Earlier Disease Detection on the Horizon

At the University of Edinburgh, researchers have been working to more accurately examine specific parts of different cells. In order to accomplish this task, they created probes that are able to light up certain areas of individual cells. This new invention has a slew of implications for cell research, but it also has the potential to vastly improve the medical field.

The probes have so far been tested successfully on fungal cells. It is speculated that they can be used to light up human cells from blood samples. If this speculation turns out to be fact, doctors will be able to examine the cells of their patients and spot early warning signs of serious diseases, such as cancer.

The probes themselves were created using peptide. Peptides are small molecules made up of short, linked chains of amino acids. The researchers have used individual peptides bonded with fluorescent tags to light up a specific target on a cell. Researchers use microscopes to see how the fluorescent light moves throughout the cell, and where it ultimately  settles.

Another useful facet of the probes is that they are highly sensitive. They are able to show researchers an accurate output of any part of the cell, which means researchers will be able to see if anything in the cell is out of the ordinary. Any change in how the molecule appears or is built could point to early signs of a disease. It can also help with more accurately tracking a patient’s response to treatment. Instead of treating a patient and waiting to see if the treatment produces any real change, doctors will be able to witness any alterations happening directly in the cells. This will allow them to determine if a treatment is working, and can change the course of the treatment early on if need be.

The research that these scientists have accomplished can revolutionize the way we approach disease. Instead of waiting to see if conditions get worse, or become more of a problem in the future, doctors will be able to predict the trajectory of a condition early on. Patients will be able to receive treatment for a condition at a point where it is not yet affecting their lives. This could improve quality of life, lower medical costs long term, and even save lives.

The researchers hope that their probes will someday be able to be used in routine scans, such as PET scans, so it becomes a standard in the medical industry for diseases to be diagnosed at their earliest stage. One can only hope that such innovation is spread throughout the medical sphere soon.

Automated Empathy

As medical and technological spheres continue to work together, patient care is become more streamlined. This has been phenomenal for medicine. Technology has allowed for faster care, more precise testing, and more accurate and targeted disease research than ever before. The newest health technology innovation, however, is a little more controversial. Startup companies such as Healthloop have created automated patient care, which includes automated empathy from physicians.

The reason this technology was formed is that many physicians have a significant number of patients in their care. When every patient wants to contact his or her doctor, physicians can get overwhelmed. Automated empathy is specifically for patients that are no longer in the doctor’s care, but still want to keep in touch. The system consists of customizable email templates that doctors can email to patients directly. Doctors are able to use the templates already in the email system, or write their own templates to make the communication more personable.

Some think that automated empathy is a cold way to operate, however it is doing amazing things for medical providers. During their recovery, patients receive daily follow-up emails and reminders from their physician, instead of experiencing communication that is less frequent. All responses can be tracked through an online health portal, and patients can access this health portal as well to ask questions and schedule further appointments.

The emails are meant to create an empathetic connection between doctor and patient, and to make patients certain they are getting the best care possible. It also has other benefits, such as cutting down on the rate of readmission through doctors getting information about a patient’s condition through responses to these automated emails. This cuts down on the money being spent on patient readmission, which means that such funds can be concentrated in another area in the healthcare sphere.

There are, of course, concerns being voiced by patients and experts alike that doctors will come to rely too much on this automated technology, and all the personability will be taken out of healthcare. Doctors must keep in mind that the best way to talk to patients is through face-to-face communication. However, automated empathy is already doing great things in healthcare. It will be exciting to see where such technology goes in the future.

For more information about this new healthcare technology, read this article on automated empathy from Healthcare Business Tech.