History of Medical Technology Essay

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Technology and the Development of Modern Medicine

The 20th century saw a seismic change in the perception of the human body, and the relationship of patients to physicians and other aspects of modern medicine. With the recent coronavirus pandemic, of course, the focus upon technology and medical developments has become a matter of global importance. Vaccines and innovative drugs were not solely innovations of the past century, but they extent to which they were proven safe and effective is relatively new. The relationship between providers and patients has likewise changed, as well as expectations about treatment.

Vaccination and Immunization Technology

Infectious disease was once an accepted part of modern life. However, the first smallpox vaccines were developed as early as the late 18th century. Safety of vaccines could not always be guaranteed, however. Inactivation of bacteria via heat or chemical treatment to confer immunity status was developed by the very end of the 19th century (Plotkin 12284). But in the 20th century, the generation of technology that would allow widespread, safe transmission of the vaccine became popularized, freeing generations from the fear and threat of illness as a childhood rite of passage.

Purified protein vaccines were developed as early as the 1920s (Plotkin 122285). “By the 1940s, virologists understood that [live] attenuation could be achieved by passage in abnormal hosts,” and both rabies and oral polio vaccines were developed in chicken embryos and mice (Plotkin 12284). Live annotated vaccines for the oral polio vaccine was developed in 1963, with measles, mumps, and rubella shortly after in the 1960s (Plotkin 12284). The 20th century also saw the development of live, inactivated viral vaccines, such as the influenza vaccine (Plotkin 122284). Most influenza vaccines are grown in embryonic eggs. However, “Influenza HA has been produced in insect ells and induces antibodies without the risk of allergy to egg proteins” through the use of genetic engineering and the development of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was made “because of the properties of the L1 protein of the virus” and “L1 is produced in yeast or in-sect cells, and the VLPs produced there inform the basis of the current vaccines” (Plotkin 122285).

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The development of these vaccines has freed modern society, until recently, from the fears of infection in crowded areas. Even as recently as the 1990s, until the development of vaccines, certain illnesses as…

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…regarding antibacterial drugs and cleansers further contributing to antibacterial resistance.

Insulin Development

Finally, another disease which has long plagued humankind is diabetes. Just like measles and syphilis could rob people of their lives, or, at minimum, their productivity and lifetime health, diabetes was often a death sentence before the development of insulin. Before the development of insulin, the only way to control blood sugar was extreme fasting, and this was only a way to delay, not completely postpone the risk of coma and premature death. The discovery of insulin in 1922, following a link to understanding the pancreas’ role in metabolic regulation, was critical, although for many years, potency varied considerably (Quianzon and Cheikh).

Even today, although refinement of insulin treatment and new understanding of the illness has increased, complications in individuals who live longer and longer with the autoimmune disease Type 1 diabetes has increased, and the incidence of Type 2 diabetes (an illness of different origins, but also treated with insulin quite frequently) has likewise increased, due to lifestyle factors that contribute to the illness. Modern medicine once again has made it far easier for people to have their illnesses treated, but new diseases….....

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