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Introduction to Medical Innovations

In this fast developing world that is being made progress in every field of life, so how can the medical field be left behind in this race of development? Some innovations have been made in this fielding ranging from the stethoscope to eye glasses to the brain imaging at work. There present an extensive list of inventions in the medical technology, and still more innovations are in the progress.

This paper will cover the one of the critical devices in the medical technological field i.e. the introduction of the intraocular lens in the treatment of cataract. The ratio of its appliance is increasing day by day. In this mechanical world where there is making progress in every field, the proportion of diseases also has been increased.

Some of the diseases have reached to the alarming level. The knowledge of medical technologies is very helping to get rid of these problems to some extent. This proposal will describe approximately all the innovations that have been made in the category of intraocular lenses that still in the progress and also that are going to innovate in the future. These changes have totally changed the medicine field. An overview of this innovation is given below:

Intraocular lens: A Historical Innovation

This lens was first introduced in 1950 to treat cataract by placing this lens permanently. It was presented by the British ophthalmologist Dr. Harold Ridley.

History:

Cataract surgery has been performing over 2000 years ago, but the modern type of cataract surgery started just 50 years ago as mentioned above the first implantation of intraocular lenses by Sir Harold Ridley. The developmental history of intraocular lenses is followed by the great disasters and successes. However over the past fifteen years, there has been developed a strong relation between the intra-ocular lenses and surgery. Before the World War II, the standard surgical cure of Cataract was only the removal of the lens Metcalfe, James, & Mina, 2005() .

By the end of the 20th century, Intraocular lenses have become the modern standardize complement to the cataract surgery. It also had become the one of the most frequently performed outpatient surgical procedure in the advanced countries. Dr. Charles Kelman introduced a different technique to remove cataract known by the name “phacoemulsification” in the history of IOL. This method implies the use of the probe in its process to break the cataract into small pieces and then the removal of these parts. Although with the passage of time, the ratio of implementation of cataract surgery and implantation of intraocular lenses is increasing day by day Brian & Taylor, 2001() .

Importance in Medical Science

This innovational technique has gained a vast significance in the medical field. The intra-ocular lens is a solution to a major pressing medical problem that has affected approximately the half of the population of the OECD countries. This outstanding medical condition is the “age-related cataracts”. Cataracts are the clouding of the crystalline structure of the eye, which is the frequent cause of impaired vision in the late period. The passage of the light is restricted with the result of color distortion, blurred vision, and disability of glare in the presence of bright light. Sometimes to achieve best visual results different types of premium intraocular lenses are used for the each eye. Like one brand of multifocal lens for one eye and a different brand of IOL for the other respective eye Apple & Trivedi, 2002() .

“Couching Cataracts” is the old type of cataract treatment that was practiced in the 18th century. Couching Cataract treatment includes the placing aside the clouded lens out of a line of the sight. And the surgery of eye was the first field of specialization in the modern aspect of a 19th century. According to the one of the major survey of the Intra-ocular lens pathologists, lens implantation is the safest procedure in today’s modern surgery. It has been achieved due to the many imitating creative clinician inventors in accordance of the developed trans- national industrial, medical complex. This one has substantially changed the innovation system in the ophthalmology field.

Uses and Implementation

Including all of the transformational innovations that have been made in the Ridley’s idea, the most important and productive of them is the “phacoemulsification technique” which is for cataract extraction. It was originated by the Charles Kelman, who is a professor in the USA of clinical ophthalmology.

He experimented using the high-frequency energy of vibrating needle for many years to fragment the cataract by the very smaller incision. Improvements followed quickly with the introduction of the crude machine first in 1970’s Ramlogan, Mina, Tampubolon, & Metcalfe, 2007() . The new method comes up with the new set of problems that provide the stimulus to the introduction of foldable lenses. Radical effects were noticed on the introduction of intra-ocular lenses. Due to this advanced innovation, the treatment that supposed to ends in months nowadays results can be obtained and treatment takes only a few hours.

