Needle-free blood test, HIV self-testing kit, artificial lung… From the operating room to the daily testing, medical technologies never stop developing, and more and more important medical innovations are being made. Read this article to learn the recent breakthrough medical innovations that could (and will!) revolutionize our lives.
HIV self-testing kit
This innovation might be one of the most important, as now it is possible to know if you carry the AIDS virus within a few minutes with the HIV self-testing home kit. The 99% reliable self-tests are available in all pharmacies since September 2015. They come in a small box containing a disinfectant wipe, a pad, a bandage and a kit with a small needle, and finally the test itself.
This test looks a lot like diabetes tests: you only have to disinfect one finger and prick it. Then the test will analyze and give you the results.
This new testing method is an important breakthrough for the scientists who fight AIDS, as almost 1 in 5 people living with HIV without knowing it.
This test has the only downside: it is quite expensive (around 30 $).
The closed heart surgery
Last December, three children have undergone a successful open-heart operation at Toulouse University Hospital (France). The work of the surgeons was greatly facilitated by the EchoNavigator, a new 3D visualization software. It allows surgeons to go through the vein in order to avoid open the heart of children who suffer from heart malformations.
How does it work? The software simultaneously shows the child’s heart on the screen & 3D ultrasound as well as the X-rays when the doctor enters the probe to repair heart defects. The results of this technology are very promising and soon it must become available in all French clinics.
The needle-free blood test
Now everyone who ever has to gibe their blood can forget about the terrifying needles! Thanks to Google X, the Google subsidiary that works on futuristic projects, has filed a patent that could revolutionize blood testing. Instead of drawing blood with a needle, their new device can extract a small amount of vacuum blood through the skin. This micro bite is painless compared to traditional needles. The device can work together with a synched watch to analyze the blood data immediately.
The artificial lung
After the artificial heart comes to an artificial lung. Except, there is no need for surgery to withdraw and replace a defective lung. In fact, this works more like a third lung that doesn’t look like a lung, but like a portable device hidden in a belt under the bust. This revolutionary method was developed at the Surgical Centre Marie-Lannelongue (located in the Hauts-de-Seine, France) that promise the first installations in French clinics in the next five years.
Hypnosis surgery
With a soft and monotone voice, the anesthesiologist makes the patient enter a dissociated state while being conscious. Researchers of the French center Inserm have proved the usefulness of hypnosis in surgery under anesthesia for various surgeries: extraction of wisdom teeth under anesthesia, breast biopsy, pregnancy abortion, etc. The technique is very beneficial as it reduces the consumption of sedatives and painkillers. In the coming years, hypnosis should become more common for operations in all French clinics. At the Trousseau Hospital in Paris, this technique is even used in pediatric surgery.
Based on the Europe1 materials.
