Composition I

19 Feb 2008

Advances in Medical Technology

Medical Technology has developed to a great extent over the course of many centuries. Since the days of Hippocrates, considered the “Father of Medicine”, advances in the medical field have brought us into a brave new world. With the advent and application of modern technology, the medical field seems to have evolved more in the last 10-20 yrs than in the previous 1000 years. Recently, new ground has been broken throughout the field, involving medical techniques, surgical procedures, and electronic devices. Such advancements have streamlined the practice and science of medicine in the 21st century.

One form of advancement in Technology that has simplified the record …show more content…

Another innovation of Technology involving portable devices in the field of medicine is the product of research done at the NYU School of Medicine. The BrainScope, as it is called, is a handheld device capable of monitoring activity in the brain. The implications of such a device in both Sports and Warfare are quite amazing. When an Athlete or a Soldier is injured, such a device can be used to measure fluctuations in brain activity to indicate the severity of the damage. The brain activity is interpreted in only a few minutes, preventing costly and time consuming trips to a hospital for an MRI. These features allow for faster diagnoses of trauma to the brain, and contribute to faster, better informed decisions following an injury. As stated in an article in ScienceDaily, adapted from materials provided by the New York University Medical Center,

“BrainScope consists of an adhesive strip, containing six electrodes, which are connected to a mini-computer that resembles an oversized iPod. After a suspected head injury, a first responder affixes the electrode strip to the patient’s forehead. The device automatically collects a sample of the patient’s EEG and computes a large number of QEEG features, each of which are compared to a databank of normal scores. Within minutes, BrainScope’s color display indicates whether any of the patient’s brain functions deviate from normal”.
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