It is worthy to note that the following inventions have been included in the list of The Greatest Inventions of All Time as compiled by Encyclopedia Britannica.
Insulin
A pancreatic hormone used to treat diabetes, a disease characterized by the inability of the body to metabolize blood sugar that can result in serious complications including kidney failure, coma, nerve damage, blindness and various cardiovascular disorders. With proper monitoring of blood sugar levels, diabetic complications have become Iess common, thanks to Frederick Banting and Charles Best, who were able to isolate and purify it in 1922.
Cardiopulmonary Bypass
An apparatus, also called heart-lung machine, employed to take over the function of the heart and lungs during a heart surgery as it is impossible to repair defects on a beating heart. Blood is pumped into the machine, which then pumps them back into the body with the nutrients and oxygen necessary to sustain life. It was invented by John Gibbon, who also became the first to use it successfully in an open-heart surgery in 1953.
Prozac
A drug often given to patients suffering from depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia nervosa and panic disorder. Known by the generic name Fluoxetine, it was formulated in the 1970s by Dr. Bryan Molloy of Eli Lilly and is considered the most prescribed anti-depressant drug in medical history since its FDA approval in 1987.
In-VitroFertilization
A fertilization technique that offers hope for infertile couples, though it has raised ethical issues since its development in 1978 by British doctors Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards. It involves the extraction of eggs from the ovaries and fertilizing them with sperm in a fluid medium, after which the fertilized eggs are transplanted into the uterus with the objective of inducing pregnancy.
Laser-Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK)
A radical form of eye surgery aimed at correcting vision problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. This ophthalmic surgical procedure was invented in the 1980s by Rangaswamy Srinivasan, Samuel Blum and James Wynne with the purpose of lessening a person's need for contact lenses and glasses.
Streptomycin
An antibiotic developed in 1943 by the microbiologist Selman Abraham Waksman, who was awarded the 1952 Nobel Prize for this same discovery. It was the first drug proven to be an effective remedy against tuberculosis, formerly known as consumption, which was once considered a very infectious disease with a high death rate.
Mercaptopurine
An immuno-suppressive drug, the very first drug of its kind used to treat leukemia, a form of blood disorder. It was developed by the National Inventors Hall of Famer Gertrude Belle Elion, who, through cutting edge research techniques, was able to formulate a number of new drugs prescribed for conditions as gout, malaria, meningitis and viral herpes.
Intravascular Stent
A wonderful medical innovation by Julio Palmaz. During an angioplasty procedure, a balloon-tipped catheter is inserted into a blocked artery (A) where it is inflated to dilate it (B); the balloon is then deflated and removed with the catheter leaving this particular instrument permanently inserted to keep it from narrowing again (C). (See before-and-after cross sections of the artery showing the outcome of the stent placement.)
Oral Contraceptive
Popularly known as "the Pill." Developed by Gregory Pincus, Carl Djerassi and Frank B. Colton, this is a revolutionary method of birth control made up of a mixture of estrogen and progesterone, which are hormones that suppresses the woman's normal ovulation cycle.
Defibrillator
A pacemaker-like device, the implantable type of which was developed by M. Stephen Heilman, Michel Mirowski, Alois Langer and Morton Mower in the 1970s. The malfunction in the heart's natural electrical conduction system can cause an uncoordinated contraction of the heart muscle that may result in cardiac arrest. So this gadget is often employed to synchronize the electrical impulses with the resulting contractions.
Computed Tomography (CT) Scan
A rather-expensive medical diagnostic tool that is also known as "body section roentgenography." It utilizes x-rays to generate three-dimensional cross-sectional images of internal organs of the body at various angles and is most often employed to detect the presence of tumors and cardiovascular diseases. This imaging method was invented by Robert Ledley, who was also pioneered the use of computers for medical purposes.
Vaccination
An immunization technique pioneered by the English doctor Edward Jenner in 1796. It involves the process of administering dead or weakened microorganisms to a person or animal in order to induce an immune response that will create resistance against the related infectious disease as chicken pox, German measles, mumps and polio.
