What is Medical Technology?

What is Medical Technology?

Medical Technologists, also known as clinical laboratory technologists, perform and analyze the results of complex scientific tests on blood and bodily fluids.

These highly trained professionals work in hospitals and independent laboratories using sophisticated procedures and equipment.

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What Schooling Do I need?

*A Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) is a two year Associate of Science Degree

*A Medical Technologist (MT) is a four year Bachelor of Science Degree

Main Objective:The main objective of a medial laboratory professional is to perform laboratory testing that aids in detecting

cancer, heart attacks, diabetes, infectious diseases, STD’s, identification of bacteria/viruses, and performing

drug screens and blood alcohol levels.

*A medical laboratory scientist not only preforms laboratory testing but they also evaluate/interpret the results, integrate data, problem solve, consult, conduct research, and develop

new testing methods.

*85% of procedures that are preformed on a patient are based on laboratory results.

There Are Five Main Departments:

They are:*Blood Bank*Hematology*Microbiology

*Chemistry*Histology

Blood Bank: A Blood bank is the department in a hospital

that prepares blood products to be transfused to a patient who is in need of a blood

transfusion.

Blood Bank: *94% of the population will need a transfusion

of some sort within their life time. *Transfusions come from healthy donors who volunteer to donate their own blood to help

others.

Blood Bank: There are 8 Different Blood Types:

(EVERY blood type has a negative or a positive)*O negative/positive*A negative/positive*B negative/positive

*AB negative/positive*O positive is the most COMMON blood type

*O negative is a universal donor used in traumas*AB negative is the rarest blood type with only 1% of the population having this blood type.

Hematology : The study of the nature, function, and diseases of the blood.

Hematology : Common test in hematology:*CBC (Complete Blood Count)

*A count of the total number of red blood cells, white bloods cells, and platelets present in the

blood.

Hematology : *Urinalysis is a test that evaluates a sample of your urine.

*Urinalysis is used to detect and assess a wide range of disorders, such as urinary tract infection, kidney disease, and diabetes.

*Urinalysis involves examining the appearance, concentration, and content of urine.

Microbiology: Microbiology is the study of micro organisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites

Microbiology: The main purpose of this department is

to assist in the diagnosis of infectious diseases.

Microbiology: The most common test in microbiology is the culture.

The most common samples for culture are:*stool*urine

*sputum*flesh wounds

*throat*eye

*blood cultures

Microbiology: Gram stain is another common test in microbiology. Gram stain is a

staining technique for the preliminary identification of bacteria

Chemistry: Chemistry is the area of clinical pathology that is generally concerned

with the analysis of blood and body fluids for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

Chemistry: The most common test in chemistry are

*sodium*potassium

*chloride*glucose*calcium

*creatinine*liver enzymes*heart enzymes

*drug testing

Chemistry: Each chemistry test can help a doctor determine which vital organ in the body

could be having a problem. An abnormal result in a chemistry test would indicate to a physician what is going on with the patient.

Laboratory professionals and doctors have to work together in orderto diagnosis and treat a patient accurately.

Histology: *Histology is the study of biological tissues.

• Histology is when they test biopsies, tissues from surgery, pap smears, skin lesions.

• Histology is the main department that is trying to determine if a patient has some type of cancer or if it normal tissue.

Histology of a human liver.

Tools of the Trade:

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A Day in the Life of a Medical Technologist

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QUESTIONS?