The document discusses several new medical technologies from 2012 including: 1) An origami-inspired paper sensor that can detect diseases like malaria and HIV for 10 cents per test. 2) The I-BESS system, a body suit and vehicle sensors that record blast impacts to help diagnose soldier injuries. 3) An instrument that performs tissue sealing and cutting to help surgeons reduce operating time. 4) Microrobots designed to swim inside the body and deliver targeted drug therapies.

1. TECHNOLOGY WILL SAVE OUR MINDS
AND BODIES
By Mark Power

2. Technology has played an important medical role in
the lives of people all over the world. Technology is
the reason many people are still alive today. With the
development of new cures and new vaccines,
technology will continue to allow people to live longer
and healthier lives. With the advancement of
medicine through new technological inventions that
help diagnose, monitor, repair and treat injuries and
infections, people can expect to live normal lives.

3. A TIMELINE OF SOME OF THE GREATEST MEDICAL
ADVANCEMENTS
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/medical-advances-timeline

4. SOME OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS
IN THE MEDICAL FIELD FOR 2012
origami Paper Analytical Device or oPAD
http://asset2.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/03/08/AlexWang_424x318.jpeg

5. The oPAD, is a new paper sensor device that can detect various
diseases or biological agents. The new paper sensor is printed on an
ordinary office printer, where using chromatograph paper, a
hydrophobic material like wax is laid down to direct the sample to the
spot on the paper embedded with the test reagents. This new paper
sensor can be used to test blood, saliva, urine and other fluids for
glucose, malaria, HIV or any other disease. This is already the same
process used in pregnancy tests. The origami Paper Analytical
Device, which it is known as because it resembles origami, is a much
better sensor than those used in pregnancy tests due to the
limitations of the pregnancy test paper. With the origami sensor, the
paper is folded into a 3D shape which Richard Crooks says allows for
a test of more substances in a smaller surface area and provides
results for more complex tests.

6. Pros
• Costs 10 cents per sensor
• Can test for more substances on a small surface
• Allows people access to these sorts of tests who to not have the resources to
pay
• Easily produced
• Useful where the infrastructure is not present to collect and transport old style
samples to a lab
Cons
• No foreseeable cons
Conclusion
This medical advancement in technology that can help diagnose for different
dieses or deficiencies is a very important technological advancement. People
can now be diagnosed for some disease without having to travel to a laboratory
that performs these sorts of tests. This would be especially helpful to people of
the developing world who do not have access to those facilities necessary to
diagnose their issues. The most important part of this new medical invention is
that the cost is so low, 10 cents a test, to receive the correct medical diagnosis.

7. I-BESS (Integrated Blast Effects Sensor Suite)
system
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsPHMS4P
SYI&feature=player_embedded
http://cdn.medgadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/REFs-Integrated-Blast-Effects-Sensor-Suite.jpg

8. The US Army has come out with a new suit for their soldiers to wear
that will measure the impacts of explosions and trauma to the human
body through sensors that are implanted in the soldier’s body suit
and inside the armoured vehicle they are driving in. This suit is called
the I-BESS for Integrated Blast Effects Sensor Suit system. This
system is a system made up of four sensors in the body suit that
communicate with each other as well as a vehicle based system that
has additional sensors to collect information. Through wireless
communication this data is transferred in real time to a data storage
system called the Joint Trauma Analysis and Prevention of Injury in
Combat where it can be examined and accessed by medical
professionals. With the I-BESS system the Army can help identify
those soldiers with a greater chance for asymptomatic injuries often
of the brain but also help improve body armour and develop other
mitigation strategies. This body suit should lead to the diagnosis of
more injuries that would otherwise go untreated because they are
injuries that you cannot see.

9. Pros
• Better injury diagnosis
• Leads to better trauma care
• Leads to armour improvement
Cons
• Only a recording system, does not protect the soldiers
Conclusion
This medical advancement in technology can help diagnose for different injuries
to soldiers when they are attacked or near explosions on the battlefield. This
new equipment will help medical staff identify injured soldiers before they have
even returned back to base. The results from this new technology will also be
beneficial to improving body armour and vehicle armour due to the data obtained
from the sensors embedded in the body armour and vehicles.

