What is Medical Technology ?Medical Technology, which is a proper subset of

health technology, encompasses a wide range

of healthcare products and is used to diagnose,

monitor or treat diseases or medical conditions

affecting humans.

What is Medical Technologists ?• Medical Technologists, also known as clinical laboratory

technologists, perform and analyze the results of

complex scientific tests on blood and body fluids.

How the Body Uses Energy - As Cell Mitochondria Convert Food into Useable Energy?

• Food is the fuel for the body. The mitochondria are the converters; they convert the fuel into useable energy. When food is digested, or broken down into its smallest molecules and nutrients, and air is taken in, or inspired, the smallest molecules and nutrients cross into the bloodstream. These molecules and nutrients include things such as glucose (a sugar molecule derived from carbohydrates) and oxygen.

• Use food only as a fuel. Otherwise, you will consume more fuel than is necessary to make the machine called your body function. And you know what happens to the excess fuel? It gets stored for later (the machine stays prepared for times of low fuel intake) as fat.

• Just as fire burns oxygen and gives off carbon dioxide and water, mitochondria act like furnaces when they convert glucose into adenosine triphosphate (ATP): They “burn” (use) oxygen and give off carbon dioxide and water.

Mitochondria are the energy factories of the cells. The energy currency for the work that animals must do is the energy-rich molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP) The ATP is produced in the mitochondria using energy stored in food. Just as the chloroplasts in plants act as sugar factories for the supply of ordered molecules to the plant, the mitochondria in animals and plants act to produce the ordered ATP molecules as the energy supply for the processes of life.

BIOLOGICAL ENERGY PRODUCTION IN RELATION TO MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE TESTS PERFORMED BY MEDICAL TECHNOLOGISTS

INVOLVING BIOLOGICAL ENERGY PRODUCTION :

Citric Acid & Urine

Testing for Mitochondrial Disease Disorders (Muscle Biopsy Testing)

Blood enzyme test

Lactate and pyruvate levels

Serum creatine kinase

Genetic test

Known mutations

Rare or unknown mutations

Citric Acid & Urine

A test to see how much citric acid is in your urine is used to help evaluate your risk for kidney stones or to help diagnose other health conditions. Low levels of citric acid are risk factors for kidney stones, but higher levels may have a protective effect. You can influence the amount of citric acid in your urine through your diet. Always discuss possible dietary changes and any test results with your doctor.TestingA citric acid urine test is performed over a 24-hour period. The normal range of citric acid in your urine is 320 to 1,240 mg in 24 hours. However, ranges for normal results can vary among laboratories, so it's important to have a doctor analyze your readings, according to MedlinePlus. There's no discomfort when you take a citric acid urine test because it simply involves urinating normally and collecting your urine in a special container. Because test results are influenced by your diet, you need to eat normally when you take the test.

Mitochondrial Disease Disorders : Muscle Biopsy Testing 

• A small piece of muscle, usually the size of the end of our little finger is removed from the upper thigh of a patient for this testing. (The removal of this small piece of tissue does not cause permanent damage to the patient but does leave a scar several inches long.)• The testing completed on this muscle tells us whether or not a certain

person can produce enough energy to function normally or whether or not he/she has a problem making too little energy. The testing is complicated and takes many weeks to complete.• Measures activities of specific enzymes. A special test called

polarography measures oxygen consumption in mitochondria.

Test Results

If the testing indicates that a given patient does indeed have a mitochondrial disorder, that person is then screened every year for many associated problems found with these diseases (such as diabetes and thyroid disease). This helps us prevent many of the treatable complications of these disorders.Treatment of mitochondrial disorders is centered around vitamin, supplement and co-factor therapy which improves mitochondrial function, and helps reduce symptoms in many patients. Nutrition, hydration, and energy conservation are also critically important!

Blood enzyme test

1. Lactate and pyruvate levels If elevated, may indicate deficiency in electron transport chain; abnormal ratios of the two may help identify the part of the chain that is blocked.2. Serum Creatine kinaseMay be slightly elevated in mitochondrial disease but usually only high in cases of mitochondrial DNA depletion.

Genetic test1. Known mutationsUses blood sample or muscle sample to screen for known mutations, looking for common mutations first2. Rare or unknown mutationsCan also look for rare or unknown mutations but may require samples from family members; this is more expensive and time-consuming.

Prepared by:Mercado, Princess Cate R.Alejandrino, Ma. Lourdes F.Aspillaga, Liezel