“Every once in a while, a new technology, an old problem, and a big idea turn into an innovation.” – Dean Kamen
Every day, new technologies are emerging. Humans are using all their brains to invent something new, something unique, and something that helps mankind. With all the recent advancements, technology in the healthcare and medical sector has geared up as well. The embedding of artificial intelligence and IoT is now done extensively in the healthcare sector. Various new techniques are being invented that help society to grow in a self-sufficient manner. From electric cars to generating electricity through nuclear energy, humans are advancing in all aspects.
Health has always been on the top priority for a person so it is essential that he/she is treated within time and with perfection. Due to innovative minds, there have been various upgrades in the field. There are treatments for many diseases and disorders which were not thought of a few years ago. Various instruments and facilities have become affordable to the healthcare service providers like hospitals and clinics. Researchers are trying hard to provide everything for better treatment of the public. Various medicines have been used to treat diseases successfully and many diseases have already been eradicated from the earth. New types of equipment have helped the doctors in various complicated surgeries. In the following year, there have been many new innovations for the betterment of the lives of people. Here are a few notable technological innovations:
- 3-D Printing
Surgeries are very complicated and involve a lengthy process. Precision is very important and practicing it beforehand is highly crucial. Doctors use 3-D models for practicing the surgeries. The 3-D printing machine models are made in accordance with the patient’s anatomy. In recent times, few important developments in 3-D printing have come in external prosthetics, cranial or orthopedic implants, and custom airway stents. It has also been helpful in surgical planning as well in complex open heart surgeries. There are researches being carried out to print human tissue that will make organ transplants possible.
- Artificial Intelligence
The biggest problem in making a drug for a rare disease is the huge data of the patients and their compliance. Many researchers and pharmaceutical companies are taking the help of AI to organize the data from the medical records and find commonalities with the diseases. AI has been a huge plus point for doctors and general practitioners as it helps to collect and find the data of the patients whenever required. This technology is transforming all areas of the healthcare industry, from work process control and diagnostics to process automatization, productivity-enhancing, and enhancements in diagnostics accuracy.
- RNA-based therapeutics
Recently, RNA-based therapeutics are being used where RNA is modified or replaced before it forms into a protein. It allows the clinicians to detect any genetic abnormality beforehand and treat the problem by replacing it accordingly with functioning or non-functioning proteins. Advancement in RNA therapeutics may even lead to solving the problems of rare diseases like Huntington’s disease, neurologic disorders, and several forms of cancer.
- New Immunotherapy Techniques
Basically, immunotherapy is a treatment for cancer. In this type of treatment, white blood cells are increased in the patient’s body so as to fight against various diseases. A variety of experiments are being carried out in combination with joint therapy and engineered T-cells that can prove to be effective against a wide range of tumor cells.
- Robotic Surgery
Robotics has been administered in various medical treatments. Nanobots are being administered in bloodstreams of the patients that can diagnose and prevent diseases. Movement disabilities can be monitored by exoskeletons with the assistance of physical therapy. One of the major innovations of 2019 is robotic surgery. Now, robots can be useful in performing various procedures during surgery. A robot can perform tasks and provide medical assistance like giving an injection and gathering information. There are supporting robots that manage to courier medical instruments and other related supplies.
- Telehealth
With everything being digitized, there was a need to monitor a person’s health through digital services. Now, this has become possible. Doctors can monitor their patient’s health even from a distance. The doctor can make a primary conclusion from analyzing the report that is generated digitally. This way, the expenses of the patients are reduced to a great extent.
- Health Wearable
As it is said in a famous quote, ‘Precaution is better than cure’, it is important to maintain a healthy life. People have started to understand that being healthy is really helpful in avoiding any future diseases or disorders. There are various companies that have invented unique health wearable that help a person track his/her own health. One can monitor the heart rate, glucose level, physical activity, and also sleep timings with these. This way, the person can analyze where he is lacking and work on it, accordingly.
- Genomics
A person’s identity is from his/her genes. Even, what disease can affect a person is decided by the genetic make of the body. Biotech companies have come up with technology that can be helpful in decoding individual genomic makeup and aid in enhancing the diagnosis and treatment for various genetic and non-genetic diseases. These companies are further trying to develop a personalized treatment with the help of this technology. In 2017, CRISPR, a gene editing tool was used to successfully edit human embryos in which hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a complex heart disease, within 42 embryos was eradicated.
Technology has been proving to be working hand in hand with the healthcare industry for the betterment of the quality of care provided. Every day, the world witness’s new developments and with this mankind is moving towards more accurate and affordable treatment options.
-Shambhavi Mhetre
