Advanced medical technology is crucial to health care reform

Author Ira Brodsky’s New Book, The History and Future of Medical Technology, Demystifies the Technologies Used to Diagnose and Treat Illnesses

Some health care reform advocates complain that physicians rely too much on expensive technology. Published by Telescope Books, The History and Future of Medical Technology shows that today’s medical technologies are worth every penny-saving lives, improving patients’ quality of life, and helping doctors diagnose diseases during the earliest, most treatable stages.

“Several of the most beneficial medical technologies were invented by physicians who wanted to help more patients than they could treat personally,” said author Ira Brodsky. “John Gibbon developed the heart-lung machine so that surgeons all over the world could operate on quiet hearts. Willem Kolff invented the kidney dialysis machine to save thousands of lives. Raymond Damadian built the MRI machine to give his colleagues a powerful, new diagnostic tool,” he added.

The History and Future of Medical Technology demystifies technologies found in hospitals and physicians’ offices such as CT scanners, laparoscopes, pacemakers, MRI machines, and cochlear implants. The book shows how technology enables more cost-effective care and describes the latest advances in robotic surgery, brain-computer interface chips, artificial retinas, and wireless cameras small enough to swallow.

The History and Future of Medical Technology reminds us of how ineffective medicine was in the days before modern technology:

• Until 1850, all attempts to examine structures inside the living eye had failed. Convinced there was a solution, Hermann Helmholtz practically locked himself in his laboratory, emerging days later with his invention, the ophthalmoscope;
• Until 1895, the only way to look inside the body was with a knife. Though Wilhelm Roentgen discovered x-rays by accident, he quickly recognized their value to clinical medicine;
• Until 1960, there was little doctors could do to help patients with leaky heart valves. Albert Starr teamed up with retired engineer Lowell Edwards and implanted the world’s first artificial heart valve;
• Until 1963, there was no non-invasive method for examining the size and performance of the hearts’ chambers. Harvey Feigenbaum showed that an ultrasound instrument could be used to diagnose common heart problems; and
• Until 1967, the images produced by endoscopes were too faint to be of much use. Harold Hopkins and The Karl Storz Company developed the enhancements that led to today’s minimally invasive surgery.

The History and Future of Medical Technology’s 321 pages include an introduction, thirteen chapters, 26 illustrations, and a glossary.