With this ambitious headline I want to share with you my thoughts
about the future of medicine, the future of the process of extending our lifespan
which, if you ask me, is what medicine is all about.. expanding life expediency with the
maximal quality of life as well.

With that said, I want to give a few examples of the use of external and artificial
parts that have been already incorporated into average medical procedures:

Artificial Knee

Knee replacement is usually done to people over 55 years old.
The average patient suffers severe damage to his knee due to Arthritis, Trauma, etc.
The procedure is done by replacing the inner/outer
knee surface (depending on the damage location).
Replacing the damaged tissue of your shinbone (tibia) with a metal plate,
and a plastic spacer to reduce the friction between the bones.
On the end of the thigh bone (femur) , a curved piece of metal is put into place
to create an artificial joint, which should last 10-15 Years.
This is of course a short example to what is possible Today.

Artificial Heart

There are many solutions to a temporary artificial heart.
This one I found most interesting:
HeartWare is a Medical device company that
created the LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device).
Mainly for a temporary replacement for a patient waiting for
heart transplant. A successful transplant has been done
just over a month ago, in Carmel hospital, Israel.
The patient only needs to carry a small case for the batteries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19DSt4q6T68

The Longer our Lifespan is getting, the harder it is

To push the limits of our bodies.
Osteoporosis for instance, is a disease that’s caused
by a decrease in the Bone Mineral Density (BMD).
Elderly women (after menapause) lose on average
about 1% of their BMD every year.
According to EFFO (European Foundation for Osteoporosis and Bone Disease) &
NOF (National Osteoporosis Foundation) more than 75 Million people are affected by Osteoporosis.

What’s the Plan for the far future?

Research is being done to see how mobile the brain can be.
We will need to figure out what exactly is our Consciousness.
Are we able to move it without moving our brains?
Is it possible to “upload” the data on your brain, the entire
data that you brain holds, will that be called Consciousness ?
Won’t we be killing ourselves and leaving just a copy of us alive?
What is the meaning of all this if at the end you die in order to preserve
your mind.
This is why I believe that it is crucial for the first step to be
living the Mind intact, as long as we don’t know what exactly is Consciousness.
The alternative at hand is to replace our body with something more efficient.
Something that won’t die and get diseases, and that’s more than possible.
Do not picture the limitation of a classical robotic body, for that would be non realistic.
Just think of a body that doesn’t get old, that can see in the dark, that can communicate
with a much better way than our senses let us.

Artificial Senses

The idea of our senses being limited,
is pretty simple to grasp.
Did you ever start describing a dream?
How simpler would it be if you could simply
show it to whoever you want to share it with?
Did you ever try to paint something?
Why is it so hard for some, but comes naturally for others?
Just think of the creative possibilities and the idea exchanges available with communicating your thoughts
through a machine, which is much finer & easier to control than that your hand
(think of a world where anyone has the talent to express his thoughts on a canvas).

Disease control

With a proper artificial body, our only diseases will be
brain diseases. and with a proper monitoring system,
all of those could be prevented and taken care of long time
before they get fatal. This means a real drastic extension
of Human Lifespan.

How do we end?

I started writing this article in the hopes I could help people understand
how life could look if they would focus themselves and what is important in our lives.
What are we as one human race? What do we strive for ?
I believe it was and always will be progression, extending our knowledge and deciphering
the enigmas of the universe in peace and prosperity.
The branch of medicine has always been about extending lifespan as much as possible,
and I think we really have the chance to revolutionize ourselves if these ideas will be realized.