5 technological breakthroughs in 2022 that could enhance medicine

Technology and medicine have shared a common history so long ago that the two phenomena have become virtually inseparable. It is hard to imagine where modern medicine and, indeed, humanity would be today without scans, microscopes, pacemakers, prosthetics, and so on.

As we think about how far we've come, from the ability to detect and diagnose disease to improved treatment and rehabilitation, it's worth noting how technology has improved human life.

To wrap up the year, let's talk about some of the remarkable and often surprising technological breakthroughs of 2022 that could soon change medicine.

Bionic eyes could restore blurred vision or blindness

Earlier this year, surgeons at London's Moorfields Eye Hospital successfully completed the UK's first bionic eye transplant. The patient was an 88-year-old woman with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that affects the middle portion of the visual field and can cause either blurred vision or blindness in that area of the eye.

A two-millimeter microchip was implanted into the woman's retina and she was then fitted with glasses with a camera connected to a small computer. The camera scanned her surroundings and transmitted information to the chip, which then sent it to her brain via electrical signals.

The bionic eye is still in the research phase.

A whole new way to study tumors

Tumors are three-dimensional in nature, but so far we have used two-dimensional images to study them. Believing that 3D scanning could reveal more of the secrets of cancer, a team of researchers at Cambridge-based Cancer Research UK has developed an innovative VR map of a tumor. The project, led by Professor Greg Hannon, was an international, interdisciplinary collaboration between scientists and VR artists. To create the map, Hannon's group in the IMAXT lab collaborated with Owen Harris and his company Súil Interactive, who developed the virtual reality software.

Bioprinting has a role to play in donor organ transplants

What if, instead of waiting for donors, we could just print human organs? April explored the amazing development of bioprinting and its potential role in the future of donor transplantation.

From a life-size hand printed in just 19 minutes to a liver model and a coin-sized lung air sac, bioprinting has already reached some heights.

Prosthetics could become more intuitive thanks to artificial intelligence

In 2022, technology startup Esper Bionics has developed a self-learning bionic arm that promises to connect the human body to prosthetic limbs in a more seamless way. The Esper arm is lighter than a human hand, and it uses artificial intelligence to gather information about the user's individual behavior to better detect muscle activity and respond to external stimuli. This means that the hand improves over time as it gathers more and more information about its user.

Since Mashable reported on it in early February, the prosthetic arm has been named one of the best inventions of 2022 by TIME.

Bionic exoskeletons for children

In April, we learned about the first-ever bionic exoskeleton designed specifically for children. Spanish technology company Marsi Bionics created ATLAS 2030 to help children with neuromuscular diseases such as muscular atrophy and cerebral palsy. The exoskeleton can support a child's entire body, from the torso to the feet, although it is possible to add support for the head.

The exoskeleton is equipped with joints that, along with system sensors, recognize the user's intentions to translate them into actions. The ATLAS 2030 provides full stability, allowing the user to move autonomously. There is currently a form available for those interested in using the exoskeleton.

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