Health technologies that have changed the world

Technology has indeed had its fair effect on the world. Technology has changed education, business, finance, health, employment, etc. Do you know that without technology, there wouldn’t have existed several equipment that help the health sector today?

This article is going to show you some health technologies that have changed the world. Without some of these technologies, I can’t imagine how the health sector was going to be like.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed to us that technology is a very important tool when it comes to health issues. For instance, the process of testing for COVID-19 in Ghana is 100% technology based.

Can you imagine how it would have been done without technology? Considering the huge numbers of samples that are tested daily, without technology the duration to confirm a positive sample would have taken over three times the time the PCR test takes.

Now enough of the plenty talk, let’s get into the subject this article.

Health technologies that have changed the world

X-ray imaging

Can you imagine how fractures would have been detected without X-ray imaging technology? The duration takes to get the results for an X-ray test is less than an hour. There’s no way that human beings would have been able to detect fractures within this short period.

According to research, the German Physicist, Wilhelm Conrad discovered X-rays accidentally while he was studying electric current passing through a gas of extremely low pressure.

After he accidentally discovered them, he didn’t know much about them and then decided to name it X (usually used to represent unknown variables in Mathematics).

His discovery led to the manufacture of X-ray machines and the use of X-ray imaging technology to make the health sector a very safe place. This invention is used in almost every country in the world.

CT Scanner and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

After Wilhelm discovered X-rays, curious doctors wanted to know more about how to find out what is going on within a person without cutting the person open. This research and curiosity led to the discovery of the CT Scanner.

The CT scanner was invented by Dr. Godfrey Hounsfield and received a Noble Prize for Medicine in 1979; was used to display multiple layers within multiple X-ray images.

After the invention of CT Scanners, Dr. Raymond Damadian invented a technique to differentiate between normal and cancerous cells using a technology called magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Currently, this technology is used by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to confirm the ages of football players who play below the senior national teams. It is used to check whether the person’s age matches with some specific medical information the machine shows.

Ventilator

Medical Ventilators are machines that act as bellows to move air in and out of the lungs. A mask or helmet is fitted to the patient to get more air in and out of the lungs but if the condition is serious breathing tubes will be applied.

This is the medical tool that has been used the most during this COVID-19 pandemic because it sustains critically ill persons by providing them with enough oxygen to breathe. You can imagine what would have happened without this equipment in this pandemic.

Molecular Breast Imaging

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women. As a result, scientists invented a technology called molecular breast imaging to scan the breast of, especially women to check for signs of cancer.

The process involves the use of a radioactive tracer and a special camera to find breast cancer in the breast of the patient.

In a few years to come, this method could be the leading method of detecting breast cancer in women and could in turn reduce the high rate of women dying as a result of breast cancer.

Prosthetics

Medical technologies could not be talked of without talking about prosthetics. This invention has been the savior of most disabled persons who thought their lives has come to an end.

Now, those who used crutches, wheelchair, and walking supports can carry out their normal routine with little or no restriction at all.

Conclusion

As stated earlier, these technologies have indeed changed the world in one way or the other and the world cannot imagine itself without these technologies.

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