Brain Imaging Technologies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Brain Imaging Technologies - Essay Example The variety of energies and specialties like radiology, medical physics, nuclear pharmacy, etc has led to hospitals and university research centers being called diagnostic imaging or radiology or the science of radiology. No name yet worked out is wholly satisfactory in the countenance of the vivid changes which have occurred, mainly in the last three or four decades. (Kuhn, 2004) The power of contemporary computers to allow the speedy display of sectional images of the body by means of technologies such as ultrasound, computed tomography scan, single-photon emission topography, positron emission topography or magnetic resonance imaging has been cardinal to the upbringing of the latest technologies. Nevertheless, an equally great change has been that encompassing the move of medical imaging from the laboratory to the living room. Many Decades ago what was then radiological science poked a restricted series of diagnostic information to a referring medical doctor apprehensive to resolve diagnostic ambiguity between the diseases potentially able to report for a patient's indicators. In the beginning of the this century, imaging technology is used not only to spot the abrasion, and to do so more effectively, but to direct the needle used in its biopsy; not only to recognize a blocked vessel but to guide its dilatation as well. FMRI AND PET Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging is based on the boost in blood flow to the local vasculature that comes along neural activity in the brain. This result in a consequent local drop in deoxyhemoglobin because the augmentation in blood flow occurs without an amplification of similar magnitude in oxygen extraction. Thus, deoxyhemoglobin is every now and then is known as a contrast enhancing agent, and serves as the source of the signal for fMRI. Functional activity of the brain obtained from the magnetic resonance pointer has verified known anatomically dissimilar processing regions in the visual cortex, the motor cortex, and Broca's area of speech and language-related activities. Further, speedily rising bodies of research document communicate to findings between fMRI and usual electro-physiological methods to localize explicit functions of the human brain (Romanelli, 2004). Consequently, the number of medical and research centers with fMRI capabilities and investigational programs continues to shoot up. The major returns to fMRI as a technique to image brain activity related to a particular objective or sensory process says the the signal does not need doses of radioactive isotopes, the total scan time needed can be very less, i.e., on the order of 1.5 to 2.0 minutes per run (depending on the paradigm), and the in-plane resolution of the functional image is generally about 1.5 x 1.5 mm although resolutions less than 1 mm are likely. To put these pros in standpoint, functional images obtained by the earlier method of positron emission tomography, require doses of radioactive isotopes, multiple acquisitions, and therefore, longer imaging times. Additionally, the anticipated resolution of positron emission tomography images is much larger than the common functional magnetic resonance imaging pixel size. In addition, positron emission tomography usually requires that numerous individual brain images are joined in order to obtain a dependable

P&G Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

P&G - Essay Example It is equally important, if not more so, that innovation is cost-effective, aligned with consumer demands and addresses a perceived gap in the market. In other words, not only is the strategy for corporate survival continued product development and innovation, but the cost-effective development of innovative products which market research indicates will attract the consumer market. Proctor and Gamble has resolved the seemingly complex equation of cost-effective continued product development and equation through its "connect and develop" strategy. Indeed, P&G's approach to product development and innovation has the potential to serve as a critically valuable lesson to corporations across the world. The hurdles to new product development are cost and innovation. As Huston and Sakkab (2006, p. 60) write, "Most companies are still clinging to what we call the invention model, centered on a bricks-and-mortar R&D infrastructure and the idea that their innovation must principally reside within their own four walls." Confining product development to the company and to individuals working in the company often means that development will be a costly and time-consuming process. The reason, as Huston and Sakkab (2006) illustrate through reference to a case study, is that when a company begins the R&D process with an idea for a new product or an innovation to an existing product, it may not have the technology to translate the idea into a reality. The company's in-house Research and Development team will then have to experiment with several technologies to bring the idea to life and, of course, may and may not succeed. Even if they succeed, success comes at high financial cost. Furthermor e, as Brown and Eisenhardt (1995) argue, because the process is often a length one, there is always the risk that a competitor may beat them to the market with the technology and product. In this case, the return on the new product research and development investment may not be realized. Hence, a financial risk factor enters into the equation. Proctor and Gamble stumbled across a high radical approach for new product development and innovation when it found itself confronting numerous technological obstacles to the manufacturing of their innovative Pringle line of imprinted chips. Initially relying on in-house talent for the development of the required technology, Proctor and Gamble soon found the process excessively costly, unrealistic and unfeasible in terms of implementation. It was at this point that P&G decided to look outside its walls for a solution and, with that in mind, developed and circulated a technology brief which outlined the problem. The response was positive and the company was approach by a baker in Italy who had already developed the technology in question. Proctor and gamble obtained the rights to the use of the technology, developed it to suit their specific needs and were, as a result, able to successfully produce their new line of Pringle chips at a fraction of the cost they would have otherwise run into. Huston and Sakkab (2006) concede to the fact that the approach adopted by Procter and Gamble is a radical one. As new product development, inclusive of research and development, often functions as a firm's competitive edge, corporations generally tend to prefer to keep all research, development and product