Celebrating 2017: Here’s How Far Our Healthcare Has Come

If you just tend to read the newspapers, you might think that 2017 hasn’t really gone that well. After all, there is still a lot of political upheaval that seems to be causing shockwaves around the world, and certain threats, such as those from terrorists, still affect our country. However, that doesn’t mean that we should chalk 2017 up as one complete failure. In fact, there are some areas in which we did pretty well.

One such area is the health industry. There have been lots of big technological advancements and developments over the past few years, and some of these have resulted in some really big achievements and discoveries. Here are some of the latest health achievements that we need to celebrate.

Implementation Of Augmented Reality

You will have probably already experienced augmented reality if you are into your gaming. For instance, games like Pokemon Go brought augmented reality into the mainstream just over a year ago. However, did you know that augmented reality has also been making huge strides in the world of health? More specifically, this new tech is being used widely in healthcare training and teaching. It can take years to train new doctors and surgeons as the requirements for them to graduate are so robust. But it’s also time consuming because there is a huge need for cadavers for students to train and test on, and these bodies are in short supply. But now, thanks to augmented reality, students are able to practice using 3D training tools that are just as good as practicing surgery on a cadaver.

Robotic Surgery

It’s often been said that robots could end up taking over in the workplace, and it looks like they have already been lending a helping hand in some surgeries around the world. In fact, some robots are so fine-tuned that they have been taking the lead in some operations. And the good news is that their success rate is often a lot higher than human surgeons when they carry out complex surgeries. After all, there’s no risk of a robot suffering from shaky hands!

Improved Clinical Testing

One field of research that the healthcare world is always striving to make developments in is clinical testing. These are the tests that look into treatment methods and medicines to try and come up with new ways to treat and medicate diseases and health conditions. For instance, one recent advancement in these kinds of tests is to use humanized rodents. Hera BioLabs has the facts about this particular field of study. As more and more money and investments are being pumped into research into clinical testing, there have been some significant breakthroughs for the treatments of most illnesses this year.

Leadless Pacemakers

Did you know that the very first pacemaker was invented in the 1960s? They may have been around for a very long time, but that’s probably because they are such an effective treatment. Well, now it looks like they are all set for a makeover. Pacemakers are often quite complicated pieces of equipment and require a lot of leads and wires to keep them going. However, that’s no longer the case as it looks like leadless pacemakers are all set to be rolled out. Not only are these leadless little pacemakers a lot more efficient, but some studies show that they are also a lot less likely to lead to infections once they have been fitted.

Diabetes Vaccines

There are vaccinations for a variety of life-threatening diseases and illnesses now, including measles, meningitis, and TB. Well, now it looks like a vaccination for type 1 diabetes is set to join the club now as well! In fact, there are two types of vaccines: a therapeutic one and a preventative one. The therapeutic vaccination can slow down or completely stop the autoimmune attack that diabetes causes on insulin-producing cells. So, people who already suffer from this type of diabetes won’t feel the effects too much. When it comes to the preventative vaccine, an immune tolerance is created and this can create a genetic defence against the disease. So, it looks like the number of type 1 diabetes sufferers will, hopefully, reduce before long!

Immunotherapy Treatments

There are some signs that the end of cancer might be in sight as well. While the eradication of the disease is a long time off, there are some very exciting treatments and medications that are now being rolled out to try and bring the disease under control. T-cell immunotherapies are now being used to try and bring down the number of cancer cases. This therapeutic treatment helps to re-engage the immune system and prepare it to fight against the illness. One of the great benefits of these immunotherapy treatments is that they don’t come with all the awful side effects that are brought on by traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy. And it’s not just cancer that these treatments are set to treat. It also looks like they can bring some relief to sufferers of Crohn’s disease as well.

Disinfecting LED Lights

Previously, we’ve only been able to use disinfecting liquids and creams to ensure services and wounds are completely free from germs and bacteria. But all that is about to change thanks to the introduction of disinfecting LED lights. These lights emit UV-C light that is very effective at killing germs. All doctors will need to do in order to disinfect a patch of skin or open wound before surgery or treatment is to shine these LED light bulbs onto the intended area. There are lots of developers who are currently working on disinfecting wands that can be used to clean hard to reach places.

So, there you have it. We shouldn’t put 2017 in the bin just yet – there have been actually a lot of big healthcare breakthroughs and developments that mean this year is worthy of some big celebrations! We just need to forget about the political mess this year has brought about!

Here’s hoping that 2018 takes these health advancements even further!

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