XSTAT 30

Figure 1. Sample XSTAT 30 (Source)

The XSTAT 30 is a revolutionary and new product on the market geared towards American military branches. This devices is designed to work on the battlefield and places where medical care is not readily available. It is currently being produced by a company called RevMedX. And only recently received FDA approval on December 7, 2015. The sample shape is depicted above and the product is expected to go on the market soon. The function is to apply arterial pressure to wounds to prevent excessive blood loss.

Heart-Lung Machine

Figure 1. An Example of How a Heart-Lung Machine Works (Source)

We all often hear about the common term of "open-heart surgery" used by most people as a joke related to the medical profession, but what most of us do not really know is that it actually is an extremely difficult procedure. The key device in that facilitates this is the heart-lung machine. Its function is to take deoxygenated blood from the body to bypass the lungs and heart The key components that control a heart-lung machine are the tubing, one of 2 types of pumps ( Roller and Centrifugal), the oxygenator, and cannulae. The oxygenator is responsible for substituting the role of the lungs to resupply the blood with fresh oxygen for the body. Cannulae are usually sewn into multiple locations on the patient depending on the surgery. They remove oxygen depleted venous blood from the body and feed it to the system.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Figure 1. Early model MRI machine by General Electric (Source)

Brief: Magnetic resonance imaging was discovered at roughly the same time as an induced magnetic field. In 1882, Nikola Tesla discovered the rotating magnetic field. Professor Isidor I. Rabi observed the quantom phenomenon called the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. This occurs when atomic nuclei show their presence when exposed to a sufficiently strong magnetic field. It was not until 1971 that Raymond Damadian found that cancerous tissue radiate radio waves longer than healthy cells when the NMR machine was turned off. He shortly applied for a patent afterwards in 1972. Being granted the patent in 1974, he produced the first MRI machine by hand and had the first successful test on a human patient. 1987, real time imaging is now capable over the heart and brain. By the late 1990's the MRI machine started to be used as a staple in medical centers throughout the world.

Vaccinations

Figure 1. Sample smallpox vaccination with needle (Source)

Brief: Vaccinations have long been a staple of the human fight against microorganisms. While a small percentage of the population believes that vaccinations have no actual impact on the human ability to battle illness. However, it has been proven in numerous studies that vaccinations do indeed help the immune system. This happens because the body is able to recognize the antigens present in the vaccination and apply them when the real pathogen does invade the body. The result being that the body's immune reaction has a quicker response which limits damage to the organism.

General Anesthesia

Figure 1. Sample Inhalable General Anesthesia (Source)

Brief: General Anesthesia has often regarded as one of the most important discoveries of medical technology. While man in the past has used a variety of home made remedies to remove the feeling of pain, they have generally been only topical in nature and didnt last for very long. Even ingested anesthesia would not have a profound numbing effect that was desired. The earliest traces of the usage of anesthesia lead back to mixtures of opium and mandragora back in 1298. Previously, it was difficult for clinicians to treat invasive type wounds or diseases because surgery would often cause the patient to go into shock which could result in the worsening of the original condition or at worst,death. Eventually it was discovered that ethyl had a stronger numbing effect than plant based derivatives. Alcohol and its relatives quickly became standard for use within surgery to prevent pain.

Figure 2. Sample Modern Syringes of Anesthesia (Source)

In modern society, general anesthesia is used to remove the pain from any procedure that would cause an inconvenience to the patient. Sevoflurane is generally accepted as the inhalable anesthetic for clinical practice. Additionally, intravenous options such as sodium thiopental do not require a waiting period while inhalables get absorbed into the blood stream. 

Use: Depending on the intended medium of transportation, general anesthetic could be introduced to the body a number of ways. Inhalable anesthetics are carefully diluted with each patient's breath and carefully monitored so only the correct dosage is administered for the desired time of numbness. Then the clinician is capable of performing whatever operation they wish. Intravenous anesthesia is administered directly into the bloodstream via injection to the same effect.

Additional Information: General Timeline, General Information, Timeline 2

Artificial Blood

Figure 1. Sample Bag of Artificial Blood (Source)

Brief: Scientists have been attempting to develop a blood substitute since the 1800's. Early attempts to try and use animal blood, urine, and even beer have ended up with the patient having extreme reactions sometimes ending with death which led to their disuse. Eventually, these studies led to human to human blood transfusions, but it was observed that these only had a 50% chance of success. Shortly thereafter, it was discovered that humans have a blood type that belongs to A, B, O, or AB. The first successful prototype solution was created by Sidney Ringer composed of sterilized distilled water, sodium chloride, calcium chloride, and potassium chloride. This fluid effectively acted as a blood volume-expander although it was unable to carry oxygen like regular blood does.

Artificial Cardiac Pacemaker

Figure 1. Progression of the Pacemaker (Source)

Brief: The pacemaker is a small implantable device that is placed in the upper chest and is connected to the heart by a set of small thin insulated wires. The pacemaker is designed so that a health care professional can communicate with the device for small adjustments. As technology improved, many of the devices can be checked remotely without always haveing the patient come to the office. Modern pacemakers are very slim and rounded and hold a lithium-iodide cell that is capable of providing many years of service before the unit needs to be replaced. The purpose of the pacemaker is to artificially control the heartbeat pace and activation of the heart.

