Prospective Medical Technology
The world of heath care has dramatically evolved in the past decade with the STEM field now complementary to biology in health care. Recent technological breakthroughs related to augmented reality and genome editing now have the potential to alter the face of health care.
Augmented reality is an indirect view of a, real-world environment whose characteristics are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept in which a view of reality is altered by a computer.
In recent years health professionals have started to utilize this technology for pharmaceutical, surgical and educational purposes. At the moment, AR is mainly utilized for marketing purposes. Health care professional can show pharmacy layout designs, and visualize new concepts without creating physical models. This saves time and money. AR is also being developed as an educational tool to help students better comprehend the complexity of the human anatomy and physiology. According to Health Tech Events, AR would potentially allow us to integrate textbook, lecture and digital media information and overlay them onto a skeleton. Physicians will be able to demonstrate /simulate the effects of a particular medicine or medical procedure on an organ not only saving patients' lives but also helping foster a sense of empathy towards patients.
Gene editing is generally referred to as the insertion, deletion or replacement of DNA in the genome of an organism or cell through the use of technology. The development of CRISPR which stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat as gene editing technique has revolutionized our perception off gene editing. CRISPR already existed as small pieces of bacterial DNA that are part of the microbial immune system and are used to prevent further reproduction of viruses.
Now, CRISPR is being deployed to edit DNA in the human genome. Researchers have already used this technique to edit the genomes of somatic cells, cell that only affect the individual person. Recently, though researchers have experimented to use CRISPR on fertilized eggs to alter the mutant genome MYBC3 which is responsible for causing hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This opens up the possibility of affecting the health of multiple generations through gene editing. However, it is important to carefully regulate the development of gene editing technology to ensure that it is not misused. It will also allow researchers to explore complex genetic disorders. Despite the issues that still persist regarding gene editing, it is becoming clear that it will be essential to health care in the future.
Although, both augmented reality and genome editing have a long way to go before we can actually see their impact, researchers believe they will be transformative to medical science.
For more information:
Top 20 Medical Technology Advances: Medicine in the Future. (2018, July 02). Retrieved from https://medicalfuturist.com/20-potential-technological-advances-in-the-future-of-medicine-part-i
Larson, C. (2016, October 04). New Tools for Editing the Genome Could Radically Change the Study of Human Diseases. Retrieved from https://www.technologyreview.com/s/526511/genome-editing/
Content. (2014, June 06). Augmented Reality – Revolutionizing Medicine and Healthcare. Retrieved from https://www.healthtechevent.com/technology/augmented-reality-revolutionizing-medicine-healthcare/
