Medical technology: New frontiers in health care 143ABC
Which medical services does your community need more of?
a. Ambulance and emergency services
b. Home care services for the elderly
c. Medical testing and laboratory services
d. Other (specify: )Predicting content
Considering the title of the chapter, predict which of the following topics will not be mentioned
in the reading text.
□ Common medical problems and their treatment
□ When you should see a doctor
□ How medicine will change in the future
□ New kinds of medical treatment
□ How medicine has changed in the past
□ How computers are used in medicine
Reading text
1 It used to be that when a person went to see a doctor, the doctor listened to the patient’s
heartbeat with a stethoscope and measured blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer. Other
simple instruments were used to test relexes and check the ears and throat, but most importantly,
the doctor relied on well-trained hands to feel for internal abnormalities during a physical exam-
ination. Although general practitioners still use these simple tools and time-tested procedures
in their practices, technology is rapidly revolutionizing the way illness is diagnosed and treated.
2 Computer technology has afected the ield of medicine as it has every aspect of our lives.
Before computers became ubiquitous, medical records were handwritten and iled in drawers or
cabinets. Doctors still keep handwritten records, but in large clinics and hospitals, where infor-
mation is accumulating at a phenomenal rate, records are increasingly computerized for legal
purposes and ease of access. Whereas physical records can get lost, compact digital records can be
readily located, copied, distributed, and archived. In the not-so-distant future, electronic medical
records will be stored on computer chips that patients will carry with them and update on an
ongoing basis.
3 Computer technology has also vastly improved medical imaging. hree-dimensional X-rays
and computer scans produce detailed reconstructions of anatomy. High-resolution scans using
computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can detect tumors and steer
radiation, biopsy, and microsurgery with great precision. Stereotactic interventions, which can
be compared to GPS navigation systems, are becoming so sophisticated that neurological dis-
eases, such as Parkinson’s, can be treated without the need for major brain surgery. Heads-up
displays (HUDs), irst developed for military, aviation, and auto racing purposes, can provide
surgeons with an integrated picture of X-rays and monitors so that they do not need to look away
from the patient on the operating table. As surface computing develops, doctors will be able to
drag information onto a work table as they explore and analyze various medical data. Visualiza-
tion techniques that integrate pictures, graphics, and data will enable doctors to react more
quickly to critical developments in a patient’s condition.
4 In hospitals, computer networks are making it easier for medical staf to monitor and super-
vise patient care, and they are shrinking the time and distances over which vital information has