Week 6: Technological Wonders for the Heart, Lungs, Colon, and the Eyes

I do not think I could have imagined stepping into the OR to see a beating heart several inches away from my face or seeing the inside of the lungs and colon. Online pictures do not do justice to these experiences.

I was able to observe an aortic graft surgery with Dr. Leonard Girardi where the aorta was removed and replaced by a Dacron graft coated with collagen. This experience was so fascinating from opening the chest to suturing every part together into a feasible beating heart. Working on muscle back in Ithaca seems very far removed to seeing it in a live human being, but watching this surgery provided some perspective on ways to use my research for a clinical benefit. Without engineers designing grafts such as the one insert into the patient I saw, surgeries would be a lot riskier and patient outcomes would be more severe.

Another aspect of medical technology that I was able to observe this week was the use of advanced probes to scope the inner workings of the lungs and colon. This probe consists of multiple parts including a camera, biopsy clamp, the bending tube that helps orient and direct the probe, and several other features depending on the type of scope required. Beyond that, I was able to see high definition images of these organs as opposed to looking at the diagrams that everyone is used to. The benefit here is that doctors can easily visualize abnormalities such as cancers, polyps, etc. in these tissues and remove them immediately.

Finally, I got to have the topography of my eyes tested to help with another project of a friend and colleague. The use of advanced imaging technology for the eye in order to map where my eye shape is different than normal was pretty eye opening (pun intended).

In conclusion, only with advancing medical technology can doctors do a better job at accurately diagnosing, treating, and healing patients and I was able to see this first-hand this last week. Immersion is coming to an end and NYC has been quite the experience. I look forward to the final week and what I will be able to bring back home.