The article “Future Technology 500” was actually pretty terrifying to
read. Although we should be excited about the advances of medical
technology, some of these advancements has me questioning as to
the safety and how this could ever happen.
The two topics I’d like to review and discuss are “synthetic organs”
and “nanobots.”
Artificial Organs:
The thought of artificial organs was once thought of to be
impossible, however, the user of an artificial kidney is has been
successful in many part of the world and implants such as heart
valves, vascular grafts and pacemakers are all pretty normal (Nose &
Malchesky, 2011). Scientists are successfully creating artificial
hearts, lungs, livers, windpipes, urethras, and more (Forbes, 2016).
The opportunities here are endless. If a life can be saved by an
artificial organ, then so many people would be able to live whereas in
5 years ago, they would not have. The problem with donor shortages
is far too great.
The challenges here are making it safe and effective to use and also
the compatibility due to the uniqueness of the human body.
Additionally, this will lead to more “cloning” and the possibility of
that doing more damage than not, is also something to think about.
Nanobots:
Nanobots, tiny biological machines, will be able to deliver drugs on a
cellular basis in the exact dose and exact area of the body that needs
it (Future Technology 500, 2021). The possibility with this is that
because the delivery of medicine is going to the exact location that it
is needed, other healthy tissues and cells may not get damaged or
altered (De Rojas, 2021). For example, chemotherapy may kill off
good tissues but a Nanobot can circumvent this by protecting the
drug until it gets to the correct area (De Rojas, 2021). The challenge
is that with any man-made item, there are imperfections and things
may not go as planned. Within the body, there are many blood
vessels that may interfere with the Nanobot getting to the correct
location (De Rojas, 2021). The use of magnetic force has been
proven to be the most popular way of directing the nanobot to their
target (De Rojas, 2021). There are many unfavorable conditions such
as bacteria, that could hinder the Nanobot from getting to the
correct location (De Rojas, 2021). Additionally, reaching the brain is
another major challenge with this experiment.
References:
De Rojas, Carlos. (2021, October 20). Arming Biological Nanobots to
Deliver Drugs Inside our Bodies. Labiotech.eu.Retrieved
from https://www.labiotech.eu/in-depth/nanobots-drug-delivery/#:
~:text=Nanobots%20are%20tiny%20biological%20machines,biggest
%20challenges%20of%20drug%20delivery
.
Future Medical Technology. (2021). FutureTechnology500. Retrieved
from https://www.futuretechnology500.com/index.php/future-
medical-technology/
Nosé, Y., & Malchesky, P. (2011). Future of Artificial Organs;
Therapeutic Artificial Organs. CambridgeUniversityPress.Retrieved
from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/mrs-online-
proceedings-library-archive/article/abs/future-of-artificial-organs-
therapeutic-artificial-organs/
B2AC0B0BD7AAFDA9791D85CD94F95920
The Surprising Future of Artificial organ Transplants. (2016,
September 26). Forbes. Retrieved
from https://www.forbes.com/sites/oppenheimerfunds/2016/09/26
/the-surprising-future-of-artificial-organ-transplants/?
sh=717e68fc2f59
