Semester 1 Reading Test

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality is not limited to the world of gaming, it has now been adopted into the world of medicine and healthcare for use by doctors and patients alike. A key use for surgeons is to help them plan and prepare for complex operations. Virtual reality enables them to create a 3D map, or visualisation, from scans of a patient and explore procedures in great depth before making any real incisions into the body. This approach allows scientists to predict potential problems in relative safety and make decisions about treatments without putting the patient’s life at risk. Virtual reality is also being used to help patients, particularly those undergoing stressful and painful treatments but who want to avoid or are unable to use conventional methods of pain relief. The headsets are worn during surgery or while the patient receives treatment, for example during chemotherapy with the aim of helping the patient relax. Whilst still in its infancy as a method of pain relief, research shows very promising results.

E-health

For some time now it’s been very common to ‘ask Google’ when you have a minor, or major, medical complaint and this can lead to some inaccurate self-diagnosis and a great deal of stress. Since the year 2000 e-health has been a growing phenomenon which aims to harness this desire for easy, online healthcare. Rather than technological medical advancements, e-health is more about delivering information, care and health services. So rather than checking symptoms online, e-health allows a patient to communicate with a doctor via an app or online platform getting instant advice and diagnoses. Whilst it is currently limited to developed countries, there is huge potential for it to improve medical care around the world and many organisations are now looking at how this could be done. One area that has particularly benefitted is mental health, due to the fact it is low cost and offers patients a level of anonymity which is often a barrier to sufferers seeking help. However, as with anything there are a number of drawbacks. Privacy and confidentiality are hard to guarantee and in terms of monitoring and controlling the quality of services being offered much still has to be done. Many professionals are now calling for greater regulation to ensure patients are not tricked into receiving sub-standard treatment.

Wearable health technology

The use of wearables for patients is rising rapidly, with it becoming common practice to monitor patients’ vital information via digital devices. These are attached to the patient’s chest and record minute by minute their condition. If a patient needs attention the device will alert nurses via an app, allowing them to prioritise which patients need attention most urgently rather than simply doing the rounds. Since these devices can be worn at home, it allows patients suffering from long term illnesses to return home where previously they would have had to stay in hospital. The devices give them the confidence that any issues will be picked up early enough for them to seek medical attention in time. Surgeons are also becoming increasingly likely to use wearables such as Google Glass whilst in the operating theatre. Surgeons can access x-rays and scans via the device without leaving the operating table. Previously, they potentially would have had to go to a separate room.

3D printing

3D printing has been around since the 1980s and is used across a variety of industries but medicine is benefitting more and more every year. Bioprinting, where printers use real tissue rather than plastic or metal, allow researchers to study living tissue and organs in a lab cheaply and ethically. In the future, this technology may be used to print new organs for transplant patients. Prosthetic limbs are also being made using this technology, which allows for a great degree of personalisation and precision. Limbs can be made to the exact specifications of the patient and these often prove to be more functional for the wearer. Finally, 3D printers can be used to make pills that combine a number of different drugs. This is extremely useful for people who have to take a complicated combination of pills, sometimes at different times of the day and in different combinations. Helpful not only for forgetful patients but people with busy lives who want to live unconstrained by their medical conditions.