Robotic Surgery and Other Medical Machines - An Infographic

Medical technology is catching up with science fiction in terms of machines performing medical procedures. Computers and robots are now becoming a major fixture in medical labs and doctor's offices. Although they cannot possibly replace a human doctor (within this timeline), they can assist medical personnel in diagnosing and even treating some medical conditions.

This infographic by the Healthcare Administration Degree Programs touches on some of the medical marvels of machine, computer, and robotic technology.

One technology that captures the imagination is robotic surgery. Much like the stories of the future, robots now can perform surgical procedures that were once considered delicate and complicated.

It is a technique in which a surgery is performed using a computer that remotely controls very small instruments attached to a robot. The robot ensures more precise incisions since it mitigates some of the hand tremors and unnecessary movements if done by a human surgeon. Also, robotic instruments can access hard-to-reach areas of the body more easily through smaller surgical cuts compared to traditional open and laparoscopic surgery.

Aside from those featured in the infographic, other medical machines that are now being used such as an iPhone ECG app, an artificial pancreatic system, and a pacemaker requiring no batteries can be found at the related links below.

New OLED Developed: Spin Polarized Organic LED (Spin OLED)

Demonstration of a conventional flexible OLED device

Light Emitting Diodes (LED) uses a standard semiconductor to generate light in different colors. Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) uses an organic polymer or plastic semiconductors to generate light.

They produce light on their own, do not generate heat, and are thin and flexible.

OLEDs are currently used as display units in small devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Not to be confused with LCD screens, these type of dispaly screens do not need to be backlit with LEDs or lamps.

Some commercial visual displays also use OLED screens. Most of these screens use AMOLED (Active Matrix OLED) technology as they have a higher resolution than Passive Matrix OLEDs. An AMOLED screen has a thin-film transistor that switches each individual pixel on or off giving it better control and clarity of the image. Current manufacturing costs are what hinders this type of screen of breaking into the

University of Utah physicists invent 'spintronic' LED

University of Utah physicists invented a new "spintronic" organic light-emitting diode or OLED that promises to be brighter, cheaper and more environmentally friendly than the kinds of LEDs now used in television and computer displays, lighting, traffic lights and numerous electronic devices.

"It's a completely different technology," says Z. Valy Vardeny, University of Utah distinguished professor of physics and senior author of a study of the new OLEDs in the July 13, 2012 issue of the journal Science. "These new organic LEDs can be brighter than regular organic LEDs."

The Utah physicists made a prototype of the new kind of LED – known technically as a spin-polarized organic LED or spin OLED – that produces an orange color. But Vardeny expects it will be possible within two years to use the new technology to produce red and blue as well, and he eventually expects to make white spin OLEDs.

However, it could be five years before the new LEDs hit the market because right now, they operate at temperatures no warmer than about minus 28 degrees Fahrenheit, and must be improved so they can run at room temperature, Vardeny adds.