Overview - Future Trends in Medical Technology

Throughout the next months, MEDICA.de will present future trends in medical technology - due date is always the 15th of every month. New topics will be introduced, areas that are about to increasingly influence medicine in our world today and tomorrow. The guest stars for example: microelectromechanical Systems, IT and new materials.

Regenerative Medicine: Of Potency and New Organs

From acute over chronic up to deadly diseases - there are a many problems to solve in medicine. Researchers have high hopes concerning stem cells and tissue engineering: Regenerative medicine will hopefully enable doctors one day to replace sick cells and organs with healthy ones.

Regenerative Medicine: Of Potency and New Organs - Click here for our part VIII of the series: Regenerative Medicine

Microsystems Technology: Jack of Medical Trades

© Pixelio.de

Actually, it is a made-up-word: microsystems technology. In fact, the term describes many things as long as they are optical, mechanical or electrical and as long as the systems are tiny. Moreover they hover around everywhere: In CD players, airbags or printers - and with great potential in medical applications.

Microsystems Technology: Jack of Medical Trades - Click here for our part VII of the series: Microsystems Technology

Optical Technologies: The Medical All-Rounder Called Light

© Frank Kirchhoff

It exists in ultraviolet, visible and infrared and is being used in medicine. Light helps scientists to provide more transparency for the lab, operating theatre and doctor's practice. It is the basics for optical technologies - on one hand to make visible what is invisible to humans, on the other to do therapy.

Optical Technologies: The Medical All-Rounder Called Light - Click here for our part VI of the series: Optical Technologies

Information Technology: Bits and Bytes in Doctor's Robes

© Uni Essen-
Duisburg

The revolution began slowly: At the beginning, computer weighing tons filled whole rooms – with time they turned into tiny microprocessors. Then, the Internet and wireless communication conquered the world. Information technology changed our lives. Also that of doctors – today and tomorrow.

Information Technology: Bits and Bytes in Doctor's Robes - Click here for part V of our series: IT

Substances: Material Rush Hits Medicine

© Y. Roiter and
S. Minko

Bronze Age or Iron Age, gold rush or diamond fever - epochs and phenomena show that man always wanted one thing: material. A huge leap in human development almost always occurs in concordance with the discovery or use of certain materials. That is also true for medicine.

Substances: Material Rush Hits Medicine - Click here for part IV of our series: Materials

Biotechnology: Molecules, Technique and Therapies

© Moldenhauer

Detergents, plants resistant to bugs, drugs - chemistry, physics, biology – in the country, at sea or in the air. Biotechnology is everywhere since it is one of the most interdisciplinary branches of research – and helps medicine to combat diseases formerly known as not being treatable.

Biotechnology: Molecules, Technique and Therapies - Click here for part III of the series: Biotechnology

Imaging: To Be in the Know with Every Detail

© Peter Hering

Word has it that back in the ancient world those sentenced to death sometimes had been cut open in order to catch a glance of the insides of living men. About 100 years ago, science succeeded to allow this look without hurting people. The discovery of X-rays started a rapid development in medical imaging.

Imaging: To Be in the Know with Every Detail - Click here for part II of our series: Imaging

Nanotechnology: One of the Keys for the 21st Century

© Angewandte
Chemie

Other laws rule the world where everything is smaller than one hundred nanometres. Scientists start to discover and to employ them. Why? A huge market - also for medical products - is predicted for the next decades.

Nanotechnology: One of the Keys for the 21st Century - Click here for part I of our series: Nanotechnology