Technology and Eternal Youth

Healthcare costs in America are ridiculous. They comprise 15% of our annual GDP, which is the second highest in the UN, behind some country I've never heard of. This equates to $7,500 per person, more than twice as much as almost every other other industrialized nation. In light of this, the World Health Organization ranked the US health system as number 38 (although there is some controversy over the criteria for these rankings). It's obvious that health care costs must be driven down. The question, then, is how to go about this. Given the recent explosion of the biomedical technology field (and the fact that I'm a BE major), I think that medical technology will be leading the way in driving down these costs. Because of this (and the nature of the assignment), I'm proposing ten ways in which medical technology can help to drive down the costs of healthcare in America.


1. Chips to measure medicine intake
Researchers have developed chips that, when implanted into patients along with a monitoring device, can measure and report (via a wireless network) the amount of medication in a patient's bloodstream. This would let doctors know if a patient forgets to take his or her medication can also alert the patient. Misuse of medication leads to an increase in hospitalization and a decrease in the efficacy of medication (obviously).

2. Implants preloaded with 100+ medicinal doses
Small containers can be implanted onto a major artery preloaded with enough doses of medicine to last an extended period of time. This can be particularly helpful in ensuring patients taking medication on a long-term basis receive each dose in a timely manner, and lets the patient worry about one fewer daily task.

3. Electronic medical records
By eliminating paper medical records, the medical industry can stop spending money on paper and ink. Also, if records were online, this would increase communication between hospitals and, in turn, increase productivity and cut costs.

4. Blood substitutes
Alternative, oxygen-transporting substances have been developed to replace blood transfusions. These will cut costs because they are cheaper than the compensation that many people receive for their blood and plasma (sans donations). They also have a longer shelf life, making them more applicable to rural locations and emergency response vehicles.

5. Electronic cigarettes
Sure, they may not be risk free, but electronic cigarettes are undoubtedly preferable to actual cigarettes. They deliver almost-pure nicotine without combustion or flame. And while there are some adverse effects (some cite nicotine, some don't; some cite a risk of nicotine overdose, some don't), they lack the tar and other harmful substances present in cigarettes. Fewer of these substances means better overall health, which results in fewer hospitalizations and reduced costs.

6. Chantix, prescription drug that helps smokers quit
A new drug has been developed that increases the success rate of smokers trying to quit. In a recent clinical trial, 44 % of smokers successfully quit, compared to 18% taking placebos. Look above for info on how fewer smokers means lower healthcare costs.

7. More minimally invasive surgeries
Surgeries that do less damage to surrounding tissues, bones, etc. reduce recovery time and, in turn, costs. And while these are revolutionary, they are being applied to more areas of the body more often. For example, doctors can now perform some heart surgeries by entering through an artery in the thigh. This surgery previously required gently lifting the ribcage out of the way (by cutting the ribcage open, but that's not important).

8. Anti-bacterial nano coating
Researchers have developed an invisible and incredibly thin coating that can be applied to virtually every surface in a hospital (fabrics included). Through a chemical process involving a photosynthesis reaction, the nano coating kills 99.99% of present bacteria. Fewer infections = less hospitalization time = lower healthcare costs.

9. Streamlining current technology
No technology is an end; technology is inherently a means. All forms of current medical technology can be made more efficient, more cheaply, and more effective. In addition to looking for new paths, bioengineers should not neglect to tidy up the ones they've walked down.

10. Discovering the fountain of youth
Medicine and technology and all that are great, but the preclusion of illness is most preferable. As such, technology should be developed to help locate the fountain of youth. The advent of global positioning systems can reinvigorate this age old source with much some needed vigor. Once inevitably discovered, its waters can be distributed to America (and, I suppose, other countries too). No hospitalization = no healthcare costs. QED

Many of these technologies are in development and, while they show much promise, one must remember that this is all they show. None of these are guaranteed to deliver on their claims, and don't provide sufficient evidence (for the most part) to indicate otherwise.

Except the last one.

Engineering + Convenience Store = Headache

I've heard from multiple engineering sessions and teachers that engineers think a certain way. As such, a major component of Penn Engineering is developing this way of looking at things. It's kind of weird thought, actually: a leadership molding the malleable minds of the ignorant into the leadership's way of seeing things. Okay, I know that's a semi-ridiculous comparison, and I'm not worried about it, at all. I'm just saying that there are many parallels between higher education and Nazi Germany, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. That's all.

Dr. Bogen said that engineers "cite their sources and document they're decision making process." My trip to Wawa just got much more complicated.

[Internal Dialogue]
"I really want a milkshake right now. Or an iced coffee. Hm... conundrum."
- There are 420 more calories in the milkshake, according to their labels.
- In addition, a milkshake would set me back $2.17 further than an iced coffee would.
- They are both 16oz. servings; however, because the milkshake has more mass than the iced coffee, the milkshake would fill me up more.
- Nietzsche despised coffee and refused to drink it, and I respect a lot of his views.

Given such information, I decided to go with the milkshake based mainly on the fact that:
I LOVE MILKSHAKES FROM WAWA.

