Science and health: advancing prevention diagnosis and treatment
http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Policy/ScienceandHealth.asp
Wednesday 29 March 2006
The Royal Society, 6– 9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG
Tea and coffee at 5.00pm. The seminar will commence at 5.30pm and will be followed by refreshments at 7.15pm
There are a few places left for the above RSC policy seminar –if you would like to attend, please email your contact details to [log in to unmask]
The speakers at the seminar will be:
Professor
Penny Gowland
Professor
of Physics, Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic, Resonance Centre, University of Nottingham
The future for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Dr
Molly Stevens
Reader
in Regenerative Medicine and Nanotechnology, Imperial College London
Nanotechnology and tissue engineering
Professor Paul Elliott
Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, Imperial College London
Pharmacogenetics and personalised medicines: new era or false dawn?
Professor James Raftery
Wessex Institute for Health Research and Development , University of Southampton
New health technologies: costs, benefits and impact
Chair: Professor Sir John Lilleyman
President,
Royal Society of Medicine
Almost every week it is claimed that a new technology will revolutionise health care. Personalised prescriptions will be tailored to your genetic make-up, nanobots will scavenge toxins within your body, and damaged tissue and organs will be re-grown from your own cells. Such technologies may be a distant prospect, but basic scientific research in all these areas is progressing. This seminar will consider some possible applications of new technologies and assess their potential impact on clinical practice, and their social and economic implications.
Non-invasive imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are now routine but are continually evolving. In addition, new optical imaging techniques have been developed that can detect brain damage in premature babies. What will it be possible for us to image in the future?
Nanotechnology provides impressive new tools with which to investigate and intervene in living systems. Coupled with advances in biotechnology, there is real progress in the areas of tissue engineering and drug delivery. Already implantable nanoscale sensors are being developed that can detect cancer cell growth and indicators of relapse after treatment. The seminar will look at the latest research and future prospects at the nano-bio interface.
The emerging science of pharmacogenetics aims to determine how a person’s genetic make-up affects their response to different drugs and, ultimately, allow the development of bespoke medicines. Personalised medicines could increase the effectiveness of drugs whilst dramatically reducing side-effects. The seminar will examine how far we are from such a vision and also consider some ethical problems, such as the creation of ‘orphan’ genetic diseases that are financially unappealing to pharmaceutical companies.
The seminar will also look at the economic implications of future healthcare technology. Can we afford it? What sort of burden will the availability of so many medical interventions put on our health system? Does new technology inevitably mean a two tier health system in the UK?
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Dr
Royal Society of Chemistry,
Piccadilly,
Tel +44 (0) 20 7440 3305
Fax +44 (0) 20 7734 1227
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