Fractures, osteoporosis, diabetes, cancer, brain surgery and organ growth — all of these may someday take only a quick stop by the doctor’s office. Beyond the sci-fi of Luke Skywalker reattaching his hand and wiggling his fingers, the following medical advances intend to not only make our lives more convenient; they are meant to enable longer, healthier lives.

Body Not What It Used to Be? Time for a Trip to the Organ Factory
You can’t always make your body accept someone else’s organ, so researchers use your cells and biocompatible materials to grow a healthier new one.

About 23 years ago, two inventors filed for a patent called “Polyarylates containing derivatives of the natural amino acid l-tyrosine.” Ever since then, researchers have been steadily working on improving biocompatible materials for use in repair and replacement of body organs.

More recently, as Popular Mechanics recently reported, “doctors led by Alan Retik, M.D., chief of urology at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, took bladder biopsies from patients.” The researchers separated the urothelial cells of the inner layer from cells of the outer layer of muscle, and cultured them, reported Logan Ward. Then the researchers plaited the cells onto a sponge-like biodegradable frame, made of a synthetic polymer and collagen, in the shape of a bladder.

After seven weeks, surgeons grafted the new bladder/scaffold segments onto the patients’ damaged bladders. All seven patients improved and continue to thrive, according to Logan.

Dr. Anthony Atala’s research team at Wake Forest is growing 20 different tissues, including heart patches, pancreatic insulin-producing tissue and kidney tissue. They recently received funding from the Department of Defense for work that could one day lead to regenerated limbs for injured soldiers.

Robots Make Good Healthcare Team Members
If your choice is between taking time to commute to a qualified surgeon or having her/him control a robot from a remote locale, you may be better off with the robot.

Some 400 robots have received FDA approval for use in healthcare facilities, according to IEEE Spectrum. These hardware healthcare providers controlled by surgeons located anywhere work well for laparoscopic incisions and repairs. While it is ideal for patients to enjoy the contaminant-free environment of the operating room (OR), if you have to choose between the delay needed to bring you to a surgeon in the OR and a robot that can be brought to you via chopper or other emergency vehicle, you may be better off with the latter.

Researchers with the University of Washington have designed and field-tested (on latex objects) compact robots for use during surgeries done outside. Gerald Moses and Timothy Broderick of the U.S. Army’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, Frederick, Md., organized the local conditions for the test: sandy gusts of wind, high humidity, and a temperature of near 40˚C. Only gasoline-fueled generators powered the electronics, according to Spectrum writers Jacob Rosen and Blake Hannaford.

Who could benefit from a remotely operated robosurgeon? As you guessed, wounded soldiers who need attention ASAP. On the civilian side, disaster victims — especially in rural areas — need help that could take hours if conventional care was used; think vehicular accident, mining accident, mill disaster, etc. Even in cities, if a disaster such as an earthquake occurs, too many patients for too few local surgeons could lead to difficult triage decisions.

From Science Fiction to Medical Breakthrough?
While early science fiction shows relied on ray guns for eliminating the bad guys, today’s technology may enable the good guys to live longer. Terahertz (terahertz spectral region — the wavelengths that lie between 30