According to data from the Statista platform, the medical technology market will continue to grow by 2022 to mark the future of medicine. According to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), medical innovation promises new ways to prevent, diagnose and monitor health problems.
It also proposes the development of new drugs and devices to address the treatment of diseases and illnesses. In favor of improving the scope of medicine.
Medical innovation: 3 projects that will mark the future of medicine
In this sense, one of the world leaders in terms of medical innovation is the Houston Methodist Hospital. Whose team shared with NotiPress three projects that will mark the future of medicine hand in hand with innovation.
Among these medical innovations stand out the liver transplant for patients with this type of cancer, the development of nanotechnology. As well as clinical trials to combat brain tumors.
Liver transplant as a viable option for patients with liver cancer
This medical innovation was born from a study conducted at the Houston Methodist, JC Walter Jr. Transplant Center and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Twelve patients with liver cancer were studied, of whom six received liver transplants. In this group, the survival rate was 100% at one year and 83% at five years.
Also, 50% of patients had no cancer recurrence more than five years following transplantation. “These results are promising, because at this time there is no cure for liver cancer if the tumor cannot be surgically removed,” said Dr. R. Mark Ghobrial, chief of Liver Transplantation at the hospital’s Transplant Center.
Nanodevice that delivers drugs for chronic diseases
Scientists led by Dr. Alessandro Grattoni, president of the Nanomedicine department, began to apply nanotechnology to chronic-degenerative ailments such as arthritis, diabetes or heart disease. This nanodevice is the size of a grape and is remotely controlled, gradually releasing the medicine that each patient needs.
In this setting, the implant goes under the skin and can hold up to a full year’s worth of medication before needing to be refilled once more.
“With this research we see this universal drug implantation as the future of care for chronic diseases, because it does not have the drawback of oral intake, which is frequently forgotten by patients, nor night doses, which are often skipped” , explained the study’s principal investigator and creator of the device, Dr. Grattoni.
Use of the herpes virus and the common cold to combat malignant brain tumors
Another medical innovation in which the Houston Methodist Hospital participated is the study that proposes the use of the herpes virus and the common cold to combat brain tumors. As part of these clinical trials, inactivated herpes virus DNA is combined with the common cold virus and injected into the brain tissue surrounding the area where the core of the tumor is.
“We chose the common cold virus because of its ability to spread rapidly and reach many of the hard-to-reach tumor cells and spread through remaining tumor branches that cannot be removed with surgery.” Explained Dr. David Baskin, a neurosurgeon and director of the Center for Brain and Pituitary Tumors at Houston Methodist Hospital.
As the WIPO suggests, medical innovation will be the factor that will mark the future of medicine in the not too distant future. Under this line, medicine must innovate in technological and academic matters in order to achieve the desired results, that is, to provide a cure and well-being to the entire population in general.
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