While technology and healthcare are constantly changing, a wave of revolutionary developments is changing the way medical organizations work. In this blog, we look into the latest advances in medical technology and show how they are changing the way healthcare is provided and clearing the way for a future where accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility set new standards for medical excellence. Here, we’ll show you some of the most recent medical devices that are changing the world of healthcare right now.
Robotic And Immagine-Based Medical Devices
Adapt Insights predicts that by 2023, the worldwide sales of medical equipment will have reached $640.9% of the total market value. Innovations in many different industries, from nuclear medicine to robotics, are fueling this expansion.
Robotic Surgical Systems
History
1970
The idea of remote surgery for astronauts in space piqued NASA’s interest in the 1970s, and DARPA, the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, tried to create a remote telesurgery unit to aid injured soldiers on the battlefield.
1985
Stereotaxic surgery for a brain biopsy employed the first surgical robot, the PUMA 560, in 1985.
1988
There was a transurethral prostate operation in 1988 that utilized PROBOT.
1992
When it came time to prepare the femur for a hip replacement, IBM and Integrated Surgical Systems Inc.’s ROBODOC could do it faster and more accurately than human surgeons.
2000
The FDA gave the da Vinci surgical system the go-light for usage in the US.
2021
French doctor Jacques Marescaux and Canadian surgeon Michael Gagner, both based in New York, removed a patient’s gallbladder in Strasbourg, France, during the 2001 Lindbergh Operation.
2019
The total number of da Vinci operations performed so far in 2019 exceeds 7.2 million.
Advantages
- The use of smaller, less intrusive incisions for surgical procedures
- Reduce undesired movement
- Sharpen your skills as a surgeon
- Permit surgery to be performed remotely
- Reducing the incidence of complications and deaths
Disadvantages
- Failure to disclose operational errors
- Equipment problems
- High price
Applications
- Surgery for prostate cancer
- Hysterectomy
- Liver resection
- Pancreatectomy
- Liver transplant
- Bariatric surgery
Nuclear Medicine Imaging
Brief history
1896
It was Henri Becquerel who found uranium “rays.”
1897
Marie Curie used the term “radioactivity” to describe the explosions.
1924
Sven Lomholt, J.A. Christiansen, and George de Hevesy conducted the first animal radiotracer research in 1924.
1936
The first therapeutic use of an artificial radionuclide to treat leukemia was developed by John H. Lawrence.
1962
Emission reconstruction tomography (SPECT and PET) was developed by David Kuhl in 1962.
1971
Nuclear medicine is now a legitimate medical specialty, according to the American Medical Association.
1976
While Ronald Jaszczak created the first SPECT camera specifically for use in imaging the brain, John Keyes created the first SPECT camera for use in general-purpose imaging.
2001
In the year 2001, the United States saw 16.9 million nuclear medicine operations.
Presently
The use of next-generation SPECT cameras with cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detectors in cardiac imaging has the potential to reduce system footprint, patient radiation dosage, and exam times.
Advantages
- Bring a medicine to market more quickly and at a lower cost
- A painless, noninvasive procedure
- Saves money compared to exploratory surgery
- Give more accurate results than exploratory procedures
- Assist in the early detection of illness
- Maybe surgical biopsies will become outdated
Disadvantages
A little discomfort and redness after a radiotracer injection
Possibly less detailed pictures than those from CT or MRI scans
Applications
- The process of creating new drugs
- Treatment with radioactive iodine (I-131)
- Radioimmunotherapy
Telemedicine and Ar/Vr
Modern developments in telemedicine have opened up new avenues for the delivery of healthcare, allowing people to consult with their doctors without ever leaving the house.
Telemedicine
History
1920
Clinics on ships might receive medical advice over the radio.
1950
The telephone was the primary means of patient record sharing between healthcare institutions in the 1950s.
1980
In the 1980s, telehealth consultations made use of the transmission and reception of radiology images.
1990s
With the advent of the internet, telemedicine was able to reach more people.
2000
Medics treating wounds caused by shrapnel or direct gunshot use telemedicine in the military arena in the 2000s.
Triage bots, improved video connectivity for both patients and physicians, and the widespread use of telehealth are all examples of recent developments.
Telemedicine classifications
- Monitoring patients remotely. Key patient data is tracked and monitored by providers.
- Data storage and transmission process. The storage and sharing of medical records throughout providers is a breeze.
