Future of Medicine Blog Series - Part II b: Bioprinting (Infographic)
INFOGRAPHIC: "Printing the Human Body"
Source
http://www.engineering.com/3DPrinting/3DPrintingArticles/ArticleID/5210/Printing-the-Human-Body--Infographic.aspx
Future of Medicine Blog Series - Part II a: Bioprinting
by Dhruv Gupta, July 30, 2013
Innovation can present itself through many means and many mediums. Often, innovation in one sector can find applicability and usefulness in others. For example, let's look at the exchange of innovation between the manufacturing sector and the life sciences. When facing costs in producing and distributing products, manufacturers have to take into account labor and capital costs. While labor costs are kept in check by wage laws on one end, companies seek out innovation in capital production in hopes of reducing costs. The newest advent in capital cost reduction comes in the way of 3D printing, a low cost method of designing and producing products that uses a polycarbonate plastic hybrid that is both flexible and sturdy. The lateral spread of this innovation across different sectors displays the power of 3D printing as an innovation.
The health care sector has become one of the newer sectors to embrace 3D printing, bioprinting, as a means to "print" organic tissue and cells in hopes to provide better diagnosis and absolve patients from disease. Most people are familiar with inkjet printers and understand how they work. They require the insertion of ink cartridges which are then sprayed onto paper in order to produce the image that appears on one's computing device. Bioprinting, now and in the future, is contingent on the same general guidelines. Instead of ink, bioprinting will require different substances such as live cells and other hybrid, organic particles.
Although bioprinting is in its infancy, its practicality and effectiveness has been demonstrated through early experimentation by contemporary life science research companies. One such company, Organovo, has pioneered the path for the advancement and adoption of bioprinting as a primary tool in creating muscles and tissues around the world. Organovo has been able to reproduce liver tissue, human blood vessels, and animal cardiac tissue. By creating human tissue, bioprinting has the ability to reshape the landscape of the life sciences and of treatment moving into the future.
Besides replacing damaged tissues, cells, and muscles inside the human body, the worth of bioprinting might be lost on the casual observer. Bioprinting affords scientists the ability to not only reproduce entire parts of the human body, it also allows them to "test drugs on functional human tissues" prior to administering said drugs to a living person. The value of that cannot be understated as this testing will help provide scientists and doctors with speedier and more accurate results than one done on a sample test animal. Furthermore, by creating carbon copies of human tissues, scientists can better understand the progression of disease in a body and develop better methods to combat the spread and effects of possible malignancies.
Along with the current applications of bioprinting now, the future of such an innovation is promising as well. Pharmacology enables us to understand the science of drug action on different biological systems. Utilizing this knowledge in order to bioprint drugs that are tailored for specific individuals would allow scientists to increase the effectiveness of drugs as a whole. Different versions of the same drug often render different levels of efficacy between individuals. Understanding which drugs work best and producing these drugs (maybe even in the comfort of one's own home) would be a revolutionary step forward in personalized, outpatient care.
However, as of now, Organovo is engaged in a multitude of projects including finding ways to combat cancer by analyzing how cancer drugs work in a targeted environment and how they can better spread in cancer networks. Organovo, along with other companies, are on the cusp of invigorating a new revolution in health care and bioprinting is one of the foremost technological innovations that will spur that revolution.
Explore other Future of Medicine Trends Here
Future of Medicine Blog Series - Part I: Magnetic Levitation
by Emily Podmore - July 30, 2013
Magnetic levitation is easiest defined in two parts. A magnet is an object (a piece of iron, steel or alloy) that produces an invisible field that attracts and/or repulses other magnets. Levitation is the process by which a physical force suspends an object against gravity. When combined, magnetic levitation refers to the suspension of an object through the physical force of magnetism: a magnetic field exerts pressure that counteracts the effects of gravity.
Magnetic levitation, maglev for short, is perhaps best known for its role in the development of a high-speed rail system that uses the basic principles of magnets to suspend the train above a guide way, eliminating friction with tracks that traditional trains have. This would allow the trains to travel at speeds in excess of 300mph with little maintenance and free from weather constraints. While this may be the most well-known application of the technology, its presence in other fields such as medicine has become more prevalent in recent years.
In January, Rice University and Nano3D Biosciences published that they had utilized magnetic levitation to create a 4-layered replica of the lung's bronchiole tissue. Typically, reproduced cells are created in 2-D cultures, and they often behave differently than the cell they are replicating. The faux-lung cells that Rice and Nano3D were able to create, however, were more complicated-made up of endothelial, smooth muscle, fibroblast, and epithelial cells. These replicas were the closest to actual bronchiole tissue that scientists had ever come.
Inert magnetic nanoparticles were inserted into the cells and researchers are able to manipulate cells using magnets, giving scientists more control over the tissue composition. The cells were grown three dimensionally, imitating how the lung tissue is grown in the body. More accurate copies of tissue will allow for a simulation of toxins entering the tissue that more closely mirrors the process in the human body. Researchers will have a better understanding of the disease and the opportunity to develop more effective treatments. While creating implantable organs is still far in the future, the use of magnetic levitation in cell cultures puts us one step closer to being able to manufacture working, artificial organs to replace failing or injured ones.
