5 technological revolutions that help people live better

1. Medicine regeneration

Repair the human body like repairing a car, replacing old damaged parts with new parts. Medicine has been done by human organ transplantation, transplantation of animal or artificial organs, but all have not been " delicious " yet. Currently, people dream of creating a new copy that is completely accurate with the discarded part and is genetically appropriate.

This can become a reality when Tengion Company in Pennsylvania (USA) tests vascular grafts for patients with cardiovascular disease by " cultivating " blood from the patient's own cells, a technique which Dr. Anthony Atala tested for 15 years at Boston Children's Hospital. He created "frames" from the biodegradable - biological material and " sown " on the patient's cells. When the " frame " disappears, the cell creates a desired part.

In the experiment, Atala made a ureter in the body, vagina, uterus and penis in rabbits. This work belongs to regerenative medicine, an entirely new field. Currently, regenerative medicine has only made simple tissues such as skin and cartilage, but in the future it promises to make more complicated parts without the need for donated organs (finding it very difficult). It is forecasted that by 2010, this market will reach US $ 350 billion in sales worldwide!

2. Extremely small device to treat and prevent disease

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), people are considering using a tablet of 200 nanometers (1 billionth of a meter) to put toxic cells into the tumor to kill cancer cells. The tablet consists of an outer layer that dissolves slowly so that when it enters the tumor, a substance destroys blood vessels. Once cancer cells have no blood vessels, they are killed with a toxin from the secreted drug. This " two-stroke " method is believed to be safe and effective in treating cancer and it has proven feasible on rats.

Also related to cancer, Mihri Ozkan, associate professor of electrical design at UC-Riverside (USA), thinks of using a tiny sensor that is inserted into the human body to hear electrical signals emitted. from the cell. Once the cell changes abnormally (turns into cancer cells), the signal also changes and people will notice it to detect cancer early and take intervention. Last year, Mihri Ozkan received the Young Scientist Award from the US Army.

Equally interesting is the application of radio recording technology (RFID). With wireless beetles attached to people's shirts, physicians can record abnormalities in their health. In the US, there are electronic T-shirts that can record and release the wearer's biological parameters. In France, the TIM-C lab targets the medical-remote market to monitor elderly health. When wearing this shirt, if the grandfather or grandmother falls, the heart rate increases abnormally, the physician will know from a distance, so that the emergency will be timely.

3. Non-invasive, less invasive surgery

This technology was present under the name "endoscopic surgery". Today, it is normal to explore 1.2m of the esophagus and stomach or 1.8m of the large intestine. But not only exploration, people can also use a clip, electronic scalpel or laser to remove a tumor. Going further, Israel's Given Imaging company created an 11x26mm-sized PillCam (camera camera), a high-tech device that includes cameras, lighting, transmitters, to help observe human gut from beginning to end. , serving for diagnosis and treatment. At this time, Given Imaging has released Generation 6 PillCam, so successful that at the 2007 World Economic Forum, it was chosen as "a technology solution that creates a strong transformation in the field of health." healthy ".

In non-invasive or less invasive surgery, people also rely on robots. For example, the robot Da Vinci of Intuitive Surgical (USA) can replace a new heart valve in the condition that the heart is still beating without opening the chest. Just " drill " 3 small holes between 2 ribs, 2 holes for the robot arm to enter and 1 hole for lighting and observation. After that, the surgery went smoothly.

4. Rapid genetic analysis

The current genetic analysis requires a lot of effort and time. This will be overturned by a DNA bug that can analyze thousands of DNA fragments in an emergency. Their applications are many: detecting disease-carrying genes, optimizing treatment, monitoring bacteria and viruses, determining malignant properties . The first steps of this technology have taken place because In 2005, Affimetrix launched the FoodExpert-ID bug to help distinguish traces of 32 different animal foods such as cows, chickens, sheep, goats and fish .

5. Health monitoring clothes!

Currently, some patients with arrhythmias still have to carry a vibrating or rhythmic pacemaker, but they are still cumbersome and require trouble installing. In the near future, these people just need to wear a smart fiber shirt that can hear the heartbeat, if necessary, the automatic shirt will adjust these abnormalities.

This project, called MyHeart , is a continuation of a European project called Wealthy, aimed at making smart fibers and interacting with each other that can record human health parameters. Europe is a leader in this field. According to the evaluation of Venture Developement Corporation, by 2008 the world market of this technology reached 720 million USD. Its application is very diverse: monitoring the health of children, the elderly, people with cardiovascular disease, athletes, dangerous workers (firefighters) . From a distance, the doctor can note the changes. changeable and timely intervention.

Phan Son