Five New Hot Spots Where Medicine and Technology Will Merge

Medicine and technology are converging in patient care at a faster rate than most people realize. Cutting-edge developments from point-of-care health technologies such as telemedicine and medical robots performing surgery are fast becoming commonplace in many hospitals.

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT; Newark, USA) Prof. Atam Dhawan, an electrical engineer and associate dean of the NJIT Albert Dorman Honors College, chair of the IEEE emerging technology committee, and workshop chair for the upcoming 33rd IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) annual International Conference plans to examine what is next in the medical technologic revolution. Planned for late August 2011 in Boston, MA, USA, the event, thought by many to be the world's largest meeting of bioengineers, will present an insider's look at medicine's future.

"Our goal is to investigate which biological and biomedical engineering technologies are likely to become important within the next decade," Prof. Dhawan said. "For many people, a healthier tomorrow lies in advancements ranging from biomarkers for early diagnosis and monitoring to neural system engineering."

The five hot new bioengineering areas, according to Prof. Dhawan, is where medicine and electronics come together to have the greatest impact on lives. He noted, "Point-of-Care healthcare technologies is the way medicine can be delivered in individual situations ranging from health monitoring to telemedicine. All point of healthcare solutions depend on patients connecting with healthcare professionals via computers. Treating people this way can be beneficial both as a great cost savings but also from a quality standpoint. Within this mindset, nursing engineering is fast becoming a career of the future. So too are health monitoring, e-health, healthcare information management for disaster situations, and more. In this world of point of care technologies, the United States will need to find a way to link to better efforts in Europe and the Far East. All these solutions will also depend on computer hardware and software improvements."

Other hot areas, according to Prof. Dhawan, include optical imaging technologies, which will be in greater use for diagnosing and staging of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and other fibrotic diseases. Current molecular imaging/therapy agent research focuses on the discovery and exploration of naturally existing molecular targets of diseases. It also focuses on innovative approaches to the best way to exploit differences associated with the molecular targets between normal and diseased states, diagnosis and treatment.

Fast-emerging technologic advances in bioelectronics, bio-nanosensor technology, and neural engineering have created exciting developments in several areas of neuroscience. Advanced technologic developments are vital for addressing the challenges of improving basic knowledge of the nervous system, neurophysiology, and neurologic disorders and to develop devices to interface with neural tissues.

For many people, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is the wave of the future. The advent of stem cell-based therapies has brought regenerative medicine into an increased focus as part of the modern medicine practice. Gene therapy will also play a greater role in this new world, noted Prof. Dhawan.

Lastly, patients will see more medical or bio-robots becoming an important part of their care. "These robots will develop novel nano- micro- and macro-devices to assist in diagnosis, surgery, prosthetics, rehabilitation, and personal assistance," Prof. Dhawan stated. "Clinical, therapeutic, and surgical applications of medical robots with advanced instrumentation, sensors, actuators, and real-time systems could make a revolutionary impact in medicine and healthcare."

Related Links:
New Jersey Institute of Technology
33rd IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society annual International Conference