Technology and the body

Ever wondered how technology can see inside the human body? From baby scans on Facebook to x-ray gallery artwork, our day-to-day lives are interspersed with images that invite us to see what’s beneath our skins. And yet in medicine, these images can have life-changing implications for individuals and society. This talk will use actual images and demonstration to explain how MRI is being used right here in Sheffield at both ends of the life course – in pregnancy and post-mortem. Come along and ponder the social and ethical ramifications of technology at its most poignant.

Modern engineering is seeping into all aspects of life, and more than ever engineers have to be skilled in multiple specialist areas. So, is engineering a collection of individual subjects or is it one interdisciplinary subject? In this talk I hope to explore this idea of how the future of engineering may be. I will focus around the field of engineering in medicine, as more and more, this is becoming a forefront of engineering, as we use technology to improve our quality of life and fight conditions that would once have been impossible to treat.

In this talk, the history of condoms, materials & cultures, will be illustrated with demonstrations & graphics. The development of rubber technologies and hypoallergenic materials for those allergic to latex will be discussed, and the future of prophylactics and the development of the market will also be uncovered.