Amazing new medical discoveries

Blood tests without needles. A camera you swallow. Artificial knuckles. Robots in the operating room. Microchips to restore vision. Sounds like sci-fi, but it’s not. Research is making these medical wonders a reality. Some are here now; others are in various stages of testing.

Scientists expect these and many more medical developments to become the norm, rather than the exception, in your lifetime. Here’s a look at a few of the most promising advances which will change the way medicine is practiced in the near future.

Blood Tests Without Blood

When you need a complete blood count (CBC), it means drawing blood from a vein in your arm – or does it? This routine blood test is used to calculate the number of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets; all blood components that indicate your blood status. Instead of using a needle to extract blood, it may soon be possible to get a CBC with a non-invasive hand-held device about the size of an electronic thermometer. The small instrument is placed under your tongue and you get results in about one minute.

The device relays pictures to an image-processing unit about the size of a personal computer. It actually captures and analyzes an image of your blood as it flows through superficial tiny blood vessels in the membranes of your tongue. Once approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), this device will initially be used to measure hemoglobin but it’s hoped that it can be used for a CBC in the near future.

Building New Bones

What if you could build new bone to replace large areas where bone is missing due to disease or injury? New research has taken a giant step. According to a report in the May 20, 2000 issue of Human Gene Therapy, researchers used a new method to grow skin or gum tissue cells in a cultured dish. The cultured cells are engineered to secrete a special protein that induces bone formation. These engineered cells are incorporated into collagen sponges and placed in the area where bone repair is needed.

Researchers tested this new system of growing bone on rats that had large sections of bone missing from their skulls. New bone was produced from the rats’ own skin cells, and the skulls were almost fully healed within just four weeks. The new bone looks exactly like naturally produced bone, but more research is needed to find out if it will also function like natural bone.

Swallow, You’re On Candid Camera

In a twist on the sci-fi movie Fantastic Voyage, researchers have developed a camera that you can swallow. As it passes silently through your digestive tract, it takes pictures in places where no camera has gone before. The device has a bubble lens, a pair of small headlights and a camera at one end. It contains tiny batteries for its power source. A transmitter at the other end sends digital images to a receiver that you wear on your belt as you go about your daily routine. After its long journey, the images are downloaded from the receiver to a computer. The camera doesn’t need to be retrieved – it passes out of your body in a bowel movement.

In a preliminary research, 10 healthy volunteers reported that the camera was easy to swallow and caused no discomfort. It successfully transmitted images along the gastrointestinal tract up to six hours. However, the tiny device can’t be steered or stopped so your doctor can’t look around or go back to get another view of a specific area. At least, not yet. Further clinical trials will soon be conducted using the camera.

Insulin Without A Needle

It’s the dream of anyone who needs to take insulin to control diabetes – no more needles. Although this technology is not yet a reality, it may be in the near future. An experimental insulin that you spray in your mouth allows insulin to be absorbed into your system through the membrane of your cheeks (called the buccal mucosa). This membrane is composed of zillions of superficial blood vessels that come in direct contact with your bloodstream – just where insulin needs to be delivered.

The product under development, called the Generex Rapidmist device, looks like an inhaler. This instrument has been designed to aim insulin delivery to your buccal mucosa for easy absorption. Plus, the oral insulin doesn’t need to be refrigerated, making it even more convenient. So far, studies show that insulin and blood sugar levels measured after using the spray are consistent with levels you get after using injected insulin.

A three-month study of 26 adults with type 2 diabetes found that inhaled insulin treatment improved blood sugar control without serious side effects, according to a brief communication in the February 5, 2001 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. Inhaling insulin could be a welcome alternative to administering insulin by injection, since the intensive injection schedule requires substantial time and commitment for both the patient and the caregiver.

Growing Human Teeth

False teeth may one day be a thing of the past. Researchers have genetically engineered mouse and human cells to reproduce and form dental cell types such as dentin, enamel and cementum in cultures. Researchers hope to regenerate teeth in cultures to replace dental implants or even to cause additional teeth to grow in your mouth.

Even if teeth were grown from another person’s cells, it’s unlikely that your body would reject a foreign tooth implanted in your mouth, according to researchers. Hard tooth tissue doesn’t cause a strong immune reaction the way implanted organs do. Researchers say human tooth cultures are about 10 years away and tooth regeneration is about 20 years away.

Surgical Robots

It’s not R2 D2, the robot from Star Wars but more of a helping hand for surgeons. One system, approved last year by the US FDA, enables a surgeon to perform laparoscopic gall bladder operations using robotic arms that can be controlled from a computer console. In typical laparoscopic operations, a tube-like instrument with forceps, tiny scissors and other surgical tools is passed into the body through a small incision.

With this robotic system (called the Da Vinci Surgical System), the surgeon uses hand grips and foot pedals to control the robotic arms that perform the surgery using the same kind of tools. Each robotic arm also has a wrist, built into it, which gives the surgeon even more flexibility to perform intricate and precise movements.

The FDA based its approval of the Da Vinci system on a review of studies that showed the robotic arms were comparable to standard laparoscopic procedures in safety and effectiveness. They believe the use of robotics for trickier operations is only a matter of time. Indeed, the American Heart Association reports that robotic arms are being tested for use in coronary artery bypass surgery. Instead of opening the chest cavity, surgery is performed through a small incision. This will leave people only with a tiny scar as well as afford them a faster, less painful healing time.

Knuckle Replacement

You know or have heard of joint replacement surgery – such as those of the hip and the knee. Now, a new generation of artificial knuckles and finger joints can relieve pain and correct the disfigurement produced by such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis. These joint replacements are made of metal and polyethylene plastic. These materials last longer and allow for greater range of motion than the older silicone implants.

The surgery to implant new knuckles takes about two hours and two to four knuckles can be replaced on one hand during that time. You must undergo up to six weeks of physical therapy, but with your new knuckles, or other finger joints, you’ll be able to button your shirt, use your computer, or comb your hair, without pain.

Microchips For Eyes

Restoring vision may be one step closer than before. Researchers have developed a laser-powered microchip that’s fastened to the back of the retina – the light sensing tissue lining the inside of your eyes. This artificial retina, dubbed the eye chip, may help people blinded by diseases such as macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, regain their sense of sight.

The eye chip is meant to replace damaged retina cells of the eye, which normally convert light into electrical signals within the retina. By using a small video camera, images are sent to the microchip. Electrodes on the chip form an image that stimulate the retina. What’s seen by the blind person may be no more than light, points of light or colors. It’s not a cure for blindness, but it’s a bright beginning.

Coming Soon: More Intriguing Medical Marvels

As these promising advances lead our way, researchers are refining and developing more medical marvels to intrigue us. For there are still quite a number of these amazing discoveries, utilizing a similar "gee whiz"-type technology, currently in the pipeline of medical research laboratories all over the world. We’ll keep you posted.