Science & Technology

The future diagnostic lab … inside your body | Aaron Morris

Visit to watch more groundbreaking talks from the TED Fellows. We need an inside-out approach to how we diagnose disease, says immuno-engineer and TED Fellow Aaron Morris. Introducing cutting-edge medical research, he unveils implantable technology that gives real-time, continuous analysis of a patient’s health at the molecular level. “We’re creating a diagnostic lab inside your…

Published

5 years ago

June 7, 2021

CYBER TECH TV

Visit to watch more groundbreaking talks from the TED Fellows.

We need an inside-out approach to how we diagnose disease, says immuno-engineer and TED Fellow Aaron Morris. Introducing cutting-edge medical research, he unveils implantable technology that gives real-time, continuous analysis of a patient’s health at the molecular level. “We’re creating a diagnostic lab inside your body,” Morris says — and it may pave the way to diagnosing and treating disease better and faster than ever before.

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[SHAPE YOUR FUTURE]

(Slam)
Ow!

As anyone who’s stubbed a toe in the dark

or spent an hour
searching for their keys knows

we’re often limited
by what we can or cannot see.

In fact, even our own bodies
can be black boxes.

Today, I want to take you
through a vision of health care

that scientists and engineers,
myself included, are building.

We are creating a diagnostic lab
inside your body

that can provide a continuous
analysis of your health

so that we can better see
what’s happening in patients.

Currently, if someone is sick,

we may diagnose them by using a biopsy

to bring disease tissue
outside the body where we can see it.

We do this if we suspect, for instance,
that a growth might be cancerous.

Unfortunately, this approach
can’t work all the time

because of two major problems.

First, some tissues,
like brains or spinal cords,

can’t be routinely biopsied.

And second, doctors often don’t know
which tissue is causing the problem,

so they don’t know what to biopsy.

So far, we’ve dealt with these issues
using external medical tests,

like MRIs or blood tests.

These provide a broad overview
of the health of a patient,

but they can’t see
the molecular and cellular changes

that occur within tissues,

and they certainly
can’t provide enough information

to proactively treat patients
before symptoms develop.

This is unfortunate

because it’s these invisible changes
that ultimately cause disease.

Our inability to measure these changes

results in a disparity
between what we can see on a test

and what we know is happening in patients.

Let’s take multiple sclerosis
as an example.

In MS, which is an autoimmune disease,

the immune system
attacks two specific tissues:

the brain and the spinal cord,

resulting in damage
and in some cases, paralysis.

Now, we obviously can’t catch MS
by routinely biopsying people’s brains,

where there would be abundant
and active disease-inducing cells.

And we can’t catch it using a blood test

because the MS-inducing cells
are so rare and inactive in the blood

that we simply can’t see them.

Even brain imaging technologies like MRI
can’t provide the information we need

to be proactive about MS.

So we need to rethink how we see.

My coworkers at the University of Michigan
and I decided to do just that.

Instead of taking an outside-in
approach to diagnostics,

we’re taking an inside-out approach.

We are creating implantable sites

that have similarities
to other sites in the body,

and will improve our vision
by giving us real-time access

to molecular and cellular information
about diseased tissues.

These insights will enable us
to predict the onset of disease

and even identify therapies
likely to work in an individual patient.

So what does this
inside-out approach look like?

Step one is to engineer new tissues
just under the skin.

These tissues have similarities
to other inaccessible sites in the body,

like the brain or the lungs.

By implanting a porous plastic disk
made of FDA-approved biomaterials,

I can harness the body’s natural responses
to allow cells to migrate into the disk,

survive at the site and form a tissue.

Eventually, we’re left
with an engineered tissue

with integrated immune cells,

just the cells we need for diagnosis.

Although these tissues are complex
and chronically inflamed,

they’re also innocuous

and after a few weeks,
nearly imperceptible.

Our engineered tissues contain information
not present in the blood,

and they can help bridge the gap

between what we can see
on a traditional test

and cellular changes
we know occur in disease.

Step two is to read this signal.

Currently, I could take a biopsy
of my engineered site and analyze it

because I made them accessible
just under the skin.

But it would certainly be better

if we could incorporate
and read a sensor noninvasively.

Within the next decade,

rapidly converging technologies
could enable diagnosis at such an implant

by harnessing simple detectors,

like a blood pressure cuff
or smartwatch does now.

The mechanisms for diagnosing
and monitoring disease

could be as simple as opening an app,
like Candy Crush on your phone.

Step three is to harness
the huge array of knowledge

in fields like engineering
and material science

to improve these implants
and our ability to read their data.

Eventually, tens, if not hundreds
of individual engineered tissues

with integrated sensors

may be implantable
with a single application.

Now, this approach to diagnosis
is unconventional, to be sure,

but it is robust.

