a The medical technologies I chose to analyze from the Future
Technology 500 article are gene manipulation and cryogenic sleep.
According to the Frontier Technology Quarterly (2019), gene
technology is useful for finding solutions to disease control,
prevention and cure. For more complex diseases like heart disease,
asthma, diabetes and cancer, genetic manipulation provides a
foundation for research that is unprecedented. One challenge of this
medical tech however is that it is very expensive and therefore may
not be available to everyone. The Frontier Technology Quarterly
(2019) states that it can cost between $373,000 to $1 million per
year to utilize gene therapies for rare diseases. Although these
therapies can help change the face of medicine in the next 5 years, it
is limited by the number of people it can serve because of its cost, and
can only be accessible in this case to the wealthier population.
a a a I also chose to analyze cryogenic sleep as an emerging medical
technology in the next 5 years. According to Nuwer (2016), should
cryogenic sleep prove to be successful in the next 5 years, it would be
viewed similar to any other form of medicine, in the sense that it can
be used for individuals who are severely sick. The preservation of the
body may also provide prolonged time for people who are sick, where
the time can be used to find a better cure or solution to their illness.
However, a major concern for individuals who wake up from
cryogenic sleep is their ability to adapt to the changes in their world
and lives. Nuwer (2016) suggests that these individuals will
immediately begin to face challenges in “rebuilding their lives as
strangers in a strange land,” which can cause severely psychological
stress. I believe that there would need to be a proper reintegration
program in place specialized for these individuals that offers both
medical, mental health and other human services resources.
Discussion 2:
a a a According to Aliu and Chung (2012), “evidence-based diagnosis
is equally as vital as evidence-based intervention and treatment,” and
it is likely that a different procedure would provide a diagnosis in a
more expedient and cost-effective way. If a problem is more
accurately diagnosed, then there may be less harm inflicted on the
patient. Aliu and Chung (2012) state that the stake is high for
evaluating diagnostic accuracy because inaccurate diagnostic tests
can result in “ill-conceived policy recommendations that affect many
patients and cold lead to more invasive procedures based on biased
data.” Accurate diagnosis of patients facilitates other decision-making
when it comes to creating the most optimal treatment plans.
References
Aliu, O., & Chung, K.C. (2012). Assessing strength of evidence in
diagnostic tests. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 129(6). Doi:
10.1097/PRS.0b013e31824ecd61
Nuwer, R. (2016, April 24). If cryonics suddenly worked, we’d need to
face the fallout. BBC. Retrieved May 23, 2022, from
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160424-if-cryonics-
suddenly-worked-wed-need-to-face-the-fallout
Playing with genes: The good, the bad and the ugly. (2019, May).
Frontier Technology Quarterly. Retrieved May 23, 2022, from
https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-
content/uploads/sites/45/publication/FTQ_May_2019.pdf