10. Aquamantys3 BSC 9.1S Bipolar Sealer with
Cutting for Orthopaedic Surgery
http://cdn.medgadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/BSC-9.1S-Bipolar-Sealer-with-
Cutting.jpg
http://vimeo.com/33665262#t=46
http://cdn.medgadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/BSC-9.1S-Bipolar-Sealer-with-Cutting-zoom.jpg

11. The Aquamanty’s BSC 9.1S Bipolar Sealer is a surgical instrument
that is used as a cutting tool as well as a sealing tool for surgical
operations. This instrument is a device that performs haemostatic
sealing and coagulation of soft tissue and bone as well as allows the
surgeon to use it as a cutting instrument. This new invention is
designed to save time during surgery as well as minimize blood loss.
The Bipolar Sealer allows the surgeon to save valuable seconds
while blood is flowing by not having to switch between different
instruments. This instrument allows the surgeon to reduce their
operating time by reducing the number of tool changes, which
translates to surgeons being able to perform on more patients in a
day. This instrument has also been linked to the reduction of blood
transfusion rates and decreased hospital stays due to reduced blood
loss and maintaining patient hemoglobin levels during surgery.

12. Pros
• Instrument allows surgeons to save time during surgeries and see more patients
• Reduces blood loss
• Decreased hospital stay time after surgeries,
Cons
• Access to instrument
Conclusion
This medical advancement in technology can help surgeons to save time while
performing surgeries. The new instrument will reduce blood loss during
operations thus requiring less blood transfusions which translates to a saving in
the hospital’s blood stocks. This technology is a great advancement, it takes two
very important tools in surgery and combines them into one tool which will
significantly decrease the amount of time required to switch between tools while
performing operations.

13. micro-swimmer
http://www.gatech.edu/inc/hgImage.php?nid=144371&f=medium

14. Georgia Tech researchers have used computer modeling to design
microrobots, a tiny robot that can swim inside the human circulator
system, which may allow for a new delivery system for drugs, genes
and other therapies. The robots cannot be designed using traditional
propulsion methods like propellers, so the design of them was
important. The microrobots are designed with a guiding flap on the
front and two power flaps on the back attached to a chunk of gel.
The gel is a special kind of gel, delivering the desired medium which
can be made responsive to different stimuli found in the human body
such as; heat, chemical changes of the environment or light. Though
this technology is in the starting stages of research, the idea could
help save many lives by being able to target certain areas in the body
directly by directing the medicine to that exact spot.

15. Pros
• Allow for local treatment and administration of medicine
• Ability to reach anywhere in the body
Cons
• Necessary size requirements
• In body propulsion system
• Not physically real yet, still in research/design phase
Conclusion
This medical advancement in technology will be a very important advancement.
With the ability to target a certain region of the body and use delivery system
through the body to delivery medicine or other mediums to that exact location is
a major break through in medicine. Having the ability to control where to target
would allow for people to take these microrobots into their bodies and have them
perform the work of delivering the medium instead of taking a pill and hoping it
works like we do now. With this new technology, I think it will only pave the way
for more advancements in the delivery of medicine inside the human body.

16. REFERENCES
Armstrong-Moore, E. (2012). Origami paper sensor could detect malaria, HIV for 10
cents. CBS Interactive. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-
57393611-247/origami-paper-sensor-could-detect-malaria-hiv-for-10-cents/
Oppenheimer, D. (2012). Origami-inspired Paper Sensor could test for malaria and HIV
for less than 10 cents, report chemists. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved from
http://www.utexas.edu/news/2012/03/08/origami_malaria_hiv
Ostrovsky, G. (2012). I-BESS battlefield blast detection system to help detect soldier
injuries. Retrieved from http://medgadget.com/2012/08/i-bess-battlefield-blast-
detection-system-to-help-detect-soldier-injuries-video.html
Ostrovsky, G. (2012). Medtronic’s BSC 9.1s bipolar sealer with cutting for orthopaedic
surgery detection system to help detect soldier injuries. Retrieved from
http://medgadget.com/2012/08/medtronics-bsc-9-1s-bipolar-sealer-with-cutting-for-
orthopaedic-surgery.html
Ostrovsky, G. (2012). Tiny microrobots to swim with therapeutic payloads. Retrieved
from http://medgadget.com/2012/08/tiny-microrobots-to-swim-with-therapeutic-
payloads.html