Medical nanobots

Nanotechnology is the science and application of creating objects on a level smaller than 100 nanometers.  Nanobots are the way of the future when it comes to nanotechnology. The latest discovery with nanobots is that they can adapt to their environment, meaning they can react to light, heat, chemicals, surface and textures accordingly. Using the latest technology, scientist want to program the nanobots to be able to work together on complex calculations, communicate with each other when needed, repair themselves as well as each other and move fluidly.

With the improvement of nanobot technology scientists can program the bots to enhance a patient’s way of life, help the human body function beyond its normal means, repair injuries and treat illnesses.

Three Nanobots will be available:

• Nanoparticles

These nanobots will be able to move to a specific area controlled by the doctor where they can attach themselves to a surface to be stable. The doctor can then use a camera to gather information from the relay of video or images collected by the nanoparticles.

• Hollow nanocapsules

Hollow nanocapsules will be able to search for cancer cells and other dangerous cells and, when found, be able to focus the required medical treatment directly to the cell. This is an improvement from the normal method of injecting the treatment into the bloodstream.

• Nanomedibots

These nanobots will find damaged tissue and repair it, as well as attack diseases and cancerous tissues. This removes the need for surgery, which leaves scars or induces post-op pain.

Heart transplant

A company in France has developed the technology to create an artificial heart which will be able to replace the human heart. This would solve the problem of shortages on transplants for patients who need them.

Carmat is testing artificial hearts in the clinic and when they are happy with the results they will start testing them on human candidates in France.

The artificial heart is powered by two small motors through electromagnetic induction, controlled by a plug behind the ear or the skin.

Exosuit

Also known as an exoframe or exoskeleteon, this machine frame covers your body with a metal construction. It helps you move your whole body as well as carry heavy equipment. It also enables the wearer to run and walk further distances, and can also offer an advantage in dangerous situations by improving performance.

They can also be used to assist old people with walking and other normal activities. In a few years you might see your granny running to the mall in her exosuit instead of hailing a cab.

These exosuits already exist but are worked on everyday to improve various kinks. One such kink is a power supply which can power the suit for long spans of time.

Cyborgs

A former Marine, Claudia Mitchell, lost her arm during an accident and was selected to receive the bionic arm prototype. The arm moves with her thoughts, improving her way of life and helping her live a normal life.

Her thoughts are streamed to a chest muscle which is connected to the cyborg ‘nerves’, resulting in the arm moving as  her normal arm would have moved.

With this new improved technology Claudia is able to wash up, eat food with a knife and fork, peel a banana and fold her clothes.

The technology comes from the Rehabilitation Institute in Chicago, where it took them five hours to install the cyborg arm.

I’m glad medical technology has improved over the ages from iLasik surgery to cataracts treatment. I’d rather have a nanobot fix my headache by releasing the tension in my muscles than medieval doctors drilling a hole in my head to release the bad spirits.

Better night vision

Not everyone believes that this is true, but when it comes to the old story about carrots improving your eye sight you can’t argue with science. It wasn’t just a trick to get you to eat your vegetables, well, not really. There is a chemical in the retina called rhodopsin which helps with vision in low light.  It is made of, among other things, a form of vitamin A called retinol. Our bodies convert beta carotene from carrots, into vitamin A, and this is then processed into retinol. By drinking a glass of carrot juice everyday or eating carrots, we can help keep our eyesight significantly sharp in low light, but you can also eat broccoli, cabbage and peas for the same effect in eye care.

Keep your retina strong

Vitamin B helps to keep the retina strong and can also aid in preventing blindness and other serious eye problems. A good way to ensure that you have enough of this vitamin is to get a B12 injection from your doctor.

Reduce puffiness

A great way to reduce puffiness is to place a cool green tea bag on your eyes. Much in the same way as cucumber, this works to draw out the swelling and soothe the skin around the eyes. You can also put the tea bag in water, let it cool and then wipe your eyes out with the solution a few times a day.

Moisturise

In order to keep the skin around your eyes looking radiant, make sure you moisturise with a cream in the mornings and evenings. Creams with vitamin E in them work well to tighten up and soothe the skin.

Dark circles

To get rid of dark circles under the eyes, try taking some grated cucumber and extracting the juice from it, soaking some cotton pads in it and placing on your eyes for ten minutes. This can be done for a few days at a time.

Exercise

There are also a few eye exercises you can do to keep them strong and healthy – blinking and rolling them in a clockwise and anti clockwise direction helps when you’ve been sitting in front of a computer screen all day. Fresh air and a splash of water can do a world of good when trying to refresh too.

Eye Surgery

If conventional ways don’t work and you have tried eating your vegetables and taking vitamins then the only option left is eye surgery. The latest crazy is the iLasik treatment. In iLasik Surgery they have multiple treatments for your eyes (including permanent contact lenses, lens correction and many other treatments).

