Touching Lives through Modern Healthcare.

Life as we see is always been in a constant change. There is a lot happening in and around world. There are discoveries, innovations and developments in every field. You name a field, there is a new technology or a development there. And these transformations revolutionize the modern day lives. Science as we speak is advancing beyond one's expectation. The sheer complexities of Science in everyday life are transformed into something very easy. A decade back, we were unaware of many of the scientific possibilities and how it could change the lives of people. Science is still in the evolution stage where a lot has to be discovered and a lot to be renovated. Renovation?, you ask. Yes, through it today's sophistication could be molded into tomorrow's handy tool. 

So, what has science given us in the present day? How does it affect the today's people across the world? Ranging from smart phones to the complex medical procedures, the evolving science has played its part perfectly. These have been successful in transforming the lives and making them easier. We there proprietors of these and we are the ones using and enjoying its fruits, the fruit of modern evolving science. 

There are people who work, people with disabilities, people who are physically disabled. Sometimes the work stress gets to us. Sometimes fate takes a front seat and end up in some accidents. Sometimes a few get physically weak with some diseases. The modern day technology has been able to provide maximum possibilities to the people who get ill, people who never thought could be cured are happily living today. What has caused this change? You know the answer to that question. The modern day science is on an advancing stage, as it always has been and with each new technology something good is happening, especially in the field of Medicine and and advanced healthcare. 

How does the modern Healthcare touch lives?

Almost a year or so back, an acquaintance of my dad was suffering from minor illness. It was supposedly a small ailment, but it never ceased to end.  He was advised to get a full medical check up at Apollo, Chennai as it was said that the facilities there were brilliant. But he was hesitant to travel to Chennai for the sake of a medical check up and that the illness he is suffering from is nothing serious or dangerous, or so he thought. And he was a busy man, travelling from one place to another and without finding time for his health. But after a repeatedly advising him to look after his ailment, he finally took the flight to Chennai only to find that he was just right in time about finding out about the seriousness of his illness. I am sorry, I don't know the details but after two weeks or so he was back and continued his daily routine, now in his full health. Well thanks to the advanced and modern health care facilities. 

Getting ill is sometimes just not in our hands. There are many causes for the same, may it be environment,  or the place we live in, or it could be the radiation about which we have no idea existed, or the food we eat. Some get serious and in some cases the normal medicines are not of much help. An advanced technology is in the need of the hour. And thanks to the never ending developments in science and technology and also in medicine, which have been able to save many lives.

Lets just brief about some of the new technologies that are being used and a few which are still in the process of developing. 

a. Intelligent Pills Deliver Medication to Specific Locations: An intelligent pill has developed that can be programmed to deliver targeted doses of medication to patients with digestive disorders such as Crohn’s disease, colitis, and colon cancer.

b. Sensor Technology Tracks Medication Adherence: Proteus Biomedical is working on technology that incorporates a tiny sensor into pills for targeting medication adherence for organ transplants, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, diabetes, and psychiatric disorders.

c. Brain Implants Prevent Seizures: The RNS System, a responsive neurostimulator from NeuroPace, detects abnormal electrical activity in the brain that signals the onset of a seizure, and delivers a specific pattern of mild electrical stimulation to block the seizure.

d. Contact Lens Detects Glaucoma: Sensimed’s scientists have created a smart contact lens with an embedded microchip that monitors intraocular pressure. If a patient wears the contact lens for a day, glaucoma can be detected sooner and more reliably, and the efficacy of the treatment can be monitored over time, potentially averting blindness.

e. Artificial Pancreas for Diabetics: Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston University have successfully completed a trial with 11 type-1 diabetic patients using a new “artificial pancreas” that consists of insulin pumps, glucose sensors, and regulatory software.

f. Printing New Skin: Wake Forest University’s scientists have discovered how to apply ink-jet printer technology to ‘print’ proteins directly onto a burn victim’s body for faster and more thorough healing.

g. Artificial Retina: To date, progress has been made by enabling direct communication between the implant and the neural cells that carry visual information to the brain.

h. Lab-on-a-Chip: Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have created a lab-on-a-chip for HIV testing that does not require expensive resources and can deliver results in seconds. The portable and less expensive lab-on-a-chip is a holographic, lens-free imaging mechanism that counts specific molecules and blood cells to determine if the blood is HIV positive.

i. Microfluidic chip to quickly diagnose the flu

During the H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009, which spread across more than 200 countries and killed more than 18,000 people, it became clear that flu diagnosis was often taking too long and resulting in frequent false negatives.
Today, researchers from Boston University, Harvard, and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are reporting in the journal PLoS ONE that they have built a microfluidic chip that rivals in accuracy the gold-standard diagnostic test known as RT-PCR but is faster, cheaper, and disposable.

j. Glooko’s New Diabetes Management System FDA Cleared

Glooko (Palo Alto, CA) received FDA clearance for its latest Glooko System, a diabetes management package that includes the Glooko iPhone application, MeterSync Cable and online access for patients and healthcare providers.

The new iPhone app provides the ability for detailed tracking of taken drugs and consumed food, including easy entry using nutritional data compiled from popular restaurants. The MeterSync Cable is used to connect any one of 19 different glucometers to the iPhone to transfer glucose readings for charting and review by clinicians.



Science and Technology has always fascinated the today's generation. People would be seen with sophisticated gadgets in their pockets and are always in a constant synchronization with the world around us. So, this technology is being used by the medical people in various ways. 

