Technology has definitely played a very important role in our understanding of how our internal body system works. Without these advances in technology, we would have to continuously cut open people's bodies in order to study and know how our internal organs look like. This would undoubtedly take a lot of time and effort. Not only does the advances in our technologies allow us to see what's inside of us without making any incisions, it also allows us to live longer lives because we are able to see what is going on inside of us. It would be really tough for us to detect anything that was going on inside our bodies prior to the new technological advances. Tumours, masses, and cancer would go undetected and untreated for long periods of time!
Take x-rays as an example. Though it was founded completely by accident in 1895 by a German scientist named Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen while he was experimenting with vacuum tubes, they have inevitably made a great contribution in the field of medicine and science. He even took his first x-ray picture just a week after his discovery. The picture he took was of his wife's hand, and he noticed that the wedding ring she was wearing wasn’t transparent as the skin was. Meaning it could plainly be seen. This definitely sparked a new interest among scientists in further pursuing the study of radiation. How did it's name came to be, you may be asking? Well, his colleagues believed that he should call it the Roentgen ray, after himself. Yet, he decided to call it the x-ray because he couldn't determine what type of radiation was being produced. The name x-ray stuck, but there are some people in Germany who do call it the Roentgen ray. Basically what x-rays do is that they allow us to take pictures of our insides, which allows us to have a general idea of our functions. They are also the oldest and most common form of medical imaging. How exactly would an x-ray machine work may you ask? Well, an x-ray machine produces a controlled beam of radiation, which is used to produce an image of the inside of our bodies. The reason that bones are seen through x-rays and not skin is because our bones are able to absorb more x-rays than our skin does. That's why our skin appears to be transparent, and only the silhouette of our bones can be seen. Shadows of our bones are projected onto and captured by film. This is how an x-ray functions and allows us to see our internal structure.
There are many other scans that can be performed in order to take pictures of all the organs that are inside of us. CT stands for computer tomography. Yet, it is also called a CAT scan. CAT stands for computed axial tomography. During this scan, a thin x-ray beam is rotated around the area of the body to be visualized. Through a complicated mathematical process called algorithms, the computer is able to generate a 3-D image of a section through the body. For this scan, a person is asked to lay down on a flat surface. They are then passed through the scanner. Once inside the scanner, the machine's x-ray beams rotate around you. Small detectors inside the scanner measures the amount of x-rays that make it through the part of the body that is being studied. A computer then takes these images and uses it to create several individual images called slices. 3-D models of organs can be created by stacking each one of these individual slices together. CT scans definitely create very detailed pictures of our body, including our brain, chest spine, and abdomen. These CT scans are able to identify tumours and masses, and even cancer! This is truly quite an amazing thing.
Through contributions from Canadians and other scientists from around the world, successful technological advances were achieved. Many people have contributed to the understanding of our internal body system and to easy access to studying our health internally. No wonder our population has been greatly increasing from the past! These advancements in technology have definitely benefited us greatly. We are able to detect things that would have gone on unnoticed if it weren’t for these advancements. We don’t only have better health, but a better knowledge of our internal body system as well.
Sources:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003330.htm
http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/ems/xrays.html
Sources:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003330.htm
http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/ems/xrays.html
3 comments:
hi Stephanie,
great work here!
Definitely so true, some of us may think technology is in every negative because of how it influence people and how it make life easier, we cannot disregard the fact that it is so helpful to us especially in medicine. If medical technology have not been researched, developed and produced, you are so right about wasting time opening bodies as to study and research and develop ways to prevent such anomalies in human condition.
Thanks Stephanie, i definitely enjoyed reading your entry about 'Technological Advancement' and greatly helped me a lot in understanding more about technologies.
Hi, Stephanie.
Great blog.
I definitely agree with you that this medical techology advancements are very beneficial to people especially in understading our internal body systems. If we think about it, people from the way the past, don't understand our internal body systems like we do. We're lucky to be living in a generation where these developments are being made. At least we know that if we feel ill, there are modern techonologies out there that are accurate in detecting diseases. In this way, it would be easier for us to treat them and to avoid diseases altogether.
Hello, Stephanie.
It is very true that this kind of medical technology advancement is very good. However, let me remind you that it has been recently discovered that x-ray radiation can have negative effects on our body, which is why many radiology technicians do not recommend patients to have too many x-rays. It's unfortunate to hear that since x-rays are used for quite a while now.
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