As medicine evolves, medicine is evolving as well. What are its next steps?
Even AR, VR and mixed reality have been redefining our understanding of reality. And it can even be used by doctors to treat patients more effectively.
Over the past few years, neuroprosthetics have been advancing rapidly, from the implantable retinal prosthesis to the brain-controlled computer cursor.
Artificial Intelligence
The rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare is changing the way we detect, treat and prevent disease. From identifying those at risk of sudden cardiac arrest, to predicting the progression of cancer, AI is revolutionising the medical field. Often such technology helps physicians transcribe patient portal questions, or dictated case notes into an electronic typed format for filing, and will eventually help fumigate physicians from the prior priority of note-recording and transition them from a system plagued by burnout, to a system that more inherently evolves around human patient interface. The computer scientist Julia Vogt at ETH Zurich points out that such AI systems can also comb visual data such as ultrasound videos of newborn hearts to detect problems more quickly and less expensively, potentially saving lives. Norbert Muller at Nestlé argues that the same system could also enable doctors to diagnose diseases based on genomic sequencing or otherwise provide ‘precision medicine’ tailored to the needs of each case.
3D Printing
Such devices, implants and treatments can be customised to each patient using 3D printing to create made-to-measure solutions, often speeding up the development of such frontier solutions, and getting them into the hands of patients more quickly. For instance, surgeons can practice certain procedures before performing them on a patient, or cyber-sculpt virtual models of patients to create realistic custom prosthetics, which in turn lead to improved patient outcomes. In addition, physical models of complex or rare anatomical structures can help surgeons with diagnosis and surgical plan, ultimately resulting in lower risks and complications during the procedure. The latest versions of bioprinters might one day print out human organs and possibly whole bodies for transplant.
Stem Cell Therapy
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can convert into more specialised cells – brain cells for Parkinson’s disease or pancreatic insulin-producing cells in diabetes. The approach involves replacing embryonic stem cells with their more pliant counterparts engineered in the laboratory. Bone marrow transplants, in which diseased blood-forming stem cells are replaced with matched stem cells from a donor, have seen great results in curing blood cancers and bone marrow failure conditions, such as sickle cell anemia. Other cell therapies in development, including gene editing methods that allow regenerative cells to avoid immune attack in their host bodies. Meanwhile adult mesenchymal stem cells are being used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders, and also to accelerate the process of bone regeneration after spinal-cord injury, among other potential uses. The next office wonder child of the stem-cell arena is the so-called induced pluripotent stem cell, or iPS, laboratory-generated cells that can be coaxed into development into an almost unlimited array of tissue-specific cells that specifically tailored for the treatment environment.
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology refers to the miniaturisation of structures and mechanisms down to sizes from 1nm to 100nm – shrinking their size so that they can be engineered with greater precision, cheaper and using less energy. In medicine, nanotechnology might allow us to deliver drugs more effectively to specific body areas, produce better and more targeted vaccines, and perform better tests for disease diagnosis. Nanotechnology also has the potential to improve the production of energy through the use of coal, gas and oil, helping us reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. Surgical nanorobots perform mechanical operations that can be carried out with greater precision and less material than traditional methodologies; nano-bioelectric medicine regulates biological reactions by means of electrical stimulus; NPs with drug-bound to their surface could be used to ‘wall off’ sick cells while sparing the healthy ones. ‘Target specification is the use of drug-bound NPs to “wall off” sick cells and sparing healthy cells,’ says GlobalData.
Regenerative Medicine
A key goal of regenerative medicine is to treat the cause of illness, not just the symptoms. One approach to using PRP in the context of lifestyle medicine is injecting the cells back into the body’s tissues. Regenerative medicine is being actively explored to treat the diseases of chronic inflammation and metabolism such as those living with alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Another approach of regenerative medicine that could benefit persons living with liver diseases is creating human liver-like cells for replacement transplant. Regenerative medicine uses bio-artificial medical devices to restore the organ which is lost due to disease or injury or damage in the childhood (from English: composite). Regenerative medicine uses biology chemical science computer engineering genetics medicine robotics science and progress. Therefore, living tissues can be created to replace the sick or old tissues. Stem cell therapy tissue engineering biomaterial engineering for regenerative medicines are possible. Regenerative medicine uses dormant cells to create new cells tissues and organs. So new cells and tissues can be created to replace the damaged ones which are lost due to illness or injury. Regenerative medicine is likely to change health care systems in the future. New cells and tissues can be created to replace those tissues of an organ lost due to illness or injury. Regenerative medicine using dormant cells will change health care systems in the future.
