TECHNOLOGY IN

MEDICINE
TARIK SULIĆ
Most used keywords:

 Bioinformatics
 Biomedical Monitoring
 Biomedical Engineering
 Medical Diagnostic Imaging
 Personalized Medicine
Bioinformatics
 Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools
for understanding biological data. It combines Computer Science, Biology,
Mathematics, and Engineering.
 It is used for better understanding the genetic basis of a disease, unique adaptations,
desirable properties or differences between populations. 
 In Molecular biology, bioinformatics techniques such as image and signal
processing allow extraction of useful results from large amounts of raw data.
 In the field of genetics and genomics, it aids in sequencing and annotating genomes
and their observed mutations.
 In structural biology, it aids in the simulation and modeling of DNA, RNA, proteins as
well as biomolecular interactions.
Bioinformatics - Goals
 The field of bioinformatics has evolved such that the most pressing task now involves the
analysis and interpretation of various types of data.
 Important sub-disciplines within bioinformatics and computational biology include:
 Development and implementation of computer programs that enable efficient access to, use and
management of, various types of information
 Development of new algorithms (mathematical formulas) and statistical measures that assess
relationships among members of large data sets.
 The primary goal of bioinformatics is to increase the understanding of biological processes.
Its focus is on developing and applying computationally intensive techniques to achieve this
goal. Examples include: 
 pattern recognition,
 data mining, 
 machine learning algorithms
 visualization.
Bioinformatics - Example
Biomedical Monitoring
 In medicine, monitoring is the observation of a disease, condition or one or several
medical parameters over time.
 It can be performed by continuously measuring certain parameters by using a medical
monitor (for example, by continuously measuring vital signs by a bedside monitor),
and/or by repeatedly performing medical tests (such as blood glucose monitoring with
a glucose meter in people with diabetes mellitus).
 Monitoring can be classified by the target of interest, including:
 Cardiac monitoring,
 Hemodynamic monitoring ( blood pressure and flow) Display device
 Respiratory monitoring of a medical
monitor as used
 Neurological monitoring in anesthesia.
 Body temperature
 And many more
Biomedical Monitoring - Components
 Sensor
Sensors of medical monitors include biosensors and mechanical sensors.
 Translating component
The translating component of medical monitors is responsible for converting the signals from the sensors
to a format that can be shown on the display device or transferred to an external display or recording
device.
 Display device
Physiological data are displayed continuously on a CRT, LED or LCD screen as data channels along the
time axis, They may be accompanied by numerical readouts of computed parameters on the original
data, such as maximum, minimum and average values, pulse and respiratory frequencies, and so on.
 Communication links
Several models of multi-parameter monitors are networkable, i.e., they can send their output to a central
ICU monitoring station, where a single staff member can observe and respond to several bedside
monitors simultaneously. Ambulatory telemetry can also be achieved by portable, battery-operated
models which are carried by the patient and which transmit their data via a wireless data connection.
Biomedical Monitoring - Example

Attention Levels of a User with Arduino and Neurosky

Mindwave
Biomedical Engineering
 Biomedical engineering (BME) is the application of engineering principles and
design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes.
 This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine, combining the
design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical biological sciences to
advance health care treatment, including diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy.
 Biomedical engineering applications include the development of biocompatible
prostheses, various diagnostic and therapeutic medical devices ranging from clinical
equipment to micro-implants, common imaging equipment such as MRIs and EKGs,
regenerative tissue growth, pharmaceutical drugs and therapeutic biologicals.
Biomedical Engineering - Types
 There are many types of biomedical engineering, including:
 Tissue engineering
 Genetic engineering
 Neural engineering
 Pharmaceutical engineering
 Clinical engineering
 Biomedical optics
 For their proper functionality medical devices are used. They are used the diagnosis of
disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of
disease.
 Some examples include pacemakers, infusion pumps, the heart-lung machine, dialysis
machines, artificial organs, implants, artificial limbs, corrective lenses, facial
prosthetics and dental implants.
Medical Diagnostic Imaging
 Medical imaging is the technique and process of creating visual representations of the
interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual
representation of the function of some organs or tissues.
 Medical imaging seeks to reveal internal structures hidden by the skin and bones, as
well as to diagnose and treat disease. 
 Medical imaging also establishes a database of normal anatomy and physiology to
make it possible to identify abnormalities.
 It is part of biological imaging and incorporates radiology which uses the imaging
technologies of X-ray radiography, magnetic resonance imaging, medical
ultrasonography or ultrasound, endoscopy, elastography, tactile imaging,
thermography, medical photography and many more.
Medical Diagnostic Imaging - Types
As mentioned before, there are many types of medical imaging, I will mention just 2 most
popular ones:
 Radiography
This imaging modality utilizes a wide beam of x rays for image acquisition and is the first
imaging technique available in modern medicine. They are often used to determine the type
and extent of a fracture as well as for detecting pathological changes in the lungs. 
 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
A magnetic resonance imaging instrument (MRI scanner) uses powerful magnets to polarize
and excite hydrogen nuclei (i.e., single protons) of water molecules in human tissue, producing
a detectable signal which is spatially encoded, resulting in images of the body.
Medical Diagnostic Imaging – Examples
Personalized Medicine
 Personalized medicine is a medical procedure that separates patients into different groups—
with medical decisions, practices, interventions and/or products being tailored to the individual
patient based on their predicted response or risk of disease.
 Those disease risks are based on the predispositions written into your genome at birth,
combined with your lifestyle and environment. In the case of cancer, the disease has its own
genetic makeup, lending each tumor a unique character with unique tendencies and
vulnerabilities.
 Genome-wide association study (GWAS) is used to know if a mutation is connected to a certain
disease- A GWAS study will look at one disease, and then sequence the genome of many
patients with that particular disease to look for shared mutations in the genome. Mutations that
are determined to be related to a disease by a GWAS study can then be used to diagnose that
disease in future patients, by looking at their genome sequence to find that same mutation. 
 Advances in personalised medicine will create a more unified treatment approach specific to the
individual and their genome. Personalised medicine may provide better diagnoses with earlier
intervention, and more efficient drug development and therapies.
Personalized Medicine
Personalized Medicine