The healthcare industryis currently one of the world’s fastest-growing business trade that is highlyinfluenced by the equally advancing industry of technology.
The constant progress intechnology can help healthcare institutions answer the public’s rising demandand give better patient care through a more organized and systematic process.
Take a look at 9 of thelatest technology trends that will optimize the healthcare industry in 2020.
3D Printing
3D printing has beenused widely for quite a while. It allowed everyone with the technology to makeprototypes, research, customization works, and a lot more. In the industry,surgeons are using 3D printing to make a replica of patient-specific organs tohelp prepare for procedures. A handful of medical equipment and surgical toolscan also be produced via 3D printing. This technology offers an easier andcost-effective way to produce suitable prosthetic limbs for patients as well asprint tissues and organs to be used for transplant. The field of dentistry andorthodontics also make great use out of this technology.
Wearable Tech
Fitbits, Smart Glasses,and other wearable fitness technology items are capable of doing much more thaninform you how many steps you’ve had for the day. On average, 80% of the generalpublic is enthusiastic to use, or at least try wearable tech. This gives thehealthcare industry a tremendous opportunity to use such items for everydayhealthcare. The latest smartwatches are not only capable of tracking your runsand walks, they are also capable of monitoring your sleep patterns and heartrhythms. Another form of a wearable device that you’re probably familiar withare ECG monitors that are used to detect atrial fibrillation, blood pressuremonitors, biosensor patches for monitoring your temperature, heart rate, etcetera.
The advance in wearable technology will pave a way for the public to proactively get health support in style and in comfort.
Machine Learning and AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Artificial intelligenceand machine learning allow the development of new ways to classify and diagnosediseases, recognize and develop treatment programs, track health epidemics,optimize medical research and clinical trials, and generally improve thehealthcare system as a whole. A great deal considering the continuous growth inworld population and average life expectancy age. This technology makes it morefeasible to handle the rapidly increasing demands on the system.
By this year, medicaldata will double approximately every 2 months. It is estimated that we couldsave $100 billion in annual savings for medicine by relying on artificialintelligence and machine learning tools to process the influx of data.
Advanced AI algorithmswith superhuman computational power enable them to learn from data and predictthe probability of a condition. This would help doctors and medicalpractitioners provide diagnosis and treatment plans.
With the proper regulation in terms of algorithm use, AI and machine learning can act as a major support to many clinical difficulties and enhance hospital and clinic performances.
Robots
Would you let theTerminator’s distant cousin give you your medical needs? Probably not. Butadvance and specially-designed robots like theda Vincisurgical robot hasbeen assisting patients with responsibilities in the operating room for sometime now. But the robots’ potential in healthcare goes beyond surgicalpractices.
With the colossal growthforeseen in robotics, with the global medical robotics market anticipated toseize $20 billion by 2023, it is certain that robots will proceed to administermore diverse procedures in healthcare. Robots have already been helping doctorsexamine and treat patients in remote areas through “telepresence,”transporting medical supplies, disinfecting hospital quarters, supportingpatients through rehabilitation or with prosthetics, as well as automatinglaboratories and packaging medical equipment. Some promising medical robots arealso equipped with a micro-bot that can pin-point treatment to a precisesection of the body which is significantly helpful in procedures like tumorradiation or bacterial infection treatments.
Extended Reality (Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality)
Extended reality can beused not only for entertainment purposes. As a matter of fact, it’s alreadybeing utilized for important medical purposes.
The VR/AR healthcare market is expected to hit $5.1 billion by 2025. It’s a technological breakthrough for training and surgery simulation, and it’s also playing an important role in patient care and treatment. Virtual reality has assisted patients with visual impairment, depression, cancer, and autism while augmented reality has been giving another source of help for medical practitioners and has aided doctors during brain surgery and reconnecting blood vessels. Mixed reality, the technology that connects the virtual and real world, has been leading educational opportunities for medical professionals as their patients by helping them visualize and understand their conditions or treatment plans.
Digital Twins
Similar to 3D printing,a digital twin is a real-time replica of something from the physical world,only in digital form. In the industry of healthcare, digital twins are replicasof a patient’s life-long data record. Digital twins are able to help a doctordetermine the possibilities for certain procedures, help plan treatmentarrangements, and handle chronic illnesses. In a nutshell, digital twins areessential to elevate patient-centric care. The digital twin technology is stillin its first few stages, but its potential is rather promising.
5G
Fifteen percent of the world’s population is still living in rural areas that have little to no access to a proper healthcare facility. And as the capacities for local healthcare centers to render care in remote or areas in need through telemedicine increase, the quality and speed of the network available in those areas are crucial if we’re looking for positive outcomes. 5G networks can support healthcare teams by enabling the transmission of large imaging files for review and professional medical advice and enabling the use of AI, enhancing a doctor’s capability to administer treatments through AR, VR or mixed reality, and allowing remote patient monitoring.
Genomics
Artificial intelligenceand machine learning help advance genomic medicine by using a person’s genomicinformation to devise personalized treatment programs and medical care. Genomicmedicine is making an impact.in the fields of pharmacology, oncology,infectious diseases, and a whole lot more. Machines are able to analyze genesand gene mutations that cause medical conditions faster than professionals.This shortcut helps the community understand how diseases work better andfaster, as well as how to treat or even exterminate it. There are numerousongoing research projects concerning complicated medical conditions such asorgan transplant rejection, cystic fibrosis, and cancers to determine how bestto treat these conditions through personalized medicine.
These technologiesextend unbelievable opportunities for providing better and faster healthcare tobillions of people all around the world and help the system catch up with theincreasing rate of demands.
