Are early screening tests the answer to our health problems?

In the ideal medical “utopian” world, there would be one magical test that would be able to screen for all types of diseases and medical problems. Presently, no such test exists, but there is a test that will screen for kidney disease, even with no obvious symptoms present.

In the New York Times article Early Warning for a Deadly Kidney Disease (Brody, 2009), Mrs. Johnson was suffering from severe weight gain and high blood pressure for over three years. While watching TV, she encountered a free screening test administered by the Kidney Early Evaluation Program. Mrs. Johnson proceeded to take the test and found out that she indeed had chronic kidney disease; thankfully, she was diagnosed early enough to begin successful treatment.

I feel that this screening test is a large step forward in the world of biotechnology, but raises the important question: Shouldn’t all diseases have an early screening test that is low in cost, yet reliable enough to produce consistent results?

This article presents two major “hurdles” that bioengineers are currently facing, the first challenge being trying to develop tests that can detect diseases, and secondly, developing tests that are affordable for those who do not have access to adequate health insurance.

This article is presenting a new dimension to bioengineering, a new era devoted to making the most efficient technologies, but at the same time in the most cost efficient way. What good would a test be if it is expensive to make and is only available to wealthy people?

Just as consumers are demanding faster and cost-effective computers, doctors and patients are demanding accessible and innovative diagnostic tests. Bioengineers, of course, are the ones who are in control of what can or cannot be made. They are the ones with the expertise who will be able to carry out such biomedical technologies. Doctors diagnose the disease, but it is up to the bioengineers to find ways to detect such illnesses.

In my opinion, developing such screening tests may actually reduce health care costs in the near future. If an illness can be diagnosed earlier with the help of a screening test, then less money may actually be needed to treat the patient.

"The New York Times Log In." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. Web. 16 Sept. 2009. .