The world of medical science and healthcare technology has developed in an astounding way over the course of history. Particularly in recent decades, the availability of hardware and software that makes the life of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals considerably easier has increased remarkably. Some of the most surprising technologies aren’t even the ones you’d expect: every aspect of the healthcare field has been influenced by technological change – from the life-altering and lifesaving big machines to the small bits of admin that are made that much easier by various programs.
What’s more, not all these technologies are recent developments! Many of the technologies that continue to change the game are quite old, or at least the idea for them was. Here, we’re going to go through and explore a few of the more interesting and amazing medical technologies that have shaped the realms of medicine and healthcare throughout history and which continue to improve care and practice today.
Radiation
Medical technology isn’t necessarily the product of the modern world exclusively. Healthcare, medicine, and the science behind both have been around since the time of ancient civilizations. One of the most important technological developments in medical history, however, took place at the beginning of the last century: Marie Curie discovered how radiation could be used to treat various illnesses and ailments and improve medical knowledge through better awareness of the body.
The Computer
Although most people don’t associate the computer with medicine, it is the one technology that absolutely revolutionized the field of healthcare. Medical care isn’t exclusively about addressing illnesses and injuries and treating them: a lot of healthcare is to do with tracking an individual patient over time to better understand their entire medical history.
The computer has enabled things like the patient recall software from Brevium that allows doctors to integrate appointments with reminders, so that they can keep track of who is showing up and why, and so that they can make sure patients never forget or miss appointments.
Augmented Reality
This is one of the newer technologies to have massively revolutionized the field of medicine. The ability of researchers, doctors, nurses, and even patients to experience an enhanced environment (for example, using a VR set to see what the inside of a body looks like in order to better understand its functions) has completely changed most people’s relationships to their health.
It has also allowed doctors to literally see below the skin, as it enables MRI and CT scans to visualize organs in a body, which helps avoid unnecessary incisions and surgeries, saving time, energy, and the trauma induced by undergoing such an intense procedure on the part of the patient.
The way in which technology has shaped the wider world in recent years is incredible, but it has had a particularly big impact on the fields of medicine and healthcare. Much of what you think you know about your experiences with doctors, nurses, hospitals, and clinics is influenced by some fascinating – and fascinatingly mundane! – technology.
