General | Hospital and Medical Technology

The Evolution (or History) of Medical Technology

Image courtesy of flickr.com.

The earliest medical technology may have been the stick used to try to beat out the devils that people thought were causing some guy’s rash. Over time, with improvements in technology and our understanding of the body, medical technology has grown much more advanced.

Over 4600 years ago, ancient Egyptians were performing simple surgeries. Circumcision is believed to have been practiced, as is the use of artificial cosmetic prosthetics.

A thousand years ago, Abulcasis wrote a medical text that described surgical instruments, plaster casts, and inhaled anesthetics. Medical tech became advanced enough to allow limited eye surgeries. Between eight and six hundred years ago, convex and concave lens spectacles were used to correct vision.

In the past two hundred years, medical technology has allowed us to view or take measurements of the body’s interior. The stethoscope was invented in 1816. In the 1850s, the inventions of the ophthalmoscope and laryngoscope allowed physicians to peer inside the eyes and throat. A few decades later, x-rays were used in medical imaging.

In the first decades of the 20th Century, electrocardiography and electroencephalography were discovered. The 1940s saw the introduction of the dialysis machine and intraocular lens. The 1960s brought powered prosthetics, cochlear implants, and balloon catheters. By the 1970s, medical technology allowed for laser eye surgery and liposuction, and capsule endoscopy came in the 1980s. Recent advances in medical tech include the artificial liver and telesurgery.

Medical technology has advanced and evolved from very simple instruments to lasers and the bionic eye. We’re still waiting for the dermal regenerator from Star Trek, but given where medical tech is now, even that can’t be far off.

Filed Under: General, Medical Architecture Tagged With: Medical technology, Star Trek, Technology

Get the Word Out About Your Home Business

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

If there is one positive outcome of a troubled economy it is that many people tap into their entrepreneurial spirit and begin their own businesses. We’re not talking about opening up a factory to make the next hot-selling “widget.” Typically, these new start-up businesses are home-based. The cornerstone of these businesses are providing services for the local community. Are you one of the lucky few who enjoy cleaning? You could start your own cleaning service. Have a sturdy pick-up truck? You could start your own hauling service. Know some seniors who have a hard time getting around? You could open up an errand service. No matter which money-making idea you develop for your home business you have to get the word out. The best way to do that is also the simplest: handing out flyers.

Think about this: a week doesn’t go by without us receiving at least one flyer. We get them delivered to our mailboxes or on the windshield of our cars. Human nature dictates that we’re going to read that flyer. We’re way too curious not to! If that flyer is advertising a special on tree-trimming services, but you don’t have any trees that need trimming, then that flyer isn’t for you. However, when the right flyer finds its way to a perfect potential customer then your business can grow. Obviously, the only way to do that is by getting as many flyers into as many hands as possible.

One great tip for creating an effective flyer is to offer something special such as a discount or coupon on that flyer. An added incentive is exactly what could encourage a new customer to hang onto that flyer until they need the service you are offering. Without that flyer, how will anybody even know you’re in business? Get the word out today!

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Business, Market, Printing, Small business

Don’t Forget Your Child’s School Records When Moving

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Moving is a busy time for all those involved. Not only is waiting for a mortgage or lease approval stressful, but the whole act of packing up every single item you own to ship it somewhere new and then unpack everything can cause quite an emotional roller coaster.

When moving long distances, consider hiring professional movers to make things run easier. This is especially helpful for families with young children, as the parents can focus more on the children’s needs during the relocation process, instead packing up the household. Professional movers will take care of it all, from carefully packing your most precious breakables to Grandpa’s huge reclining chair that you just can’t seem to give up. Your belongings will then arrive safe and ready to make your new house a home. Check around for moving quotes to find the best professional moving company with the best prices.

When moving, don’t forget to pick up your child’s school records. Your kid’s new school will often require these documents in order to register. Permanent records may be given to you sealed and may include transcripts, copies of report cards, and standardized test scores. The administrators at the new school will then have an idea of the subjects your child knows in relation to what is taught at the new school.

Grades and test scores alone can not fully showcase a child’s aptitude. It’s a good idea for parents to include copies of English, Science, and Math class work. Letters from teachers, tutors, and counselors should also be included in the file, both those that talk about strengths and weaknesses. And, extra-curricular activities are important and should be noted when going to a new school. All of this is used to place your child in the proper class, and provide extra help in areas that may be needed to get up to speed with the other students.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Child, Moving company, Standardized test

Online References Help You With Your Life, Health, and Auto Insurance Needs

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Previously, it could be very difficult for a person to learn about a certain illness. For major problems like cancer, a person could call the national cancer association and talk with a representative. Often, a person felt isolated by an illness. The Internet has brought a certain liberty to health medicine by allowing a person to access online tools from information on illnesses to online support groups. People no longer feel like there’s a stigma to being ill.

