10 Medical Devices That Changed The World

Medical devices may sound like a modern invention, but they in fact have helped us manage and treat diseases for centuries. Here are our top ten picks of medical gadgets that play a significant role in our lives, many of them so ubiquitous that we sometimes take them for granted.

AsianScientist (Apr. 27, 2015) – Medical devices may sound like a modern invention, but they in fact have helped us manage and treat diseases for centuries. Here are our top ten picks of medical gadgets that play a significant role in our lives, many of them so ubiquitous that we sometimes take them for granted.

——


#1 CLINICAL THERMOMETER

The word thermometer originated from the Greek words thermos (“warm”) and meter (“to measure”). It is unclear who the original inventor of the device was, but one instance of an instrument to measure temperature was the thermoscope, invented by Galileo in the late 1500s and based on the principle that the density of a liquid changes in proportion to its temperature.

In 1714, Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the first mercury thermometer, which is still in use today.

The digital thermometer, a modern invention, is now preferred over the mercury thermometer, which is being phased out for medical use due to the toxicity of mercury.


Photo: Cali4beach/Flickr/CC.
Photo: Cali4beach/Flickr/CC.

———

Cover photo: Dr. Farouk/Flickr/CC.

Asian Scientist Magazine is an award-winning science and technology magazine that highlights R&D news stories from Asia to a global audience. The magazine is published by Singapore-headquartered Wildtype Media Group.

Related Stories from Asian Scientist