Medical Innovations: Pioneering, yet Simple

The ongoing pursuit of longevity has, for hundreds of years, brought on the proliferation of medical technology. Universities, research hospitals and private enterprise throughout the world are constantly searching for the next big breakthrough and how to bring it to the masses. Here, we’ll take a look at the most exciting medical innovations and when we’ll see them in the day-to-day market.

Titanium Bone Grafts

Titanium has been used in medical applications for a long time, owing to the sturdiness, sterility and relatively low mass of the metal. Innovation has come in the form of 3D printed bone grafts. Using flexible titanium wire, researchers at the NHS Morriston Hospital in Swansea, UK, have developed incredibly detailed, anatomically correct implants that fit to the aesthetic and practical shape of the patient’s bone.

 Revolutionary Heart Disease Remedies

The medicines and drugs used to treat heart disease have remained fairly static for a few years, as have those treating the conditions foreshadowing heart disease and seen as a symptom resulting from it. However, tests done with canakinumab, first marketed to treat autoinflammatory diseases, have yielded positive results. The New England Journal of Medicine has published research on canakinumab by ESC, the European Society of Cardiology. The results of testing found that a significantly reduced risk of cardiovascular events across 10,061 patients.

Allergy Prevention

Allergy testing can be an onerous and expensive process that is off putting to the average consumer and their insurers. Technologists have noticed this, and five years ago the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology performed tests using just a single drop of blood to create near-instant results.

The FDA have now finally approved this method, amid statistics released by the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology demonstrating a rise in allergic conditions over the past few decades.

Phasing Out Chemotherapy For Leukaemia

Leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer. Like other cancers, one of the most pervasive treatments for it is chemotherapy, which can have a marked effect on an adult, let alone a child, life. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) have reported that tisagenlecleucel, a new treatment that involves the altering of T-cells, has seen an astonishing 80% 1-year survival rate – much higher than cancer treatments at comparable costs. To boot, the treatment is available on a one-shot basis, reducing the amount of invasive procedures.