- Real-time. Audio and video conferencing allow doctors and other healthcare professionals to converse in real-time.
Advantages
- Make things easier
- Improve people’s ability to get medical treatment in outlying or rural places.
- Make it easier for patients who are working or have children to get in.
- Reduce or eliminate travel time and waiting room wait times, which in turn increases patient satisfaction.
- Maximize efficiency for service providers.
Disadvantages
- Data from many sources may fragment patient records.
- Issues with security
- Payroll policies that are subjective
- Complex laws and regulations
Application
- Following-up
- Management of chronic diseases
- Assisted Living
Augmented and Virtual reality
History
1962
In 1962, Morton Heilig developed Sensorama, an immersive environment that combined auditory, olfactory, and visual elements to recreate the sensation of riding a motorbike through Brooklyn.
Interactive graphics were a part of the Ultimate Display that Ivan Sutherland created in 1962.
1980s
The DataGlove was one of the earliest commercial virtual reality (VR) products; it had sensors that could detect hand motions, gauge bending, and calculate position and orientation.
1982
It was the United States Air Force that developed the first flight simulator.
The late 2010s
Virtual reality and augmented reality grabbed the interest of investors and consumers alike.
Advantages
- Facilitate better knowledge retention and comprehension among healthcare workers.
- Advance patients’ comprehension of medical research
- Showing the effects of a sickness or condition increases empathy.
- Make the presentation of innovative pharmaceuticals and medical devices interesting and engaging.
Disadvantages
- Not suitable for clarifying complex ideas found in medical publications
- Usage Cases
- Health educators and their patients
- Visualization during surgery
- Disease modeling to improve health care delivery and patient outcomes
- Companies in the biological sciences that launch new products
AR/VR + 3D PRINTING
Innovations in the use of 3D printing and artificial intelligence will have a significant impact on the medical device business in the future.
Artificial Intelligence(AI) & Machine Learning (ML)
History
1950
Alan Turing developed the Turing test to see if a computer could do cognitive tasks at a human level.
1980–1990
Several therapeutic contexts made use of algorithms, including hybrid intelligent systems, fuzzy expert systems, artificial neural networks, and Bayesian networks.
Presently
Chatbots for patient engagement, mental health and wellbeing, and telemedicine are among the other potential uses of Al that are now under investigation. Google and other tech companies are teaming up with healthcare delivery networks to develop prediction models that will alert doctors to potentially dangerous situations.
Advantages
- Help doctors spot patients who require special care.
- Boost patient satisfaction by making treatment more tailored.
- Cut down on physical labor so primary care doctors have more time to talk to patients in person.
- Make things more efficient, accurate, and productive.
Disadvantages
Possible layoffs
Emotional intelligence and interpersonal connection are absent.
The application
- Medical facility appointment scheduling and online check-in
- Medical record digitization
- Calls to schedule follow-up visits
Additional general uses:
- Medical diagnosis and drug discovery
- Health plan evaluations
- Tracking health
- Consultation digital
- Surgical procedure
- Organizing health records
- Customized care
3D PRINTING
History
1980
Charles Hull created stereolithography, the predecessor of 3D printing, in the early 1980s.
1988
Initially offered to the public in 1988, the 3D printer was developed by Hull’s business, 3D Systems.
Presently
Improving prosthetic limbs and printing drugs and organs (bioprinting) are two fields where technology is now seeing significant advancements.
Advantages
- Improve medical product and equipment customization.
- Increase savings by cutting down on production expenses
- Boost output in compared to conventional production methods
- Help more people work together and make product design and production more accessible.
Disadvantages
- Problems in bioprinting complicated 3D organs
- Absence of vision, funding, and time to achieve technology expectations
- Security and safety issues (low-quality, counterfeit medical equipment or drugs)
- A lack of understanding regarding copyright and patent regulations
- A barrier to broad medical use is the requirement for regulatory approval.
The application
- Preparation for surgery using anatomical models
- Transplantation and bioprinting
- Customized prostheses
- Revitalizing 3D-printed Skin for Burn Victims
- Different 3D-printed pharmaceutical delivery systems and dose forms
Wrapping It Up
Multiple innovations in medical equipment have resulted from the convergence of healthcare and technology. Future innovation will need medical professionals to work together with developers, academics, and industry leaders from all over the place.
