Wednesday, May 4, 2011

There is no such thing as luck. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.




The development of technology over the years has been critical to our evolution and development as a race. We have been able to create forms of medical treatment that was unavailable for people hundreds of years ago. We have treatments for those who may be diagnosed with cancer. The evolution of medicine has been astonishing as we have antidotes for most illness that may occur.
         
     In 1972, a life changing invention along the lines of x-ray computed tomography (CT) was created. An invention that obtains the visual digital information of ones interior features and displays the imagine in a third dimension. CT has become an important tool in medical imaging to supplement X-rays and medical ultrasound. It has more recently been used for preventive medicine or when screening for diseases. Institutions have enabled the public to be able to come in and be scanned which could be as short as 5 seconds. 


CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA), is a test that is used to take visual image of one's pulmonary arteries. A scan will contrast the pulmonary vessels being filled. Any mass filling defects, will appear dark in place of the contrast, blocking the space where blood should be flowing into the lungs.

Canadians also had a breakthrough, with the name of insulin. Insulin is a hormone, and is also a protein. Insulin is created in our system via a group of cells in the pancreas called islet cells. Insulin is used to lower our blood sugar level, which if high, could mean the development of diabetes. Diabetes could possibly lead to nerve damage, kidney failure, Arteriosclerosis, and other cardiovascular diseases. Before finding ways to for insulin to be injected into the body, people would have had to starve themselves in order to keep the blood sugar levels low. The inventor for insulin is Frederick G. Banting, who won the Nobel Prize in the medical field in 1923.





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4 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Hi Daniel,

    Good post Daniel, Despite your strong points/ information and insightful thoughts, I feel it wasn't enough to answer the question. No doubt, you had strong points, though the evidence was not enough to back it up. You mentioned that we have invented more advanced forms of technology and treatment not available in the past. You were correct with this proposal, however you lacked evidence to support it. I feel the technologies you used were a bit to "old school". When people here of advance technology, they expect the more high end products such as the MRI, CT scans, the Ultrasound and etc. Regardless of your lack of evidence, the rest of your blog seem to be in good shape. I like the illustrations you used as it contributed to the explanation. Again good post, but make sure to provide much stronger evidence on your following posts.

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  3. This was a really great post Daniel. It's amazing to see how far we have come as humans and it's mind blowing to see the kind of technology we are able to create. I think that it is important for us to study the illness and diseases that affect our body and to create solutions to those problems.

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  4. Great post Daniel. We've come very far in the field of technology used to improve one's health. I find the CTPA fascinating since it seems almost unreal that we were able to create a machine that can take visual images of one's pulmonary arteries. Finally, it's great that a Canadian was able to uncover a breakthrough (insulin) that benefits so many people all over the world. :)

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