• Question: can you advance technology today and save peoples lives today

    Asked by 138artc46 to Sonia, Nick, Lizzie, Andrew on 17 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 17 Jun 2015:

      Most medical technology is not life saving but the technology is life changing.

      Life saving technology are the defibrillators used to restart the heart. Pace makers which will keep your heart going if the natural rhythm of the heart is disrupted. Life saving medicine is saving life after accidents, surgery to remove life threatening tumours, transplant surgery – this is still the realm of the medics. Technology can assist but cannot save lives on its own.

      But technology becomes life changing when it gives people back the sense of hearing and communication. Someone in who is wheel chair bound, technology such as powered exoskeleton, regeneration or use of nano electronics to patch the spinal chord may give this group of people their independence. Similarly with the advance in artificial limb technology where embedded microprocessor technology have made them more user friendly and work in a similar way to or normal limbs. Tactile technology can allow artificial limbs to feel.

    • Photo: Elizabeth Kapasa

      Elizabeth Kapasa answered on 18 Jun 2015:

      We can definitely advance technology today. Although most medical technology is not “life saving” – I guess similar to taking medicine, most implants help people to get better before they get worse (and potentially life threatening), or help improve their quality of life. There are a few artificial hearts (about 6 in the world I think) which definately saved their lives! You can read more about them here http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/everyday-innovations/artificial-heart.htm

    • Photo: Andrew Phillips

      Andrew Phillips answered on 19 Jun 2015:

      I think engineering does that all the time. Some of the work that we’ve done with the Centre for Blast Injuries Studies has lead to changes in treatment immediately after an injury that has saved lives. Other work has prevented or reduced the severity of injuries, that could have been life threatening. It would be great if we could tell more people about it, but we need to be very careful about what we discuss.

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