Imaging Cameras improving cancer surgery
Every year, 14 million people are diagnosed with cancer; of those, around eight million will die. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide; across the globe, doctors and scientists are fighting to reduce the number of cancer deaths by detecting cancer early and promoting new ways of battling it. In the past, imaging technologies such as radiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and computed tomography have proved vital in the fight against cancer, helping doctors to diagnose the disease quickly to increase the chance of recovery. Now, near-infrared fluorescence (NRF) has emerged as a new, powerful imaging tool in the battle against cancer. NRF imaging is used during surgery to enable surgeons to distinguish between healthy tissue and cancerous tissue easily. Surgery is a highly effective method of treating cancer patients, but its success rate depends largely on how much of the cancer is removed; if cancer cells remain in the body after surgery, the surgery’s success rate is greatly diminished. Advocates of NRF hope the technique will give surgeons greater visibility of cancer margins and increase their ability to remove cancerous tissue precisely. Companies such as andor.com are researching how we can implement these types of treatments and imaging cameras across the globe to improve survival rates and reduce our reliance on radiotherapy potentially.
Robotic checkups to provide people with access to the best healthcare
For many people across the globe, getting any form of healthcare is difficult. As we become more technologically advanced, our healthcare systems will inevitably change and improve due to these new technological breakthroughs.
One particular way that is seeing a huge rise is robots’ use to give people outside of big cities access to the best doctors. This type of technology is a cost-effective way to connect clinics with people in more rural areas. These robots have been used for quite a while, but a technology change has allowed these robots to patrol hospital halls more regularly, doing routine checkups and rounds daily.
THE RP-VITA remote presence robot was produced jointly by iRobot Corp and InTouch Health and is the first autonomous navigation remote-presence robot to receive clearance for hospital use.
Ending the pain of Diabetes care with needle-less treatment
Although it may not seem like a big issue, getting rid of needles in treating diabetes would be a huge step forward. Millions of people worldwide have diabetes, and a large portion of them have to use needles in their standard treatment.
The treatment brings the constant need to draw blood to test glucose levels and inject insulin daily. This has increased the job of phlebotomists. And if you are thinking of getting into this field, you should know how much phlebotomy training is really going to cost you. Removing the need for needles would literally take away the pain for people with diabetes. Prick treatments are the more popular these days, but that doesn’t remove the need to inject the actual insulin.
In the USA, called Echo Therapeutics, a company developing a technology that would replace injections with a patch. The company is working towards implementing a “transdermal biosensor” that will analyze the blood through the skin without using a prick or a needle. Although a way in which insulin can be given without needing a needle has yet to be developed, reducing the number of needles needed daily is a good start.