SDM Utsav Souvenir - SDMCET

Contribution of Technology for better health care.
Dr. K. Ramesh Chandra Naidu
B.Sc., M.D[Anesthesiology], D D E., PG DHRM
Former Prof & Head, Anaesthesiology & Palliative care KIMS, Hubli
In his 46th presidential address to the Indian science
congress,Dr A.L.Mudaliar, pays his tribute to great discoveries
in the fields of physical sciences, biological sciences, the
technical and technological sciences for the phenomenal and
significant progress achieved in every branch of Medicine
during the past fifty years. This was in 1959. Much water has
flown under the bridge in the past 50 years.This union of
medicine with other sciences has become so strong that it
would be appropriate to say that the diagnosis and
management decisions of today are totally dependent on
these advancements. The synergy has been further enhanced
by other subjects like material sciences, computer sciences,
semiconductor technology, tissue, neural, nuclear,&genetic
engineering and communication technology. Earlier, we
were happy to apply the existing technologies, but now,
“INNOVATE” seems to be the vision of those scientists who
are involved in these projects.
Despite the improvement in various fields, developing
countries like India still face manpower shortage. Over 60
percent who live in the villages have to trudge long distances
to seek quality medical care. Though infectious diseases have
been largely contained, more and more people are facing
chronic, degenerative, often crippling illnesses. It has been
predicted that there willbe a great increase in the >60 year
olds and of course,age-related problems, by 2015. India has
already appeared prominently in the diabetes and
hypertension world map.
In this scenario, newer technologies are taking Medicare to
the less privileged. Way back in 1996 India launched the
Health channel “Medindia” providing consultation at a fairly
low cost. Good progress was done in 1996 by using the V-SAT
equipment. After 2000, many states successfully established
Telemedicine units where data from a node can be uploaded
onto a communication channel for diagnosis and
management at a specialized institution. Tele radiology
t e c h n i q u e s , w h i c h c o m p r i s e o f t r a n s m i t t i n g
compressed,archival images in real time, have been designed
for considering urgent interventions in fields like cardiology.
Computerized health records, records of ECGs, ultra sound,
audio and video can all be transmitted by this method.
Using micro fluidics, Lab on chip technologies have made it
possible to provide accurate, precise and fast diagnosis in
infections, cancers, testing safety and efficacy of drugs etc.,
either at the bedside, or in poorly equipped, remote areas
without a full-fledged laboratory support(the point of care
testing).
Key- hole or laparoscopic surgery has made it possible to
undertake complicated surgical maneuvers through a small
incision which reduces hospital stay for the patient. “Da
Vinci” is arobotic device which combines flexible tools and
imaging techniques to perform minimally invasive surgeries,
as an alternative to traditional laparoscopic surgery: it comes
at a cost however, the device costs something like 1.75
million dollars! The cyber knife:robotic stereotactic
radiosurgery is another such invention.It uses radiation
produced from a small linear particle accelerator, and a
robotic arm to direct the radiation more accurately to any
part of the diseased tissue, under radiological image
guidance. As a non- invasive technique, it is applicable to
patients whose general condition is not suitable for routine
surgery.
One of the specialties which has benefitted greatly by
technology is cardiology. The 64 slice CT scan has been
shown to give a foreboding of an impending vascular block.
The state of theheart can also be known throughCardiac MRI,
positron emissiontomography, Echocardiography, and
vascular Doppler. Prosthetic valves, pacemakers,
implantable defibrillators are now becoming cheaper. Who
would have believed in surgery on the beating heart a few
decades ago?
In the field of Anesthesiology, Continuous flow machines
have given place to work stations which integrate monitoring
systems and ventilators with digital control, making the
delivery of anesthetic agents and gases highly specific. The
Intensive care unit of today is totally built on a computerized
architecture, providing a total intensive care to the seriously
ill.
Advances in Dialysis at institution and home, have given
hope of survival to hundreds of patients suffering from end
stage renal disease. The contribution of material sciences has
also been well recognized. Acrylics, plastics, various glues,
ceramic, metals, have all been used in making prostheses and
implants, grafts and drug eluting stents. Research is going on
regarding adoption of newer materials.
A combination of physics, chemistry,biotechnology, material
sciences and computer technology has presented an exciting
avenue-“Nano technology”.Nano drugs and bio markers are
offering a great opportunity in treating several crippling
diseases including cancer. The new buzz word is stem cell
therapy. By using these multi potent cells, a variety of
conditions like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease,
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