How Engineering and Technology Improve Quality of Life and Health
Engineering and technology have been improving human life for thousands of years, but the impact of engineering and technology on human and society in the last few hundred years is remarkable. It started with mechanization and using water power and steam power. Then, mass production and assembly lines were developed. The progress continued with automation and using functionalized machines such as robots. Now we are living in the most exciting time ever, where emerging and advanced technologies such as nanotechnology, automation and robotic technology, additive manufacturing (3D printing), biotechnology, neurotechnology, artificial intelligence and machine learning are dramatically adding value to human and society. Nanotechnology is enabling us to have tiniest and most advanced sensors and actuators in everything to monitor important parameters and make proper tunings. We have handheld medical devices that monitor our vital signs such as temperature and heart rhythm. Nanorobots will be used inside our bodies to diagnose and treat diseases such as cancer. Human organs are modeled on micro and nano devices to study our bodies at molecular scale for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease at such a precise level. Nanotechnology and genome sequencing will allow us to understand the root causes of diseases such as cancer and heart problems. Advanced manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing are used to manufacture customized medical models, implants, prosthetics, organs, and medications. We will be using bioprinting and stem cells to regrow organs such as heart, kidney, liver, lung, and skin. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are used to compare patient symptoms and test results with scientific literatures and clinical trials worldwide in order to provide suggestions for effective and efficient diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Robots can perform autonomous surgical operations at a very low cost. Robotic surgery is going to change the way that surgery is practiced today. Most of the surgeries will be performed precisely by intelligent robots. These advances, innovations, and trends allow people to have access to the best preventive, diagnostic, and treatment technologies. All of these are going to increasingly change medicine and the way that medicine is practiced today. People will take control of their health. In fact, medicine is going to be more and more engineering and technology oriented. This approach will provide us with precision medicine and personalized medicine. It will help us to live longer and healthier at a very low cost.
