Technologies That Will Revolutionize Healthcare

Technology is transforming medicine everywhere, from the patient’s home to the operating room. Patients are now able to access quality and timely care without having to leave their homes. Doctors, too, can diagnose, treat, and monitor patients in a way that was never thought possible thanks to technologies that will revolutionize healthcare. 

According to one survey, doctors are increasingly using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for clinical decision support, population health, and disease management. The study further revealed that in 5 years, the value of VR in healthcare and medicine would grow over 30X, from $8.8 million in 2017 to $285 million in 2022. 

With that in mind, let’s now look at some of the technologies that will revolutionize healthcare in the coming days.

Artificial Intelligence

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Artificial intelligence is already being used by doctors and hospitals around the world for disease diagnosis, detection and prevention.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is getting increasingly sophisticated at replicating what humans do, only faster, cheaper, and more efficiently. The applications for AI in healthcare are vast. One of the biggest potential benefits of AI in healthcare is to help individuals stay healthy, so they don't need a medical caregiver, or at least not as often. AI, along with the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), encourages healthier behaviors in people and help with proactive management of a healthy lifestyle.

AI is widely used for the early detection of diseases like cancer. AI-powered systems evaluate thousands of pathology images from different cancers for an accurate diagnosis. They then suggest the most suitable anti-cancer drug combination. In imaging diagnostics, AI allows radiologists to identify details (like cancer cells) that wouldn't be visible to the human eye.

Beyond diagnosis, AI allows doctors to better coordinate treatment plans, take a more holistic approach for disease management and assist patients to better manage and adhere to their long-term treatment plans. It improves the ability of medical professionals to better understand the daily patterns and needs of their patients to provide better guidance, feedback and support.

The best opportunities for AI in the coming years are hybrid models, where doctors are supported in diagnosis, risk factor identification and treatment planning, but retain the primary responsibility for patient care. This will lead to speedy adoption by medical professionals.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality 

Augmented reality (AR) involves the use of displays, cameras, and sensors to transmit digital data to the real world. It starts with a real-life view of something and then projects 3D images onto the screen. Virtual reality (VR), on the other hand, creates an immersive simulated environment through expensive technology like headsets and motion sensors.

VR has changed the way students get medical training. It allows the creation of realistic simulation systems and safe environments where surgeons can acquire more experience without risking the life of a patient. Besides, the ability to stream operations in real-time allows students to learn, irrespective of their physical location.

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Virtual reality and augmented reality are going to revolutionize the way we train and educate a future generation of doctors and medical scientists.

In addition to learning, augmented reality plays a critical part in the efficient detection, prevention, and treatment of different diseases. With AR, a physician can look through layers of a patient's body – assess their organs, veins, and lesions without penetration. Both AR and VR can offer models for planning surgery and playing out different scenarios to maximize sequence and prepare alternative actions for any situation. Just recently, scientists at Cambridge built a VR 3D model of cancer, offering a new way to look at the disease. This system allows multiple users to examine the tumor, no matter where they are in the world.

The remarkable progress in AR/VR in the last few years is the result of decades of research and development in software, computing, graphics processing, AI, and the internet. In 2020, these technologies are widely embraced for their ability to manage pain and PTSD, motivate a healthy lifestyle, enhance medical training, improve surgery processes, and improve post-surgery recovery.

3D Printing

Different areas within the healthcare industry are benefiting from 3D printing, including dental and orthopedics. This technology is providing new and exciting ways to deliver personalized treatment and create better-performing medical devices.

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3D printing is a valuable tool to help hospitals and doctors prepare for surgery and other medical procedures with accuracy and precision.

Today, 3D printing is widely used to create personalized surgical tools and true-to-form organs, using a patient's medical imaging. Plus, with the affordability of desktop 3D printers and the accessibility of medical CAD/CAM software, more hospitals are implementing 3D printing labs. It's in these labs that doctors create accurate 3D-printed models to help in pre-surgical planning. The anatomical models assist surgeons to assess the treatment decisions better and plan operations more accurately.

