When a new discovery transforms diagnostics, treatments or prevention, it’s called a medical breakthrough. These advancements have improved the lives of millions, drastically changing health outcomes around the world.
Antibiotics sparked a revolution in infection treatment and allowed surgeries to be performed more often, while vaccines eradicated deadly diseases like smallpox and the polio virus. Anesthesia enabled surgery, reducing death rates and improving patient safety. Imaging technologies enhanced non-invasive diagnoses. And genetic engineering and organ transplantation opened new treatment frontiers.
The X-ray (discovered by William Conrad Roentgen in 1896) enabled physicians to see internal structures without invasive surgery and dramatically improved diagnostic medicine. Ultrasound —developed in 1955 based on the use of high-frequency sound waves to create an image —and computed tomography (CT) —introduced in 1967 – are essential tools in modern healthcare, making it possible to diagnose a wide range of conditions such as cysts and tumours.
Before the development of these techniques, doctors relied on their senses, observations and a patient’s account of symptoms to make diagnoses. But they still struggled to identify and treat the earliest warning signs of disease, which could be missed even by the best clinicians.
Advances in regenerative medicine are poised to revolutionize health care by restoring, replacing and repairing damaged cells, tissues and organs. Scientists at Mass General and other institutions are leading the way with groundbreaking work such as:
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