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1250

Magnifying Glass

Roger Bacon constructed the first magnifying glass. The magnifying power of chips of crystal had been known for centuries, but this was the first convex lens designed for scientific purposes. By about 1280, similar lenses would be used to correct farsightedness; now, they are crucial in surgery.

1752

Eyeglasses

The earliest known document mentioning concave lenses being used for correcting myopia was a letter from the Duke of Milan to his ambassador in Florence ordering three dozen eyeglasses, including "a dozen that are suitable for near vision, that is for the elderly."

1815

Stethoscope

René Laënnec, a French physician, invented the stethoscope, a trumpet-shaped wooden tube, to examine a very fat woman whose heart he could not hear by pressing his ear to her chest.

1874

Brain Waves

Using a galvanometer, the British scientist Richard Caton noted electrical impulses in the brains of animals, laying down the principles that would lead to the development of the electroencephalogram, or EEG.

1895

X-Ray

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, a German physicist, discovered the X-ray, an invention so remarkable that many did not believe the first reports of its use. The New York Times referred to it mockingly as Dr. Röntgen`s "alleged discovery of how to photograph the invisible."

1903

Electrocardiogram

Dr. Willem Einthoven of the Netherlands invented the first practical electrocardiogram. The original weighed 600 pounds, had a water cooling system for its gigantic electromagnets and needed five operators. In 1924 he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his invention.

1924

Electroencephalogram

Dr. Hans Berger of Germany recorded the first human electroencephalogram, or EEG. His assertion that the brain electrical impulses could be recorded was generally met with derision, and five years passed before Dr. Berger published his technique for recording the electrical activity of the human brain from the surface of the head.

1952

Magnetic Resonance

The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Felix Bloch and Edward Mills Purcell for their work in developing nuclear magnetic resonance, the principle behind MRI machines.

1958

Foetal Ultrasound

Dr. Edward Hon of Yale reported using a Doppler monitor on a woman`s abdomen to detect foetal heartbeat. Ultrasound`s principles had been known for more than a century (a Swedish physicist, Christian Andreas Doppler, gave his name to the phenomenon in 1842), but this was its first use in prenatal care.

1965

Commercial Ultrasound

Walter Erich Krause of the Siemens Corporation filed a patent for the first practical commercial ultrasound machine. According to the patent, his machine could be "used for practical ultra-sonic-optical examination to achieve a lifelike reproduction of the body part under examination".

1971

CT Scanner

The first commercial CT scanner, developed by Dr. Godfrey Hounsfield, was used on a patient in London. Dr. Hounsfield shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his invention.

1972

First EMR

The first electronic medical record system was developed by the Regenstrief Institute. Although this technology was the first of its kind, due to high costs, the systems were not initially attractive to physicians and used instead by government hospitals and visionary institutions.

1978

M.R.I.

Dr. Raymond V. Damadian announced that he had patented a technique using nuclear magnetic resonance to distinguish between normal and cancerous tissue. In 2003, two other researchers won a Nobel Prize for further discoveries.

1983

Medical Wearables

Polar Electro introduces the first wearable wireless heart rate monitor. By 2006, its successor devices incorporate wireless controls and real-time biosensor feedback features.

1985

Robotic System

The first robot to assist in surgery was the Arthrobot, which was developed and used for the first time in Vancouver in 1985. This robot assisted by manipulating and positioning the patient`s leg in response to voice commands.

1989

Home Glucose Meter

Medisense launches the Exactech home glucose meter. The device incorporates one of the first commercial biosensors and provides digital quantification of glucose levels in the home at a new level of precision.

1992

Imaging Thought

A paper in the journal Magnetic Resonance Medicine by a group of researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin announced the first use of functional magnetic resonance imaging to detect brain blood flow in conjunction with human mental activity.

1993

Medical Wearables

Panasonic introduces a compact automatic wrist-cuff blood pressure monitor.

1997

Virtual Reality

Researchers at Georgia Tech released the first version of the Virtual Vietnam VR scenario for use as a graduated exposure therapy treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with Vietnam veterans.

2000

Human Genome

The first draft of the human genome was announced. It was declared complete three years later.

2001

Telesurgery

The first telesurgery was performed by by a surgical team in New York, USA using the ZEUS robotic system. This project produced a successful two-hour-long laparoscopic cholecystectomy, which was performed on a female patient at a hospital in Strasbourg, France.

2004

Human Genome

The ENCODE Project is completed and confirms humans have approximately 20,000–25,000 genes. The human genome is sequenced to 99.99 percent accuracy, 2 years ahead of schedule.

2008

NeuroArm

The first image-guided MR-compatible robotic neurosurgical procedure was performed at the University of Calgary by Dr. Garnette Sutherland using the NeuroArm.

2010

Automated Tissue Pathology Analysis

HistoRx launches the first commercial automated quantitative tissue pathology analysis software algorithm for cancer assessment.

2013

3D-Printed Body Parts

3D printing technology has enabled researchers to print body parts, not just with synthetic materials, but using bioprinting, growing cells from a patient’s stem cells to, for example, print skin to encourage faster burn or wound healing.

2014

Virtual Interactive Presence

Introduction of Virtual Interactive Presence (VIP), a novel technology that allows remote neurosurgeons to collaborate with a shared 3D display via high-definition binoculars. This real-time visual system allows the surgeons to view a merged surgical field display of each other’s hand motions.

2018

Watch with an Integrated ECG

Apple made headlines with their groundbreaking Apple Series 4 Watch that has an integrated ECG to monitor the wearer`s heart rhythms. Within days of its release, customers were raving about the life-saving technology, which is able to detect potentially dangerous heart conditions much earlier than usual.

2019

3D-printed heart

Wireless brain sensor - used to aid doctors in measuring the temperature and pressure within the brain. Since the sensors are able to dissolve, they reduce the need for additional surgeries.

2020

Autonomous Drone

Drone-delivered medical supply program launched.

Future

In the post-digital world, differentiation comes from applying the digital in powerful new ways. The technologies needed to innovate and differentiate go beyond the foundational adoption of digital tools and concepts. It’s an era where building trust with customers, employees, business partners and communities through a responsible approach to technology is the top priority for all. Enter the era of Digital Transformation of Healthcare and enjoy the journey with Andersen at your side!