If we look at past years we will get to know that Biomedical Engineering has advanced enormously. Biomedical engineering is rapidly evolving with being the field of medicine, biology, instruments, equipment and so on; it has now linked itself from nanotechnology and computer science.
Now many of the instruments and equipment made are linked with the latest technology which helps us determine the patient’s conditions digitally and in more systematic forms. Biomedical Engineers are trying to make more advanced machines which can be used more easily.
In recent years the most focused area for developments are bio compatible prosthesis, various diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices ranging from clinical equipment to micro-implants, common imaging equipment such as ECGs, regenerative tissue growth, pharmaceutical drugs and therapeutic biological.
Some of the latest developments are:
- Tissue Engineering
- Transdermal patches
- Wearable devices
- Robotic surgeons and rehabilitation
- Nanorobots
- Virtual reality
- Microbubbles
- Prime editing
- Organ-on-a-chip
- Mini bioreactors
TISSUE ENGINEERING
Tissue engineering is a biomedical engineering discipline that uses a combination of cells, engineering, materials methods, and suitable biochemicals and physicochemical factors to restore, maintain, improve, or replace different types of biological tissues. Development of tissues is a great achievement in bio materials. This has created a unique opportunity to fabricate or improve existing tissues in the laboratory from the combination of scaffold cells. Some of the tissue engineered cells used for the treatments are artificial pancreas, artificial bladders, bio artificial hearts, artificial skin and blood vessels. Tissue engineering uses cells as strategies for creation/replacement of new tissue. Examples include fibroblasts used for skin repair or renewal, chondrocytes used for cartilage repair and hepatocytes used in liver support systems.
TRANSDERMAL PATCHES
A transdermal patch is a patch that attaches to your skin and contains medication. The drugs in the patches are absorbed overtime by the skin which helps in the treatment. It becomes a great substitute for the people having difficulties with injections/needles or pills. These patches help in delivery of certain types of drugs into the body like fentanyl to relieve pain, nicotine to help quit smoking or clonidine to treat high blood pressure. These patches are easy to use and have great effect if we use them as instructed. An advantage of transdermal patches is that it provides controlled release of medication into the patients. The first commercially available prescription patch was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 1979. These patches administered scopolamine for motion sickness.
WEARABLE DEVICES
Wearable devices are smart electronic devices that are worn on the surface of the skin, where they detect, analyse, and transmit information concerning e.g. body signals such as vital signs, ambient data and which allow in some cases immediate biofeedback to the wearer. Wearable devices such as smartwatches and activity tracker are great examples of biomedical engineering linked with the internet of things. Wearable technologies can help monitor multiple health parameters such as pulse rate, blood pressure which can help monitor patients health. Nowadays smart clothing is being developed by biomedical engineers which will help control body temperature by using special polymers and humidity-responsive vents that open when needed. It started in 1980 when the first wireless ECG was invented. In the last decade it has shown rapid growth in research of textile-based, tattoo, patch, and contact lenses. Wearable can be used to collect data on a user’s health such as Heart rate, Calories burned, Steps walked ,Blood pressure, Release of certain biochemicals ,Time spent exercising, Seizures, physical strain.
ROBOTIC SURGEONS AND REHABILITATION
Robots are the future of the world so how could they not become a part of healing the patients. Robot manufacturers around the world are trying to develop special robots which can assist the surgeons in the operation room. There are many benefits of robot helping surgeons because in long surgeries surgeons may have to stand for hours in a place and perform in this robots may come in use helping the surgeons to relax a bit by doing the smaller things. Robotic surgery also helps in smaller incisions, which reduce pain and scarring, lead to less time spent in the hospital and quicker recovery times. Patients suffering from injuries or are handicaped also get benefited due to the development of robotic therapy aids.
NANOROBOTS
Nanorobots are robots made up of nanomaterials which help in doing tasks.They are designed by researchers nano-sized to perform the tasks in the smaller areas like they can enter the bloodstream and can kill cancerous cells.These devices typically range in size from 0.1 to 10 micrometers and are constructed of nanoscale. Due to their small size these robots are directly delivered where they are needed which helps the body not to get overloaded with toxicity and the side effects are also fewer compared. These nanorobots or nanobots are the latest development of medical technology so are actively being researched and developed.
VIRTUAL REALITY
Virtual reality or VR is a very valuable tool in medicine as it helps the doctor to get a 3D detailed view of the patient’s body. It gives the medical student a virtual dissection which feels the same as the real dissection that is why it’s a great teaching device. It also helps the surgeon to practice the complex surgeries before performing it on the patient. VR for medical purposes was first developed in the 1990s. VR is also used in physical rehabilitation since the 2000s.
MICROBUBBLES
Microbubbles are very tiny micro-sized particles filled with gases. Microbubbles (MBs) are used in medical diagnostics as a contrast agent for ultrasound imaging. MBs are used for drug delivery, biofilm removal, membrane cleaning and water-waste treatment purposes. MBs can also be treated with a substance that will make them adhere to tumors without the need for ultrasound.
PRIME EDITING
Prime editing is a new technique which is “search and replace” genome editing technology by which the genome of living bodies can be modified. This technology helps in directly editing the new genetic information to the targeted DNAs. With the help of this method the researchers are able to edit more types of genetic mutations. This method is still new and is yet being tested and has only been performed on human and mouse cells.
ORGAN-ON-A-CHIP
An organ-on-a-chip (OOC) is a multi-channel 3-D microfluidic cell culture chip that simulates the activities, mechanics and physiological response of entire organs and organ systems, a type of artificial organ. It helps in the study of behaviour, function and nature of tissues and organs though in tiny form. The organs that can be stimulated by microfluidic devices include brain, lung, heart, kidney, cartilage, artery, skin, bone and more. Though there is a concern on organ-on-a-chip that organs have to lie in isolation during the testing.
MINI BIOREACTORS
Mini Bioreactors are used in industrial processes to produce pharmaceuticals, vaccines or antibodies. Bioreactors are manufactured devices that help in a biologically active environment and mini bioreactors are used for the same work though they are easier to manage and require lesser sample volume. They also provide more data in less time and money.These bioreactors also help in converting the raw material into useful byproducts such as in the bio conversion of corn into ethanol.
These are some of the latest advancements happening in the world which will help the people to have their life work smoothly. There are more machines, medicines, innovations that are yet to be discovered so biomedical engineers must keep pace with disruptive technology and innovations to make the best products.