3D printing is also influencing how surgical tools are created. Instruments like scalpel handles, hemostats, forceps, and clamps can be made using 3D printers. Customized tools facilitate speedy and less traumatic procedures, improve the surgeon's agility, and drive better surgery outcomes. It also creates dental products faster and cheaply and allows specialized care through customized implants and instruments

Today, 3D printing is facilitating surgical teams both outside (anatomical models) and inside (surgical tools) the theaters. Projections show that medical 3D printing will become the backbone of the industry. In 2020, top labs and hospitals are adopting the technology as part of their practices and research efforts, a validation of its value for medical applications.

Robotics 

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Robotics have been used by hospitals for decades. With emerging technological advances in AI and IoT, robotics faces a bright future in the medical field.

Healthcare robotics technologies are changing the healthcare landscape for the better. They are not only relieving healthcare providers from repetitive tasks, but they are also making medical procedures safer and affordable for patients. Robots currently work alongside surgeons during surgery, but they could also operate by themselves. The sales of surgical robots are expected to double this year to $6.4 billion.

Robotic medical assistants track patients' vital signs and statistics and notify caregivers when they need to step in. This allows nurses to care for multiple patients at one go. The assistants also automatically key data into the patient electronic medical record. Other uses of robotic technologies include disinfecting patient rooms, collecting, transporting, analyzing and storing samples, preparing and dispensing medication in labs and so on. Robots are also used in rehabs, in labs and hospitals for repetitive tasks, in physical therapy and a multitude of other areas of health care.

Although robotic technology is expensive, its use is revolutionizing healthcare in many ways and will continue to do so. Da Vinci Surgical system is the most common surgical robot today – though it was launched about 15 years ago.

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Many advances in technology are revolutionizing the healthcare industry, with new applications virtually every day. With technologies of the future, anything is possible.

Internet of Things (wearable devices)

Our list of healthcare technologies wouldn't be complete without us mentioning the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is a network of physical devices that use the internet to allow the exchange of data. This technology has opened up a whole new world of possibilities within the medical industry. When connected online, ordinary devices can gather critical data, provide additional insight into trends and symptoms, allow virtual care and give patients more control over their medical treatment and care. This tech is also a great idea for nursing homes and senior living communities.

Real-time monitoring through connected devices can save lives in case of a medical emergency like an asthma attack, diabetes, heart failure, etc. Real-time tracking means a smart medical device being linked to a smartphone app. Connected devices gather invaluable data and use the internet to send the information to a doctor. These devices collect and send health data like blood sugar levels, blood pressure, weight, oxygen levels, and ECGs.

IoT allows medical professionals to gather an enormous amount of data about a patient's condition, which would otherwise take many years to collect manually. This data can be used for different studies that would support research and also improve service deliverability and data privacy.

What is AI Up To in Healthcare & Research?

Major technology companies like Microsoft, IBM, and Google are investing in the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for healthcare, research and beyond. There's also a steady rise in the number of medical AI startups firms joining in. This leaves us wondering, what is AI up to in healthcare and research, and why the growing interest in the area?

Artificial Intelligence techniques have sent huge waves across the healthcare industry, even driving conversations of whether AI robots will eventually replace human doctors in the future. Doctors essentially do three things: diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. All three core duties are being performed by AI systems that employ deep learning, machine learning, time series forecasting, and natural language processing.

AI systems are showing up and ready for prime time. They can now diagnose common pediatric illnesses, identify abnormal chest x-rays, and assess mental health. AI can also detect eye disease early on, perform surgery, carry out different front-office tasks, and analyze lymph node slides in pathology. And although AI in healthcare is still work in progress, a few things are clear:

But in as much as there are anxieties about AI replacing radiologists or robots taking jobs in pharma or surpassing the skills of surgeons, the truth is that AI isn't likely to fully replace the human aspect any time soon. Industry experts love to think of AI as an empowerment tool – one that offers perspective. Although AI can assist with diagnosis, treatment, and basic clinical trials, it's hard to imagine automated brain operation, for instance, where doctors have to adjust their plans once they open up the patient.

AI can help doctors collect and analyze data for their patients, in real-time. This can increase the accuracy of diagnoses and help reduce human errors made in regards to medical decisions.

What is Artificial Intelligence in healthcare?

