Intro

Medical equipment is designed to aid in the diagnosis, monitoring or treatment of medical conditions. These devices are usually designed with rigorous safety standards.

See also the main articles: implant, artificial limbs, corrective lenses, cochlear implants, dental implants, prosthetics (ocular, facial)

There are several basic types:

Diagnostic equipment includes medical imaging machines, used to aid in diagnosis. Examples are ultrasound and MRI machines, PET and CT scanners, and x-ray machines.

Therapeutic equipment includes infusion pumps, medical lasers and LASIK surgical machines.

Life support equipment is used maintain a patient's bodily function. These include medical ventilators, heart-lung machines, ECMO, and dialysis machines.

Medical monitors allow medical staff to measure a patient's medical state. Monitors may measure patient vital signs and other parameters including ECG, EEG, blood pressure, and dissolved gases in the blood.
Medical laboratory equipment automates or help analyze blood, urine and genes.

A Biomedical equipment technician or BMET is a vital component of the healthcare delivery system. Employed primarily by hospitals, BMETs are the people responsible for maintaining a facility's medical equipment.

Inventions

C. 1280, spectacles
1540, artificial limb, by Ambroise Pare
1630, obstetric forceps, by Peter Chamberlen
1714, mercury thermometer, by Gabriel Fahrenheit
1775, bifocal lenses, by Benjamin Franklin
1792, ambulance, by Dominique Jean Larrey
1796, vaccination, by Edward Jenner
1816, stethoscope, by René Laennec
1817, dental plate, by Anthony Plantson
1853, hypodermic syringe, by Alexander Wood
1887, contact lens, by Adolf Fick
1895, X-ray, by Wilhelm Röntgen
1903, electrocardiograph, by Willem Einthoven
1956, endoscope, by Basil Hirschowitz
1957, artificial pacemaker, by C. Walton Lillehei and Earl Bakken
1973, CT (CAT) scan, by Godfrey Hounsfield and Allan Cormack
1979, ultrasound scan, by Ian Donal
1982, artificial heart, by Robert Jarvik