While the Internet can be useful, it’s important to use it in conjunction with your doctor. Some patients will read unreliable information that may make them afraid of the future. It’s possible to confuse symptoms for one illness for another more serious illness. Don’t use the Internet to self-diagnosis a problem. Start by working with your doctor. If your doctor can’t determine the cause of an illness through routine testing, you can begin looking for rare conditions with your symptoms.

If you want to research a condition, ask your doctor for recommendations on online references. You can use the Internet to manage your life, health, and auto insurance needs, as well as to do thousands of other tasks. Because of the wide variety of things you can do on the Internet, you may find it helpful to start with the websites your doctor recommends. This can help keep you from feeling overwhelmed when a general search returns thousands of websites with information.

As you learn about your condition, keep in mind that not everything you read will come to pass. Yes, cancer can kill you, but there are many people every day who are in remission from cancer and living active, healthy lives. It’s important to know the worst-case scenario so you can prepare for it, but it isn’t okay to allow the information to scare you to the point where you can’t enjoy life.

Filed Under: General, Health Tips Tagged With: Health, Support group, Vehicle insurance

When You’re Sick, Emergency Cash Loans Can Help

It’s terrible to feel sick. Sure, it might get you a day or two off work, but you feel so lousy that you can’t even enjoy your mini-vacation. With that in mind, it’s better to get some medicine and start feeling like yourself again, so you can get back into life, even if that means going back to work. If money’s tight, don’t be afraid to ask family and friends if they can loan you a little bit to get the medicine you need. You can also check into emergency cash loans or pull from your savings. However, you decide to get the cash, treatment is important.

Once you get the medicine that you need, it shouldn’t take long for you to start feeling better. You’ll be able to get back to work and pay back any money you borrowed from anywhere – including your savings account. You’ll also be able to just get back into life again, which is a great feeling. Don’t assume that you have to go to the doctor and get a prescription, either. If you just have a bad cold or a stomach virus, there isn’t much a doctor can do for you.

You’d be better off getting some over-the-counter medication for your specific problem and taking it so that you can feel better and not risk infecting everyone at your doctor’s office if you’re contagious. It could also be a costly visit just to be told to drink fluids and rest. An over-the-counter medication is generally best in those situations. If that doesn’t help you to feel better soon, or if you get worse, you might have to see your doctor at that time. Do what you need to do for your own health, and just focus on getting better so you can go back to doing the things you enjoy.

Filed Under: General, Health Tips, Infrastructure Tagged With: Health, Medicine, Over-the-counter drug

Gene Therapy Will Open an Entirely New Branch of Medicine

The actual process entails modifying a virus or cell. The virus then enters the cell and infects it with its new genetic code which has been coded to alter the disruptive DNA. However, part of the problem remains in the proper location for the injection of the DNA or RNA. Often the viruses don’t have a mechanism for targeting a specific location within the DNA and so the injection itself may cause errors. Nevertheless, there has been moderate success in clinical trials treating some hereditary diseases.

Even more progress has been made in treating cancer. Gene therapy offers a wide range of possible tools to combat cancer including injecting DNA to stop the cancer cells from reproducing to introducing modified white blood cells which have been altered to attack the cancer cells themselves. It has had some success in clinical trials of actually stopping cancer, but the technology remains too new to try in a universal fashion. However, it remains very promising and seeks to alter the entire landscape of medicine.

Not only will gene therapy give medical institutions the ability to treat previously untreatable disease, but perhaps will lead to a revolution in medical technology itself. Gene therapy could come to replace traditional drug treatments or certain other medical procedures if it could be altered to remedy other illnesses and diseases.

The basic concept behind gene therapy entails that a a medical practitioner identify a problem in the patient created by some genetic abnormality. This genetic abnormality is then targeted and then a different set of genes is delivered which replaces the abnormal set of genes, thus curing the condition. There have been restrictions on a form of gene therapy known as germ line gene therapy because the alterations would be passed to the children of the patient and there have been a host of legal and ethical questions raised about this sort of activity. However, great strides are being made in the field known as somatic gene therapy which only alters the genetics of the individual patient.
The actual process entails modifying a virus or cell. The virus then enters the cell and infects it with its new genetic code which has been coded to alter the disruptive DNA. However, part of the problem remains in the proper location for the injection of the DNA or RNA. Often the viruses don’t have a mechanism for targeting a specific location within the DNA and so the injection itself may cause errors. Nevertheless, there has been moderate success in clinical trials treating some hereditary diseases.
Even more progress has been made in treating cancer. Gene therapy offers a wide range of possible tools to combat cancer including injecting DNA to stop the cancer cells from reproducing to introducing modified white blood cells which have been altered to attack the cancer cells themselves. It has had some success in clinical trials of actually stopping cancer, but the technology remains too new to try in a universal fashion. However, it remains very promising and seeks to alter the entire landscape of medicine.
Not only will gene therapy give medical institutions the ability to treat previously untreatable disease, but perhaps will lead to a revolution in medical technology itself. Gene therapy could come to replace traditional drug treatments or certain other medical procedures if it could be altered to remedy other illnesses and diseases.

