2 research outputs found
Towards a new hospital architecture: an exploration of the relationship between hospital space and technology
Present urban acute NHS hospitals are rigid architectural structures composed of spatial and medical planning requirements that are underpinned by complex inter-related relationships. One assumed relationship is medical technology’s affect upon hospital space. There’s limited research exploring the relationship between NHS hospital space and medical technologies. Furthermore, little is known about the implications of emerging technologies (ETs) on future urban acute NHS hospital space. This study investigates the link between hospital space and medical technology to visualise the spatial consequences of incorporating anticipated medical ETs into future urban acute NHS hospitals.
A unique single futures prospective methodology is adopted with a mixed methods approach. This includes historical research, a quantitative investigation of four London case studies and a literature exploration of three medical ETs (biotechnology, robotics and cyborgization). Primary data generated from this study forms the basis for creating scenarios of future urban acute hospital environments. Findings reveal that medical technologies impact directly on hospital space, thus, confirming the existence of a link between hospital space and medical technologies. Results also reveal that even without nanotechnology progression, medical technologies decrease in equipment size during the course of their development. This trend contradicts recent medical planning practice which ‘super-sizes’ high-spec hospital rooms (see Chapter 3). Additionally, a campus-styled hospital typology is determined as the preferred flexible design solution for creating sustainable 21st century urban acute NHS hospitals. Findings lead to recommendations that guide medical planners with the future-proofing of acute hospital space by providing insight and alternative medical planning solutions that incorporate medical ETs into future urban acute NHS hospitals
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On linking human and machine brains
A look is taken here at how the use of implant technology is rapidly diminishing the effects of certain neural illnesses and distinctly increasing the range of abilities of those affected. An indication is given of a number of problem areas in which such technology has already had a profound effect, a key element being the need for a clear interface linking the human brain directly with a computer. In order to assess the possible opportunities, both human and animal studies are reported on. The main thrust of the paper is, however, a discussion of neural implant experimentation linking the human nervous system bi-directionally with the internet. With this in place, neural signals were transmitted to various technological devices to directly control them, in some cases via the internet, and feedback to the brain was obtained from, for example, the fingertips of a robot hand, and ultrasonic (extra) sensory input and neural signals directly from another human's nervous system. Consideration is given to the prospects for neural implant technology in the future, both in the short term as a therapeutic device and in the long term as a form of enhancement, including the realistic potential for thought communication-potentially opening up commercial opportunities. Clearly though, an individual whose brain is part human-part machine can have abilities that far surpass those with a human brain alone. Will such an individual exhibit different moral and ethical values from those of a human? If so, what effects might this have on society? (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved