There are several interesting future medical technologies that are
mentioned in the article from Future Technology 500. Some of the
potential emerging technologies in the medical field that could be
coming in the future, or that could at the very least see additional
advances, include things like brain-computer interfaces, nano-robots,
gene manipulation, robotic surgery, synthetic organs, organ cloning,
individualized drugs, bionic body parts, and cryogenic sleep (Future
Medical Technology, n.d.). Two of these areas that I find the most
interesting are organ cloning and brain-computer interfaces.
Therapeutic cloning can be used to create copies of organs. As of
2018, there were more than 100,000 people in the United States
who were waiting on organ transplants (Galle, 2018). Growing and
cloning organs has several benefits. First, it can reduce or eliminate
the wait to for organ transplants. Additionally, since the new organ
was created from the recipients own DNA, the chances of organ
rejection are very slim. However, cloning also faces many challenges.
On of the main objections to cloning is the fact that it requirements
stem cells. The methods of obtaining or “growing” these stem cells
have presented many moral and ethical dilemmas.
Another interesting technology for use in medicine is the
development of brain-computer interfaces (BCI). BCIs analyze brain
waves and use them to relay commands to output devices to perform
specific actions (Shih & Wolpaw, 2012). One of the potential use
cases for these interfaces is to help restore function to patients who
have suffered strokes, spinal cord injuries, or who have other
neuromuscular disabilities. Hopefully in the future such interfaces
can also be integrated with prostheses and bionic limbs. This
technology still needs to be proven in day-to-day use and a good
amount of work needs to be accomplished to improve the
technology to make is safe, portable, and affordable for regular use.
References
Future Medical Technology. (n.d.). Future Technology 500. Retrieved
May 24, 2022
from https://www.futuretechnology500.com/index.php/future-
medical-technology/
Galle, L. (2018, February 25). 13 Therapeutic Cloning Pros and
Cons. Vittana. https://vittana.org/13-therapeutic-cloning-pros-and-
cons
Shih, J. J., Krusienski, D. J., & Wolpaw, J. R. (2012). Brain-computer
interfaces in medicine. Mayo Clinic proceedings, 87(3), 268–
279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2011.12.008
