Clinical Applications Specialists

Rudimentary medical instruments have been used since the time of the ancient Egyptians. Until the 19th century, most medical instruments and equipment were pretty basic. That changed in 1895, when X rays were discovered by the German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. During each ensuing decade, medical technology became more complex, more effective, and easier to use. Major medical equipment and device inventions include the electrocardiograph machine (1903), practical respirator (1927), kidney dialysis machine (1945), ultrasound technology (1960s), computerized axial tomography (1972), magnetic resonance imaging scanner (1981), medical-related software (1990s–present), and Internet of Things in health care and wearables (mid-2010s–present). Clinical applications specialists have played a key role in the industry since the founding of the modern medical technology industry. Their role has become even more important in recent decades as a result of major advances in the use of microchip technology in medical devices and the increasing use of medical software, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Medical Things in the monitoring and diagnosis of patients, as well as in patient record-keeping, telemedicine, and practice management.