BME 695L Lecture 1: Need for New Perspectives on Medicine

See references below for related reading.1.1      Nanotechnology – Why is something so small so big?1.1.1    Definitions of nanotechnology based on size1.1.2    A “bottoms up” rather than “tops down” approach1.1.3    The nanoworld challenges our perspectives on size1.2      The Progression of Medicine1.2.1    Conventional "modern" medicine1.2.2    "Personalized" or "molecular" medicine1.2.3    Nanomedicine "single-cell" medicine1.3      How Conventional Medicine Works for Diagnosis of Disease1.3.1    Identification of the "diseased state"1.3.2    Simple measurements of body structure and function1.3.3    Follow-up clinical tests1.3.4    Internal examinations by non-invasive in-vivo imaging1.3.5    Molecular tests for specific gene properties1.3.6    Comparison of individual results with "normal ranges"1.4      How Conventional Medicine Works for Treatment of Disease1.4.1    Stabilization of patient – "heal thyself"1.4.2    Surgical repair of injuries1.4.3    Treatment with drugs locally1.4.4    Treatment with drugs systemically1.4.5    Treatment with targeted therapies1.5      Factors Limiting the Progress of Medicine1.5.1    Economics1.5.2    Politics1.5.3    Regulation1.6      Some Specific Problems with Conventional Medicine1.6.1    Consequences of waiting for patient symptoms1.6.2    Trained people and modern drugs are expensive1.6.3    Diagnostic technologies, if available, are still relatively primitive and/or expensive1.6.4    Crude targeting of drugs1.7      What is the Basis for Nanomedicine?1.7.1    Creation of nano-sized tools1.7.2    These nanotools permit single-cell medicine1.7.3    These “nanomedical systems” can be “smart” devices1.8      Some ways that nanotechnologies will impact on healthcare1.8.1    Nanomedicine will be “pro-active” rather than “reactive” medicine1.8.2    Possibility of "regenerative medicine"1.8.3    Blurring of distinction between prevention and treatment