Biomedicine: Future You? - Teacher Script

1. Warm-Up: What's Your Super-Sense? (5 minutes)

(Teacher should distribute or display the What's Your Super-Sense? Warm-Up and give students a few minutes to complete it individually.)

"Good morning, class! Let's start with a quick thought experiment. Imagine you could have one 'super-sense' or a technological upgrade to your body. What would it be? Would you see in the dark, have super-hearing, or perhaps a built-in health monitor? Take a few minutes to think about the questions on the What's Your Super-Sense? Warm-Up worksheet."

"Alright, who would like to share their super-sense or body upgrade and why they chose it?"

(Facilitate a brief discussion, encouraging students to explain their reasoning.)

"That's great! Today, we're going to explore a really cool field that actually tries to give us some of these 'upgrades' and helps our bodies in amazing ways. It's called biomedicine technology."

2. Introduction to Biomedicine Technology (10 minutes)

(Display Biomedicine Basics Slide Deck - Slide 1: Biomedicine: Future You?)

"Look at our first slide: 'Biomedicine: Future You?' Today, we're going to dive into how science and technology come together to help our bodies stay healthy and even fix them when they're not working perfectly. It's about combining brilliant minds and clever tools to improve lives."

(Display Biomedicine Basics Slide Deck - Slide 2: What is Biomedicine Technology?)

"So, what exactly is biomedicine technology? It's a big fancy term, but it's really quite simple. 'Bio' means life, like in biology, which is the study of living things. 'Medicine' is all about health and healing. So, biomedicine technology is a field that combines how living things work with technology – all kinds of tools, machines, and clever inventions – to improve our health! You can think of it as 'medicine plus tech.'"

"Can anyone think of a simple example of technology used in medicine that you might have seen or heard of? (Pause for responses). That's right! Things like X-rays to see bones, or even a simple thermometer to check your temperature, are basic forms of biomedicine technology."

(Display Biomedicine Basics Slide Deck - Slide 3: Why is it Important?)

"Why is this field so important? Well, as you can see, biomedicine technology helps us in many ways. It helps doctors understand what makes us sick, creates new and better ways to treat illnesses, and ultimately makes our bodies healthier and stronger. It's all about finding solutions to health challenges and improving the quality of life for everyone."

3. Real-World Examples & Discussion (10 minutes)

(Display Biomedicine Basics Slide Deck - Slide 4: Tiny Tech, Big Cures! (Examples))

"Now, let's look at some really cool examples of biomedicine technology in action. First, we have prosthetics. Has anyone heard of prosthetics before? (Pause for responses). That's right, they are amazing artificial body parts, like a new hand, arm, or leg, that can help people who have lost a limb to move and do things again. They've become incredibly advanced!

Next, pacemakers. These are tiny devices, smaller than your thumb, that doctors can put inside someone's body to help their heart beat regularly if it's having trouble. It's like a tiny robot helping your heart!

And then, medical imaging. This is technology like MRI and CT scans. Instead of needing to do surgery, these machines let doctors see inside our bodies. They can take amazing pictures of our bones, organs, and even our brain to figure out what's going on. It's like having X-ray vision without the superpowers!"

(Display Biomedicine Basics Slide Deck - Slide 5: More Amazing Examples!)

"Let's look at a few more examples. Vaccines! You've probably had some of these. They are like tiny trainers for your immune system, teaching your body how to fight off certain germs before you even get sick. It's preventative biomedicine!

Then we have wearable health trackers, like smartwatches. Many of you might even wear them! They can monitor your heart rate, how many steps you take, and even your sleep patterns. They use technology to help us understand our own bodies better.

And this one is super futuristic: smart pills! These are pills with tiny sensors that can travel inside your body and send information back to doctors. Imagine a tiny reporter giving updates from inside you!"

"What do you think about these examples? Which one surprises you the most? (Pause for responses). Can you think of any other ways technology helps people stay healthy?"

(Facilitate a brief discussion, encouraging students to connect the technology to its benefit.)

4. Wrap-Up & Future Thinking (5 minutes)

(Display Biomedicine Basics Slide Deck - Slide 6: The Future is Now!)

"Biomedicine technology is always growing and changing. Thinking about all these incredible things, what other amazing things do you think biomedicine technology could do in the future? How could it help people even more? Imagine new solutions for problems we face today!"

**(Encourage students to brainstorm and share their ideas. Link back to their warm-up

What's Your Super-Sense?

Imagine you could have one amazing technological upgrade to your body, or a super-sense that helps you understand or interact with the world in a new way.

1. What super-sense or body upgrade would you choose? (For example: super-hearing, being able to see in the dark, a device that monitors your health, an artificial limb that helps you run faster).
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Why did you choose this particular upgrade or super-sense? How would it help you or others?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. How do you think technology might already be trying to create some of these "super" abilities or help people with their bodies today? (Think about real-world examples you might have seen or heard of.)