Filed Under: General, health Equipment, Medical Technology Tagged With: DNA, Eukaryotic, Gene therapy

Better AIDS Care May Come from Altered Treatment Rather than New Medicines

AIDS has become a pandemic of devastating proportions. It affects people around the world and is one of the most deadly diseases in history. AIDS has remained resistant to isolation and treatment because it easily spreads and rapidly mutates because of it’s characteristics as a retrovirus. Treatment itself requires both a complicated assortment of different medications and can have serious and painful side effects. Much of the research on drugs has rested on raising effectiveness and simplifying the complexity of the so called “AIDS cocktail.” This research remains absolutely invaluable, but some of the most promising results have been shown in changing the pattern of treatment.

A recent study focused on the effects of beginning treatment earlier. The study relied on the time of treatment relative to the number of T-cells in the body. T-cells are a key part of the immune system that help target threats to the body. The study compared the usual time period of starting the treatment which later when the T-cells rested at 200 per cubed millimeter with the earlier treatment starting at 350 per cubed millimeter. The results of the study were surprising. The death rate dropped by 75% and tuberculous which is often arises among AIDS victims decreased by 50%. The conclusion is clear, earlier treatment plays the decisive role in combating this illness. While this study only concretely applies to AIDS, it still has important implication for the policies of medical institutions.

Institutions may ultimately save more on costs and provide better treatment by focusing on “simple” solutions applied earlier. This in no way reduces the importance of advancements in medical technology or pharmaceutical research, but may rather signal change of importance. Medical technology which increases the ease of treatment or reduces the cost for treatments may ultimately provide a better return then the search for high cost emergency medical technologies.

Filed Under: General, Health Tips, Medical Technology Tagged With: AIDS, Conditions and Diseases, Immune Disorders

Aspects of the Food Dehydrator

Consumers put variety and options at the top of their shopping list. Normally they want the opportunity to choose color, style, size, features, etc. The food dehydrator shopper would be pleased with the options that are on the market for this product. One consumer may want the dehydrator for one purpose and the next consumer wants it and uses it for a different purpose. Since 1920 when the first food dehydrator was sold, the ingenuity of the American inventor and the need of health conscious people have forced options.

There are the electric dehydrator models and the solar powered dryers using solar energy to create a flow of warm air through the tray. There is the plastic dehydrator and there is the upscale stainless steel model. Home-food dehydrators fall into two structure categories: stackable trays or a rigid box with removable shelves.

Most dehydrators fit on a counter top but the larger models are free-standing. The food dehydrator can be square, round or rectangular. That makes a difference according to what food is processed. The wattage is 500, 600 or 700 because if the food is particularly wet or thick, the high wattage would be attractive.

Then there is fan drying, or convection drying, which relies on heat to accomplish the same end. Convection drying eliminates the possibility of contaminating foods because the fan could pull in dust or other contaminants. Another advantage to convection heating is that it creates a silent operation besides using less electricity. All positive, except that it requires twice the time to dry so the keeping quality lessens. If the dehydrator has levels and only a heater in the bottom for drying purposes, the layers have to be rotated consistently in order to have dried food that is evenly processed. However, if there is a heater and a fan system, the process of rotating trays is eliminated.

Filed Under: General, Health Tips Tagged With: Drying (food), Energy, Food dehydrator

Need A Boost in Your Finances?

Everyone needs extra cash now and again and it is getting easier and easier to find sources for accessing that cash. There are plenty of resources out there, but you need to be savvy about how to find them and use them. When emergencies happen, people often ask family members or friends for money, because they know this is one of the easiest ways to obtain the finances they may need. But sometimes friends and family members are as hard pressed as you are for funds and in these tough economic times it can be difficult to ask them to sacrifice for you and hand over their hard earned money.

However, if you are willing to look around a bit you can find some reliable and wise sources for quick cash on the web. These web sites can explain to you everything you will need to know about their policies and such things as their interest rates, late fees, and any other information you may want before you make a decision. It’s good to research several of these companies before you decide on one. That way, you can find the one that most closely matches your needs, as well as your financial style. You will want to make sure that the web site is safe in terms of obtaining personal and financial information from you and that they will be well protected from hackers and their ilk. When you need emergency cash, you don’t need to feel guilty or desperate, instead just be well informed and find a great source for you to obtain the funds that you need. Nowadays there are so many companies who will bend over backwards to get your business, that you are fortunate enough to have a lot of options to choose from.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Business, Financial services, Investing