introduction
artificial intelligence
The dark side
The rise of mHealth
Telemedicine
virtual reality
Internet of Medicine
Digital Twin
Blockchain
Cloud Computing
Nanotechnology
3D Printing
Primary prevention of disease
Neural Chip
Big Data Analytics
Conclusion
References
References
In times of crisis, great creativity often comes to the forefront to drive big changes, and the COVID-19 era is no exception. Healthcare technology has rapidly risen to prominence to help healthcare workers better manage patients by reducing the risks associated with face-to-face contact, crowded waiting rooms and exam rooms, and hospitalization.
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artificial intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are being used not only to diagnose diseases but also to provide customized solutions. For example, in mass detection scenarios like COVID-19, they are being used to drive systems that process thousands of computed tomography scans, freeing up radiologists and doctors to focus on patients and providing complementary information to improve the accuracy of diagnosis and monitoring.
The pharmaceutical industry is leveraging machine learning to identify new drug candidates without the traditional, lengthy and expensive method of combing through chemical libraries, replacing real experiments with simulations varying multiple parameters, making the entire process not only much cheaper but also much faster.
Robotic systems are being developed using AI and machine learning to replace humans in performing routine, unskilled tasks currently performed by skilled medical personnel, allowing medical personnel to treat more patients with less time pressure, promoting better outcomes.
The dark side
While AI is being used to help healthcare, hacking into healthcare computer systems can lead to the theft of patient and provider identities, misappropriation of funds, and misuse of information. This can happen through private systems linked to hospital software, healthcare facility wireless networks, or through the Internet of Things (IoT). Therefore, protecting such systems from AI-driven malware and personal attacks may be more costly than the savings of applying such systems.
Careful planning, effective training, ongoing monitoring of medical and technical staff’s use of data systems, and the installation of data security systems are essential to prevent, detect, and contain data breaches as quickly as possible.
The rise of mHealth
To address these needs, mobile health information and sensing technologies, commonly referred to as mHealth, are gaining in popularity. These tools promise to deliver health care at lower costs and with better outcomes, allowing a limited number of healthcare providers to monitor a larger number of people, both individually and at a population level.
mHealth applications can promote healthy behaviors for primary or secondary disease prevention, support chronic disease self-management, improve healthcare worker training, and reduce the number of doctor visits, all while helping to personalize interventions at an unprecedented level.
Currently, mHealth comes in the form of mobile devices, wearables, and other devices that enable people to continue their daily activities, sending valuable data on numerous parameters to a server. This data is used now and in the future to provide information on all kinds of trends and predictive factors to inform research-driven efforts to promote and improve patient health.
Currently, multiple platforms backed by top Information Technology (IT) companies such as Apple are available to facilitate healthcare app development.
Telemedicine
Telemedicine is an important innovation now being practiced in many countries around the world due to public travel restrictions caused by the pandemic. The technology allows clinicians to see patients virtually, diagnose and treat patients for a range of ailments while avoiding in-person contact. The time and cost savings make this an attractive option for both patients and physicians, and this trend is unlikely to slow down anytime soon.
virtual reality
Augmented and virtual reality are being used in new ways to distract nervous patients from surgical procedures and to train medical students outside of hospitals without the risk of harming real patients. Hands-free operation modes are also being enabled, allowing medical personnel to access patient records and other information without having to leave the patient or interrupt the procedure they are performing.
Internet of Medicine
The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) consists of a network of devices and mobile phone apps that track and prevent critical events that occur during the course of chronic diseases and connect patients with doctors to better monitor and manage such diseases. For example, wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) monitors can be used to identify patients with problematic changes early on and abort a heart attack.
Other wearable devices help monitor fever, blood sugar levels, pulse rate, etc. Going forward, it is estimated that almost one-third of the global Internet of Things (IoT) market will come from IoMT.
Image credit: Supphachai Salaeman/Shutterstock.com
Digital Twin
The ability to pair objects in a computer-generated virtual world helps to manipulate both objects simultaneously – i.e., a digital twin. This is important for the large number of medical devices on the market today, where the real-world object is virtually designed with the certainty that it is exactly the same in every way.
In addition, models can be created for testing, the results of which are very reliable. Remote surgery is also based on this technology, which saves time and money.
Blockchain
While the use of blockchain technology remains controversial, its potential to improve the ability to securely, conveniently, and quickly share medical information between authorized healthcare providers and patients is becoming more apparent every day. The design of this tool allows for its use by a large number of users without compromising the security of using a single ledger. This poses a formidable challenge to the current use of electronic medical records and makes it a valuable companion alongside IoMT and cloud computing.
Cloud Computing
Patient data is dynamic, so it’s essential that healthcare providers can safely and seamlessly share and store the data that supports clinical decisions. Cloud computing is a great way to collect, store, and manage data in one place. One benefit of this approach is improved care for hospitalized patients and time savings.
Nanotechnology
Developments in nanotechnology have led to many innovative therapeutic systems. Xenobots, tiny self-replicating organic robots, were reported by the end of 2021. Nanotechnology may have a wide range of applications in the medical field, including nanobots that can travel through tiny blood vessels to detect diseases, and nanoparticle drug delivery systems that precisely deliver toxic drugs to target cells to avoid or reduce off-target effects.
3D Printing
The ability to create artificial veins, implants, bionic limbs, customized surgical instruments and other body parts, as well as manufacture pills, is just a small part of the future of 3D printing. Many pharmaceuticals are using the technology to make them faster and cheaper to produce.
Is this the future of health?
Primary prevention of disease
It is estimated that all modern medical expertise and equipment, including lifestyle advice, only changes a patient’s outcome by up to 20%, while the rest is a result of social determinants of health (SDOH). Taking these into account, doctors will soon be able to predict the course of their patients’ health and prescribe preventive measures to halt the deterioration of their health in a timely manner, without having to postpone the recognition of such events until a later stage when sophisticated and expensive interventions would be required.
Neural Chip
Companies are racing to develop microelectrodes that can be safely implanted in the brain to, for example, restore some function to people who have lost their sight or voluntary muscle activity.
Big Data Analytics
Storing large amounts of data in secure data silos allows analysts to mine the data for useful information and helps drive new research using AI and machine learning, both of which identify and interpret patterns in the data that are invisible to humans but may provide opportunities to intervene for the benefit of patients. Norms of data sharing and interoperability are also enforced for the benefit of patients.
Conclusion
“Medical technologies need standards and regulation to ensure safety, protect the public and ensure products are fit for purpose. But in the context of new personal medical technologies, current regulatory approaches are not only unworkable and difficult to enforce, but also work against medical innovation.” At the same time, recognising that human nature remains unchanged and the true purpose of technology has always been profitability, it is clear that new medical technologies need to be carefully overseen through new regulatory frameworks to ensure that patients continue to benefit and remain at the heart of healthcare.
