On Sunday, researchers at my hometown university—the University of Minnesota—announced that they had reported success in creating a beating rat heart in a laboratory.
The field of tissue engineering, as I have reported in the past, is growing rapidly and this development opens the door to the idea that any number of organs, including human livers, lungs, kidneys, pancreas and even hearts will someday be grown. And while it will likely be some time—perhaps even a decade or more—before Sunday’s advance is successfully transferred to the field of human tissue engineering, it is a noteworthy achievement and people in a variety of health care sectors are advised to give the breakthrough some serious thought as to what it could mean for their individual sectors in the near future.
For instance, if replacement kidneys can be grown what does this portend for the manufacturers of kidney dialysis machines? If pancreas can be grown, can surgeons take new approaches to the treatment of pancreatic cancer? Also, if hearts can someday be replaced what are the implications for medical device companies such as Medtronic which, today, generate a good portion of their revenue from heart-related medical devices?
In the bigger picture, society will also need to grapple with the issue of who, when and at what cost people are entitled to replacement organs? Beyond that society must also confront the implications for Medicare and Social Security (both of which are already on very shaky ground) if people live longer, healthier lives as a result of this breakthrough—and others like it.
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Jack Uldrich is a writer, futurist, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. He is also a frequent speaker on future technology and future trends, nanotechnology, innovation, change management and executive leadership to a variety of businesses, industries and non-profit organizations and trade associations.
