Fast, efficient and affordable medication
Medication is necessary for many types of illnesses, and many new medications are constantly being developed. From headache relievers to cures for life-threatening diseases, medication has helped shape society today. “Although there are many setbacks to having access to medication, it has saved countless numbers of lives,” said junior Megan Weaver.
November 13, 2013
With the controversy over health care being at an all time high, many medical companies are looking to create fast, efficient and affordable products that could be made easily accessible to everyday Americans.
Two of the biomedical technology advancements that would have a great impact on community members’ lives are electronic aspirin and needle free diabetes care kits. This technology is said to be coming out in the upcoming year.
The electronic aspirin is meant to provide relief to patients with chronic headaches or migraines.
According to Michael MacRae of ASME.org, “The system involves the permanent implant of a small nerve stimulating device in the upper gum on the side of the head normally affected by headache. The lead tip of the implant connects with the SPG bundle, and when a patient senses the onset of a headache, he or she places a hand held remote controller on the cheek nearest the implant. The resulting signals stimulate the SPG nerves and block the pain-causing neurotransmitters.”
Similarly, the creation of a needle free blood sugar monitor for diabetics could potentially change the lives of many.
Nurse practitioner Linda Burns said, “From my understanding, rather than pricking your finger several times throughout the day to get your blood sugar level, one would simply be able to apply the patch and leave it for a two day period. For a diabetic this would be a huge blessing.”
Not only does this new technology save time it is also relatively painless.
Echo Therapeutics is developing technologies that may replace the poke with a patch. The company is functioning on a transdermic biosensor that reads blood analytics through the skin while not drawing blood. The technology involves a hand held electric toothbrush-like device that removes only enough top layer skin cells to place the patient’s blood chemistry at intervals signal vary of a patch-borne biosensor. The sensing element collects one reading per minute and sends the information wirelessly to an overseas monitor, triggering sounding alarms once levels exit of the patient’s best vary and tracking glucose levels over time,” according to an article from atechplanet.com.
With the development of these two life changing systems, comes the easy and user friendly attributions that biomedical engineering companies are striving for.