Medical Technologies That Save and Improve Lives

​The pandemic, which hit five years ago, pushed healthcare systems, drug companies, and MedTech firms to step up their work on tools that save and enhance lives. Today, organizations have created healthcare technology and equipment and advanced procedures to improve diagnosis, treatment, and care quality.

In 2020, mRNA technology grabbed headlines with COVID-19 vaccines, marking a shift from traditional vaccine methods. This technology uses messenger ribonucleic acid, а molecule carrying DNA's instructions. In vaccines, mRNA directs cells to create а specific viral protein that triggers the body's immune system. After working well against COVID-19, experts are exploring its use for other diseases like Zika.

Gene therapy is helping in the development of solutions for hearing problems such as congenital deafness. Some people are born with a broken otoferlin (OTOF) gene, which stops inner ear hair cells from producing the protein needed to send sound signals to the brain. At Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, doctors performed a minimally invasive surgery to deliver a working copy of this gene into a child's inner ear using a harmless virus as a carrier. The young patient, profoundly deaf for eleven years, began hearing sounds. For deaf people, this treatment means they can now hear danger signals and feel less alone. Being able to hear sounds enhances safety and combats the sadness and dark thoughts that can come from being isolated from others.

At the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, researchers developed a method to help stroke patients move their limbs again. The technique involves implanting an electrode along the spine to deliver electrical pulses. These signals boost the weak nerve messages from the brain that strokes had blocked, enabling patients with long-term arm and hand paralysis to regain arm and hand mobility. The method showed immediate functional gains, with patients experiencing benefits even after removing the temporary implants.

Graham R Taylor

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