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"In the field of medical device development there are a number of factors generally recognised as being important for success. Among these are the biocompatibility, sterility, reliability and adaptability of materials to their surroundings. Without a suitable approach to these issues, the majority of medical devices will not be as successful as they could be. Biocompatibility of materials, in particular, is a critical factor in the development and application of permanent and temporary implants and other devices such as catheters and tubes that are to be used in and around the body. Coating technology is the obvious and ideal solution for separating the bulk properties of a material or device from direct interaction with its surroundings. The independent modification of surface and bulk properties widens the range of features that can be incorporated into products. Bulk properties are responsible for characteristics such as mechanical strength. A suitable coating will enhance the interaction of the device with its surroundings. For example, it will provide drug-elusion (stents), anti-fouling and antibacterial properties, and a hydrophobic self-cleaning surface, referred to as lotus coating.1 The lotus effect in material science is the observed self-cleaning property found with lotus plants. A coating with this effect will make surfaces self-cleaning and will decrease the need for active cleaning of the subsequent surface; it may even enhance the sterility of surfaces. Recently there have been some interesting developments in materials and coatings based on organic and inorganic components, which are responsible for current state-of-the-art devices. Examples include coatings for stents that provide multiple therapeutic effects in thinner layers and coatings with better adhesion to device surfaces. The future holds the promise of even greater functionality for medical coatings."

physicists are trying to improve the quality of life for patients 

This page gave a good amount on how nanotechnology can change the future of medicine, from taking pills to cancer. It also talks about nerve regeneration and how that is in the near future with nanotechnology.

"Nanotechnology is already being used in products in its passive form, such as cosmetics and sunscreens,"

"Nanotechnology medical developments over the coming years will have a wide variety of uses and could potentially save a great number of lives. Nanotechnology is already moving from being used in passive structures to active structures, through more targeted drug therapies or "smart drugs." These new drug therapies have already been shown to cause fewer side effects and be more effective than traditional therapies. In the future, nanotechnology will also aid in the formation of molecular systems that may be strikingly similar to living systems. These molecular structures could be the basis for the regeneration or replacement of body parts that are currently lost to infection, accident, or disease. These predictions for the future have great significance not only in encouraging nanotechnology research and development but also in determining a means of oversight. The number of products approaching the FDA approval and review process is likely to grow as time moves forward and as new nanotechnology medical applications are developed."

"SAN FRANCISCO - 3-D printing, used to construct everything from art to toys to spare parts for the space station, may one day produce human organs at a hospital near you. click image to enlarge A 3-D printed prosthetic nose and ear are displayed at an industry show in London in November. The technology may eventually help reduce organ shortages. Bloomberg News photo by Chris Ratcliffe Select images available for purchase in the Maine Today Photo Store The 20-year-old technology uses liquid materials that become hard as they print out three-dimensional objects in layers, based on a digital model. Current medical uses are in dentistry, for hard-material crowns, caps and bridges, as well as prosthetics. Last year, a 3-D printer was used to create a structure from moldable polymer that replaced more than 75 percent of a patient's skull. Now, Organovo Holdings Inc. is using 3-D printers to create living tissue that may one day look and act like a human liver, able to cleanse the body of toxins. Drugmakers and cosmetic companies already plan to use 3-D printed human tissue to test new products. Eventually, the technology may help reduce organ shortages and cut transplant rejections as patients receive new organs constructed from their own cells. "3-D printing is like a new tool set," said Organovo Chief Executive Officer Keith Murphy. "You can make a living tissue you can grow outside the body. That's the core of our technology. How can you be smart about doing that?" Organovo already is preparing to sell strips of liver tissue to drugmakers this year to be used to test toxicity of potential treatments, Murphy said in a telephone interview. The San Diego-based company's five- and 10-year goals are first to use a patient's own cells to print tissue strips that can be used to patch failing organs, and finally to be able to create entire new organs. The first 3-D printer was produced in 1992. Since then, a variety of materials have been used as the t

"Engineers at the University of Florida (USA) have created a housing that incorporates a tiny microchip and antenna and, after administration, warns that a patient has taken his medicine. According to Rizwan Bashirullah, creator of the invention, the smart pill could be very useful in patients who forget if you have taken medication, or just clueless and do not take it daily. The pill consists of a capsule containing a microchip and an antenna that is printed on its surface using non-toxic ink of silver nanoparticles . The antenna is biocompatible and dissolves almost 100%. When the pill is swallowed, the microchip is communicated to a small external electronic device (which could be incorporated into future mobile phone), which in turn sends a message to a phone or a computer, informing both the patient and the doctors and family members if necessary. According to the American Heart Association, the main problem in treating illness today is that no medical requirements are met . Recent studies show that chronically ill patients only take half of the pills prescribed . And that 10% of hospital admissions due to this lack of consistency. Even 218,000 deaths annually are attributed to this problem. "Using technology to remedy may be a good idea," says Bashirullah."

a new direction we need to look at in Medicine. 

