Different types of medical technology that may emerge in year 2025 which are supported by communication technology theories.

1. By Jason Scott
COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGY IN THE
MEDICAL FIELD IN 2025

2.  3D Printing of biocompatible organs
 Virtual doctors’ appointments
 Digital Records
FUTURE OF MEDICINE
3D printed ear (Ledford, 2015)

3.  3D printing of organs is already in use in the medical field
 Nature.com states that “the business is currently focused on
titanium replacement hip joints, which can be tailored to fit
individual people, and made-to-order polymer bones to
reconstruct damaged skulls and fingers” (Ledford, 2015).
 In the future, technologies may use
live cells as ‘ink’ for the printer in
order to assemble tissues for the
organs (Ledford, 2015).
 Jennifer Lewis, a bioengineer at
Harvard University, says that
unfortunately printed whole organs
to help with the liver and kidney
transplant shortage may not be
possible because of their
“complicated architectures”
(Ledford 2015).
3D PRINTING
(Ledford, 2015)

4.  With the internet and all of the devices, patients and doctors
can have faster communication regarding the patients health
 Instead of going to the doctor’s office, a patient could video
chat with the doctor
 A virtual doctor’s appointment does however limit the doctor’s
ability to perform a physical exam
 Scienceroll.com suggests that
social media will also help
“store medical pieces of
information either for e-patients
or medical professionals”
(Mesko 2013).
VIRTUAL APPOINTMENTS
(Mesko 2013)

5.  Completely digital records with no paper trail
 The medical field has already begun to limit the use of paper
records
 In 2025, we will have
only laptops or tablets
in the doctor’s offices
where all information
will be sent to you via
email or AirDrop,
e.g. prescriptions
or vaccination records.
DIGITAL RECORDS
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com/images/home-slider/unisource-discovery-digital-records-
retrieval6.jpg

6.  Critical Mass Theory
 Social Learning Theory/Social Cognitive Theory
 Principle of Relative Constancy
COMMUNICATION THEORIES
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content/uploads/Technology-and-
telecom.jpg

7.  The Critical Mass Theory is defined as: when users known as the
critical mass (innovators and early adopters) are “a small segment
of the population that chooses to make big contributions to the
public good” (Grant & Meadows, 2014).
 Also, “technologies become more useful if everyone in the system is
using the technology, a goal known as ‘universal access’” (Grant &
Meadows, 2014).
 This is important for medical technology because a small number of
doctors and their
staff will start
using the new
technology before
others will, most
likely younger
individuals.
CRITICAL MASS THEORY
https://technologytheorieswiki.wikispaces.com

8.  Social Learning Theory/Social Cognitive Theory is defined as
“how people learn by modeling others” i.e. when
“observational learning occurs when watching another person
model the behavior” (Grant & Meadows, 2014).
 In 2025, medical
conferences will be held
to educate doctors and
their staff about new
technology that can be
implemented in their own
offices and hospitals
SOCIAL LEARNING/SOCIAL COGNITIVE
THEORY
Image from: http://americancommunity.org

9.  The Principle of Relative Constancy is defined as when
“people spend a constant fraction of their disposable income
on mass media over time” (Grant & Meadows, 2014).
 Also, “if new technology is introduced, in order for adoption to
happen, the new technology has to be compelling enough for
the adopter to give up something else” (Grant & Meadows,
2014).
 In 2025, the more doctors
and staff that are willing to
contribute to the wave of new
technology, the more the new
technology will be compelling
to the rest of the medical
professionals. For example, 3D
printing can be a better option
for the shortage of transplant
organs.
THE PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVE CONSTANCY
(Ledford, 2015)

10. Grant, A. E., & Meadows, J. H. (2014). Communication
Technology Update and Fundamentals. New York: Focal
Press.
Ledford, H. (2015). The printing of organs coming to a body
near you. Nature, 520(7547), 1-7. doi:10.1038/520273a.
Mesko, B. (2013). 20 potential technological advances in the
future of medicine: part I. ScienceRoll. Retrieved from
http://scienceroll.com/2013/08/01/20-potential-
technological-advances-in-the-future-of-medicine-part-i/
Title page image from:
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691368.jpg
REFERENCES