Teknisk tekst (engelsk)
Availability of specialized, leading-edge medical technologies
Many recent advances in medical technology have been in the area of minimally-invasive surgical procedures. The new technologies have either improved upon older methods by reducing patient discomfort, or have opened new avenues of treatment to patients who previously had very limited treatment options. For example, Magnetic Resonance-guided Laser-induced Interstitial Thermotherapy (MR-guided LITT) has brought new treatment possibilities to some of the 70 to 90 percent of individuals with metastatic liver cancer who are ineligible for a resection of the liver due to the number, size, or position of their tumours. MR-guided LITT, which uses laser energy delivered directly through optical fibres to destroy tumours, offers an additional option for these patients. Various studies have also found that it offers safer care (in terms of complications and mortality rates) and can lead to greater longevity than a conventional liver resection. MR-guided LITT may also be more comfortable for patients as it can be performed in an outpatient setting with only local anaesthesia.
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Another example of an advanced surgical technology that is relatively scarce in Canada is the Gamma Knife. Developed several decades ago, the Gamma Knife offers patients a minimally-invasive alternative to open-skull surgery for brain tumours and other lesions in the brain by using highly focused radiation beams (no incision is required) that spare surrounding tissue during treatment.
Yet another example of a cutting-edge technology that is available is radiofrequency ablation for totally occluded coronary arteries. This technology offers patients with totally occluded arteries—which are difficult to treat with traditional balloon catheter angioplasty because of the difficulties in passing the guide wire through the blockage, and thus are often treated with pharmaceuticals or coronary artery bypass surgery instead—a minimally-invasive treatment option. The technology delivers an electric current through a catheter guide wire and burns through blockages in coronary arteries, which then can be treated with conventional angioplasty and stent devices.
Source: http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.web/product_files/Medical_Technology_in_Canada.pdf
Lagt ut 26.05.2009