I think this website will be a great reference through out this project. It provides us with a descriptive overview of the current medical technology available to the public, as well as a glimpse of the technological possibilities that may be part of our future. This source appears to be reliable because it is a medical website. The author also includes citations throughout the article to prove the information is correct.

I feel this goes quite well with what we have been looking at for main topics. One part that I found particularly interesting was the medical section where the hologram and glass room was used. I feel that this video would be a good insight into future touch technology, computing in the medical field and augmented reality in the small girls field trip.

"Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI), or magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to investigate the anatomy and function of the body in both health and disease. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields and radiowaves to form images of the body. The technique is widely used in hospitals for medical diagnosis, staging of disease and for follow-up without exposure to ionizing radiation." This is about the MRI scan. It gives a definition of it and tells about it.

"But nanotechnologists think they have an answer for treatment as well, and it comes in the form of targeted drug therapies. If scientists can load their cancer-detecting gold nanoparticles with anticancer drugs, they could attack the cancer exactly where it lives. Such a treatment means fewer side effects and less medication used. Nanoparticles also carry the potential for targeted and time-release drugs. A potent dose of drugs could be delivered to a specific area but engineered to release over a planned period to ensure maximum effectiveness and the patient's safety." Nanotechnology can be a better, more efficient way of getting rid of cancer cells.

This seems like a great website to use. It backs up all of its statements with facts, so we know we can rely on it. I know this source will come in handy later because it actually explains how nanotechnology is used in some medical fields. I also know this is reliable because they list the sources that they used. This seems like a very official site to use.

"Smartphones, iPads, mobile health (mHealth) apps, remote monitoring devices, cloud-based computing, and other technologic advances are continuing to rewrite the script for healthcare delivery for both patients and physicians, so much so that Forbes already has declared 2013 as the year of digital health. Consider that 60% of physicians accessed health content online using their mobile phones, and 44% turned to tablet computers, according to the 2012 comScore Physician Mobile Survey."

definition of molecular medicine. Third stage of medicine. "Molecular medicine is a broad field, where physical, chemical, biological and medical techniques are used to describe molecular structures and mechanisms, identify fundamental molecular and genetic errors of disease, and to develop molecular interventions to correct them. The molecular medicine perspective emphasizes cellular and molecular phenomena and interventions rather than the previous conceptual and observational focus on patients and their organs.[1]"

he has written numerous books about medicine. "Robert Paul Lanza (born 11 February 1956) is an American medical doctor, scientist, Chief Scientific Officer of Advanced Cell Technology (ACT)[1] and Adjunct Professor at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine."

This is another page about how nanotechnology can change medicine forever. There is a section about how we can treat a tumor and be done with it in a short period of time because of little medications. This page also gives great new, interesting facts.

Overview of nanotech in medicine.

"Advances in nanotechnology in the medical field, to which we now have so-called "smart pills", created to monitor the health status of a patient with its sensors barely a millimeter thick"

This summarizes the trends in the chapter of medicine. "Future of Medicine Near Future: Genomic Medicine, Medical Scanners, Stem Cells, Midcentury: Gene Therapy, Designer Children Far Future: Reversing Aging, Immortality, Bringing Back Dinosaurs & Neanderthals, Germ Warfare"

Review of the book giving insight into each chapter

Review of the book giving insight into each chapter

mighty mouse cell

"Surgeons at Boston Children's Hospital have developed a way to help children born with half a heart to essentially grow a whole one-by marshaling the body's natural capacity to heal and develop." This site shows some current prototypes of ideas that Kaku predicted in his book. It shows us that there are medical advancements, which we thought were not possible until much farther into the future, functioning almost flawlessly in our current society. This website will be a valuable resource in this project because it explains multiple advancements that have been made in the last few years and will be perfected in the near future. This article comes from a website that we know is reliable from previous research.

In our era of instant gratification, the world of medicine seems like an outlier. The path from a promising discovery to an effective treatment often takes a decade or more.But from that process-of fits and starts, progress and setbacks and finally more progress-grow the insights and advances that change the course of medicine.

"Forget wearable technology. It may not be too much longer before sensors are actually put inside your body.It may sound a little bit futuristic and far-fetched, but the reality is that indigestible sensors and implantable chips are already in use and growing." This source could be beneficial for this project because it talks about yet another technological tool that may be used in the medical field of 2100. It provides information on how chronicle disease could be dealt with and why the electronic pills would be an efficient way to monitor the patients health status. This could be a part of the "Staying Young" topic. We know this is a reliable source because it is a news report from CNBC, which we know provides trustworthy information.

"Dying patients could someday receive a 3D-printed organ made from their own cells rather than wait on long lists for the short supply of organ transplants. Such a futuristic dream remains far from reality, but university labs and private companies have already taken the first careful steps by using 3D-printing technology to build tiny chunks of organs. Regenerative medicine has already implanted lab-grown skin, tracheas and bladders into patients - body parts grown slowly through a combination of artificial scaffolds and living human cells. By comparison, 3D-printing technology offers both greater speed and computer-guided precision in printing living cells layer by layer to make replacement skin, body parts and perhaps eventually organs such as hearts, livers and kidneys."