Computers in the Medical Society

Medical Informatics This is the intersection of information science, computer science, and health care It began in the 1950’s with the rise of microchips and computers There is currently a patent pending

ICD-Implantable Cardioverter- Defibrillator Put in patients who have ventricular fibrillation Generates an impulse when a program detects a cardiac arrhythmia First developed in 1969, but tested 11 years later

Pros Man named Sebastian Hitzig was one of the 10% of victims who survived a sudden cardiac death Doctors found that he had Long QT Syndrome, and put an ICD in He can’t imagine living without it

Cons In 2005, Guidant Corp recalled almost 50,000 ICD’s –Magnetic switches got stuck in the off position, causing the product to not send shocks and for the battery life to decrease Caused at least two deaths They waited 3 years to put out the recall To go along with this, defibrillator recalls are on the rise

The Future of Medical Informatics Scientists are working on a computer that could predict what patients in comas would want to do medically 16 studies have been done, with a 68% accuracy Program was written by surveying people what they would want –Found that most people would want more medical treatment if there is a 1% chance of having the ability to reason, remember, and communicate David Wendler thinks the accuracy could get to 90% one day

Is it ethical? Critics say that no machine can determine what is right or wrong for a human Brown--“Would remove emotional judgements and be in the best interest for patients.” What do you think?

Questions Can the ICD be trusted? What if a shock gets sent to the heart when it is unnecessary? Do you think that “medicine has gone about as far as it can without computers”? Would you trust a computer more than a doctor?