Assignment:
Access the Nano.gov web site. Click on Nanotechnology 101 and read about, what it is and how it works. Then click on Nanotechnology and You and review the 6 subsections.
After reading and studying information about nanotechnology, outline a research study question that measures the impact of nanotechnology in health information technology.
Case Study. Find the case study on page 608, Chapter 25, of your textbook and answer the following questions.
How would you use the bioethical checklist recommended by Bennett and Naranja to address this situation?
What ethical principles are at play within this scenario?
How might you educate the patient on what nanotechnology is and how it works to alleviate concerns?
What common treatments for smoking cessation and cardiac disease might you use to compare the tattoo treatment to and to explain how nanotechnology works? Nanotechnology Essay Paper
Nanotechnology
Introduction
Nanotechnology refers to understanding and controlling the matter at the nanoscale, at measurements ranging from about 1 to 100 nanometers, where novel applications are applied. Nanotechnology involves modeling, measuring, imaging, and manipulation of matter such as solids, liquids, and gases at this scale length (Nano gov, 2020). In health, nanotechnology is being used to assist in the treatment and prevention of diseases and other health issues. This assignment will analyze ethical issues about a patient with diabetes and about to be implanted with a nanotechnology tattoo to provide constant and reliable glucose detection for the patient.
The bioethical checklist would be useful in addressing the likely bioethical, legal, and system design issues associated with implanting the nano tattoo on the patient. The factors relevant for patients undergoing a nano tattoo implant include the patent scope; patient autonomy; patent thicket potential; multi-dimensional justice; beneficence; system design and privacy. Patent scope means that nanotechnology should cover the individual needs of this patient and in this case diabetes (Bennett & Naranja, 2013). Secondly, it should be ensured that the suggested nano tattoo does not have any patent thicket. Autonomy involves respecting the patient’s decision while beneficence involves acting for the patient’s best interests. The privacy and confidentiality of the patient should be maintained while the principle of justice ensures that the patient is treated well, the treatment cost reasonable, and the tattoo should not affect the environment negatively. Finally, the nano tattoo should be designed in a way that the patient will be able to use it effectively (Bennett & Naranja, 2013). Nanotechnology Essay Paper
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The ethical principles applicable to this scenario include autonomy, privacy, beneficence, and multi-dimensional justice. The principle of autonomy obliges the decisions of adults (self-determination) who have the capacity to make decisions to be respected (Stone, 2018). In this scenario, the patient is uncertain about the recommended tattoo which will monitor his glucose levels. The patient indicates that he does not like tattoos and associates the nano tattoo with a sci-fi. The patient in this scenario is an adult with the capacity to make his treatment decisions. Therefore, if the patient decides that he does not want the tattoo implant, the decision should be respects as per the autonomy ethical principle.
The beneficence principle obligates others to take actions that benefit others by providing benefits and balancing harms and benefits associated with a particular action. The act of implanting a tattoo on the patient is aimed to benefit the patient by facilitating effective monitoring of his blood glucose levels as he has diabetes (Bennett & Naranja, 2013). However, it will also be important to ensure that any risks associated with the tattoo implant are considered in order to balance the risks and the benefits. According to the principle of justice, fairness should be ensured when making any medical decision. Fairness involves balancing the benefits and burden associated with the treatment decisions, and also the medical professionals should respect the appropriate legislations and laws (Stone, 2018). Therefore, when deciding to stamp the tattoo implant on the patient, the physician should consider the benefits and the burden such as the high cost of the tattoo, as well as take into consideration all laws and legislation associated with the nano tattoo implant. Finally, the confidentiality and privacy of the patient’s decision should be respected where any information the patient shares should be kept private and confidential.