Remember that it’s best to have your eyes tested often to make sure they are in good condition – this way you can ensure the best eye care possible.

Recovery room with a view

There are many reasons to visit the Mother City. We have the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, a whole host of incredible beaches, the Waterfront, Table Mountain, the Constantia wine route, a penguin colony, antique stores aplenty, colourful street performers, a laughably good exchange rate and the bulk of South Africa’s worthwhile restaurants and dining establishments (to name but a few). In light of all of this, it would seem strange that many people from around the globe come to Cape Town expressly to take advantage our medical establishments, doctors and rehabilitation facilities, yet they do.

Medical tourism is becoming a booming trade. Places like Panama, Brazil, Malaysia, Costa Rica and India have been tapping this particular vein for a number of years, and it seems South Africa is pretty keen to join the party. (For the uninitiated: the term ‘medical tourism’ relates to a branch of the travelling industry that allows foreigners to combine affordable plastic- or reconstructive surgery with pre- and post-operative forays around the country).

Not a big fan of gratuitous elective plastic surgery myself, I can still understand why foreigners name South Africa as a preferred medical tourism destination. Let’s tick the relevant points, shall we? We have:

1. A favourable exchange rate (my aunt and uncle from America recently had dental work done in Cape Town and their whole trip, including flights, transport, accommodation and the actual cost of the procedures came to around four times less than they would’ve paid for the same treatment in California).
2. High quality medical care facilities.
3. World renowned surgeons and physicians (remember the whole heart transplant thing?).
4. Incredibly scenic surrounding in which to recuperate.
5. Reputable establishments that facilitate medical tourism trips. This includes everything from flights to airport transfers, consultations with surgeons, the actual surgery, a recuperation period in the locale of your choice, as well as pre- and post-operative trips around sunny South Africa.

Basically what you’re looking at is First World health care at Third World prices. What’s not to love about that? Accommodation venues include the likes of five star Constantia and Camps Bay hotels, as well as the beautiful Arabella Sheraton. After your surgery, you can then decide whether you would like to go on a tour of the Winelands, enjoy a Big Five Safari tour or participate in a thorough exploration of the country’s most illustrious golf courses. South Africa is quite literally your oyster (especially if you happen to be around Knysna while to Oyster Festival is underway).

So, there you have it – one more reason to include Cape Town in your global itinerary.

In fact the count of overweight people worldwide has now reached the billion mark – and with more and more children becoming obese each year that number is increasing steadily all the time.

The international standard for determining obesity is the body-mass index (BMI).

This is one’s weight (in kilograms) divided by the square of one’s height (in meters).

Of the billion overweight people, an unhealthy 30% are clinically obese. In the USA 30% of the entire population are obese. African Americans have the lion’s share of this percentage, at 45%. Comparatively in Germany the obesity figure is almost half, at 12%, while the Italians have a modest 8% in the extreme overweight bracket. At either end of the extreme percentages we have China at a low average of 5% while Samoa exceeds a frightening 75%.

These statistics were shared at the recent conference in Boston, Massachusetts, where around 2 000 delegates met for 4 days to discuss the treatment and prevention of obesity. The event was hosted by NAASO – The North American Society for the Study of Obesity.

Although obesity is less severe in Europe than in the States, the numbers are still expanding at a steady pace. For example, in France, with a population of just over 60 million, 5.9 million people are obese today. This is concerning when compared with the figure of 3.6% a decade ago. 

The effects of obesity are far greater than the individual loss of self esteem. The resultant health and economic problems impact heavily on local economies and experts fear that with the problem growing at such an alarming rate it could eventually cripple the worst-hit countries’ economies.

With obesity being recognized as a global epidemic by the WHO, it is sobering to compare the billion overweight of the world’s total 6 billion population, with the 800 million who do not have enough to eat.

Now that’s some food for thought.

And the Cambridge-based company receiving the grant is certainly looking ‘ahead’ to finding a cure!

Biosciences firm, Intercytex, is building a robot to help treat the predominantly male problem of baldness which is triggered by the male hormone, dihydrotestosterone. While often the butt of jokes, baldness can cause a range of psychological issues to individuals, including lower self-esteem and resultant relationship problems.

Using technologically advanced methods, the robot removes hair follicles from the back of the patient’s neck, multiplies them and replants them in the balding regions of the head.

The use of robotics will help to speed up the otherwise slow process of cell multiplication.

Says Intercytex chief executive, Nick Higgins: “We take cells responsible for hair growth, multiply them and then inject them in the head. We tease out the cells responsible for growing a new hair.

“The challenge is to make sure they grow thick enough and quick enough so they are cosmetically acceptable.”

The safety of the procedure has so far been ascertained on a small number of volunteers. The research is now in its Intermediate Phase.

The procedure itself involves a half-hour operation under anesthesia and then a three week waiting period while the cells are grown. The replanting can then happen, once again in surgery.