Friday, April 5, 2013

CUTTING EDGE OPERATING ROOM OF THE FUTURE


A standing ovation and a big round of applause to the teams of scientists, engineers and doctors who have worked hard in the labs so that we can all reap the benefits of their years of grueling research and toil. The latest medical breakthrough to share here comes from Technion -  Israel's Institute of Technology.

Imagine a future where non-invasive surgery breaks new boundaries. Doctors would be able to treat cancer patients without cutting up their body, and administer high toxicity drug treatment to targeted tumors without damaging the rest of the body. The devastating side effects of current chemotherapy and radiation treatment would be a thing of the past. The patient's quality of life would not be affected.



Patients would no longer need to spend weeks in rehabilitation or recuperation. Imagine going into the operation room for a hysterectomy and be able to return to work the next day. Or in the case of Parkinson's Disease, regaining control of all your motor movements immediately after the treatment. A brain clot? No big deal. The clot would be liquefied for the blood to reflow in the brain after a matter of a few hours.


Science fiction? Not according to this hit counter on Insightec website. Close to 1000 treatments have already been performed to date. That number is bound to grow exponentially as treatment becomes more affordable and available. Insightec pioneered the innovative surgery that uses high intensity focused ultrasound waves guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to treat targeted parts of the body.

For those who would like to know how this technology began, and how treatment is administered, including testimony from a volunteer patient, please view this video. I found it most educational and absolutely fascinating.



Removal of kidney stones and cataracts are routinely performed nowadays using this non-invasive surgery. When this technology is extended to other types of surgeries, that would be a dream come true, a prayer answered for millions of patients around the world. If only this technology had been available in Malaysia and Singapore years ago, I wouldn't have had to go under the knife, not once, but twice.

2 comments:

BH Toh, PJ said...

Thank You!

This is a very very informative article and I wish the technology will be available in our country (and everywhere else) ASAP.

Keep up the good work and continue posting such wonderful articles.

seniorsaloud said...

Thanks, Toh. Comments like yours keeps us going.