As amazing as surgical robots can be, some surgeons are unimpressed with the rate of advancement in the technology. Some complaints about the system include a lack of haptic feedback and the fact the machines are so bulky. Another sticky point is the price: at $2.5 million per machine the DaVinci robot, created by Intuitive, [...]
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Courtesy of Science Sometimes advances in medical science seem like the stuff of fiction… Scientists are one step closer to regrowing limbs like newts thanks to a new discovery in gene therapy. It was found that it may be possible to increase human regenerative abilities by turning off a specific gene. Mice lacking the gene p21 [...] As science and technology evolve, injuries and diseases generally remain the same. As such, modern ways of treating these ailments may or may not evolve over time. This article published by Wired, talks about which surgeries remain the same and which have dramatically changed over time. Here’s an excerpt: “That’s one of the good things about [...] Fraunhofer IFAM Currently most metal screws are made of metal and in some cases, such as ligament repair, these screws need to be removed after a certain amount of healing. These repeat procedures slow the healing process and are a huge inconvenience for patients. Luckily this may be a thing of the past in many [...] For those of you not familiar with the DaVinci robot, it is a fantastic set of equipment used to minimize the invasiveness of surgery. It has been around now for over ten years but has undergone many re-designs. To truly understand the precision this machine is capable of you need to see it in action. [...] While the title might sound like some late night TV salesman pitch, this development is nothing to laugh about. Cartilage is one of the fundamental building blocks of our bodies. The thing with cartilage is it does not regenerate like bones, when you become an adult, you stop growing any new cartilage. The ‘Nanogel’ developed [...] Photograph by: Handout, Frank Wojciechowski Researchers at Princeton University have created tiny silicon implants that could one day power pacemakers, cell phones or any device requiring small amounts of power. The implants consist of ceramic strips which, when folded, produce electricity. The device is then sealed in silicone which makes it safe for implantation. These mini [...] The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which took place last month, is the largest technology trade-show of the year and medical technology certainly made its mark this year. Jonathan Linkous of the American Telemedicine Association discusses the trends in consumer health technology at CES and what it means for the health care industry.
The history of surgery may need to be reviewed. A discovery near Paris has unearthed a 6,900 year old amputee patient. His forearm was removed under fairly sophisticated conditions, as it appears he was anaesthetised under relatively sterile conditions. A flintstone was likely used in place of a scalpel, and the surgery site was cleaned and [...] Anthony Atala has done the unthinkable: in 2006 he transplanted an organ grown in a lab, into a human being. He creates these organs by building scaffolding then growing cells over the scaffold. The result: made to order organs in a matter of weeks. Of course there’s a lot more that goes into the process than [...] |
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