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Populations living in poverty without adequate sanitation and in close contact with infectious vectors such as livestock are the most affected by these communicable diseases, which are prevalent in the tropics. To complicate matters, diseases like measles and tuberculosis, almost eradicated a century ago, are on the rise again. And the most common and treatable infectious diseases – noroviruses and influenza, for example – are responsible for thousands of preventable deaths every year.
Fortunately, new medical technologies offer great potential for controlling infections, containing epidemics, and even providing vital supplies to remote areas affected by these diseases. From antimicrobial paints to powdered vaccines to drone-administered organs, these innovations are rapidly becoming a clinical reality.
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In the short term, such tools can improve the survival rate of patients with a multitude of diseases. in the long term, they could help us understand the epidemiology of pathogens, which is essential for the development of global disease control programs.
Ouchless insulin
Some medicines can only be given by injection. Constant needlestick is painful for patients and tedious for health care professionals, while a shortage of sterile hypodermic needles in some areas can lead to infection. Researchers from the Koch Institute for Cancer Research and Brigham and Women 's Hospital at Harvard' s MIT have developed a coating that they believe can carry the drug. Insulin safely beyond the obstacles of the digestive system and into the blood – a kind of edible Swiss knife that can deliver a drug that saves life without the pain of needle injection.
Once swallowed, the pill emits a spring-activated insulin arrow directly into the wall of the stomach. Patients with type 1 diabetes – the hereditary version of the disease in which the immune system attacks pancreatic cells producing insulin-regulating blood sugar – may soon be able to manage their disease at the same time. help this device to the size of a pea.
The researchers reported their findings in the journal Science, explaining that they were "inspired by the pbadive reorientation capability of the leopard tortoise": the pill applicator knows how to position himself so that his microscopic needle is driven directly to the stomach tissue without gastric perforation. the organs along the way.
Antimicrobial paint that can kill "superbugs"
About 10% of hospitalized patients contract a new illness during their stay, often after contact with germ-laden material and surfaces. This translates to about 100,000 deaths a year in the United States alone; Globally, 700,000 people die each year from drug-resistant infections, such as tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria. The World Health Organization recently described antibiotic resistance as a "global health emergency".
BioCote, a company that produces antimicrobial paints for commercial purchases, offers a promising mechanism to fight "superbugs"
In response, the US Food and Drug Administration and several large paint companies have teamed up to develop various antimicrobial coatings that can be applied to medical equipment and supplies. These additives are first introduced into a paint, ink or varnish during the manufacturing process; the paint is then applied to a surface that, once dried, becomes resistant to microbes, molds and fungi. One company, BioCote, produces antimicrobial paints for commercial purchase, offering a promising mechanism to fight "superbugs": the antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can infect hospital surfaces and harm patients already immunocompromised.
Ironically, the same chemicals as the antibacterial products – gels, antiseptics and hand sanitizers – used to clean hospitals and clean the equipment are known to promote these antibacterial strains, killing good and bad bacteria. Since their appearance in the early 20th century, antibiotics have saved countless lives by eradicating diseases caused by harmful bacteria. But, just as the overuse of drugs has weakened their effectiveness, antimicrobial paint is not an infallible measure.
It is safe to say that as long as they do not rely exclusively on a method, hospitals can now add antibacterial paint to their array of disease control options.
Crypto-anchors can stop counterfeit pharmaceuticals
Fraud costs more than 3 billion pounds a year to the global economy. From corporate corruption to fake electronic products to identity theft, double-dealings are ubiquitous in almost every sector, including healthcare: in some countries, nearly 70% of some drugs are counterfeit products.
Earlier in February, the World Health Organization announced that fake leukemia drugs for the UK market, resembling the real drug Iclusig, were circulating in Europe and the Americas. And doctors have found traces of ecstasy and Viagra ingredients in pills posing as an antimalarial.
It turns out that guaranteeing the authenticity of a drug is almost as difficult as monitoring bank accounts or consumer electronics, for several reasons. Complex supply chains, made up of dozens of suppliers in several countries, make it difficult to prevent bad actors from falsifying drugs. The forensics market has surpbaded that of illegal narcotics, a fact that drug traffickers have not lost; and when a patient does not regain his health after taking a medicine (counterfeit), doctors usually blame the disease and not the pill.
A drop of water would visibly activate the code, baduring consumers that the pill is both authentic and safe to consume
It may change soon, thanks to a team of IBM researchers who are developing crypto-anchors: inviolable fingerprints that can be integrated into products and linked to a blockchain to prove their authenticity (the blockchain is a growing list of blocks, which are linked by an encrypted code).
Smaller than a grain of sand, these crypto-anchors can take many forms: tiny edible computers or optical codes that can be placed on pills to separate them from fake drugs, in the same way that diamonds are measured and marked to distinguish them from others. imitation of stones.
The researchers gave the example of inserting a crypto-anchor in an edible ink-magnetic shade, which could then be used to dye an antimalarial pill. A drop of water would visibly activate the code, baduring consumers that the pill is both authentic and safe to consume.
Since their identification codes can not be duplicated or copied, crypto-anchors are highly secure, offering patients, physicians and healthcare providers increased security in an increasingly fraudulent pharmaceutical environment.
BRCK: Free Public Wifi
We take Internet connectivity for granted, but many do not have access to a reliable network connection. Failures in digital communication during a health crisis can have devastating consequences: missed doses, inaccurate records, poor decision-making, medical errors and incomplete information about outbreaks.
In Africa, a continent of which 1.1 billion inhabitants rely mainly on the mobile Internet, connectivity is notoriously bad; The problem is compounded by the fact that users often try to access content located on a remote server somewhere in the United States or Europe.
Enter Moja, a free public Wi-Fi device created by the BRCK team and designed to be used in areas with limited Internet access. More than just a hardware router, this content distribution network (CDN) effectively replaces large and expensive data, allowing users to browse the Internet and social media at no extra cost because anyone within range of Moja can connect to the Internet. free.
Moja's server network hosts content for Facebook, Netflix and Youtube, but it's easy to see how this improved connection could have a huge impact on disease management: remote users will be able to contact and share information in time real, which will simplify the communication between them. doctors, patients, hospitals and health volunteers.
In addition, BRCK hardware is designed to cope with the weather and the environment: Moja uses rugged, rugged aluminum routers with multiple power ports, ensuring applications run smoothly even under rugged conditions. difficult.
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