Bionic Boomers: New Advances In High-Tech Medical
Devices
Author: Mark Baard
The Huffington Post
Great advances in medical technology are being made
for multiple different sectors of the human body. These advances include areas dealing with
sight, joints, and hearing. Age-related
Macular Degeneration (AMD) is a disease that affects approximately 1.6 million
Americans over the age of 50 years old.
AMD steadily deteriorates a person’s sight until they are unable to do
every-day tasks such as read and write.
Until recently, there was no cure for AMD, but at Wills Eye Institute in
Philadelphia, they are now implanting tiny telescopes in patient’s eyes with
AMD. Ed Nungesser, one of the recipients
of the surgery has claimed that the size of his vision is now doubled, and he
has been able to see his granddaughter for the first time. For those who need any joint replacement,
researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a microchip that
operates off radio frequency identification with an antenna to be implanted in
orthopedic implants. These microchips
monitor the temperature, and the bacteria levels within the replacements so
they can catch infections before they become detrimental. Not only do the microchips aid in preventing
infection, but they also can hold data about the patients’ medical progress or
problems. For patients with hearing
loss, there are also new medical technology improvements. These new discoveries are called cochlear
implants. Unlike hearing aids, which can
be large and bulky, the only think about the cochlear implant that is noticeable
is a small disk and cable attached to the skull behind the patient’s ear.
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