There might be no such thing as a Six Million Dollar Man (as seen above) in real life (and I am not talking about net worth alone), but this does not mean that humanity’s future will not see bionic parts being implanted within. Such wishful thinking could even become reality in a few years’ time, especially for those who happen to suffer from diabetes as they might be given the opportunity to purchase a bionic pancreas. Yes sir, a bionic pancreas! Scott Scolnick who is 53, happens to be one of the 30 adults who took part in trials in Boston, where he said that using this device is “life-changing.”
Dr. Ed Damiano, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University worked alongside Dr. Steven Russell, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, to successfully develop a bionic pancreas. Specially developed algorithms will be able to figure out on its own just how much of individual hormones that the body needs before pumping it out, and while a laptop did all the number crunching initially, all that is required today would be an iPhone, which would go a long way in ensuring that the patient gains plenty of mobility. I can’t imagine being tethered to a laptop, can you? The most recent prototype would be able to rely on an iPhone app to calculate the amount of hormones required before dispensing the necessary amount within.
Filed in . Read more about Science.