December 21, 2005

This Week on Sound Medicine: Indiana’s 2005 Technological Breakthroughs in Medicine

INDIANAPOLIS — This weekend, December 24 and 25, Sound Medicine revisits interviews on some of the technological breakthroughs that either have happened or are about to happen in the practice of medicine here in Indiana.

First, Clark Springs, MD and Larry Thibos, PhD, explain how the adaptive optics and “wavefront” technology first developed in the space program are being used by visual researchers and ophthalmologists to improve eye diagnosis and the LASIK laser surgery. Dr. Springs is an assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology at the IU School of Medicine and Dr. Thibos is professor at the IU School of Optometry in Bloomington.

David Nolte, PhD, discusses a technology that uses a specially engineered CD instead of a test tube for blood tests. Dr. David Nolte is professor of physics at Purdue University’s School of Science.

And for new medical technology already in use, we go back to a story by Sound Medicine’s Meghan Freeman on a new device that is changing the way kidney dialysis is managed.

A study published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that when it comes to cochlear implants, earlier is better. Sound Medicine producer Nora Hiatt met a family in which not one, but two of the children are growing up with cochlear implants.

Sound Medicine contributor and essayist Eric Metcalf tells us of a medical “condition” that’s being blamed on over-use of the popular blackberry.

The program is hosted by Barbara Lewis. This week’s co-host is Kathy Miller, MD.

Archived editions of Sound Medicine, as well as other helpful health information, can be found at soundmedicine.iu.edu.

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Media Contact:

Pamela Su Perry
(317) 274-7722
(317) 695-2299 (cell)
pperry@iupui.edu