Top 10 Health Tech Trends

Health is one of the most important industries, and its development makes it possible to cure many, sometimes rare, diseases. This is made possible mainly thanks to technological advancements in the medical sector, which have enabled a better understanding of humanity.

Technology plays a vital role in this area, allowing us to better understand the human body. However, progress is impossible without addressing the barriers to a better and healthier future. These obstacles include rising health care costs, growing inequalities and climate change.

The presence of technology in medical applications is creating new opportunities for patients and medical staff to live in a more sustainable environment and even combat once incurable diseases. Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, virtual care, the Internet of Medical Things and 5G are just a few examples of the advances that are improving medical structures. How? Read on to find out.

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare

Artificial intelligence is developing in many sectors, including health. With multiple applications, such as reviewing patient information and other data, and the ability to develop new drugs and improve the efficiency of diagnostic procedures, AI is one of the technologies of most important health.

Machine learning, which is a type of AI, is having a huge impact on the healthcare industry. Recently, this technology has made it possible, for example, to analyze CT scans in order to treat the effects of the coronavirus. But there are several other uses of artificial intelligence that go beyond dealing with the pandemic. For example, AI improves cancer diagnosis. For decades, the main way to diagnose cancer was through a biopsy. But this did not provide a complete picture of the tissues of the organ. Today, digital acquisitions of a particular area potentially affected by cellular mutations are a key element of contemporary histopathology techniques. Pathologists can observe much larger portions of the human body at one time using whole slide images (also called full-field imaging).

Artificial intelligence in medicine promises to provide composite and panoramic views of individuals' medical data, improve decision-making, avoid errors such as misdiagnosis and unnecessary procedures, help order and interpret appropriate tests and recommend treatment.

Eric Topol, Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again

Another example is Microsoft, which created an AI technology for radiation called Project InnerEye . This project demonstrates how AI can improve clinicians' ability to organize radiotherapy 13 times faster.

2. Data integration and predictive analysis

Combined with AI and other technologies, data integration and predictive analytics provide meaningful insights into patient conditions. It does, however, raise concerns about the presence of robots, including whether they can really take the place, and the work, of people . Such visions are already common in science fiction films. This is the case of the "Baymax" robot, from the animated film The New Heroes , which can measure the intensity of a patient's pain, inform and act when the patient is in danger, and indicate which medication is required. .

The films, however, do not quite reflect reality. AI will not be able to replace doctors, but rather assist them by providing suggestions for diagnoses, medications, and treatment plans based on a patient's medical records, history, and current symptoms. Healthcare staff will be able to use the results of this in-depth healthcare data analysis to improve patient outcomes, reduce costs and increase staff job satisfaction.

3. Technology in mental health

According to the World Health Organization, mental health issues are on the rise worldwide. Over the past ten years, there has been a 13% increase in mental illnesses and substance use disorders, mainly due to demographic changes (2017). Today, 1 in 5 people live with a disability due to mental health problems. Recently, this impact is mainly due to the use of social networks and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past year, several new technologies have been developed to continue to meet patient mental health demands. As a lot of things are now done online, a large number of psychologists and psychotherapists offer consultations via video communication means. There are also digital therapies (DTx) , and some applications allow to welcome patients and offer an initial diagnosis. Medical staff are therefore trying to find solutions to help as many people as possible.

AI in mental health is not only common in applications, but it can also be used to identify illnesses with symptoms, including various mental symptoms caused by chemical changes in our brains, such as dementia . There are many types of dementia, but Alzheimer's disease is one of the most common. It is characterized by problems with reasoning, memory and communication. One of the best strategies for treating dementia or, in certain circumstances, reversing the origin of symptoms, is its early identification.

4. Remote patient monitoring and virtual care

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the global network of interconnected devices, as well as the technology that enables communication between devices and between clouds. Its application in the medical sector, often referred to as the Internet of Medical Things, includes cutting-edge medical technologies like wearable sensors, 5G-enabled devices, and remote patient monitoring. Moxa offers some of these devices for sale. Check them out here.

Among the novelties produced by the Internet of Things is a smart pill that transmits information to doctors and caregivers from inside patients' bodies (called the Internet of Bodies). According to Gartner , smart pills are swallowable sensors capable of recording various physiological measurements. They can also be used to measure the effects of medications and verify that the patient has taken them correctly. The first FDA-approved smart pill hit the market in 2017.

Other virtual care features include security, location services, teleconferencing, appointment management, secure messaging, healthcare provider assessments, visit history, and portable connectivity . In addition, primary care facilities and clinics can now act as remote hospitals, for example, to perform standard ultrasound examinations on pregnant women and share data remotely for virtual cooperation.