However, not all the methods prove to be useful in all cases. In fact, in some cases, they had to be removed and in very extreme cases there are also chances to lose the eyesight. Cataract surgery is that branch of human engineering that doesn’t have the predictive aspect of treating all the cases of patients alike with their similar general problems. The most common type of intraocular lenses to be in use is Pseudophakic intraocular lens Meyer & Goes, 2011() . These are usually implanted during the procedure of cataract surgery after the removal of the cloudy crystalline lens.

How does it work?

This type of lens provides the light focusing function that was undertaken by the crystalline lens. The other type of IOL is the phasic intraocular lens which is used in the refractive surgical treatment of myopia or nearsightedness by changing the optical power. This kind of lens is usually placed over the natural lens. Other type of IOL was also available like multifocal and adaptive IOL. Multifocal IOL is used to provide the facility of multiple focused visions at reading and far distance. Adaptive intra-ocular lenses provide the limited visual accommodation to the patients.

Insertion of the intra-ocular lenses in the treatment of cataract had become the most common surgical eye procedure. Almost 6 million lenses are implanted by the surgeons annually. The process is performed by giving local anesthesia although the patient is awake Apple & Trivedi, 2002() . The usage flexible intraocular lens enables the lens to roll for insertion by small incision with the avoidance of stitches in the time of 30 minutes only if performed by an experienced surgeon. The period of recovery is about 2 to 3 weeks. The patient also advised to take precautionary measures after the treatment i.e. he should avoid activities that increase blood pressure.

He also encouraged following up a plan of regular visits to the clinician office to regulate the implants. Although implantation has some risks associated with the surgical procedure. It includes loosening of lens, infection, inflammation, rotation of lens and the halos of night time. In spite, of all these side effects it is still safer than the laser treatment of the eye. It also reduces the dependence on glasses but still some person use like during reading.

The intra-ocular lenses are being in use to treat errors of near, farsightedness and astigmatic eyes since 1999. Once they have implanted the IOL facilitate the person by three benefits:

The first benefit is that they used as an alternative to “LASIK” which is a surgical treatment that doesn’t work in case of people that have serious problems with vision.

Secondly, they also benefit the patient to get rid of contact lenses that are used in post-operative measures.

Last the most important benefit is that there is no chance of reoccurrence as the lens has been removed Metcalfe, et al., 2005() .

The one disadvantage of the implication of IOL is that the accommodation ability of the patient may lose. Accommodation is the capacity to change a focus of the eye when required. However, its degree varies according to the type of implanted lens. Some of the risk factors that have been noticed in a three-year study program of Artisan include:

Loss of approximately 1.8% per year has been seen.

Retinal detachment with the percentage of 0.6%.

0.6% of cataract.

And the risk of corneal swelling is 0.4% Meyer & Goes, 2011() .

Conclusion

It is concluded from the above study of the invention in the medical field that there have been many inventions made in this area in the surgical treatments of varying diseases of the eye along with the drug treatment. The designs laid a significant aspect in changing the life of the every person since this, and other inventions in the medical technology had increased the life span of the sick ones. Although this medical innovation has some risk factors and side effects associated with it the ratio of effectiveness is still higher than the risk factors. IOL uses are significantly raising the too much admiring level, and its ratio is still on increasing mood. All this is due to the increasing scientific knowledge that increasing day by day with the more inventions in the future.

References:

Apple, D. J., & Trivedi, R. H. (2002). Sir Nicholas Harold Ridley, Kt, MD, FRCS, FRS: contributions in addition to the intraocular lens. Archives of Ophthalmology, 120(9), 1198-1202.

Brian, G., & Taylor, H. (2001). Cataract blindness: challenges for the 21st century. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 79(3), 249-256.

Metcalfe, J. S., James, A., & Mina, A. (2005). Emergent innovation systems and the delivery of clinical services: The case of intra-ocular lenses. Research Policy, 34(9), 1283-1304.

Meyer, A. D., & Goes, J. B. (2011). Organizational assimilation of innovations: A multilevel contextual analysis. Academy of management journal, 31(4), 897-923.

Ramlogan, R., Mina, A., Tampubolon, G., & Metcalfe, J. S. (2007). Networks of knowledge: The distributed nature of medical innovation. Scientometrics, 70(2), 459-489.