Week 4 | Medicine+Technology+Art | Quinn Winter

The most obvious thing that comes to mind when thinking about the ways that medical technology overlaps with art projects is how technology advancements now allow us to use 3-D models to dissect and observe specific body parts without being invasive. Technology, medicine and art have overlapped allowing us to dissect these 3-D models of actual body structures from the technology of MRI scans. As you can see from the “anatomy of the ear” figure below, viewers can rotate the 3-D ear and click on different parts of it to learn what they are called and what they do (Funnell et al. n.d.). Hospitals and doctors nationwide are able to use these advanced technologies now to dissect and observe different body parts to come up with solutions like finding alternate routes to take in surgery. 

3-D image of the inner ear that is able to be moved
and zoomed in on for different angles or views. 
(Funnell et al. n.d.)

A form of medicine, technology and art that I have experienced first hand is CT scans. I have been a water polo goalie for 10 years now and have suffered through many concussions. Doctors have urged me to get CT scans after these concussions so doctors could get a closer look if there were more serious issues. CT scans are able to slice parts of your body and brain (technologically) to get multiple pictures that can be created into a 3-D picture so doctors can observe and identify the issue inside your body (CT Scan, n.d.). 

As seen in the brain scan above, CT scans allow doctors to use different angles of X-Ray scans to create cross sectional images to observe and view different perspectives
(Qure.ai, 2021).

Adults getting plastic surgery has completely become a norm, even when it completely changes how they look. One of the topics in lecture this week that I found the most interesting was when talking about Orlan who has gone through nine cosmetic surgeries to embody the visions of beauty that world renown artists have created and the stories that come with them, proving the control of her looks (Jeffries, 2009).

"'No, my goal was to be different, strong; to sculpt my own body to reinvent the self'" (Jeffries, 2009). Picture: (Orlan - Artists, n.d.)
The last part of this week's lecture that completely amazed me was the work by Kevin Warwick, tying together the insane inventions that medicine technology and art can create. Warwick was the first person to have a silicon chip implanted into his arm, to see “‘what’s possible now in terms of communicating between a computer and myself’” (Professor Cyborg, 1998). With the implanted chip. Warwick was able to operate doors and computers in his office. After seeing what amazing things this type of technology can accomplish, Warwick discusses his dreams for the future where this type of technology could monitor employees, or working towards finding cures to illnesses (Sanchez-Klein, 1998).

Works Cited

CT Scan: 5 Facts to Help you Prepare for Your Exam. (n.d.). Inside View. 

https://blog.radiology.virginia.edu/ct-scan-5-facts-to-help-you-prepare/

Funnell, J., Daniel, S., Nicolson, D. (n.d.) Anatomy of the Inner Ear. Sketchfab. 

https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/anatomy-of-the-inner-ear-f80bda64666c4b8aaac8f63b7b82a0a0 

Jeffries, S. (2009). Orlam’s art of sex and surgery. The Guardian. 

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/jul/01/orlan-performance-artist-carnal-art

Orlan - Artists. (n.d.). Creative Mapping creative collective. 

http://www.creative-mapping.com/controversial-french-artist-orlan-is-perhaps-most-infamous-for-using-her-own-body-as-a-tool-for-a-series-of-performance-surgeries-known-as-the-reincarnation-of-saint-orlan/

Professor Cyborg. (1998). Wired. https://www.wired.com/1998/08/professor-cyborg/

Qure.ai Receives Recond FDA Clearance for Brain CT Scan AI. (2021). Imaging Technology 

News. 

https://www.itnonline.com/content/qureai-receives-second-fda-clearance-brain-ct-scan-ai%C2%A0

Sanchez-Klein, J. (1998). Cyberfuturist plants chip in arm to test human-computer interaction. 

CNN. http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9808/28/armchip.idg/index.html

Comments

  1. Danielle DixonApril 24, 2022 at 8:52 PM

    Hello, I really enjoyed your blog for this week. While going through the readings and lectures for this week I know MRIs and things like that were talked about, but I like that you brought up 3D configurations that are used in medicine. I did not really think about the fact that doctors use these configurations, and that they are a form of art used in medicine. I always find it interesting how other students in this class connect what we are learning with real-world experiences. We all learn the same things but bring different examples and perspectives into our blog posts. I also found Orlan really interesting. The most interesting part about her artwork to me was the fact that she was awake and fully aware during surgery. The relationship between art and medicine is very interesting and the things that have come out because of this relationship are even more interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. angelina kimApril 25, 2022 at 8:39 PM

    Hi, I thought your blog was really interesting. Specifically, your point about how Warnick connected the aspect of how medical technology can create art or inventions. I also think how it's interesting that the intersection between medicine and art follows the path towards robotics and how ideas like cyborgs or human robotics come to fruition.

    ReplyDelete

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