Technological innovation for the medical field has opened up interesting possibilities for both the near and distant future. As big health data analysis continues to grow, medical futurists have no shortage of things to speculate about. Things that may have once been thought of as the product of science fiction, like brain computer interfaces, are now on the fringe of mainstream public availability. The following developments provide valuable insight into radiology information systems and various ways that healthcare is currently being revolutionized.
Mobile Healthcare
Currently, the number of physicians that use mobile technology to enhance the health care that they can provide for patients is growing. For everything from quick references to point-of-care, having a mobile device on hand has emerged as a staple in the strategies of the most savvy physicians today.
Mobile integration into healthcare has been booming, and taking a look at the statistics can help to put this in better perspective. According to a GreatCall survey that was conducted to examine the use of mHealth apps, 93% of physicians share the opinion that the app could be highly useful for improving the health of their patients. 93% of these surveyed physicians also reported that they believed having a mobile health app connected to Emergency Health was highly valuable.
In another survey conducted by HIMSS Mobile Technology in 2015, it was reported that 90% of the respondents saw great potential value in using mobile technology to engage with their patients in their organizations.
Augmented Reality (AR) Integration
Augmented reality (AR) is positioned to provide possible benefits to many different industries, and the healthcare industry is no exception. Treatment methods for diabetes could potentially be enhanced with the technology of Google-patented digital contact lens. AR technology may not only be able to improve healthcare methodology, but also the efficiency and comfort of medical studies as well. Medical students tasked with dissections might be able to do so without needing to endure the smell of formaldehyde thanks to technology like the Microsoft-patented Hololens, a self-contained holographic computer.
Prosthetic advancement
DARPA has been at work developing prosthetic limbs that could potentially offer a much more complete range of motion. For patients who have suffered particularly traumatic damage to the spinal cord, or suffered from a significant neurological diseases, the challenge lies with the lag in nervous system synchronization. Advancements in prosthetic limbs that DARPA and other prosthetic manufacturers have invested in will be an attempt at creating interfaces that can sync up with the human nervous system with swifter response time.
Blood-swimming nanomachines
The use of blood nanobots for everyday healthcare was once just a speculative prospect, but the development of the technology is well underway. Ideally, nanomachines in the blood could serve as potential form of supplementation for the body's white blood cells if the immune system has been compromised. With an effective propulsion system and accurate sensors, nanomachines in the blood might be capable of delivering various forms of treatment without as much of a risk for the side effects of conventional treatment.
Artificial retina supplementation
When a person's vision has dropped to 20/200 or below, or when they can't see beyond 20 degrees of their central vision, they're declared legally blind. Nano Retina's NR600 was developed as a possible restorative device for all of the damaged photoreceptor cells in a legally blind eye. With the use of electrical stimulation, the NR600 could galvanize any functional retinal cells still remaining back into a working state. The NR600 consists of both a pair of eyeglasses and a mini-chip meant to be implanted.
The medical technologies revolutionizing health care range from simple smartphone prevalence, to the potential for the human body's very nervous system and immune system to be fortified. Time will only tell just what the full realization of these developments may amount to, and what new windows could be opened by their possible success.
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Lee Flynn is a freelance writer. Through small local workshops and articles, Lee trains and teaches others on home preparation, healthy living, food storage techniques, and self reliance.