Another use of maglev in medicine that may come to light in future years is in minimally invasive surgery, for diagnostic purposes. In such a case, a magnetic levitation platform consisting of a light, camera, and wireless communication device would be inserted into the patient's body, allowing the doctor to gain a better vision of the affected area. With greater focus on minimally invasive procedures, this process will become even more crucial moving forward.
Magnetic levitation is not a new phenomenon, but looking ahead, the medical community is finding new and innovative ways to implement this technology, improving not only methods for discovering new treatments and cures, but also making strides within patient care as a whole.
Explore other Future of Medicine Trends Here
Source
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20130125/Scientists-use-magnetic-levitation-to-make-in-vitro-lung-tissue-more-realistic.aspx
http://www.hadasit.co.il/category/magnetic-levitation-in-surgery
http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/stories/magnetic-levitation-grows-realistic-lung-tissue#
Future of Medicine Blog Series - Introduction
by Emily Podmore - July 29, 2013
We are halfway through 2013, so that means we should have jet-pack travel and flying cars by now, right? Twenty-five years ago, our vision of the future was probably drastically different from reality; however, just because you can't hover along on your commute, doesn't mean that technology isn't making huge and advanced strides.
Some of the greatest evidence of such strides can be found in the world of medicine. In fact, if you look at future technology and trends in medicine, we are doing things that, at first glance, seem to be out of a science fiction flick. These items are more than intriguing; they are innovatively moving us into the next phase of healthcare. Each new technology seems to be driving us more into a world of personalized care, self-administration, and on-demand treatment. Some of the most interesting trends and technologies that we will examine over this series of posts include:
2. Bioprinting
3. Nanorobotics
5. Telehealth
6. Minimally Invasive Procedures
Preventive Medicine Blog Series - Part IV: Nutrition and Nutraceuticals
by Rutvik Joglekar, June 28, 2013
In an attempt to combat poor nutritional practices, it may be wiser to encourage patients to consume nutraceuticals. Nutraceuticals, or foods, beverages, and supplements that provide medicinal benefits, could be used as a tool to preemptively avert the onset of crippling diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Many Americans drink green tea, for example, because they believe it will contribute to weight loss and other health benefits. Despite all the supposed advantages of nutraceuticals, definite research must be conducted to see if certain products can aid in patient health. With the advent of high drug costs and treatment, nutraceuticals may certainly be a more popular and financially feasible option for patients.
Nutrition, merely the consumption of food and beverages for sustenance, undoubtedly has a profound impact on both patient health and communities. Proper nutrition can, as commonly known, prevent or alleviate common ailments and extend a patient's lifespan; but unhealthy diets, often characterized by processed foods and sugary beverages, may entail detrimental consequences.
Commonly referred to as the diseases of affluence by the World Health Organization (WHO), conditions and illnesses triggered by dietary imbalances may bring about severe health problems and cost the healthcare industry billions of dollars. Heart disease alone, for example, kills nearly 600,000 Americans annually and is the consequence of improper nutrition and maintaining a sedentary lifestyle. In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated the total costs of heart disease to be approximately $108.9 billion.
The importance of nutrition can be highlighted through the active role many governments and organizations play in encouraging proper nutrition. The United States government, for instance, places heavy restrictions on the fast food industry, maintains stringent nutrition label requirements, and mandates health education for all students. Despite these efforts, an epidemic of poor nutritional habits continues; in fact, a new analysis by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that current trends in adult health may lower U.S. life expectancy.
In an attempt to combat poor nutritional practices, it may be wiser to encourage patients to consume nutraceuticals. Nutraceuticals, or foods, beverages, and supplements that provide medicinal benefits, could be used as a tool to preemptively avert the onset of crippling diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Many Americans drink green tea, for example, because they believe it will contribute to weight loss and other health benefits. Despite all the supposed advantages of nutraceuticals, definite research must be conducted to see if certain products can aid in patient health. With the advent of high drug costs and treatment, nutraceuticals may certainly be a more popular and financially feasible option for patients.
Another possible option to explore is the expansion of health education via new channels; although the U.S. government expends a countless amount of resources to create materials for health education, many of their mediums of communication are still fairly limited, schools, online resources, etc. With social media so frequently used, information can quickly be dispersed to large audiences.
In that respect, proper nutritional practices would not only improve the lives of millions of people but save the healthcare industry a myriad of time and money.
(For additional trends in Preventive Medicine see: Here)
Sources
Dollemore, Doug. "Obesity Threatens to Cut U.S. Life Expectancy, New Analysis Suggests, March 16, 2005 Press Release - National Institutes of Health (NIH)." U.S National Library of Medicine. National Institutes of Health, 16 Mar. 2005. Web. 25 June 2013.
"Heart Disease Facts." CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 June 2013.
"Leading Causes of Death." CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d. Web. 25 June 2013.