How lack of medical research regulation raises risk of fraud and harm
- At a time of higher scrutiny over the ethics of medical experiments, reports on new breakthroughs highlight gaps that could be exploited
- Experts must put their heads together to develop a comprehensive ethics code that is universally applicable as health research advances at warp speed
The device, a tweet by the University of Otago in New Zealand clarified, “is not intended as a quick or long-term weight-loss tool; rather, it is aimed to assist people who need to undergo surgery and who cannot have the surgery until they have lost weight”.
The study, published in the British Dental Journal, detailed the safety guidelines the researchers took during the experiment. It also reported an average weight loss of about 6kg (13lb) among the seven participants who wore the device for two weeks.
The announcement generated lots of criticism. Some social media users described it as a torture device while others questioned its ethics.
The news about DentalSlim Diet Control and the ensuing debate came a few weeks after Google announced an app that can detect skin problems by taking photos of your skin and determine, using artificial intelligence, if there is a dermatological problem.
The company debuted this invention in the European Union as laws in the United States make the release of such tools difficult.
At a time of increasing scrutiny over the ethics of medical experiments using “gain of function” research – in which a pathogen is modified to become more transmissible so researchers can study how it adapts to environmental pressure – reports of these kinds of new gadgets expose how unregulated this field is.
Technological advances help many fields, including medical science. However, the lack of a global body to oversee such research has forced countries to come up with their own regulations, with many authorities unable to keep pace with the rate of technological change.
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The lead researcher of the experiment that came up with the jaw locking device, Professor Paul Brunton, told New Zealand media that feedback from his colleagues was positive.
“The main barrier for people for successful weight loss is compliance, and this helps them establish new habits, allowing them to comply with a low-calorie diet for a period of time,” he said.
At the same time, researchers included in the findings of the study that one of the seven volunteers failed to stick to the given diet and consumed melted chocolate. From the researchers’ point of view, the experiment was successful. But unleashing such technology could pave the way for copycat devices making their way into the market.
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It is here the need for a global body to oversee medical research as well as manufacturing and marketing of health products becomes all the more essential.
However, research in other fields often flies under the radar as some of these studies are done in universities or private laboratories.
It is time science experts put their heads together to develop a comprehensive ethics code that is universally applicable as health research is advancing at warp speed and in all directions.
Hari Kumar is a journalist based in Hong Kong
