Description
Experts agree that we are entering the Golden Age of Medicine, when our everyday experience of being ill and getting better will be more like science fiction than today's routine trip to the doctor. Bill Hanson, director of the surgical intensive care unit at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and an inventor of medical technology, offers true-life and intensely intimate stories about the way biotechnology is changing people's lives. * An electronic nose that detects infection, such as pneumonia, based on a person's breath * Robots with appendages that can feel their way around tissue, which will augment the hands of surgeons in the operating room * Computer health wizards that will advise and prescribe through your home computer * Computerized psychotherapists dispensing advice about emotional problems * Telehealth software that serves as a monitoring nurse for difficult to manage chronic illnesses such as diabetes. * Wheelchairs operated by reading electrical brainwaves for patients with severe neurological deterioration. Bill Hanson describes the human genius that arrived at these amazing discoveries, and how innovators are working to take these feats to an even more technologically advanced level. And more importantly, he discusses what the human experience will be and how we can prepare ourselves for the moral and ethical challenges that these awesome changes will bring. This riveting and startling account will make us revise our expectations of our own mortality.
About the Author
WILLIAM HANSON, M.D. is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania, USA and an Associate Faculty Member in the Department of Computer Science at Princeton University. He hold patents on several diagnostic tools and has helped pioneer new technologies including intensive care telemedicine. His work has been profiled in USA Today, US News and World Report, Popular Science, New Scientist, and by the BBC and NPR. He lives outside of Philadelphia, USA.
Reviews
CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for 2009 '...you will be hard pressed to put this extraordinary book down.' - The New York Times '(A) spirited, feel-good look at an area of medicine that's making progress.' - Kirkus 'The Edge of Medicine is a revelatory look at the amazing technology that will drive our medical future, from proton beams to mind-reading brain chips. Dr. Hanson is the ideal guide: knowledgeable, thoughtful, and fun.' - Jack El-Hai, author or The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness 'A rare glimpse into the future of medicine, through the eyes of a Renaissance thinker with a remarkable grasp of history and modern science, combined with deep compassion for patients. He sees linkages among vastly different sciences, such as physics, nanotechnology and computer sciences, that others often miss. He envisions a melding of scientific advances in physics and chemistry with those in communications technology, leading to an exciting era of personalized healthcare that seemed impossible only a few years ago. Throughout, he never fails to focus on the human side of healthcare; few could lead us there so elegantly.' - David E. Longnecker, MD, Director at the Association of American Medical Colleges, USA 'A riveting and readable account of the future of technology in health care. Dr. William Hanson makes a convincing case that the ultimate goal of tiny nanomachines and gargantuan proton beam facilities is a medicine that is preventative, efficient, and personalized.' - Arthur L. Caplan, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA 'At first glance, this book may seem like a fanciful hybrid of science fiction and health care, but it really is a fascinating read. Pitched at a level that is not too technically demanding, William Hanson examines the biotechnologies that are changing the face of health care in the industrialised world' - Nursing Standard
Awards
Winner of Choice Magazine Outstanding Reference/Academic Book Award 2009.
Book Information
ISBN 9780230617537
Author William Hanson
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Palgrave Macmillan
Publisher Palgrave Macmillan
Weight(grams) 287g
Dimensions(mm) 230mm * 154mm * 18mm
About the Author
WILLIAM HANSON, M.D. is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania, USA and an Associate Faculty Member in the Department of Computer Science at Princeton University. He hold patents on several diagnostic tools and has helped pioneer new technologies including intensive care telemedicine. His work has been profiled in USA Today, US News and World Report, Popular Science, New Scientist, and by the BBC and NPR. He lives outside of Philadelphia, USA.
Reviews
CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for 2009 '...you will be hard pressed to put this extraordinary book down.' - The New York Times '(A) spirited, feel-good look at an area of medicine that's making progress.' - Kirkus 'The Edge of Medicine is a revelatory look at the amazing technology that will drive our medical future, from proton beams to mind-reading brain chips. Dr. Hanson is the ideal guide: knowledgeable, thoughtful, and fun.' - Jack El-Hai, author or The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness 'A rare glimpse into the future of medicine, through the eyes of a Renaissance thinker with a remarkable grasp of history and modern science, combined with deep compassion for patients. He sees linkages among vastly different sciences, such as physics, nanotechnology and computer sciences, that others often miss. He envisions a melding of scientific advances in physics and chemistry with those in communications technology, leading to an exciting era of personalized healthcare that seemed impossible only a few years ago. Throughout, he never fails to focus on the human side of healthcare; few could lead us there so elegantly.' - David E. Longnecker, MD, Director at the Association of American Medical Colleges, USA 'A riveting and readable account of the future of technology in health care. Dr. William Hanson makes a convincing case that the ultimate goal of tiny nanomachines and gargantuan proton beam facilities is a medicine that is preventative, efficient, and personalized.' - Arthur L. Caplan, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA 'At first glance, this book may seem like a fanciful hybrid of science fiction and health care, but it really is a fascinating read. Pitched at a level that is not too technically demanding, William Hanson examines the biotechnologies that are changing the face of health care in the industrialised world' - Nursing Standard
Awards
Winner of Choice Magazine Outstanding Reference/Academic Book Award 2009.
Book Information
ISBN 9780230617537
Author William Hanson
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Palgrave Macmillan
Publisher Palgrave Macmillan
Weight(grams) 287g
Dimensions(mm) 230mm * 154mm * 18mm