So far, my colleagues and I have used it

to diagnose models of metastatic cancer,

type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis
and organ transplant rejection.

But this is just the beginning
of what we can see.

With continuous improvements,

we will be able to truly create

a diagnostic lab inside your body

that provides a continuous
analysis of your health.

By changing how we see
what’s going wrong in patients,

we will be able to diagnose
and treat diseases better

and faster than ever before.

If you’re willing to rethink how you see,

you may be surprised what comes into view.

Thank you.

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48 Comments

Faith 410 Truth

June 7, 2021 at 4:59 pm

Patent human 2.0> nanotechnology
Borg > transhumanism > slavery

Reply
It's Anya Pandey

June 7, 2021 at 5:03 pm

Cool

Reply
TRIBE OF MENTORS

June 7, 2021 at 5:06 pm

*The mistake we make in life is believing we have time*
— kobe Bryant ????

Reply
Rastaman Ralph

June 7, 2021 at 5:23 pm

You remind me so much of Bill gates! Are you his son?

Reply
- Atrocious
  
  June 7, 2021 at 5:58 pm
  
  “His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth.”
  
  Reply
Rastaman Ralph

June 7, 2021 at 5:30 pm

Bill gates nano chips are along the same lines and he’s convinced the world its all for the greater good but instead its to depopulate the world while surveilling them. Just so happens its in the covid vaccine!
What a coincidence like! Oh that’s right there’s no such thing as coincidence only meant to be.

Reply
Angelo Nasios

June 7, 2021 at 5:35 pm

Medical tyranny is coming

Reply
English IELTS

June 7, 2021 at 5:36 pm

????????????????

Reply
rxangel65

June 7, 2021 at 5:37 pm

Let me give you a vision of the future.

AI…”We can tell you are not exercising enough. You need to exercise more. We can tell you are not eating right. You need to make better choices”
Patient…”I’m too busy to exercise. I’m too busy to make myself better meals. I have to eat on the run because I’m so busy trying to earn a living, take care of my family and live in the real world.”
AI…”we don’t care. You will comply or you will be cut off from your bank account (because that is also digitally controlled). You won’t be allowed to buy certain foods at the store. We don’t care that you are a human with your own needs and preferences.”
Patient….”I’m already so stressed that I can’t sleep.”
AI…”we don’t care. You will comply or pay the consequences.”
NO CHOICES…you will be 100% controlled…financially, medically, emotionally…it’s abuse. It’s at the door. What are you going to do? The fact that one of the companies that made the jab has a slogan called the software of life should scare the F*** out of you.

Reply
- Michael Carlson
  
  June 7, 2021 at 9:52 pm
  
  Yup
  
  Reply
- Major Old Lady aka, Mom
  
  June 7, 2021 at 10:24 pm
  
  ????????
  
  Reply
Sain D

June 7, 2021 at 5:51 pm

Technology isn’t the awnser to everything. Poverty will still be rampant and our overall death rates have been consistently dropping pre industrial age.

Reply
- Ty Ward
  
  June 7, 2021 at 9:33 pm
  
  Correct. Technology isn’t the answer, but it will help us understand the problems to make better decisions
  
  Reply
- Major Old Lady aka, Mom
  
  June 7, 2021 at 10:23 pm
  
  What is an A W N S E R, lol.
  
  ????✔
  
  Reply
- Edw????????d L????w???????????????????? ????????
  
  June 8, 2021 at 1:11 am
  
  ???????? |
  
  ThankYou for opinions
  
  I loveYo so .
  
  Reply
GuitarZombie

June 7, 2021 at 5:53 pm

Just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should.

Reply
Chuck Brenner Indianashogman

June 7, 2021 at 6:00 pm

Stay away from my body

Reply
Chuck Brenner Indianashogman

June 7, 2021 at 6:04 pm

Do a little research on Royal Raymond Rife and you’ll know how to cure diseases.

Reply
Best Version of Yourself

June 7, 2021 at 6:11 pm

I just learn something new ❤

Reply
Self-Education Methodology

June 7, 2021 at 6:11 pm

????????????????????

Reply
Sean - We Are Investing

June 7, 2021 at 6:24 pm

Investing in crypto is the best lucrative way of making money now

Reply
- Arife Dickerson
  
  June 7, 2021 at 6:50 pm
  
  In future take a chip? No Tanks
  
  Reply
gene978

June 7, 2021 at 6:28 pm

I have been waiting for something like this since I got my first PC back in 1995. I said we all need to know what is happening inside us and maybe we would treat our bodies a lot differently.

Reply
- taguro etits
  
  June 8, 2021 at 12:56 pm
  
  how old are you now? arre you an engineer or doctor now?
  
