Although this may not qualify as an medical innovation per se, I found a recent article on the power of cranberry juice (or the tannins in the juice) to be an exciting find.
Medical research has shown that "A group of tannins found primarily in cranberries can transform E. coli bacteria, a class of microorganisms responsible for a host of human illnesses, including urinary tract infections, in ways that render them unable to initiate an infection."
In the zeal that Americans have for getting rid of bacteria with anti-bacterial this and anti-bacterial that, as well as our tendency to medicate ourselves too readily with anti-biotic medicines, harmful bateria is becoming ever more resistant.
The discovery is that "compounds in cranberry juice have the ability to change E. coli bacteria, a class of microorganisms responsible for a host of human illnesses (everything from kidney infections to gastroenteritis to tooth decay), in ways that render them unable to initiate an infection. The results of this new research by scientists at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) suggest that the cranberry may provide an alternative to antibiotics, particularly for combating E. coli bacteria that have become resistant to conventional treatment." (Source )
This is exciting news and hopefully the catalyst for some helpful medicica innovations in the future.
What's great is that while we wait for those medicines, we can always self-medicate by drinking a glass of cranberry juice.