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That Saves Lives Social Impact of Technology - 30 Jessica Jefferson

Technologies that saves lives pres

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Jessica Jefferson

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Page 1: Technologies that saves lives pres

Technologies That Saves Lives

Social Impact of Technology - 30Jessica Jefferson

Page 2: Technologies that saves lives pres

Radiation TherapyRadiation therapy is one of the main methods of treating cancer. Radiation helps victims of cancer in all different circumstances.

Radiation works by breaking the DNA molecule inside the cancer cell, which slows down the growth and reproduction, division, and spreading of cancer cells. Sometimes surrounding cells are affected by the radiation but make full recoveries and go back to normal!

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Radiation therapy is usually a more local treatment for patients. The radiation and machine is aimed at the infected part of the body only, and only affects that area of the body.

The main purpose of radiation treatment is to damage and destroy as many cancer cells as possible, with intentions of keeping as much healthy cells as possible without harming them in the treatment.

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HistoryRadiation dates back as far as 1895 when the first discover x-rays when scientists and doctors started to realize that exposure to radiation caused hair loss and bad burns on the skin. Doctors first started using radiation therapy for lesions and growths produced from diseases such as lupus and ulcers.

Radium was also known to be found in hot water springs (which were known for their curative powers) which lead people to think that it was a wonder cure. People thought that using small amounts of it would not be harmful. Eventually medical science and the patients of radiation treatment discovered that the physical tolerance of radiation was much lower than expected and cell damage would appear up to 40 years after treatment.

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ChemotherapyChemotherapy is a type of drug therapy used to kill cancer cells. Chemo is used in many different types of diseases. Chemo therapy is usually used when there is a possibility of a tumour that cannot be removed with a surgery or radiation. Other reasons for chemotherapy are if you want to avoid another tumour and shrink existing growths.

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The way that chemotherapy works is that it kills fast growing cells, and tumours generally grow faster than the tissue where they began growing therefore you want to stop the tumour. Some fast growing tissues are stomach lining and hair, and when you take a drug that kills fast growing tissues its going to attack these two things which are the two most common side effects of chemo.

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StentsHeart stents are a mesh tubing used to fix and treat narrow or weak arteries. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood from place to place, but mostly carrying and circulating blood around the heart.

Stents are placed in the body during a operation called angioplasty. Angioplasty is a procedure that restores blood flow through the arteries, and a stent helps support the arteries for up to years after surgery.

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Stents are often covered in medicine that slowly releases as years pass into the artery. Stunts like these are called drug-eluting stents, and the medicine prevents the artery from being clogged or blocked again. Not all stents are made of metal, they are also made with fabric which are called grafts and they are usually made for larger arteries.

Doctors usually place stents in because of weak arteries, or arteries that are clogged and about to burst.

“When patients are in the throes of a heart attack, there's no question that stents save lives” - Kelly Brewington

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Defibrillator A defibrillator is a machine that uses an electric shock to shock the heart in the emergency of cardiac arrest to save a person’s live.

Cardiac arrest takes place when the heart stops pumping blood through your body, and this is when a defibrillator can save a life.

Researchers have come to the conclusion that if a defibrillation takes place within 5 minutes of cardiac arrest their chances of survival is much higher and with every minute that passes with out defibrillation the chance of survival goes down by 14 %.

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PacemakerA pacemaker is a tiny little machine that controls abnormal heart rhythms using electric pulses to help the heart beat at a normal rate.

This tiny device helps save people’s lives every single day. It helps with a condition called arrhythmia, which is when a heart beats irregularly or too fast or too slow and when there is heart rate problems.

Some symptoms of arrhythmia are fatigue, shortness of breath, and fainting. You can also have damaged internal organs, and it can result in death.

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Pacemakers can work as a monitor and keep track of a hearts electricity activities and rhythms of the heart. Newer more modern pacemakers can also keep track of your body’s blood temperature and breathing rates and they can adjust with your heart rate to changed in activity.

Pacemakers can also be permanent or temporary, for people with long-term problems such as heart surgery or a heart attack. Permanent pacemakers are used for more serious and permanent heart problems that are long-term.

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Life Support: Feeding TubeLife support is a mixture of different machines, and therapies that can keep a person alive and a major part of life support is feeding tubes that give a person the nutrients they need to keep living because they cannot control their own muscles, meaning they are unable to swallow.

The feeding tube is made from silicone tubing placed into the stomach from the nose or the patient could have a gastric tube, which is located near the abdomen. Often the feeding tube short-term and is removed after a person recovers and it taken off life support. Sometimes if a patient has a long term illness they have to continue with the feeding tube permanently.

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Life Support: VentilatorA ventilator is a very vital and important part of life support. A ventilator mechanically forces air in and out of the lungs using a bellow system that uses negative and positive pressure while oxygen goes in and out of the person’s lungs.

A ventilator is used in many life threatening situations, sometimes long-term and sometimes short-term depending on the patient. The ventilator is placed through the nose and mouth by a tube called a “enotracheal tube” and sometimes if there is some kind of blockage in the throat doctors apply it through a tracheotomy which is a hole in a throat made by doctors so that oxygen can reach the lungs in an emergency situation.

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Life Support: Bypass

A heart and lung bypass is a very important part of life support process. The machine works together with the rest of the life support system to take over the function of the heart and lungs. If a persons brain is

functioning normally and well, but the vital internal organs aren’t functioning right at all, the bypass machine kicks in and takes over for the lungs and heart until the problems with the patient are solved.

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The machine is worked by a person who specializes in extracorporeal circulation. In order to run one of these machine you need a perfusionist who can operate the pump that runs the machine. Sometimes this machine is used during surgeries in case of organ failure, and a blood thinner must be taken before in risk of blood clotting.

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Cites & Sources

How does radiation therapy work?. (2011, 11 14). Retrieved from http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/treatmenttypes/radiation/understandingradiationtherapyaguideforpatientsandfamilies/understanding

History of radiation therapy. (2012, 09 2012). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_radiation_therapy

What is a pacemaker?. (2012, 02 28). Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/pace/

What is a stent?. (2011, 11 08). Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/stents/

Brewington, K. (2012, 01 25). When is a stent necessary?. Retrieved from http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-01-25/health/bal-md.stents25jan25_1_stents-heart-patients-cardiologists

Defibrillators. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/life-saving-skills/defibrillators-save-lives.aspx

Bhwani, A. (2009, 06 29). Chemotherapy treatment. Retrieved from http://chemotherapyadvices.com/chemotherapy-treatments/

Boehlke, J. (2009, 10 21). How life support works. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/30017-life-support-works/