The technology has been successful in bringing the people a step closer to the medical requirements at the comfort of their home. Not only that, it has also helped a lot of hospitals and doctors to keep a track of the medical advances and increase the efficiency of the medical treatments. A few to state are as follows : 


a. Crunching data Cloud Computing : An effective way to increase productivity is the ease of access of data. A patient's medical history and the status of the present medical examination can be available on the cloud for the doctors to access anywhere. It helps the doctors to keep a track of the patient history, stay up-to-date on medical research and analyze treatment options.

b. Communicating with patients : Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has developed Omnifluent Health, a translation program for doctors and others in the medical field. The suite of products includes a mobile app that lets doctors speak into the app — asking, for example, if a patient is allergic to penicillin — and translate the message instantly into another language. 

c. Linking doctors with other doctors : Could social networking help doctors work better together to take care of their patients? That’s the premise behind Doximity, a social network exclusive to physicians. Through Doximity, doctors throughout the United States can collaborate online on difficult cases. It’s received $27 million in funding and counts among its board members Konstantin Guericke, a co-founder of LinkedIn.

d. Connecting doctors and patients : In some cases it is impossible for the patient to visit the hospital at the earliest or is stuck in some location not near to a medical facility. Then the advanced technology offers patients medical consultations online and over the phone, potentially saving a trip to the ER. The medical advice doesn't come from just anyone, but from some of the city’s top medical specialists.

e. Helping patients stay healthy : A growing number of mobile apps and gadgets aim to help people stay active, sleep well and eat healthy. Among them are Fitbit, a pedometer that tracks daily sleep and activity and uses social networking and gaming to motivate its users. Lark is a silent alarm clock and sleep monitor that tracks and analyzes a person’s quality of sleep over time, offering suggestions to help the person get better rest (it has since expanded to track daily activity, too). And there are dozens upon dozens of calorie-counting, food-monitoring and menu-tracking apps to aid the diet-conscious.

It’s clear that technology is giving the health care industry a much-needed upgrade, from medical translation tools to mobile apps that help patients live healthier lives. Though much is still in the early and experimental stages, the advances in technology could help save money in health care costs and improve patient treatment.

Patients who can connect with their doctors more easily, for instance, won’t need to make expensive and perhaps unnecessary trips to the ER or specialists. Doctors will be able to collaborate with other physicians and experts in new ways and use computers to analyze patient and medical data, allowing them to provide better and more efficient treatment for their patients. As technology continues to expand the horizons of medicine and medical interaction, it’s becoming clear that we’re entering a new era of health care — or as some people are beginning to call it, Health 2.0.

The Indian Medicinal Science.

It is well known that that first medical practices started in India with the flavors of Ayurveda, the traditional medical science developed or lets say extracted through the natural herbs and plants of medicinal value. Since then, a lot has come into place and that the modern medical tenure is much more sophisticated yet the best as one could say. Though a lot has to achieved, and at this rate the tomorrow's generation will have better health and medical technology and may also increase the human life expectancy. And in this aspect Apollo Hospitals have been always a step ahead in providing the best medical treatments by using the most advanced and cutting edge technology for improving the present day's medical problems and the related issues. The following are a few which would help in identifying the status of modern health care facilities available and how efficiently they are being utilized for the benefit of the people and in improving their health. 


a. Radiosurgery :
Radiosurgery has been effective in treating tumors and cancers. Ushering in another new era in healthcare, the Apollo Hospitals Group has introduced the most advanced CyberKnife® Robotic Radio Surgery System, the world's first and only robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body with sub-millimeter accuracy. And 
Novalis TX Radiosurgery & Radiotherapy is changing the face of cancer treatment.


b. Liver Transplant :
The Centers for Liver Diseases and Transplantation, Apollo Hospitals, are equipped with the state-of-the-art technology for liver surgery using the laparoscopic Argon Beam Laser as well as Tissue Link™ in combination with other methods of liver resection like CUSA™ and Laparoscopic Vascular Stapling. Bloodless Liver Surgery is also performed with high success rates.

c. Bone Marrow Transplant :
Bone Marrow Transplantation is a form of intensive treatment used to treat certain cancers like leukaemias, lymphomas and some non-cancerous diseases like thalassaemia.

d. Stem Cell Transplant :
Stem Cell Transplantation is an exciting area of medicine. It is a well established treatment for several cancers and diseases of blood since the last few decades.

e. Robotic Surgery :
Robotic surgical devices provide 3D high definition vision with up to ten times magnification and an immersive view of the surgical field through a tiny incision of 2 cm. Enhanced dexterity and greater accuracy make complex surgical maneuvers easier through smaller ports, minimizing patient trauma in confined spaces of the chest, abdomen or pelvis.

The above stated pointers are just a few of the many new technologies which are currently touching millions of lives. The medical science has a great future ahead and there is every chance of improving it much more to meet the medical requirements of every patient.

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Apollo Emergency and Helpline number(s) in case of Emergency.

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Important Links : 

Apollo Hospitals : Touching Lives

Apollo Hospitals - Cutting Edge

IndiBlogger

Technology Transforming Lives

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This post is an entry for the contest  "How does Modern Healthcare touch lives ?" organized by 'IndiBlogger' in association with 'Apollo Hospitals : Touching Lives'.

Disclaimer : The pictures have been taken from Google, IndiBlogger and some other source(s) .