The Most Modern of Procedures for The Oldest of Conditions

Around the world, there are thousands of scientists working hard to come up with medicines and treatments to try and cure some of the many illnesses and conditions that people are living with. Some of them, like COVID-19, are brand new, but others have taken decades of research to try and understand what causes it. Here are some of the most modern procedures and medicines that these researchers have provided healthcare workers with so that they’re ready for 2021.

Laser Treatment

The idea of treating people with lasers is nothing new. For many years they’ve been used in a whole number of ways, including preforming precise cuts during surgeries and also treating conditions like poor eyesight. The only problem is that they haven’t been without their side effects.

These high-powered lasers can obviously cause some pain and scaring when used. Luckily, researches have continued to work on this technology and have now reduced a large amount of these side effects. For example, the latest laser technology used for things like BPH procedures can now reduce the recovery time for patients compared to more traditional treatments. Some of this technology used to treat problems with prostates now see most patients returning home within 24 hours and can also remove the need for patients to have a catheter installed. This technology is not only able to reduce the recovery time for patients but will also free up valuable beds in hospitals and also reduce waiting times for the procedure for other patients.

Smartphone Devices

In 2020, it seems that there’s virtually nothing you can’t do on your smartphone. Whether its video calling people from the other side of the world, ordering a takeaway or simply using a search engine to answer a question, many people would be lost without their smartphone.

Researchers have now harnessed the power of these small devices to help solve big problems when it comes to looking after people’s health. For example, one of the biggest innovations of 2020 saw the first smartphone-connected pacemakers being developed. These devices can connect to a patient’s phone to give them a better idea of what the device is doing inside their body. As well as this, it can send information directly to their doctors so they can spot any irregularities with the patent’s body and the device.

Drugs and Vaccines

Whilst high tech pacemakers bring great benefits to patients, one of the most important products created off the back of work done by researchers will always be the vital drugs and vaccines they develop.

In 2020, one type of vaccine has taken up all the headline space in the press. Luckily, now that we have several approved vaccines to protect the world from COVID-19, the focus can go back to developing the many other medicines and vaccines needed to tackle other serious conditions. Other than the coronavirus vaccine, one big development in the medicine world this year was a new novel drug for Primary-Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. Initial tests showed that this drug was able to significantly slower the disability progression of this condition.