The constantly improving health care which most people have access to is largely a result of improved medical technology and techniques. Advancing technology improves health care professional’s ability to diagnose and treat patients, allowing people to live longer, more comfortably and in better health than in the past.
Today’s medical technologies are quite advanced and can detect many diseases sooner, more reliably and with less intervention. Some of the almost countless variety of technologies includes large and complex machines such as MRI scanners, PET scans, life-support machines, heart-lung machines, and much more. Some of the smaller items which are small and simple, but are nonetheless used to improve health and well-being and are also types of medical technologies include, dental floss, bandages, contact lenses, insulin pens and many, many more.
Medical technology can often mean the health care professionals that work in this field. These professionals use the variety of biological sciences in applied ways to improve health, such as applications of chemistry, immunohematology, hematology, immunology, microbiology, genetics, and many more. People working in these fields can be called Medical Technologists (MT) and Medical Laboratory Technicians (MLT) and also Clinical Laboratory Scientists (CLS) and Clinical Laboratory Technicians (CLT.)