bone, ear, and muscle structure
into a living animal, which then formed tissue and blood vessels.
2.
Organ Cloning The days of wait-listed transplant patients
could be a thing of the past if the science behind organ cloning holds up.
In 2014, researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University successfully created
stem cells from cells from adult human skin.
The process involves creating embryos to siphon stem cells from, which could then, with further
research, be manipulated into the required organ.
While there is currently debate taking place about the morality of using embryos for stem
cell research, the ability to eradicate or greatly diminish a list of over 110,000 wait-listed
patients could be a reality.
1.
Cryostasis Companies like the American-based Cryonics
Institute are hoping to offer terminally ill patients the ability to survive until a time
of more advanced medicine.
By freezing the patient’s body, CI is halting the “death process” and giving the afflicted
the chance to wake up in a time when today’s fatal diseases are as harmful as the common
cold.
Though it sounds like science fiction, CI alleges to have over 1,600 members and, in
2014, a Pittsburg hospital executed the first suspended animation trials, which involved
replacing blood with a cold saline solution, thus ceasing cellular activity.