Lifesaving Technology: What Can it Do for You?

Technology has invaded every aspect of our daily lives. It has gotten to the point that should a power outage takes place, we are lost and disabled. But what about those technologies that help those who are in fact lost and disabled? There are many technologies that are truly lifesaving and here are just a few of them.

Cell phones are the single most lifesaving device that we have at our finger tips. If you see an accident while driving, you can call for immediate help and perhaps save a life. Cell phones are also a great help to those who who are hikers or off the beaten track who have gotten lost, their built in GPS can help rescuers locate the lost person. The location technology that cell phones use has given birth to personal GPS tracking locators.

Personal GPS location devices are mostly found on skiers and snowboarders. They enable rescue personnel to find someone carrying the device after an avalanche. Unlike the typical cell phone, the signal of the GPS device is beamed off of a satellite which is not hindered by rugged terrain.

Once a person has been located and is in route to the nearest hospital, modern technology has now enabled doctors to look up that persons medical history along with any medical conditions on a national medical data base (only in use in some areas so far). The national data base is mandated as part of the health plan that President Obama signed. The data base is to enable the medical personnel a way to avoid giving the patient the wrong medication or alert them to an implanted medical device.

Medical devices have also seen a huge surge of advancement in the last 30 years. Many devices that were previously carried or wheeled around with a person are now implanted or not needed at all. The implanted pacemaker has seen the greatest shrinkage in size in the last several years. In 1957, the size of an implanted pacemaker was almost a 6 inch round disk that needed external recharging every week for 12 hours. You can read more about the earlier versions of pacemakers, from the 1700's to 1961, at this page. The most recent pacemakers are only a few inches across and less than a half of an inch thick. The newer ones also contain a microchip that can be read by a medical professional to determine how the device is working and if the heart is being regulated correctly. For a few samples of modern pacemakers visit this page.

So you can see that technology has enabled not only everyday people to have a lifesaving device in their possession but also made those people who need a medical device easier to live with one.