Advancement of Medical Technology
Throughout the 21st century, the medical field has seen a great amount of innovation and advancement. These advancements have helped improve the quality of life for individuals across the globe. People are beginning to live longer due to receiving higher quality treatments for a variety of medical concerns. This can be attributed to a variety of advancements, such as new medical technology, vaccines, gene editing, stem cell research and treatments.
Medical Advancements are continuing to develop as technology improves. Technology plays a key role in the medical field by allowing the surgeons to use cameras, robotic arms, and 3-D printing. Medical 3-D printing, Robotic Assisted Surgeries, Arthroscopic, and Laparoscopic surgeries are still advancing with the technology to allow for more precise, accurate and faster recovery times. There has also been a high technological advancement in prosthetics and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Researchers are moving towards making prosthetics more functional than ever before, especially through neuroscience. MRI technology is evolving and allowing patients to feel more comfortable and have more extensive and detailed scans.
Vaccines continue to improve everyday life by preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Vaccines are able to advance due to their history and the controversy they have had to grow from. The anti-vaccination movement has led to a declining rate of children being vaccinated in the last decade. Many parents believe in holistic approaches or rely on others for herd immunity. The future of vaccines depends on a majority of the public being vaccinated and new improvements for future viruses.
The completion of the Human Genome draft has led to significant improvements in gene-editing technology, but resulting germline experiments have sparked international controversy. Such experiments and advancements are largely made possible due to the development of CRISPR-Cas9. CRISPR-Cas9 is a method of gene editing that has great potential for future treatment of diseases and cancer. However, there are still some limitations to this technology.
Stem cells are cells that have the potential to develop into any type of cell in the body. Over the last forty years or so, a large amount of research has gone into determining how they can be utilized in the medical field. Through research performed on embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells, treatments for different conditions have been formed and utilized. The advancements in stem cell research have allowed medical professionals to implement them in ways that allow the growth of tissues or even organs. Stem cells have also been known to play a role in cancer growth, pushing scientists to a new understanding of how it works and, possibly, new treatment methods.
