Technology This Week

My comments on technology are about the medical world since I've been spending more time than usual in that world. My Mom-in-law has been in a CCU (Cardiac Care Unit) for two weeks and I had eye surgery on Monday.



The monitors for heart, respiration, blood pressure; the IV pumps; the oxygen; all of these are amazing to watch as they keep an electronic "eye" on the body systems and give help to those systems that are failing. We got a chance to watch Mom's heart rate as it bounced up and down in an alarming way and slowly began to fall back into a range more acceptable to her doctors.



The favorite single piece of technology was something dubbed a COW...(Computer On Wheels). It's a stand (with wheels of course) that holds a laptop with a place to put a patient's chart, little drawers that pull out for a place to use a mouse, a barcode reader for the patient's ID bracelet, it holds the electrical hookup and can be adjusted up and down. It can go anywhere the staff needs it, they can use it standing or sitting. It looks a bit ungainly, but seems to be well adapted to what is needed. Perhaps later on the footprint can be made smaller and some good industrial design can make it look more streamlined.



My surgery took place in a stainless steel technology-laden, OR set up especially for eye surgery. Computerized machinery is everywhere, and the setup for microsurgery is completely amazing. The surgeon is watching on a computer screen while he manipulates tiny instruments in a patient's eye. I was there as a follow up from surgery last May to reattach my torn retina. The amount of care and attention to details that technology allows people in this discipline of medicine has given their patients with eye difficulties good prognosis and literally the gift of sight. I could write pages on the way technology touches us in keeping our eyes healthy and able to see that weren't around ten years ago.



In conclusion I'd like to mention one more unexpected bit of technology that has helped me this week. I was searching for a way to keep track of the times to take my eye drop medications. The alarm feature on my cell phone is working out swimmingly.