We know it’s only the first week of November, but it’s not too early to celebrate the medical breakthroughs we’ve witnessed this year. The miracles of modern medicine are something that we can all be thankful for this holiday season.
Some of these innovations come right out of science fiction movies. Such as…
Bionic Eyes
The blind can receive their sight with this amazing medical breakthrough. This device–which looks like a pair of high-tech sunglasses–links a camera signal to retinal implants in a blind persons eye. Now people suffering from retinal pigmentosis can perform simple tasks that we all take for granted, like walking in a straight line down the sidewalk.
Decoding Cancer Gene
One of the biggest challenges about treating cancer is that cancer cells are unpredictable. It’s impossible to tell how they will respond to treatment…until now.
By analyzing the mutated genes in cancer cells, doctors can find out far in advance whether or not the cancer can be treated with chemo therapy; saving precious time and many lives.
Defibrillator For The Brain
Seizures are caused when the brain misfires electric signals which then confuse your body, resulting in uncontrollable convulsions. The NeuroPace is an electric implant that detects early signs of seizure and fires electric signals to neutralize the seizure causing signals.
Cure for Hepatitis
For years the only treatment for Hepatitis C was a regimen of injections that often caused debilitating side-effects. While they did treat the disease, it still had a fail rate of 30 percent.
Sofosbuvir is a new drug that cures Hepatitis C at a 95 percent success rate, relieving patients of the constant injections.
Ipads In Surgery
While surgeons get all the glory, their job would be impossible without a team of people all working together to complete the procedure safely. When the team isn’t all on the same page, it can cause stress during surgery and jeopardize the entire operation.
The use of touchscreen computers and “perioperative information management software” gives the team real-time updates that can help them do their jobs and save lives.
We’re going to continue showing gratitude for this years medical breakthroughs in our next post. Follow the three part series on our blog.