Purpose of Technology

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) includes both “natural”, compounded hormones obtained from compounding pharmacies and Food and Drug Administration-approved hormones that are identical to endogenous hormones. BHRT is used to treat the symptoms of menopause, including: vasomotor symptoms, urogenital symptoms, and bone loss.

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Purpose of Technology

Ultrafiltration removes excess fluid from overloaded circulation by pumping blood through a filter that expels an isotonic solution of water and salts before returning blood into the body. This technology may be used in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) for whom conventional interventions fail to provide adequate diuresis and as an alternative for patients with contraindications to pharmacological therapy.

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Purpose of Technology

Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) is used to treat a variety of childhood diseases affecting growth, including children with growth hormone insufficiency/deficiency, children born small for gestational age, idiopathic short stature, chronic renal insufficiency/failure, Turner syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Noonan syndrome, and short stature homeobox-containing gene deficiency (SHOX-D). The primary goals of growth hormone therapy for children with rhGH are the normalization of height and other growth parameters, such as weight and body composition, during childhood, and attainment of normal adult height.

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Purpose of Technology

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) for patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) involves harvesting hematopoietic stem cells, or progenitor cells, from the patient’s own bone marrow (autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells transplantation) or peripheral blood (autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation) during CD remission and reinfusing the hematopoietic stem cells following bone marrow ablation with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. The goal is to restore hematopoietic (blood-forming) function. ASCT may also involve harvesting adipose tissue-derived stem cells (autologous adipose tissue-derived stem cell transplantation) from the patient’s own lipoaspirate and injecting them directly into the CD-associated fistula wall to aid in tissue recovery and regeneration due to the stem cells’ ability to suppress inflammation and potential for differentiation.

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Purpose of Technology

The purpose of labiaplasty is to surgically reduce the size of the labia minora in patients with enlargement or hypertrophy of the labia minora. Labiaplasty can be performed either as a cosmetic surgery, to enhance the appearance of the labia minora, or to alleviate injury, trauma, or chronic irritation.

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Purpose of Technology

The measurement of nitric oxide (NO) concentration in expired breath has been introduced as an adjunct to or replacement for the established clinical and laboratory assessments for the diagnosis and management of asthma.

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Purpose of Technology

Helical computed tomography (CT) is a radiographic technique that can provide high-quality, 3-dimensional images of the lungs during a single breath-hold with less radiation exposure than conventional high-resolution CT scanning. This imaging technique has been proposed for screening asymptomatic, high-risk individuals for early lung cancer lesions.

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Purpose of Technology

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with a serological response, the production of particular antibodies, to various microbial antigens and auto-antigens in the gastrointestinal tract. Serological assays, particularly enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and indirect immunofluorescence assays (IFAs), are used to identify the presence of particular antibodies in blood samples from patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn’s disease (CD), the 2 forms of IBD. The goal of this strategy is to identify antibodies that may serve as markers for UC or CD, which may then be used to improve the diagnosis and management of these disorders.

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Purpose of Technology

Simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplantation is performed in patients with diabetes mellitus to eliminate the need for exogenous insulin, the associated problems of imperfect glucose control, and renal dialysis. The procedure is also intended to prevent, slow, or reverse, secondary diabetic complications, including retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, and vasculopathy.

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Purpose of Technology

Laparoscopic carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser ablation (LCLA) is a nearly bloodless surgical procedure designed to vaporize abnormal tissues, including endometriotic lesions, with minimal damage to surrounding normal tissue. The most common purpose of LCLA in endometriosis is to restore fertility and/or relieve associated pelvic pain. The LCLA technique can be part of a diagnostic and therapeutic procedure. If employed to restore fertility, LCLA enables attempts at conception right after surgery without the typical several months of delay required with medical therapies.

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