The medical industry holds the same importance level as food production or the clothing industry. I strongly disagree with companies or hospitals that deny assistance to medical research or deny any type of involvement. Obviously, food production is key to the survival of the human species, but without cures and vaccines everyone would be dead.

Medical advancements from the last one hundred years are endless. Vaccines and antibiotics were created, Laparoscopy was tested, dialysis and defibrillators were developed, artificial organs were successful, and more transplants saved additional lives.

The population in the United States in 1900 was around seventy-six million and our current population has quadrupled, indicating whatever was created saved millions of people. Who is to say, if nothing was ever developed, would the human race be extinct?

New medical innovations for 2017 are thought to be better and revolutionary. An octogenarian from Britain created The Bionic Eye, which takes video images that are caught on a special pair of glasses and converts them into electrical pulses. These pulses are sent to electrodes, transmitted wirelessly, and once these pulses reach the brain, they are registered as shapes, light, and darkness. The Bionic Eye was specifically created for blind people, which is extremely impressive considering blindness is irreversible.

Doctors also created a stent that is made of naturally dissolving polymer called a Bioabsorbable Stent. The stent widens clogged arteries, then dissolves and is absorbed into the body after two years. The disappearance of the stent leaves behind a healthy artery and patients are not required to take blood clotting medications.

Cholesterol is a big issue for most Americans and doctors have created pills called PCSK9 inhibitors that block the cholesterol creating gene. High cholesterol correlates with high blood pressure, clogged arteries, stroke and heart attack. Diminishing this gene prolongs life expectancy and lowers medical expenses.

The progressive state of medical innovation is comforting and reassuring, knowing doctors are eager to extend the average life span. Which is why it is so crucial for medical research to be funded, especially over consumer products.