The Impact of Technology on Medicine

After doing research on medical Marijuana for the last post, I got to thinking about the changes that technology has made in the world of medicine.

Average lifespan today is around 75 to 80 years old in the United States. This is up from an average of 59 years old in 1935. Unfortunately many parts of the globe are significantly less than this. There are many factors for this, such as diet, poverty, etc., but I think one reason for the rise in lifespan must be the use of medical technology.

Here are a few ways that technology has helped the medical world.

Prevention of diseases: Researchers know that a person’s genetics can often cause a disease to be passed from one generation to the next. Therefore, knowing a patients health history can be very important in early diagnosis and treatment regimens.
•    Vaccines: One of the most important tools in disease prevention, vaccines are especially essential to fight disease in the more poverty stricken countries of the world.

Early detection and testing techniques:
•    Blood tests and lab workups: These tests can reveal many problems with the human body. Researchers have learned how to test for more diseases and overall problems, and this has made a big difference.
•    X-rays – MRI’s – Cat Scans: What’s going on inside your body? These different forms of technology let doctors take a look. Very cool!

Surgical Procedures: The advances in the field of surgery have been amazing. What used to be “Witch Doctor Magic” 200 years ago is now standard procedure. Doctors are capable of treating many conditions that were unheard of just a few years ago.

Treatment of existing diseases: From painkilling drugs to chemotherapy and other forms of radiation, it is possible to treat a lot of diseases these days. Ongoing research will only make this field of medicine better in years to come.

For the past couple hundred years the medical field has made huge progress in the fight against deadly diseases. From the invention of the first vaccines, to surgery that can give someone a better quality of life, technology will continue to enhance the lives of millions of people worldwide.