The patient will be educated that nanotechnology is a technology used to treat and prevent diseases and health problems. This patient should be informed that the recommended tattoo is a convenient and simple means to enable individuals with diabetes to monitor the levels of blood glucose ((Meetoo et al., 2019). The patient should also be educated that with the tattoo, he will not need to take blood samples to monitor his blood sugar levels and the tattoo will also provide continuous information about the blood glucose. Continuous monitoring of blood glucose for people with diabetes empowers them to effectively prevent complications and other adverse diabetes events. The patient will also be informed that the smart tattoo will reduce the allied social costs and that it is relatively comfortable (Meetoo et al., 2019).
Since the patient indicated that he does not like tattoos and this is among the reasons he is objecting to the tattoo, the patient will be informed that the nano tattoo is temporary and will be replaced regularly to ensure that the sensor and signal function efficiently. Another advantage associated with the tattoo is that the likelihood of infections at the implantation site will be minimized as well as the complications associated with other device implants like capsule formation and the associated reductions in glucose transport (Meetoo et al., 2019).Nanotechnology Essay Paper
The treatment for smoking cessation, comparable to how nanotechnology works is the nicotine patch. The nicotine patch is normally attached to the skin like an adhesive bandage. The patch constantly delivers a small quantity of nicotine via the skin to the bloodstream. This leads to a gradual reduction of the nicotine levels in the body and thus the nicotine patch helps to decrease an individual’s dependence on smoking. Similarly, in heart disease (acute myocardial infarction) a microneedle patch is implanted to the heart stromal cells to facilitate therapeutic heart regeneration (Tang et al., 2018). The microneedle patch ensures that there is cell delivery to the heart using the epicardial patch. A gel point adhesive patch (GPAP) is also used to decrease the stretching of heart muscles when a heart attack occurs. The adhesive patch increases the mechanical integrity of the injured ventricular tissues and thus successfully treats a heart attack (Peña et al., 2018). The adhesive patch reverses the remodeling of the left ventricular during a heart attack and also restores the heart function after myocardial infarction. By explaining to the patient about the nicotine patch in smoking cessation and both the gel point adhesive patch and the adhesive patch in heart disease, the patient will understand that implants similar to the recommended tattoo are widely used in the treatment and management of various health conditions. Nanotechnology Essay Paper
Conclusion
Nanotechnology a technology used to assist in the treatment and prevention of diseases and other health issues. An example of nanotechnology is the use of a smart tattoo to monitor the glucose levels of patients with diabetes. The patient in the presented scenario was fearful of the suggested nano tattoo and thus it will be important to apply the appropriate ethical principles such as autonomy, beneficence, justice, and patient confidentiality/privacy. It will also be essential to educate the patient on how nanotechnology and particularly the nano tattoo works. The comparable smoking cessation treatment is a nicotine patch while for the heart disease the comparable treatment to the nano tattoo includes gel point adhesive and the adhesive patches.
References
Bennett, M. G., & Naranja Jr, R. J. (2013). Getting nano tattoos right—A checklist of legal and ethical hurdles for emerging nanomedical technology. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine, 9(6), 729-731.
Meetoo, D., Wong, L., & Ochieng, B. (2019). Smart tattoo: technology for monitoring blood glucose in the future. British Journal of Nursing, 28(2), 110-115.
Peña, B., Laughter, M., Jett, S., Rowland, T. J., Taylor, M., Mestroni, L., & Park, D. (2018). Injectable Hydrogels for Cardiac Tissue Engineering. Macromolecular bioscience, 18(6), e1800079. https://doi.org/10.1002/mabi.201800079.
Stone E. G. (2018). Evidence-Based Medicine and Bioethics: Implications for Health Care Organizations, Clinicians, and Patients. The Permanente Journal, 22, 18-030. https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/18-030.
Tang, J., Wang, J., Huang, K., Ye, Y., Su, T., Qiao, L., Hensley, M. T., Caranasos, T. G., Zhang, J., Gu, Z., & Cheng, K. (2018). Cardiac cell-integrated microneedle patch for treating myocardial infarction. Science advances, 4(11), eaat9365. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aat9365.