Top 10 medical innovations listed for the year 2013
CLEVELAND — Every year the Cleveland (OH) Clinic releases the Top 10 list of medical innovations for the coming year. The unveiling of the Top 10 medical innovations expected to have a significant impact on healthcare in the coming year has become a highly anticipated event at the annual Medical Innovations Summit.
As in past years, these up-and-coming technologies were revealed during a video presentation and by a panel of Cleveland Clinic physicians. This year’s was no different, but what had changed, perhaps, was the wide range of innovations that were presented.
“This is probably the year with the most breadth and the most depth in choices,” said Michael Roizen, MD, institute chair and chief wellness officer at the clinic. “We have everything from an insurance plan to a drug, to a procedure.”
The top 10 list includes:
1. Bariatric surgery for control of diabetes.
Exercise and diet alone are not effective for treating severe obesity or Type 2 diabetes. Once a person reaches 100 pounds or more above his or her ideal weight, losing the weight and keeping it off for many years almost never happens. While the medications we have for diabetes are good, about half of the people who take them are not able to control their disease. Cleveland Clinic experts said that over the years, many doctors performing weight-loss operations found that the surgical procedure would rid patients of Type 2 diabetes, often before the patient left the hospital.
2. Neuromodulation device for cluster and migraine headaches.
The sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) nerve bundle, located behind the bridge of the nose, has been a specific target for the treatment of severe headache pain for many years. Researchers have invented an on-demand patient-controlled stimulator for the SPG nerve bundle. This almond, is placed through a minimally invasive surgical incision in the upper gum above the second molar.
The lead tip of the implant is placed at the SPG nerve bundle on the side of the face where headache pain typically is experienced by the patient. When a patient feels a headache coming on, a remote control device is placed on the cheek. It delivers as-needed stimulation to the SPG, which blocks the headache pain in about 5-10 minutes, according to Cleveland Clinic experts.
6. Femtosecond laser cataract surgery.
Unlike a surgical blade that cuts, a femtosecond laser separates tissue by ablating and cleaving it. The novel FDA-approved bladeless cataract procedure is revolutionizing surgery by making it more predictable and accurate, which allows surgeons to make smaller, more precise incisions. It also requires less energy time inside the eye, causes less inflammation, and offers more stability when implanting a new lens.
A femtosecond is one quadrillionth of a second. This is the amount of time that numerous laser pulses of near infrared light are used by a surgeon in this new cataract procedure. The femtosecond laser helps make a perfect circular hole in the lens capsule, splits the lens into sections, and then softens and breaks up the cataract. The damaged lens is removed using ultrasound, and an intraocular lens is then implanted. The device already has been used successfully in ophthalmology, particularly for LASIK (laser in-situ keratomileusis) refractive surgery.
Others items in the top 10 list include:
3. Mass spectrometry for bacterial identification.
4. Drugs for advanced prostate cancer.
5. Hand-held optical scan for melanoma.
7. Ex vivo lung perfusion.
8. Modular devices for treating complex aneurysms.
9. Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT), or 3D mammography.
10. Health Insurance / Medicare Program /Rewards for Better Health.
CLEVELAND Every year the Cleveland (OH) Clinic releases the Top 10 list of medical innovations for the coming year.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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