We are now living in the information age. Digital connectivity is a modern miracle, and this has created a space where we can share information and ideas seamlessly. 5 billion people across the world lack access to safe surgical care, that's 70% of the world population.
In a recent study in the US, by the year 2030, we need 100,000 surgeons to cope up with the demand. But at the rate we are going, we probably wouldn’t be meeting this target.
A few centuries ago, surgery was done without anesthesia, except alcohol. But this requires strong hanging with the patient. Surgeries for centuries were done by cutting open the tissue, inserting the knives, and doing the surgery. The surgeons were watching the operation with his eyes, having his hand in the wound and doing the operations with his bare hand. You can imagine the amount of concentration and hand-to-eye coordination required for this.
Next came the keyhole's surgery. Here he inserts a camera into the patient, sees what happening through the camera, and does the surgery accordingly. The surgery happens mostly in the darkroom as the surgeon depends on what he sees on the screen to do the surgery. Vision is decreased and mobility is also decreased.
In traditional surgery, the surgeon has to cut through healthy tissue in order to expose the internal organ to be operated on. In the coming decades, we have seen minimally invasive surgery which reduces injury to tissue and less scarring, fewer complications, less post-operative pain, and faster rehabilitation.
Operating theatres are likely to look different with greater integration of digital technologies. In the long run, AI could be used to schedule procedures, request instruments, and monitor the environment. Theatre spaces will become more flexible and dynamic, as equipment will be smaller and lighter.
FACT: In a country called Sierra Leone which has 6 million people, there are only 6 qualified surgeons, that’s 1 surgeon per 600,000 people.
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Augmented Reality in surgery
If you’re a patient who wants surgery and has a lack of access to surgical care. You would have 3 options. You can either wait, travel to another place, or not have it at all. So, what might be the solution for this? The answer is in your hands. The smartphone, digital computers, the tablet has the power to do so much more than shopping online or connecting socially.
An augmented reality collaboration software. What this does is a doctor anywhere in the world can give step-by-step instructions to a local doctor to do the surgical procedure. This technology can be used from minor to major surgeries. Augmented reality mimics the way how they will collaborate in person. Being able to show them, illustrate them, and guide them is much more effective than telling them. In a world where there are more mobile devices than humans beings, this could be the next reality.
Robotic surgery
Surgery with the introduction of robotics, the world has taken a different approach. Part of the system is a 3D camera that goes into the body of the patient to see what is going. As humans, we use all our senses in our waking life, but during surgery, it doesn’t always be this way. With the long duration and exhausting surgery, surgeons can take a toll and lose some of their senses.
Da Vinci machine: This complicated state-of-the-art machine has been installed in 5000 systems worldwide and has been used in surgeries 7 million times and counting. Every surgeon in a few minutes can do really sophisticated movements. Very simple joysticks to use, which are linked to robotic arms which do very complicated movements. It has very small cameras where the vision is enlarged by 10 times.
Nano-robots
The application of nanotechnology to medicine is referred to as nanomedicine or nano biomedicine which impacts diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of disease as well as control and understanding of the biological systems.
Through nanotechnology, tiny biosensors could act as nanorobots treating the patient where there will be fewer complications in the aftermath of the operation. This could potentially reduce the waiting list of operations and allowing doctors to treat more patients in the same period of time.
A nanobot controlled by a surgeon using a computer could perform precise surgery within cells, which humans aren’t capable of as scalpels are thousands of times larger than a single cell. It also helps targeted drug delivery to sites of infections increasing the efficacy of the drug and reducing mortality.
Nano surgery could enable advanced imaging where surgeons could use miniaturized devices to operate on individual cell clusters, potentially with revolutionary effects for cancer patients.
3D printing
3D planning and printing will advance and be used more frequently for teaching, training, and surgical preparation for complex surgeries. 3D printing helps make specific drugs, production of implants, implantable organs, and more. Nowadays, different printing techniques and materials are available in order to better reproduce the patient's anatomy. The materials are able to close the gap- of real-world anatomy and reproduced one, especially considering the soft tissue.
There are risks of leaving an impression on the surface requiring additional polishing to obtain good quality printing. The risk of damaging the model, losing details, or break the geometry is really high. The correct selection of the material is directly linked to the selection of the 3D printing process and printer, as well as the requirement of the model.
3D printing has now reached the areas of cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology, gastroenterology, neurosurgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery
Big Data
Developments in big data analytics and genomics will improve understanding of disease profiles at patient-specific and population-based levels.
Unlocking the potential of data collection and analysis at an individual and population level will be of great importance to better prevent and predict disease. Various studies have already shown the potential of big data techniques to predict the probability of patients developing specific diseases, to discover effective cancer drugs at the rate of hospital readmission based on large electronic health records.
Genomics
The genetic and molecular level which has occurred over the last 2 decades has increased our understanding of basic disease processes and will lead to improved detection methods and treatments.
This technology will help predict the likelihood of disease, thereby influencing strategies for screening and surveillance and early treatment. This will also improve the understanding of the biology of cancers, enabling targeted treatment.
Theoretically, by identifying the stem cells of interest, the information gathered from the HGP could enable scientists to develop organ cloning techniques that will revolutionize the field of genetics.
The surgeons will play a key role in genomics, acquiring and handling tissue samples, and being the first health care professional to discuss genetic analysis with patients.
Artificial Intelligence
AI can loosely be defined as the study of algorithms that give machines the ability to reason and perform cognitive functions such as problem-solving, object and word recognition, and decision making. Major advances in computer science, such as improvements in processing speed and power, have functioned as a catalyst to allow for the technologies required for the advent of AI.
These mechanisms can improve the diagnosis and population-based risk assessment. Machine learning could prevent surgical errors by supporting surgical teams inside the operating theatre. Machine learning could enable machines to learn and make predictions by recognizing patterns. This is particularly useful when the task of identifying the issue is difficult with the human eye.
Xenotransplantation
Xenotransplantation is the transplantation of tissues or organs from animals into humans. Experiments in xenotransplantation were first started in 1905, but most transplantation involving animal organs into humans has been made since the 1960s, aided by advances in the understanding of the immune system and the availability of new drugs.
But the patients who receive cross-species transplant has not survived for longer than 1 month following the operation. The problem with organ availability would become a point of interest after a current point of mortality.
Conclusion
The health needs of future patients will be extremely complex. Our population will often live with multiple chronic conditions, such as diabetics or dementia. Health and social care systems will need to facilitate the management of long-term conditions, support the personal care needs of older people, and aim to extend mobility, cognitive capabilities, and independence in later life. Early intervention will become possible thanks to advances in disease prediction, data analysis, risk stratification, and earlier diagnosis.
On the other hand, advances in science and medicine, and improvements in prevention, prediction of disease, and early diagnosis may allow therapies other than surgery to become the preferred choice of treatment.
Mortality rates are projected to decline by 15% due to improvements in early diagnosis and personalized treatments. While life expectancy increases modestly, the proportion of life spent in ill health or disability is projected to increase.
To read more about cancer and its future advancements, click here.
To read more on sleep and its advancements, click here.
To read more about the advancement in aging, click here.
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