Perspectives on medical technology

Medical technologies are pervasive in healthcare. Both inside and outside the clinical setting, state-of-the-art technology offers treatment options, research insights, and opportunities for patient engagement. What influence does this have on our understanding of health and disease, and our expectations of health and well-being for ourselves and others? What ethical concerns are raised by new medical technologies such as body modification and mass data sharing, and what methods can we use to respond to these concerns?

Perspectives on Medical Technology focuses on philosophical and ethical reflection, as well as the social and anthropological study of medical science and technology. It provides insight about the role of the engineering professions and their relationship to health care and medical practice by medical professionals, placing engineering in the broader context of medicine.

The course pays special attention to the question of how medicine changes and influences our values. Designing successful medical technology means considering implicit norms and values in the design and use of a technical and their implications for different stakeholders. New technology has an influence on the patient-doctor relationship as well. For example, when a surgeon becomes an operator of a surgical robot, or telecare allows patients with diabetes and asthma to monitor and control their condition themselves, technology becomes a third party to their relationship.

We cover the following topics:

• Ethical theories and principles in health care
• Digital healthcare and digital well-being
• Emerging frontiers in healthcare and enhancement
• Medical data sharing, consent, and patient privacy
• Persuasive technologies for health and well-being
• Ethics of research on medical devices
• Technological solutions for ageing

• Students acquire knowledge about developments in biomedical technology through the perspective of ethics and science and technology studies.
• Students learn to identify cases in which ethical issues and stakeholder issues are highly salient to new medical technologies, and formulate a scientifically and ethically well-supported viewpoint on the design, use and management of such technologies.
• Students develop the ability to use ethical theories and concepts to critically assess and analyze medical technology in both a written and an oral format

You must meet one of the following collections of requirements

• Collection 1
• Completed Final examination Bsc program
• Collection 2
• Completed Pre-Master

• Reader