AI in healthcare involves the use of complex algorithms and software to mimic the intelligent behavior of humans in the analysis, interpretation and comprehension of complex healthcare data. AI systems can execute tasks that need human intelligence to complete, like image analysis, speech pattern recognition and decision making. The algorithms are effective for automating repetitive tasks and they can outperform humans in tasks they are trained to perform.

What is AI up to in healthcare?

AI and diseases like asthma

Consider what Artificial Intelligence is doing in asthma treatment. Asthma affects 1 in 12 children. Doctors use conventional methods – like checking for wheezing – to diagnose asthma. They ask parents or caregivers to remember how often they administer drugs to their children. They ask about the triggers and whether the child is exposed to smokes at home. In some cases, the doctor analyzes the health data to determine the number of refills or emergency room visits (if any) that the child has had. But all this is just retrospective knowledge with no predictive analytics or proactive strategy.

Although clinical signs of asthma are easy to identify, the condition is much more complex at the cellular and molecular level. The enzymes, proteins, genes, and other asthma triggers are highly diverse. AI allows doctors to diagnose asthma before the patient suffers a few bouts of wheezing. It does so by comparing blood test results against the cellular and molecular markers. This time-saving intelligence frees the doctor's time, so they can focus on patient care during appointments.

AI and clinical care

AI technology is helping doctors and other medical providers make important healthcare decisions with a greater level of accuracy.

AI technology can help the diagnosis of diseases and is currently being used for this reason in hospitals around the globe. Using this technology to research publications and evaluate clinical data could guide doctors in making the right clinical decisions regarding treatment. Potential applications of Artificial Intelligence in clinical care are as follows:

Medical imaging: The technology has shown promising results in detecting eye conditions, pneumonia, and skin and breast cancers. According to a post on The Journal of Medical Health, AI can accelerate the diagnostic process and offer targeted effective treatment. It goes on to state that since radiologists depend on images they've seen before, or experiences they've had in their line of work, they might have a hard time interpreting something different that they've never seen or experienced in their practice.

Machine learning allows them to compare unfamiliar images against large global databanks to get insights on disease trajectory, diagnosis, and treatment options. Machine learning can offer more data by combining different data sources like genomic and longitudinal data along with individual electronic health records.

Robotic Surgery: Surgical adjuncts like image guidance and microscopes give surgeons a physical or mechanical advantage and allow for faster and accurate operations with fewer errors and improved outcomes. Surgical robots can control the depth, trajectory, and speed of movements with great precision. They are particularly effective for procedures that need the same, repetitive movements (like tying knots to close wounds) as they can remain completely still without getting tired.

Screening for neurological conditions: researchers have developed an AI system that can detect different acute neurological conditions in CT scans within seconds. Conditions like hemorrhage, stroke, and hydrocephalus can now be identified quickly with deep learning than through human diagnosis.

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Devices, connected with IoT technology can gather all necessary data about a patient. This data can be fed to an AI interface and analyzed in real-time to help healthcare providers make important decisions with greater insight.

Patient and consumer-facing applications

Patients and medical professionals are taking advantage of vast AI-powered technologies to manage health remotely. From Bluetooth-enabled scales to wearable heart monitors, these medical devices take the patients' health measurements and send these data to doctors to facilitate real-time healthcare decisions. Remote patient tracking technologies automatically monitor and report on patients, often with chronic illnesses so doctors can keep tabs on them - even though virtually. This is made possible in conjunction with Internet of Things (IoT) technology.

Artificial intelligence and medical research

By integrating machine learning to clinical workflows, researchers can perform tasks with greater speed and more accuracy, allowing front-line medical professionals to deliver more effective treatments to patients.

Additionally, AI gives researchers the ability to identify complex associations within datasets faster and more precisely than has been previously possible. In a Stanford study, AI offered a dermatologist-level classification of skin cancer with deep neural networks.

According to this post, the ICGC is profiling up to 20,000 cancer patients at the moment. The organization will combine real-time cancer information on the 350,000 new cases annually England, together with comprehensive clinical data and more than 11 million historical cancer records. With the help of AI, ICGC will be able to provide the international community with comprehensive genomic data for many cancer types.