I can has engineering?

PENNDEMIC

In our BE recitation this week (which is a small group that meets weekly with a TA to discuss the lectures), we discussed H1N1, or more specifically, who, if anyone, should receive a vaccine. The general consensus was that pregnant women should be the first to receive the vaccines, in light of the fact that the CDC announced that pregnant women are the most susceptible population group to H1N1. Although they make up roughly 1% of the US population, they also make up 6% of those who have been killed by H1N1. Combine this with the fact that their death will result in a -2 net loss in the population of the future (a debatable matter, one similar to many abortion arguments), and the room readily agreed that they should be the ones to receive vaccines, should there be a limited supply (as Dr. Bogen's hypothetical situation proposed).

I personally would like a vaccine for purely selfish reasons (I don't want to get sick and fall behind in school), but if the number were limited then I would have to let other people in at risk population groups receive the shot.

I think the most effective way to mitigate the Penndemic (we're such witty bioengineers) would be to make H1N1 vaccines readily and cheaply available to all Penn faculty and students who wish to receive them. In addition, I think the hand sanitizing stations posted around campus are a great idea; I take advantage of them almost every time I pass. On a national level, perhaps technology could be developed that tracked H1N1's progression (I'm sure this already exists in some form). Data could be collected from a variety of sources: hospital, university, and school reports, tweets involving "H1N1" and "Swine Flu," and sales of flu-related medicines, for example. By tracking how many people have H1N1 and in which cities and areas they live, we could perhaps predict where the next outbreak will occur, and prepare appropriately (by shipping extra vaccines and supplies to such places). Once again, I'm sure this already exists, but by varying the sources of the information, we could get a truer picture of how the disease is spreading.

Pandemic 2

Wanna switch roles with H1N1? Or something close to it? Kill the world!

I Love TED

Along the same note, here's a roughly five minute video from TED.

If you haven't been to TED yet, get on it. It's the most interesting site on the net. Probably. Either that or this.

New(s) Post

http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=62417962&chid=1&taxid=11

This is a news article from Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News. On Friday, Science published a study by researchers at the NYU School of Medicine. The study provides evidence that bacteria use nitric oxide to mitigate oxidative stress which edifies their defenses. In light of this fact, the scientists at NYU propose that scientists and researchers could utilize commercially available NO inhibitors to make antibiotics more efficacious at lower levels.

I think this breakthrough is significant because one of the most main reasons that bacteria are so good at what they do (and annoying to the human population at large) is their ability to quickly develop immunities to antibiotics. If this bacterial mechanism were disabled or greatly weakened, then the general health of the general population would improve, and the research community could focus on other pressing issues.

Here's to hoping.

18yo M interested in BE

My academic interests are very broad (I am an undergraduate, after all). In fact, when I applied to colleges, I applied to half of them with philosophy as my projected course of study, and to the other half with engineering. I still plan on minoring in philosophy (or, if I can pull it off, double majoring in Philosophy and Science). I think I chose bioengineering from the numerous engineering disciplines because of it's holistic qualities. Bioengineers are trained not only in traditional math, science, and design classes, but also in biology, medicine, and physiology. I'm hoping to gain a general knowledge in these areas during the next four years.

I'd like to learn to... engineer haha. It's honestly too early for me to say which specific skills I want to learn right now, as I'm interested in learning so many.

Breakin' Through

If I could go back in time and work on any piece of biomedical technology, I would have to choose antiseptics. Antiseptics revolutionized the medical community in both theory and practice. The idea was a wild one: that millions of microscopic beings were making people sick and they could be combated by treating the instruments and table and doctors and air with a simple liquid. By doing so, survival rates skyrocketed, pain eased, and limbs remained. The development and use of antiseptics was perhaps the most important biomedical breakthrough in recorded history.

Introductions Are in Order

Well hello, blogosphere. I've always meant to get around to blogging, although I never thought it would start quite like this. I'm a Freshman at Penn, majoring in bioengineering and minoring (or, if I'm lucky, double majoring) in philosophy. Today I attended my first bioengineering course, BE100. Our first assignment is to create a blog (the one you're staring at) and, well, blog. So while the focus will be on bioengineering, hopefully I can integrate some personal anecdotes and such to make it more enjoyable. That isn't to say that BE isn't enjoyable, but it still is BE. So-

I chose bioengineering because I like math and science and helping people. I enjoy problem solving and thinking of new and interesting ways to approach and solve problems, whether metaphysical or mechanical. With a BE degree, I plan to engineer stuff that helps people. I dunno what kind of stuff, though. Maybe a prosthetic limb or a cure for cancer or a vaccine or two. Whatever works, I suppose.

Although I have had no interactions with bioengineers on the job (besides Dr. Bogen's single lecture), I suppose bioengineers do a vast number of things. The principle things that comes to my mind are research and creating things, both of which interest me greatly. I've heard that bioengineers also own and run companies, study law and medicine, and sleep sometimes, although I haven't experienced any of that first hand since coming to Penn.

Basically, bioengineers do lots of things. I want to do lots of things. Therefore, I'm majoring in bioengineering.