Medical Marvels.
CT scan. Image: Stefan Klein
by Mark Derewicz
Medical technologies that we take for granted today, such as CAT scans and laser surgery, weren’t dreamed of in 1950. Can we deduce what the year 2050 might hold? Dan Reed, director of the Renaissance Computing Institute, offers a look at how technology could revolutionize health care during the next fifty years.
- Sensors—some embedded and some worn like jewelry or a watch—will monitor everything from heart rate to blood-sugar level to respiration. They will allow doctors to diagnose and treat patients remotely. Other embedded devices will respond to the sensors with continuous therapies, such as incremental insulin for a diabetic.
- Artificial arms, legs, and joints will be tailored to an individual’s needs with the aid of computer models that will analyze a person’s gait to create an artificial limb with a more natural feel. Sensors will help create “smart” legs able to mimic the natural limb and respond to changing terrain.
- High-resolution, non-invasive brain imaging will continue to improve, and should give scientists new insights into how memories are stored and recalled, which in turn could advance the development of true artificial intelligence (AI). Although computers will soon surpass the human brain in terms of raw computing power, AI has yet to match the reasoning and recall power of the brain.
- Many medical records are already electronic. In the future, each person’s genetic profile, medical history, lifestyle, and environmental history could be placed on a chip and embedded just under the skin. Emergency medical teams could instantly access immunization records and information about allergies and chronic conditions to avoid fatal mistakes. Of course, the same technology means that insurance companies might know about a person’s susceptibility to certain types of cancer—information most of us would prefer to keep private. Privacy and security, Reed says, will be the key issues as new medical technologies emerge.
- A better understanding of the genetic causes of disease will lead to better treatments and cures. Will it also allow people to choose their baby’s eye color, math or musical aptitude, or athletic prowess? What are the social implications of genetic manipulation? What if only the rich can afford it?
The hope, Reed says, is for truly personalized medicine—the ability to give treatments that fit an individual’s genetic makeup and personal preferences—without treading too heavily on privacy or fundamental ethics. And for this, he says, an informed debate should also be in our future.
