In the past, disease could only be diagnosed through dissection. It might help a doctor understand cause, but it could not aid the living patient. Beginning with the advent of diagnostic tools like the stethoscope, medicine began the long journey toward truly “seeing” into the body.
The Dittrick Medical History Center and the Global Center for Health Innovation will host the next Exchanges event Tuesday, April 12, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Global Center (1 St. Clair Ave., NE).
Schillace, research associate and public engagement fellow at the Dittrick Museum of Medical History, will share the history of diagnostic technology for “seeing” inside the body with her talk, titled “Hard to Swallow: the History of Endoscopy and ‘Seeing’ Inside the Body.”
During the program, she will cover the evolution of technology, from the history of anatomy to the advent of devices that allowed doctors to “see” inside the living body. From stethoscopes to electrocardiograms, x-ray to endoscopy, the presentation will teach attendees how tools have changed methods of diagnosis and, by extension, how diseases are treated.
Following Schillace’s presentation, an expert panel discussion and public forum will allow participants to share ideas and insights on the present and future of endoscopy.
The panelists will be:
- Chris Kaye, vice president of technical innovations at US Endoscopy;
- Jerry Chiappone, senior clinical research and new product development specialist at US Endoscopy;
- Ronnie Fass, director of gastroenterology and hepatology and head of the Esophageal & Swallowing Center at The MetroHealth System; and,
- John Vargo, gastroenterologist and chairman of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Cleveland Clinic.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is available online. Contact the Global Center Welcome Center at 216.920.1450 with questions.
Exchanges is a Global Center for Health Innovation community programming series in conjunction with Case Western Reserve University’s College of Arts and Sciences, Dittrick Medical History Center and the Cleveland Medical Library Association.