  Reply
bigyote

June 7, 2021 at 7:16 pm

Huge potential. Rooting diagnostics inside is a major paradigm shift. Little medical satellites inside the body loaded with specialized nano-bots designed to attack or mitigate potential cancer cells before they become more widespread etc. Huge.

Reply
Robert Klauco

June 7, 2021 at 8:05 pm

I can’t help stop thinking about the The New Breed episode from The Outer Limits 🙂 I would still love to help with such research, too bad I lack skills 🙁

Reply
Next The

June 7, 2021 at 8:49 pm

long ago, i used to laugh at people who believe in the conspiracy theory, but each day i know that those people were right. And every body who doesn’t agree with me I DON’T GIVE A DAMN SH$T ABOUT YOUR OPINION.

Reply
Roaa Hamdan

June 7, 2021 at 8:51 pm

❤

Reply
Sam Raza

June 7, 2021 at 10:35 pm

Want to get rich? ???? Bet against the economy.

Yes, you heard that right! Bet against the economy, and choose Bitcoin.

The dollar isn’t the way to go. Bitcoin is where the real opportunities are.

Reply
Bob D

June 7, 2021 at 11:36 pm

Fantastic Voyage. We wouldn’t need to send teeny people around our bloodstream, but a robot would be just the ticket. Fit it with a camera and forceps.

Reply
Klaus conte schertel

June 8, 2021 at 12:44 am

Fist comment as usual

Reply
Edw????????d L????w???????????????????? ????????

June 8, 2021 at 1:08 am

????????
Let’s together for
A ???????????????????????? world .
▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂
Welcome to ???? ???????????? ???????????????? :
❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉
???? | INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION | GLOBAL 4.0
❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉
⫷ ???????????????????? ⫸
????????????????????????????????
as A new ﴾ ???????????????????? ﴿

LoveYou | TED✶

Reply
Naidu Sreemaan

June 8, 2021 at 2:14 am

Loooooooong stoooooooory.

Reply
Naidu Sreemaan

June 8, 2021 at 2:14 am

Periodic screening.

Reply
cybersekkin

June 8, 2021 at 2:55 am

So, now you know how they will hijack your body. Pretend it is for read only, but don’t expect it to stay that way.

Reply
- AnimePro
  
  June 8, 2021 at 9:00 am
  
  Every encroachment on our privacy and personal sovereignty started with rosy-sounding stories about how convenient and helpful it would be
  
  Reply
Rachel B

June 8, 2021 at 4:24 am

I do find this amazingly interesting. But I can see the general population not agreeing to this because of things like, “the government just wants to chip us, and track us” and “they’re probably just trying to control us”. Conspiracy theory people are just… ridiculous.

Reply
Parag Bharadia

June 8, 2021 at 5:34 am

This can be the break through.. ur Idea is amazing… And comes with space for equal consequences and concerns in the mind.. right!

Reply
Sagar Barot

June 8, 2021 at 7:54 am

Hope is what keeps us afloat ❤️❤️

Reply
AnimePro

June 8, 2021 at 9:02 am

No amount of convenience or safety is worth giving up all of your privacy. “Smart devices” are invasive enough without being implanted in our bodies. There must be a red line.

Reply
taguro etits

June 8, 2021 at 12:55 pm

i think we are really seriously dumb and slow at this matter, if at the future we will surely be developing a.i then we could use it as a leverage to crack the riddle of diseases..
we could make the entire dna of of each diseases be manifested digitally , and let the a.i conduct billions of instant trial and errors for it.
the problem is billionaires like elon musk and jeff bezos are so attracted or blinded by star trek,mars, outer space.

Reply
Youssef Azzouzi

June 8, 2021 at 2:08 pm

Amazing! Make it work offline! Thanks, and great news for the future

Reply
- Youssef Azzouzi
  
  June 9, 2021 at 8:45 pm
  
  Also not EMP-proof but non-lethal in case of fatal system failure
  
  Reply
نازك روز

June 8, 2021 at 9:20 pm

دا انكليزي يا مرسي

Reply
Cable3999

June 9, 2021 at 3:27 am

Very interesting! And of course, the typical anti-modern sentiments are expressed in the comments just as usual. People have always feared and resisted new technologies and innovations: automobiles, trains, airplanes, TVs, computers, the Internet, electricity, factories, vaccines, etc. It’s always the same. But future innovations will debut, persist, and make society better for everyone (including the hypocrites). 🙂

Reply
Son Tran

June 9, 2021 at 3:54 am

Do you have Vietnamese and English subtitles?

Reply
Louise Whittingtin

June 9, 2021 at 7:29 pm

No thank you. I will pass. God made me & He will keep me. All this implantable tech is getting crazy.

Reply
Heta Tammi

June 9, 2021 at 10:18 pm

Sick

Reply

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