5. Digital therapies

Digital therapies, mentioned earlier in this article, are solutions for patients with chronic conditions who need ongoing care. This care may include symptom monitoring, modification of drug therapy, and behavioral modifications. These digital therapies can be prescribed to a patient by their physician and can be accessed through a computer or smartphone app.

Serial bedside monitoring devices are another example of remote care. They allow medical staff to electronically monitor the condition of their patients. Some of these devices are described here .

6. Wearables in healthcare

We have mentioned them in the context of IoT innovation: wearable devices, or wearable technologies, are a group of electronic devices that can be worn as accessories, implanted in the user's body, integrated into clothing or even tattooed on the skin. We will not talk here about wearable technologies used as gadgets, but as an important innovation in the health sector. Smartwatches can, for example, remotely monitor a patient's condition by providing information on heart rate, blood oxygen saturation and vital signs. Wearable devices such as pedometers and various sensors can also measure the patient's physical health.

However, smartwatches are not the only ones improving the medical diagnosis of a patient's condition. This is also the case with biopatch technology and smart hearing aids. Biopatches can provide better insight into a person's vital signs. The sound insulation of hearing aids can also be improved by artificial intelligence.

7. Organ Care technology and bio-printing

3D printing, which we talked about in the Discover industrial applications of 3D printing article , is the technology behind bio-printing. 3D printing is used in the health sector to produce external prostheses, cranial or orthopedic implants, and personalized respiratory stents. It has, however, also demonstrated its value in surgical planning and has been used during difficult open-heart procedures, and even during the total face transplant performed at the Cleveland Clinic .

The Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University is working on a system that should make it possible to imprint living cells, bones and even organs in the bodies of patients using robotic surgery equipment. It could save the lives of people battling cancer. We are thus able to make the link with bio-printing, with 3D printed organs. Although it may seem unreal, the idea is already in clinical trials. Organs tested in clinical settings for 3D bioprinting include ears, corneas, bones and skin.

8. Cancer immunotherapy

We have already mentioned cancer in this article, but without mentioning immunotherapy (also called immuno-oncology), a technique that is revolutionizing the medical world, mainly by making it possible to cure incurable diseases. Immunotherapy is based on the idea that cancer can be treated by genetically modifying a patient's cells so that they cooperate with their immune system. It stimulates the activity of the immune system to help eliminate cancer. Immunotherapy does not damage healthy cells, unlike chemotherapy. It uses the body's immune system to identify and eliminate specific cancer cells, while slowing the growth of tumors.

9. Augmented and virtual reality in the healthcare sector

There are several uses of augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) in the healthcare sector. These technologies make it possible to connect the digital and physical environments in a multidimensional way. The development of augmented reality mainly depends on artificial intelligence. As already mentioned, cancer can be detected by image recognition. VR can be used in physical therapy in areas like mental trauma, where it can cure phobias. Doctors using AR glasses can overlay data from CT scans and 3D scans to look inside patients' bodies. Microsoft is one of the designers of glasses that provide a mixed reality experience, with HoloLens.

As technology advances and combines augmented reality and virtual reality, its use makes it possible to go beyond simple virtual examinations to reach a variety of medical treatments carried out remotely, such as complete surgical operations with the using robotics.

In Japan, for example, medical robots take care of the elderly. Are they popular? Find out in the document prepared by the Telegraph which describes, for example, Honda's "Hoko Assist", a device that replaces canes or wheelchairs for people with disabilities by supporting certain parts of the body.

10. Sustainability and decarbonization

As the world strives to ensure a more sustainable future, the healthcare sector is also trying to help preserve the environment, for example by providing eco-labels. At the global level, the eco-label is a voluntary technique of certification and labeling of environmental performance. Within a certain category, an eco-label highlights goods or services that are more environmentally friendly.

Therefore, companies are investing in eco-friendly label printing systems for laboratories, hospitals, clinics and healthcare. These printers are also useful for healthcare professionals, who can print sensitive labels, capable of showing account/patient information, medications, medical alerts, cardholder cards, and more.

The other method the healthcare industry is focusing on is decarbonization. With the European Union's increasingly ambitious decarbonisation targets, action across all sectors is needed to track and reduce the carbon footprint. One such sector is healthcare, which contributes 5% of total emissions .

In conclusion, to create a better medical environment, it is essential to measure the social impact, but also to implement environmentally friendly solutions, such as ecological hospitals, to set up new models of care, to improve patients' diets and choose greener medical equipment. Discover ourTop 10 innovative technologies in the sustainable energy sector .

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