Interesting stuff but may not exactly be the greatest news for...

Interesting stuff but may not exactly be the greatest news for MVH long term.



The future of healthcare
Saturday, 7 June 2008
Kaitlin Walsh

NANOBOT medics, blood scanning CDs and lasers that can detect cancer at cell organelle level. All these are the promise of the medicine of the future. And what about undies that monitor your blood pressure and take ECG readings? Yes, really. We take a look at some of the amazing medical possibilities the future holds.

Remember the sci-fi film The Incredible Voyage, in which intrepid scientists were shrunk and inserted into a mini ‘space capsule’ that journeyed through the bloodstream of the hapless patient in quest of a cure? Way out there, surely?

Although progress on shrunken surgeons leaves a bit to be desired, a real life, vitamin capsule-sized ‘camera pill’ that beams images of the patient’s innards back to the doctor once swallowed is now old news. In fact, the device, made by Given Imaging Limited, was cleared for use to view the small intestine by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) way back in 2001. Newer ‘PillCams’ can even operate in the higher gastrointestinal tract and oesophagus.

Given that it was only early last century that it was (accidentally) discovered that x-rays could be used to create images of our insides, we have certainly come a long way. But these camera pills are only the tip of the iceberg and are positively primitive compared with a number of other devices that may soon see the medical light of day.

The BioCD topped the charts in medical reporting not long ago. Currently in development by a team from Purdue University in the United States, the plan is that the analogue CDs will be able to screen your blood for an almost unlimited number of potential diseases while you wait. (Just imagine what the digital version could do!) As with most of these technologies, you’ll probably have to wait years before you see it in popular use; however, the theoretical technology and physics know-how to achieve this do (apparently) exist.

The Smart Scalpel (more accurately termed a biological microcavity laser), which tests the tissue it cuts for cancerous cells ‘as it goes,’ enabling the surgeon to remove only malignant material and leave the healthy tissue in place, is another prime example of theory (almost) in action. Headlines trumpeted its arrival a few years ago. Developed by the US Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories, the focus in 2008 has moved from the scalpel component to the use of biocavity lasers to detect cancer cells. This technology has, according to a leading Smart Scalpel developer, Paul Gourley, recently been patented, along with a test that can detect cancer at the cell organelle (that is, within the ‘organs’ of a cell itself) level. Given that early detection still offers the best chance of cure, the potential to ‘zap’ cancer before it even makes it into the cell could completely revolutionise cancer treatment, not to mention providing whole new insights into its process of development.

The rise and rise of the nanobot. Whoever said small is beautiful really had it when it comes to the medical technology of the future. A nanoparticle is one that is teeny tiny. To give you a clue, think one billionth of a metre (if you can). That’s a nanometre. Using nanotechnology, we can theoretically harness these particles, shape them and guide them through the body on medical missions. The possibilities offered are extraordinary – from the miniscule ‘origami’ nano-pyramid that is folded around drugs and transported via the bloodstream to disease or wound sites, to the development of photovoltaic nanoparticles that link electrically with nerve cells to restore sight – or the use of nanoparticles to deliver gene therapy – and that’s just the cusp on which we already sit!

Perhaps most exciting of all is the potential to use ‘nanobots’ (tiny robots) with smaller-than-imaginable moving parts to do our healing bidding. Think: removing plaque from the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers, repairing blood vessels in stroke sufferers and manipulating the genetic material of chronic disease sufferers. These are the merest top-of-mind applications currently being explored. No need to shrink our surgeons when we have a little bot to do it all for us.

To gain some insights into how it all works and the level of control scientists have over these little critters, check out NIST Nanosoccer, where computer-driven, smaller-than-speck nanobots challenge one another on fields the size of a grain of rice.

Electrifying undies. We’ll round it all off with my own personal favourite. There is currently a patent application in place relating to the development of a pair of undies which would contain special attachments that measure the passing of pulses of the central, left and right femoral arteries to measure the blood pressure and take an ECG of the wearer. The developers are also contemplating extending the system to monitor the temperature, posture and the level of activity of the ‘subject.’ Gives whole new meaning to wearing your heart on your sleeve …

While it’s uncertain whether any or all of these specific applications will ever make it into the doctor’s surgery, what we do know is that if they don’t, whole lot more like them will. It really is just a matter of time.

And while we’re waiting for the ‘nanocavalry’ to heal our ills, best to keep up the good old-fashioned healthy eating and regular physical jerks – they still offer the firmest guarantee of good health!