Running Header: The Development of Medical Technology

The Development of Medical Technology

David Jimenez

Arizona State University

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Abstract
This paper provides my opinion that the dependence on medical technology is a

necessary quality for the critical advancement and improvement of the medical field and society

itself. It also provides an in-depth analysis on how this type of technology helps other areas of

the economy and not just the medical field itself. The central claim revolves around even though

medical technology is extremely costly, the cost is outweighed by the benefits that it brings in.

Keywords: Medical technology, Critical, Medical Field, Improvement, Dependence, Society,

Stable, Analysis. Developed, Continuously, Outweighed, Benefits
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The concept of medical technology has been around since the beginning of modern

medicine. It is a tool that has helped society and various other areas of the economy develop into

what they are today. Many people have many misconceptions revolving this topic such as

believing that medical technology has very heavy costs take away and how its potential to fail

can lead to the taking from other important economic blocs. The truth to this is that despite the

fact of the heavy inputs that are needed to develop medical technology, it still generates a great

amount of benefits that are needed for humanity to be able to continue advancing.

It is true that this type of technology is very difficult to make and in the majority of cases

it is very costly. On top of this is also said that these medical innovations are sometimes too risky

and have the potential to fail and lead to a great amount of money loss. In turn, this makes

treatments very expensive. Thus, this lead to the effect that these medical advancements are

really expensive and unattainable for the general public and are only available for individuals

with more money or resources. So you might be thinking, have we really advanced at all?

According to my research, many innovations in the last century have been successful and

have generated benefits that were deemed crucial for the advancement of medicine. This was the

start of creating a sense of dependence on medical tools or technology. Most importantly it also

sparked a new era of thought and development. This led to the continuous amount of research

that is still being done on the daily by professionals to keep improving treatments and methods.

This is done in order to be able to support the cost of medical technology and make it available

for everyone. Nicolas Bakalar, the author of the New York Times article Milestones in Medical

Technology, states how Medical devices should remain in the public domain and many agreed
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to refused to patent their invention (Bakalar., 2012). This shows how medical technology is

something that is used mainly for the benefit of the peoplei Some examples of this were from

simple common medical tools to revolutionary things such as, the stethoscope, anesthesia, and

the first ever mechanical heart. These simple innovations helped the medical take a leap into an

era where technology is combined with medicine and the medical field is greatly improved.

One specific benefit that came from all this was how medical diagnosis was greatly

enhanced. Determining if a person is ill is the most important role of a doctor or medical facility.

A simple fever can be right away be identified and treated without any sort of complications, but

what if the illness is something more advanced, like cancer for example. In this modern day,

there is thousands of diseases that affect the human being in many ways. Advancements in

medical technology have allowed physicians to better diagnose their patients and provide them

with accurate results of their treatments. It is something that is put to practice in many medical

areas all over the world, Areas like biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, information technology, the

development of medical devices and equipment, and more have all made significant

contributions to improving the health of people all around the world (Cocchi., 2016).

It is also very important to show how a human might be able to fight against someone

else, but how well would a human do in a fight against the polio virus? The greatest benefit that

medical technology could have ever produced, is the tools to fight back deadly diseases. This led

to the creation of treatments and vaccines that treat or cure life-threatening diseases like malaria,

polio, MMR, and more prevent the spread of disease and save thousands of lives all around the

globe (Cocchi., 2016).

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At the same time, medical technology is not only saving lives, but it also opens the

gateway for people who work in the medical field is being conditioned or trained to use newly

developed technology since the beginning of their professional practice of medicine. They are

taught how to use the technology for the adequate treatments that a patient needs. This

continuous development of technology in the medical field saves countless lives and improve the

overall quality of life. It also included some statistics that show how medical technology is

rapidly changing society and how diseases are being treated.

A specific example of this is how many surgeries are now performed by robotic arms

over a traditional open surgery conducted by human hand. This improves worldwide protocols

for surgery treatments in many ways. Dr. Nikhil a cancer surgeon from Atlanta explains how,

Blood loss is significantly reduced and how, robotic surgeries are considered minimally

invasive (meaning it doesnt run the risk of touching other organs) (Dellorto., 2008).

