Using a technique called photodynamic therapy, surgeons use pinhead-size Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) to activate light-sensitive, tumor-killing drugs. In fact, surgeons are beginning to use the technology to treat brain cancer patients. (Barneld, WI) developed a special lighting probe for agricultural research aboard NASA's Space Shuttle, the company's now focusing on medical applications.

What's coming up in the near future seems more like turn-of-the-century science fiction than fact, but suffice it to say that virtually all of the medical devices that follow are somewhere within the latter stages of commercial development and poised to become available by the close of the next decade.Īlthough Quantum Devices Inc. The Internet and the World Wide Web wouldn't surface as a potential business tool for six years, facilitating the adoption electronic medical records and telemedicine. Electronic commerce amounted to a single desktop computer that was directly linked to a single supplier. A decade ago, endoscopy and its minimally invasive surgery offspring were only starting to gain steam on the road to revolutionize surgical procedures. Still, as we technically approach the dawn of the 21st Century, the momentum of technological development is racing along at Autobahn speed.

How could any of us walk through life as conveniently without our microwave ovens, electronic garage door openers, cellular telephones and personal computers? Unless you're a closet Luddite at heart, you're probably as fascinated by the technological advancements this world has witnessed in the last 50 years as the next person.

8 gadget pack tools