08 06 technology u3b

Module

3B

Be a Sport!

Medical technology is providing tools against pain and fear. Here
are some examples.
To know whether you can donate blood, you will get a slight needle
sting in the earlobe or fingertip. But now there’s a no pain device
that tests blood without drawing any. It is a thermometer-like probe
that you put under your tongue and it tells you instantly whether
you are good to give blood.
Another no pain tool is a device with hundreds of micro needles,
each one thinner than a strand of human hair. These micro
needles penetrate the outer layer of the skin, which contains
no nerve endings, and deliver medications that cannot be
administered orally.
Last but not least, virtual reality (VR) allows doctors and patients to
simulate surgical procedures. A computer-generated environment
simulates an operation from the patient’s point of view. Another
advantage is that residents and surgeons can get more practice
outside the operating room. Doctors thus improve patient care and
feel what their patients feel.
Pen injection and insulin measurement device

Activities
1Think, answer and discuss.
aWhich of these words describe the relationship between
technology and medicine?
important

negative
hopeful
impossible
unnecessary
b Will doctors improve patient care with the aid of medical technology?
Maybe.
Sure.
I don’t think so.
c Does medicine depend on medical technology?
Certainly.
Not always.
Of course not.
English Toolkit 1 - Technology

Photocopiable © Ediciones Santillana S.A. / Richmond 2011

No pain tools


Module

3B
2Justify your answers in the previous exercise.

3True (T) or false (F)?

4Match the following sentences.
a This text is about...
b To know whether you are good to
give blood, ...

cIn this text, ...
d Some medications cannot be
administered orally, so...
e This new device to test blood...
f A computer-generated environment...

1
2
3
4

...there are three examples.
...they are delivered through micro needles.
...goes under your tongue.
...simulates an operation from the patient’s
point of view.
5 ...no pain tools.
6 ...you get pricked in the earlobe or
fingertip.

5Find words in the text that mean:
adevice:
b deliver:

cdonate:
dtool against pain:

6Work in groups. Prepare an interview for doctors about new
technologies in medicine; report your findings to the class.

English Toolkit 1 - Technology

Photocopiable © Ediciones Santillana S.A. / Richmond 2011

aThanks to medical technology there are new no pain tools.
b Now you can donate blood without pain or fear.
cA micro needle is thinner than a strand of human hair.
dThe outer layer of skin contains nerve endings.
eVirtual reality will soon allow doctors to simulate operations.