Leuty Parker

Tag: #medical

  • Anaesthesia

    Now no news that “Ether Dome”, doctors performed the FIRST ever successful public demonstration of surgical anaesthesia on October 16, 1846.

    Before then, surgery was rather nasty. Being awake, patients were often screaming, and had to be physically restrained.

    Then da William T. G. Morton used ether to render a patient unconscious while the chosen surgeon, John Collins Warren, did the operation that removed a neck tumour… without pain!

    Nearly 180 years later, we still don’t really understand how anaesthesia works!

    But modern drugs, like propofol, can switch consciousness off almost instantly, and brain scans show that when someone goes under:

    The brain doesn’t actually fully shut down. Just that different regions keep working….. but communication between them collapses.

    Consciousness depends on constant “communication ” between brain regions. Anaesthesia disrupts that communication by using slow brain waves that force neurons to fire out of sync. As the brain can’t coordinate, awareness disappears.

    This helps to clarify several important aspects of general anaesthesia. It explains why, when someone goes under, it can feel as though a segment of time has simply been “cut out,” with no sense of its passing. It also sheds light on the rare but real cases in which patients experience some level of awareness during surgery. Finally, it highlights how advances in medical science now allow doctors to monitor levels of unconsciousness far more accurately and in real time, improving both patient safety and overall care.

    So anaesthesia doesn’t actually turn the brain off. It disconnects it.

  • The Black Swan Effect

    The Black Swan effect refers to rare, unexpected events that have huge impacts, and only seem obvious in hindsight. It’s like the butterfly effect; small or unpredictable triggers lead to dramatic, far-reaching consequences.

    In short, it explains how humans underestimate the likelihood of extreme situations, but rely heavily on past data.

    Important attributes include unpredictability; nothing in the past clearly points defined the future.

    It concludes to really big consequences; PESTLE (as learned in my MSc: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental) or cultural. It’s only afterwards when it becomes obvious and should have been expected.

    Black Swanevents can instantly transform entire industries, markets, technologies, and even society itself.

  • HMDs

    I’ve already explored this in my “Meta Diaries,” where I’ve been documenting my experience with the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses since buying them as a birthday present to myself. From day one, they impressed me—but they also revealed plenty of flaws that need fixing. Those posts dig into what it’s really like to use the device day-to-day, beyond the marketing hype, and I hope those insights help shape a better, more refined model in the future.

    As an easy introduction to SWTs, smart glasses are a good starting point; a medical-turned-fashion device with huge room for growth in practical utility. These head-mounted displays (HMDs) blend technology with everyday eyewear. Below is a brief overview of their core features and the key advantages they offer:

    ·        Integrated display

    ·        Compact design

    ·        Suitable for daily use

    ·        Clear screen

    ·        Long battery life

    ·        Versatile compatibility (smartphones, PCs, video games)

    ·        AI assistance

    Disadvantages:

    ·        Standard lens quality

    ·        Limited constant use

    ·        Upper lens display may be affected by electronics

    ·        Some models are monochrome

    ·        Requires an external computing system

    Vufine produces HMDs and also supplies major AR headsets like the Magic Leap One and Microsoft’s HoloLens 2. While these models are developer-focused and costly, more affordable consumer AR glasses are emerging. Both AR and VR are increasingly used by businesses to support strategic employee training.

    With its early functionality and highly utilitarian design, this device has already proven to be a strong entry point into the wearable tech space—showing how seamlessly technology can be made wearable. It’s widely predicted that major fashion houses and leading tech companies will continue to converge, combining brand influence with technological innovation.

    The newly released Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 (Sept 17, 2025) will be covered in the next post.

  • 3: I’ve been in 3 comas

    I said in the 1st “numbers” post, about me dying, my 1st coma was a ketoacidotic coma. This was explained, in detail, in the first “numbers” post.

    It talks what ketoacidotis is, what ketones are & how all this relates to diabetes.

    This dying, 1st coma happened in Sri Lanka, in Colombo. I was comatose for a while when I was taken to a hospital there.

    The 2nd was when I had my TBI. I don’t know a lot of details for this other than; it was in Vietnam, I was holidaying there with a boyfriend & I got the brain injury front a motorcycle accident, where i crashed & I fell off the motorcycle. I’ve been to recovery mode since.

    The 3rd was, again, relatively recent. I had an epileptic fit which was ambulate serious. This coma was medically induce.

    Kind of damaged goods, am I. But so much potential, if I may say so myself.

  • The C7 Spinousg Process Tip

    This one’s quite technical…. But unlike other parts of the cervical vertebrae (neck region), the C7 is a the part that protrudes behind the spine, towards the skin. It’s located at the back of the neck.

    Because it’s pretty visible & can be felt at the base of the neck, it’s a signpost of the skeleton. The C7 is the biggest vertebrae in the neck are.

    Because it’s so obvious & protruding, it is more vulnerable. So that’s probably how mines a bit broken, & damaged my brain.

  • Keloid Scars

    I said I’d do a blog post about it, so here it is.

    So a keloid scar is when a wound heals & it leaves a scar known as a keloid scar, which is more think & is lumpy than the wound.

    I have a keloid scar on my left ear, which not only intrigues me, it’s going to be removed on the twenty second. Although I think I may be in store for another one

    My keloid scar