The sole use of robotic arms went on to serve as a means to gather data and be used as

research to open gateways to other developments. One advantage that was heavily implied by the

use of this technology is how blood loss is largely reduced and how it only targets the specified

region of the body. This has largely affected treatments worldwide by making them safer because

it reduces the risk of human error or bad judgement. Dr. NIkhil also highlighted how this

procedure has made some patients experience only minimal pain and are in the hospital less than

24 hours which means that recovering time is also improved (Dellorto., 2008). Medical

technology in this case not only benefits the patients, but also improves the doctors job and role

in the medical field.

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Even though a lot of benefits are gained it still is a fact that developing new medical

technology and trying to mass produce it is extremely costly. According to the Modern Medicine

Network, Innovative medical procedures and equipment can improve patient diagnosis and care,

but also add millions of dollars to annual healthcare costs, according to an analysis sponsored by

the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Ass (Wechsler., 2003). This means that even though treatments

have improved in quality and results, other areas like healthcare have become a costly benefit for

people. Not only does it affect people but it also generates more costs for the medical institutions

that provide these services. An example of this is how Jill Wechsler, editor of the Modern

Medicine Network say that an increase in the number of MRI units and in hospitals with cardiac

catheterization labs boosts costs noticeably (Wechsler., 2003). This created increased in costs

and a surplus for the demand that is needed. The KFF Organization explains how, Since 1970,

health care spending has grown at an average annual rate of 9.8%, or about 2.5 percentage

points faster than the economy as measured by the nominal gross domestic product

(GDP).(KFF., 2007).But, in turn to these large costs a large demand has been created and thus

making the advancement of development of technology be quicker and faster. This improvement

then led to what has resulted in the modernization of hospitals or any medical institution such as

a pharmacy. In the early 1900s a simple infection was enough to kill someone. With the

modernization that medical technology has brought, medical institutions have become so

advanced that they are ready for any possible situation that requires either long term or

immediate treatment. Even if costs have increased it still an undeniable fact that they have

become a more effective service that grants a world of benefits to whom need it the most.
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As medical technology progress and evolve into more advanced equipment it has begun

to or has fully moved on to a more digital age. This mean that medical technology is now

something that relies heavily on the use of electrical means. This a large benefit because it

makes medical technology easier and more reliable to use. An example that Scotty Farris,

author of the article Ushering in The Future, gives is how, Diverse systems can now run on a

common data infrastructure. This shift has moved the LAN from a simple computer network to a

utility for information transport that pipes connectivity to all users of bandwidth facility-wide

(Farris., 2005). This basically means that medical date can now be analyzed and transferred

quickly from one facility to another. This is crucial because it helps on how medical records are

stored and utilized in the modern day. A hypothetical situation is how people can get hurt or

become ill in some foreign place. Medical records can then be transferred or referred to from the

facility that they are in. This helps improve treatment and improves the overall quality of the

hospitals. With the digital age of medical technology, the change of treatments for various

diseases has changed. The biggest examples of this is how x-rays, heart sensors, cancer detectors

and other biomedical equipment has improved and become a crucial need for many medical

facilities. This shows the positive direct relationship that medicine and technology have had on

society and how they polished the medical field into something better and more reliable.

All in all, in can be concluded that medical technology plays a big factor in

society and the advancement of technology in general. It is a tool that

requires the input of millions of dollars for it to be successfully developed

and employed in the medical field. Despite this, it grants humanity with the
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ability to be able to fight back against the thousands of diseases that plague

this world. It keeps improving every day as doctors and research scientist

keep working towards the common goal of making society better and

stronger. No matter what the cost is, medical technology will always be

needed. It is safe to say that without it, humanity wouldnt be at the point

where we currently are.

References

Nicholas Bakalar, Karren Barrow, Jon Huang, Diantha Parker (October 10, 2012). Milestones in
Medical Technology. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com.

Jess White, Renee Cocchi (No Available Date). Medical Technology. Retrieved from
http://healthcarebusinesstech.com

Dellorto Danielle (August 5, 2008). Surgical Side Effect Cut With Robotic Arms. Retrieved from
https://cnn.com
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Jill Wechsler (December 2003). New Technologies Provide Varying Levels of Costs and
Benefits. Retrieved from http://www.proquest.com

David Cutler (December 2007). The Lifetime Costs and Benefits of Medical Technology.
Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com

Farris Scotty (May 2005). Ushering in the Future. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com

:KFF (2007, March 2). How Changes in Medical Technology Affect Healthcare Costs. Retrieved
from https://www.kff.org