Improvements in technology - diagnosing and treating illness
Improvements in technology in the 20th century led to new understanding of the causes of genetic illness as well as more accurate methods of To decide which disease, illness or condition is present by looking carefully for its signs and symptoms. and treating illness.
Improvements in the diagnosis of illness
Advances in technology have led to machines and computers that enable doctors to understand and diagnose illness more accurately. New methods of diagnosing illness have sometimes removed the need for surgery. This has often made the process quicker and more comfortable for patients. For example:
- High frequency electromagnetic radiation, used for medical imaging. are used to diagnose broken bones.
- A computerised tomography scan. This uses X-rays and a computer to create detailed images of the inside of the body. are used to diagnose The lump of cells formed as a result of uncontrolled cell division. and growths in the body.
- Blood tests are used to test samples of blood and diagnose a range of illnesses.
- An endoscope is a tiny camera on the end of a flexible cable that can be swallowed and used to diagnose problems with the digestive system.
Medical and surgical treatment in hospitals
Advances in technology have also led to changes in hospital treatments. High-tech medical and surgical treatments take place daily in a safe hospital environment. For example:
- The treatment of cancer with X-rays or gamma rays. is used to shrink tumours growing inside the body. It is an effective treatment for A disease caused by normal cells changing so that they grow and divide in an uncontrolled way. The uncontrolled growth causes a lump called a tumour to form.
- Small machines are used in the treatment of illness and during surgery. For example, when a patient has a heart Surgery designed to bypass (get around) the narrowed sections of coronary arteries, to improve blood supply to the heart. a machine performs the functions of a heart.
- An artifical device that replaces a missing body part, often a limb, eg an artificial leg. limbs are used to replace The removal of a limb, for example an arm or leg. limbs.
- Keyhole surgery uses tiny cameras and surgical instruments to perform an operation with just a tiny cut. This enables the patient to heal much quicker.
Discovery of the structure of DNA
Advances in technology enabled the discovery of the structure of Deoxyribonucleic acid; the chemical that carries the genetic code of an organism and determines all the organisms characteristics. in 1953. It was discovered by the scientists Francis Crick and James Watson. They worked with X-ray photographs taken by Rosalind Franklin and powerful A device used to enlarge tiny objects that cannot be seen by the naked eye. to build a model of DNA.
They discovered that DNA is shaped as a The shape of the DNA molecule, with two strands twisted together in a spiral. DNA stores all information about a person and passes it from parent to child. Once scientists were able to map the code of DNA, they were able to understand the cause of To do with inheritance because of genes. diseases such as cystic fibrosis and Parkinson鈥檚 disease.
The Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project was launched in 1990. Scientists all over the world worked together to map the human genome, which is the full set of hereditary information found in a human鈥檚 DNA. This was only possible because there had been many advances in technology and computers.
The project was completed in 2003 and scientists were able to use the collected information to identify differences in the DNA of different humans that indicate genetic disease. For example, scientists have now been able to identify that some people carry a gene that leads to breast cancer, which has led to better treatments.