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Medical Technology

Fast and cheap medicine and early detection are coming closer

Electronic and molecular biology lead to a new way of understanding medicine, some refer to it as `early health´. New technology underlies in this revolution that promises to lower costs and, more importantly, more and better cures. Rich and poor countries will be able to benefit from this new concept of health.

Cristina Jiménez | 13 November 2009

´Fast and accurate´ is the motto of a new way of understanding health care based on early detection of symptoms. Discovering the existence of a hidden illness in its earliest stages, even before it develops, can save lives and public and private coffers a lot of money.

Photo: cstmweb

“One out of ten women will suffer from breast cancer in their lifetime. If detected early, the chances of curing it increase up to 95%. However, these possibilities reduce to 20% at stage 4 of the disease”, Reinaldo García explains to Global Talent, president of the GE Healthcare in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.. Since 1950, this American company has been dedicated to the development of medical technologies such as MRI and ultrasound equipment. In 2008 the company’s sales were close to 17,000 million dollars.

According to several studies, treating cancer in advanced stages could be 8 to 12 times more expensive than when the illness is beginning to develop. The result is that currently 80% of medical costs are dedicated to treating advanced diseases, using treatments that end up being very aggressive towards the patient.

Change of paradigm

Finding hidden symptoms before the illness manifests itself, is the key to success of `early health´. But for traditional medicine to open up to new ways of understanding health care, a change of mentality is necessary in both doctors and patients.

In this new focus on health, the patient’s treatment focuses on meeting his specific needs in the most economical way possible. GE healthcare is one of the companies committed to the development of technologies that serve to detect very early what type of cancer a person suffers from, as well as its level of aggression and which medicines are most effective for his or her treatment.

In the field of technologies that facilitate the development of new medicines, the company commits to new techniques, such as stem cells. Recently, Stephen Ming, a prestigious scientist who is a pioneer in investigating these types of cells, abandoned his place at the King´s College in London to lead the R&D department of mobile technologies at GE Healthcare. “The goal is to produce `detection kits´ based on stem cells. These could test the efficacy and toxicity of new treatments. Stem cells could help to replace animal models,” says Mike Barber, Vice President of the Healthymagination program of the company.

For the poorest

Rich countries are always ahead in the development of technologies because they have the money to do so. But they are also the most reluctant to include new technologies that would outdate traditional medicine. On the contrary, poor countries adapt a lot faster “because before there was no established health system”, says García.

Governments of developing countries start to prioritize the needs of its inhabitantsThe Brazilian executive refers to the example of mobile telephones to explain the paradox: “15 years ago, developing countries had no problems adopting the arrival of mobile telephones; it was very easy, because they didn’t have fixed telephone networks”. Garcia is optimistic and believes that new products developed by GE Healthcare, as well as by other firms, such as Phillipps or Siemmens, can help poor countries to improve the access to medical treatments for the inhabitants.

Garcia observes a certain change of attitude of the governments of developing countries concerning the beginning of prioritising the needs of the inhabitants. Health and education are a priority. India for example, is a country with a lot of poverty in rural areas but also a rising wealth in the cities and is committing slowly to an improvement of its health system.

“The number of doctors and nurses has to increase, this is the main challenge”, says García, “but how can we help so that two billion people that live in poverty can have access to the same health system?” García drops a question with a difficult answer. His company will invest 3,000 dollars in funding and equipment in order to deploy technologies that can improve the access to medical attention for residents of rural and neglected areas. For example, rural doctors who need to attend patients in remote areas could use a small ultrasound device called Vscan without the need of a hospital. This new technology could also call for a revolution in primary care in developed countries.

Telemedicine is another interesting option for poor countries. Africa and the Middle East, countries like Algeria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia already have committed to it. “In the next 5 to 10 years, it will be one of the tools that will help to implement early health”, says Garcia. Thanks to new information technologies it will be possible to perform remote surgery or to send information about a patient from one place to another.

It is not only infectious diseases such as tuberculosis or malaria that reduce the population of developing countries. Cardiovascular diseases are also making an appearance. “Heart attacks require immediate treatments. Thanks to telemedicine, perhaps a paramedic in a remote clinic could perform medical procedures following the indications of the doctor of a hospital on the other end of the line”, Barber explains.

Portable equipment

García remembers how surprised he was when he saw that countries like Nigeria and Ghana, where he has recently been, have hospitals that are equipped with leading edge technologies such as computed tomography apparatus, magnetic resonance equipment or X rays. “The problem is that there a few units,” says Garcia. “The African continent has great challenges in health matters, but the development of cheaper technologies could help to increase access to health care for the entire population, “he adds.

Another problem of poor countries is the high rate of infant and maternal mortality in rural areas. Complicated deliveries of twins with problems with the placenta need medical intervention, but pregnant women are reluctant to walk 20 or 30 kilometres in search of a hospital. “With portable technologies of ultrasounds at small clinics that help to make an initial observation, and when it is absolutely necessary, it would be possible to convince the woman to go to a hospital,” says Barber. With improvements that favour the creation of a sustainable health system for rural areas, GE Healthcare thinks that infant and maternal mortality could be reduced up to 20%. And this is one of its future objectives.

THE AL VSCAN STETHOSCOPEThe Vscan is a small ultrasound device, the size of an iPod. It was developed by GE Healthcare, with the intention that cardiologists, primary care physicians, and specialists in intensive healthcare can explore the patient quickly and easily.

In the coming months, Spanish and Italian doctors will participate in a clinical evaluation of the impact the Vscan could have on the medical environment. In Spain, the Dexeus Institute of Barcelona has been chosen to complete the tests. “It´s fantastic to see how Spain participates in leading medical investigations”, says Gabriel Masfurroll, president of USP Hospitals, a private network of health centres that the Dexeus Institute belongs to. “We are eager to find out if this little tool becomes as essential as a stethoscope,” he adds.

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