The Cochlear Implant

Figure 1. A Sample Cochlear Implant (Source)

Brief: The cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to someone who is deaf or hard of hearing in both ears. They work with a microphone and a series of electronics that bypass the regular hearing pathway. The electronic components trigger electrodes placed in the cochlea and stimulate the cochlear nerve. However, there is a small level of controversy associated with the devices especially within the deaf community. They feel that it is insulting to people who learned sign language as their first language. It consists of 5 main parts: the microphone, a speech processor, a transmitter, a receiver/simulator, and an electrode array embedded in the cochlea.

The Intraocular Lens

Figure 1. Sample types of Intraocular lenses (Source)

Brief: The intraocular lens is generally used to treat cataracts and myopia. The purpose is to replace the damaged or cloudy natural lense with a fully functional light focusing artificial lens. In 1946, Dr. Harold Ridley was in the process of removing a cataract from a patient when a medical student questioned him that he removed the cataract so why didn't he put anything else as a replacement. This question got him thinking. Because he worked with casualties of war with RAF he noticed that often fragments of the plane windshields would become lodged in pilots' eyes. However, the body did not reject the plastic known as polymethyl methacrylate. It was from that point did he start working on designing an implantable PMMA lens that could replace the cataract.

The Artificial Heart

Figure 1. Early Model Artificial Heart (Source)

Brief: The artificial heart has long been considered one of the holy grails of modern medicine. Although earlier technology has made it difficult for the heart to be replaced simply because of physical and mechanical limitations, with advancements in medical technology it is now possible to be implanted with an artificial heart that can last for a few years before replacement. The first artificial heart was made by Vladimir Demikhov in 1937 and implanted into a dog. However, because of compatibility issues, it was unable to be used in humans. Later, with changes to the heart itself including the valves and materials, the first heart for human use was invented in 1969.

The Defibrillator

Figure 1. Early Commercialized Defibrillator (Source)

Brief: Another tool commonly associated with the medical care field is the defibrillator. But to understand the device itself we must first take a look at the underlying principle of defibrillation. Defibrillation is a therapeutic dose of electric current to the heart to depolarize a critical mass in the heart muscle, allowing the body to return to a natural pace. In the previous post referring to the galvanometer, Galvani discovered that electrical currents can cause muscle contraction in 1791. However, the application of electricity in the field of medicine was primarily to confirm whether or not a person was truly dead. Eventually in 1850, Karl Ludwig applied the current to a dog's heart and made it quiver. There are currently 2 types of defibrillation devices: Automated External Defibrillators (AED) and Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD). 

The Galvanometer

Figure 1. Tangent Galvanometer

Brief: The Galvanometer is a device used to detect the electric current flowing through an object. The current disrupts the magnetic field in the coil of the device. The word galvanometer was first attributed to Luigi Galvany in 1836 when he realized that the electric current would make a dead frog's leg jerk. The earliest galvanometer relied on Earth's magnetic polarity to reset the device after every use. Eventually improvements led the galvanometer to its final form as the Mirror galvanometer. This device was designed by William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) uses permanent magnets hung by a thread between a coil with a mirror affixed to the magnets. The light would bounce of the mirror onto a scale when a current would displace the magnets holding the mirror.

The Stethoscope

Figure 1. One of the earliest cylindrical stethoscopes

Brief: The stethoscope was invented in 1816 by a young doctor by the name of Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec. Previously, the only way to listen to a patient's heartbeat and breathing was to place the ear to the chest (Immediate Auscultation). However, being embarrassed by doing so to a young female patient, Laennec used some quick thinking and rolled up 24 sheets of paper into a cylinder. By placing one end on the patient's chest and the other to his ear, he noted that the sound was not only louder, but clearer as well. At first Laennec was hesitant to name the device as he thought that something so intuitive would not require a name, but he eventually came up with one because he disliked the ones his colleagues gave and thus the Stethoscope was coined.

The Surgical Scalpel

Figure 1. Early Roman Bronze Scalpels

Brief: The knife was one of the earliest tools of invention by humans and the tool itself can be applied in many ways. However, the surgical scalpel did not differentiate itself from the rest of the knives until the time of Hippocrates, roughly 300 B.C. He described them as macairion, derived from machaira, an old sword with a broad cutting blade on one edge and a sharp point. Originally scalpels were made of bronze and other easily accessible metals and remained that way until iron and steel became easier to manufacture.

Welcome to My Website!

Hello everyone, The purpose of this blog will be to provide information about past and present medical devices in a quick and easy to read format. Additionally I will try to provide an image if available and links to other sites which hold more information.

Starting in the following week I will attempt to cover at least 1 to 2 devices a week which will vary in nature of their relation to the human body. If you enjoy reading about medical technology in general or would like to get ideas or research started on a project, feel free to follow or browse the posts.