Innovations in Health L E Carmichael Crabtree Publishing Company www crabtreebooks com
Inventing Healthy Humans Imagine covering a cut with cobwebs or being wide awake while the doctor takes your tonsils out If you lived 200 years ago either of these things could have happened to you Luckily we now have Band-Aids for cuts and scrapes and medicines that make us sleep through surgery Thanks to the inventions and innovations of doctors scientists and engineers we live longer healthier lives than ever before Inventors and innovators solve a problem or meet a need They are searching for solutions to many of today’s health problems More breakthroughs are coming and you could be the one to make them Today children can cover their cuts and scrapes with Band-Aids showing their favorite characters 4
Inventors and Innovators An invention is a product or process that has been made for the first time Inventor Dr Alexander Wood created the first syringe or needle for injecting medicine into patients bodies An innovation is a change or improvement on an existing invention Letitia Mumford Geer is an innovator She designed a new handle for syringes to make them easier to use An engineer’s job is to use science and math to solve problems or meet needs Sometimes engineers can also be inventors and innovators when they make new solutions or improve on existing ones Inventors innovators and engineers all share the same traits such as curiosity and creativity Over the years innovators have improved Dr Wood’s syringe above that he invented in 1853 5
