Healthcare Technologies: Reducing Risk, Increasing Access
Healthcare has always depended on technological advancements in order to move forward. From vaccines and pacemakers to antibiotics and contraceptives, healthcare innovations are a direct result of cutting-edge technology. As new technology arrives on the scene, the quality, speed, and availability of medical procedures and consultation improve drastically, often saving millions if not billions of lives.
How Healthcare Technology Has Changed
In 1895, a German physicist named Wilhelm Röntgen was studying the interaction between electrical current and gases in an low-pressure environment. By accident, he stumbled across a type of highly energetic electromagnetic radiation that was capable of passing through most solid objects. Interested in further exploring his serendipitous discovery, Röntgen dubbed this new, unknown radiation “X” for unknown. Today, this type of radiation is more commonly known as an X-ray.
After some more experimentation, Röntgen was able to use photographic film to capture images of the X-rays. He found that the X-rays passed through most materials, but denser object would absorb the radiation and appear darker on the image. Curious, Röntgen decided to use this new technology to photograph his wife’s hand, producing the first X-ray.
When his wife saw the ghostly image of her skeletal hand, she famously stated, “I have seen my death.” Röntgen immediately sent word of his new discovery to his colleagues and it was put to use in medical practice almost immediately. For his work, Wilhelm Röntgen was awarded with the first Nobel Prize for physics in 1901.
Over a century later, X-rays are still widely used in a variety of applications. However, remarkable advancements in medical imaging technology have given healthcare professionals new ways to see exactly what is going on within our bodies. CT scans, PET scans and MRI scans have all come about because of what amounts to a laboratory accident.
While it is true that many medical advancements came about by accident, cutting-edge technology is being developed every day specifically for the healthcare field. From diagnostic artificial intelligence that can process data lakes quickly to new laser technology that helps expedite recovery after eye surgery, physicians and surgeons are constantly being given new tools to help keep us healthier and happier.
Reducing Risk
In 2010 a medical physicist named Gerrit Kemerink at the Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands discovered an X-ray machine from the 1890s that was similar in design to Wilhelm Röntgen’s original. Kemerink acquired a hand specimen from his hospital and used the antique X-ray machine to take an image of the hand.
What Gerrit Kemerink discovered was that the hand had received an incredible dose of radiation 1,500 times greater than what is commonly seen today. While the levels of radiation you receive when getting an X-ray today is relatively negligible, technology has found a way to further reduce the risk to patients.
A traditional X-ray is analogue and requires that the image be captured on light-sensitive film. This process requires significant levels of radiation in order to effectively capture an X-ray image. Digital X-rays, however, are much more targeted in their approach. Instead of using what is essentially a shotgun-blast approach to obtaining an image, digital X-rays use a digital detection system.
This digital detection system targets specific regions of the body and exposes only those regions to radiation, it then captures the incoming X-rays and converts them into a digital image on a computer. This process also saves a considerable amount of time, considering that there is no need for film development — the images are ready to be viewed immediately after they are captured.
Increasing Accessibility
Overall, patients tend to feel very positively about technological advancements in the medical field. It is seen as something that will help improve overall quality of healthcare, and the costs associated with adopting new technology are seen as worth it. However, despite the enthusiasm regarding healthcare technology, patients are still concerned about the logistics of access to healthcare in general.
One way that technological advancements can help patients with healthcare access and management is through their cell phones. The last decade has seen a massive increase in health and fitness related apps that allow people to take charge of their health for free. Fitness apps allow you to track your exercise and monitor your caloric intake, helping you to maintain your health on your own in a preventative way. There are also condition-specific apps for diabetes, asthma and stress that can help you understand your condition further.
Communication between patients and their healthcare professionals has never been more accessible, and telehealth is quickly becoming a viable option to supplement or outright replace standard in-office care. Telehealth gives patients the ability to look at their test results, request prescription refills, and even engage in a virtual appointment. After answering a series of questions, a telehealth nurse might suggest home-care strategies or prescribe medicine to the patient.
While telehealth can seem like an impersonal way to deliver healthcare, it is gaining traction among patients and providers alike. A decrease in provider costs due to reduced re-admission rates and improved chronic disease management can be cited as driving factors for this change. Telehealth also helps those in rural areas who would otherwise have to travel great distances just to see a healthcare professional, allowing individuals to seek help who may not have been able to before the advent of telehealth.
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Healthcare and technology have always gone hand-in-hand, and that isn’t going to change any time soon. As we progress and develop new technologies to keep us healthy, we can also expect that they will help us connect with our doctors easier and help us to take control of our own health. While we don’t know what the future holds for healthcare technology, we do know that we can rely on it to make our lives just a little bit easier, safer, and more interesting.
