chatarra
All posts tagged "medicine"
During the plague in the Middle Ages, some doctors wore a primitive form of biohazard suit called “plague suits”. The mask included red glass eyepieces, which were thought to make the wearer impervious to evil. The beak of the mask was often filled with strongly aromatic herbs and spices to overpower the miasmas or “bad air” which was also thought to carry the plague.
(via theangryprojectionist< studentloansforbeermoney< dontcookbilly< shorterexcerpts< skysignal)
Microwave Tissue Soldering »
“A portable microwave generator and hand-held antenna are used to seal wounds, binding the edges of the wound together using a biodegradable protein sealant or “solder”. This method could be used for repairing wounds in emergency settings, by restoring the wound surface to its original strength within minutes. This technique could also be utilized for surgical purposes involving solid visceral organs (i.e., liver, spleen, and kidney) that currently do not respond well to ordinary surgical procedures.
The experimental approach utilized was to produce a “test wound” in bovine muscle using a scalpel. Once the incision or cut was made, different candidate protein solders and varying microwave parameters/frequencies were tested for wound closure efficacy. To date, over 200 tests have been performed. Once sealed, the effectiveness of wound closure was measured using a tensile strength meter. Welds stronger than the uninjured (uncut) muscle have been consistently and precisely achieved.”
In-depth studies of complex medical realities (via but does it float).
Instant repair »
Esto era algo que salía en Cyberpunk 2020 (el juego de rol) y que me parecía un poco lo suyo, curarte los agujeros poniéndote una plasta orgánica que se transforme en el tejido adecuado. Están trabajando en ello.
“According to Darpa’s solicitation, 85 percent of recent wartime injuries involved damage to the extremities and facial regions. That often means multiple surgeries, rehab and permanent disability for vets. They’re hoping to eliminate the injuries, and their long-term consequences, with a system that can reproduce in vitro tissues with the same structural and mechanical properties of the real stuff. And maybe make better versions: Darpa wants implanted results that will “replace, restore or improve tissue/organ function.”
Phase II of the project will see animal testing of the most promising systems. And Darpa foresees eventual use by military and civilian populations. Sounds like fodder for Hollywood, but broken bones and third-degree burns might one day be treated with an easy drop-in at the body part bank.”
El artículo de la propia DARPA, aquí. Por cierto, es muy interesante la lista de puntos que supuestamente hacen a DARPA una organización competente. Si la abstraes, vale para montar cualquier empresa.
Nine out of ten dentists agree: it’s OK to try drugs at least once before turning 10.
And Christian Bale’s got something to say about it, too.
(via Boing Boing)
Random Wikipedia Facts: Lithopedion
O medicine, that bottomless well of wonders and horrors. This one belongs to the latter, and is nothing short of unbelievable.
A Lithopedion, or stone baby, is a rare phenomenon which occurs most commonly when a fetus dies during an ectopic pregnancy, is too large to be reabsorbed by the body, and calcifies on the outside, shielding the mother’s body from the dead tissue of the baby and preventing infection.
Lithopedia may occur from 14 weeks’ gestation to full term. It is not unusual for a stone baby to remain undiagnosed for decades, and it is often not until a patient is examined for other conditions or a proper examination is conducted that includes an X-ray that a stone baby is found. The oldest reported case is that of a 76 year old woman, whose lithopedion could have been present for approximately 46 years.
Fewer than 300 cases have been noted in 400 years of medical literature.
Surgeon finds foot in baby's brain »
An American surgeon found a tiny foot and other partially formed body parts inside a tumour he removed from an infant’s brain.
Dr Paul Grabb, a paediatric neurosurgeon, said he operated on Sam Esquibel at Memorial Hospital for Children, Colorado Springs, after an MRI scan showed a microscopic tumour on the newborn’s brain. Sam was three days old and otherwise healthy.
Grabb said that while removing the growth he discovered it contained a nearly perfect foot and the formation of another foot, a hand and a thigh.
“It looked like the breach delivery of a baby coming out of the brain,” Grabb said. “To find a perfectly formed structure (like this) is extremely unique, unusual, borderline unheard of.”
Weekly World News meets The Guardian.
