5 Cool Things in Medicine

Pioneers of Medicine improve our lives

The medical field is fantastic, being able to save peoples live during emergencies and improving the health of patients is cool. Do we take the medical field for granted? Do you remember how healthcare professionals were treated during the pandemic of the corona virus? People working in healthcare were assigned this role of having a critical work, where they helped people who were critically ill due to infections. They worked their asses off and got thanked with applauds and maybe some flowers if they were lucky. Now, after the pandemic, they still work their asses off and still did not get a proper thank you for their service.

So, perhaps we take the people working in healthcare and medicine for granted, perhaps we do not properly appreciate what they do to save us. Here are 5 cool things in medicine that have improved the capability of treatments of patients:

1. CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing

Maybe you have heard about this one, or maybe you have seen gene editing in a sci-fi movie. But this is a really cool miracle of medicine: a revolutionary technology that gives us the ability to edit genes, which means DNA is cut precisely and thus allows for minimal damage. 

Editing the genes through this method of cutting away DNA can be used for curing genetic diseases, and on top of that there is a great potential of eradicating some diseases that affect humans. Imagine not having to worry about the diseases the generations before you had to worry about. Next time you hear about this technology remember that someone worked hard to pioneer this technology, through hard work in their research group. 

2. 3D printing

If you end up in an accident and lose some of your tissue or limbs, you would be in bad luck because it usually does not heal it self. However, with the combined fields of 3D printing and medical pioneers, you could be lucky enough to get new, living tissue made through 3D printing. Just let your imagination run and you will quickly realize that the potential is enormous. Maybe your liver is failing and you need a new one transplanted - have you seen the enormous waiting list for a liver transplantation? Well, perhaps one could be printed for you.

3. AI in diagnostics

My intuition tells me that we prefer a real human being over a machine, just imagine you are going to the supermarket to get some groceries, and when you are about to pay you get to choose if you want to check-out with a cashier or self-checkout with a machine. I feel like a large proportion of the population would go with the human interaction, it feels safer and less futuristic. But, what about having a doctor that is a machine? Is that even possible?

Perhaps in the future, for now AI can assist in different ways. The radiologist taking a look at your insides to find any potential signs of harm, and is assisted by artificial intelligence. This is already happening in medicine, and it could be the reason that some patients have their tumors discovered. That is a cool and good thing, when doctors use AI as a supplement to their knowledge and experience it can potentially be a very good thing for healthcare and the patients.

4. Immunotherapy for cancer patients

Cancer is horrible, both for the patient but also for their friends and family. Feeling how you gradually get weaker, or seeing someone deteriorate is not nice. Thank fully, researchers are working hard on broadening the efficacy for treatments against cancer, which improves the outcomes for many.

Immunotherapy helps the body fight off the cancer, this comes in different variants, but they have the potential to help the cancer patient survive. Being able to save people from horrible diseases caused by cancer is a very good thing, that we should be really grateful for.

5. Telemedicine

Having access to doctors is essential, especially if you have a background of bad health. But what if you do not live close to a hospital? Will you still get access to great healthcare if you live on the countryside? That is now possible, with a higher implementation and use of telemedicine.

You can call your doctor and have a digital meeting to talk about your symtoms and treatment, this enables a lifestyle where you are not dependent on living in a big city to get access to good healthcare. This is a really cool thing, and it is continuously being developed. It is even possible for surgeons to perform operations from a different place. A robot would be performing the surgery with the inputs from the surgeon in a completely different place.