Healthcare NBIC Launch: Convergence and the Life Sciences
Healthcare NBIC is a weblog blog edited by Jack Powers, director of the the International Informatics Institute (IN3.ORG), originally in support of
the Health IC Summit conference on disruptive innovations in
healthcare as well as our ongoing study of medicine, technology and society. We use this blog to highlight important developments, hot
technologies, interesting business models and intriguing people who are
applying new science and emerging technology to transform medicine in
the U.S. and around the world. Staring in February 2006, we also post videos on the topic. All on-line material is published under a Creative Comons Share-Alike 2.5 license, and you can subscribe to our RSS and Atom feeds and our podcasts.
"NBIC" comes from a U.S. National Science Foundation study Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance: Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology and Cognitive Science. (Download the NSF report in PDF format.) The report describes a grand unification of scientific knowledge from the smallest scale of atoms and molecules up through cells and tissue to machines and computers all the way up to the most complex device of all, the human brain.
The study report outlines some important outcomes of convergence. For our purposes here, the key theme is Improving human health and physical capabilities:
Six priority areas have been identified: nano-bio processors for research and development of treatments, including those resulting from bioinformatics, genomics and proteomics; nanotechnology-based implants and regenerative biosystems as replacements for human organs or for monitoring of physiological well-being; nanoscale machines and comparable unobtrusive tools for medical intervention; multi-modality platforms for increasing sensorial capabilities, particularly for visual and hearing impaired people; brain-to-brain and brain-to-machine interfaces; and virtual environments for training, design, and forms of work unlimited by distance or the physical scale on which it is performed.
NBIC convergence requires that researchers, practitioners, inventors, executives and the general public think outside of the limitations of their own narrow specialties and concerns: nanotech, bioscience, hospitalists, investors, programmers, managers, ethicists and policy makers must all contribute to the discussion. It's our hope that Healthcare NBIC can be a forum for this most important analysis of the future of human health and human performance.
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Posted by: Health Related Articles | June 26, 2009 at 12:24 AM