Our reliance on technology is nowhere more evident than in the field of health, as these inventions prove.
Implantable pacemaker
This device regulates heartbeat and is responsible for saving millions of lives since its invention in the 1920s.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
This allows doctors to see 3-D images of the inside of the body. In 1978 a doctor patented a technology that could distinguish cancerous and normal tissue in the body.
Blood glucose monitor
This device is a lifeline for some of the 415 million people in the world who have diabetes. It monitors glucose in the blood and gives instant readings, usually with just a single drop of blood.
Stethoscope
The stethoscope was first used in 1816 by French doctor René Laënnec. Some sources say he was embarrassed to put his ear to the heart of a female patient, others say the patient was too overweight for Laënnec to hear her heart using just his ear.
Foetal heart monitor
Invented by two American physicians in the late 1950s, it has helped significantly reduce the number of stillbirths and increased early detection of pregnancy complications.
