The most high-profile health crisis of 2009 was certainly the outbreak of H1N1 – the swine flu virus that has claimed almost 10,000 lives, according to the World Health Organization. The worldwide pandemic was on the front page of every major news outlet for months as people struggled to realize the impact of the first such flu outbreak in over 40 years.

Equally, the swine flu vaccine, which was produced a record five months after the first reported cases of the virus in Mexico, has arguably been 2009’s most far-reaching health breakthrough. But this year has also seen many other important health innovations, all of which we might have thought were impossible just a year ago. Among them:

The Electric Eye – MIT researchers are developing a microchip that will regain partial eyesight. The chip will be implanted into the patient’s eyeball, and make previously blind individuals able to recognize faces, see shadows, and navigate their movements without assistance.

Lyric Hearing Aid – A new kind of hearing aid that does not require batteries, or having to remove the device before showering or sleeping.

Wooden Bones – Scientists in Italy have developed a new technique to generate broken bones by using small pieces of wood.

Antimicrobial paint – University of South Dakota scientists have invented a germ-killing molecule that can be added to wall paint and cloth to give it antimicrobial properties.

Electronic Stethoscope – Scientists at 3M have invented the Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200, the first electronic stethoscope that uses Bluetooth technology to transfer information to a computer.

JaipurKnee – Stanford Engineers have developed the world’s cheapest knee replacement, at $20 apiece. The JaipurKnee mimics natural joint movements, and is already in use by 300 people in India.

Some of these innovations are still in the development stage, while others are in the early stages of production, but I believe all of them are products that could have a very real and important benefit for the health of patients around the world.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about health innovations