These three medical breakthroughs are included in the British Medical Journal’s (BMJ) poll to determine which out of 15 medical advances has had the greatest impact in the field of medicine since 1840.
The list of medical advances included in the Medical Milestones Poll is the result of shortlisting the top picks from an earlier readers’ poll. Other contenders for the title include antibiotics, the risks of smoking, discovery of DNA structure, medical imaging (x-rays, etc.) and sanitation.
Each of the 15 breakthroughs are being endorsed by doctors from around the world on the BMJ website. Read supplement arguing the case for each of the 15 shortlisted advances.
Professor Alejandro Jadad, professor, as well as the chair and founder of the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation at the
The professors argue that the ability to compute is as old as time, and humans developed the next level of calculation with the invention of the computer once they recognized the limitation of the human brain.
“We created a global network of computers able to decode the genome; machines capable of seeing our body and its functions in three dimensions; tools to track and control diseases remotely. Computers started to change the way we learn, live, communicate, and heal.
“Computer technology can help us achieve optimal levels of health and wellbeing regardless of who or where we are. It can help us transcend our cognitive, physical, institutional, geographical, cultural, linguistic, and historical boundaries.”
Poll result: Watch live webcast announcing the top medical advance since 1840 at 10.30 am GMT, Thursday 18 January.