Again, researchers at the University of Manchester and Cambridge developed AI-powered robots called "Eve" to help optimize the highly involving and expensive drug discovery process. In 2018, the robot scientist, Eve, discovered that a compound commonly found on toothpaste and soap could be effective in treating drug-resistant malaria.

Conclusion 

The effects of AI in healthcare has caught the attention of public and private sectors alike, driving more investment in its development. In Silicon Valley, tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and IBM continue to make a significant investment in AI, while more health-focused AI startups continue to join in.

Statistics project that the global AI in healthcare market size will grow at a CAGR of 41.5% from 2019-2025. The survey further revealed that the growing value of big data in healthcare, increasing the need for affordable healthcare, rising adoption of precision medicine, and declining hardware and supply chain costs were some factors fueling AI growth.

What is the Future of IoT Supply Chains?

A lot has been written about the Internet of Things (IoT) and its impacts on almost all major industries, including transportation, retail, healthcare, finance, and accounting. But one of the most exciting areas of influence is the global supply chain. The Internet of Things shows its fullest potential in processes like supply chains.

Supply chain analysis requires an understanding that the production of any product is inherently dependent on a series of connections and links. When one, or more of the links are weak – whether due to outdated machinery, transport delays, or human errors – businesses end up with poorly functioning supply chains that are costly, with little returns.

The Internet of Things, through its network sensors, offers the much-needed connection in the supply chain – the link between the physical world and that of data. IoT allows companies to transmit critical data across different channels and break them down using powerful analytics engines to optimize any given supply chain component, that helps drive better decisions.

IoT Solutions in Supply Chain Management

Organization and efficiency are two main factors that tend to determine failure or success. If an enterprise can’t locate goods within its system quickly, create delivery schedules efficiently, monitor inventory effectively, or maintain equipment properly, it’s likely to suffer. But the good thing is that organization and efficiency are two areas where IoT excels.

IoT is a collection of interconnected devices that can track, report on, send, and exchange data. These devices (smart devices, chips, mobile sensors, and RFIDs) are linked to computer systems through Wi-Fi or data networks and use sensors to measure different environmental factors, including temperature, location, light levels, handling, movement, humidity, and speed movement. They also automate processes, minimizing human errors.

IoT systems allow businesses to:

IoT-enabled devices are increasingly being implemented to improve the visibility of logistic operations. For example, sensors can be installed in fleets for to offer real-time monitoring updates of transportation and delivery. They also are ideal for asset tracking and fleet management. With this technology in retail outlets and warehouses, there will be more visibility in production, inventory management, and predictive maintenance.

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When connected to the global supply chain, IoT technology can help companies to track and monitor systems in real-time, allowing them to identify and solve problems before they escalate. Such real-time data can also be helpful for businesses to proactively service client demands, reduce downtime, and increase the supply chain’s overall efficiency. And thanks to improved efficiency and visibility across the supply chain, IoT technology enables companies to optimize their assets and ROI.

The Future of IoT Supply Chains

The concept of taking all of the “things” worldwide and linking them to the internet and each other (by extension) is a technological field that’s bursting with promise. The dawning of the age of the IoT is already influencing how supply chain management is happening. Things like organization, efficiency, and relevance are enhancing operations and service quality, with almost unlimited future potential. Here’s what’s in the future of IoT supply chains:

More Companies Will Join In

From the look of things, IoT is coming of age. Studies reveal that the number of enterprises using IoT applications rose from 13% to 25% from 2014 to 2019. The IDC predicts 13.6% yearly growth through 2022. In another survey, 75% of large manufacturers wanted to update their operations using IoT and analytics-based situational awareness by the end of 2019.

There Will Be More IoT Devices

Gartner predicted that there would be a 30-fold increase in internet-connected physical devices by the end of 2020. The same report indicated that IoT would reach 26 billion installed units by the same year and influence the data available to supply chain leaders and how the supply chain works, based on the industry.   

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Will Continue to Grow

AI promises a smart new world of computers that can strategize, plan, calculate probabilities, evaluate options, and make the best decisions. Of course, IoT is the body that gives Artificial intelligence’s brain the ability to act. It also offers the information that AI requires to make smart choices. AI will serve a critical role in monitoring, analyzing IoT data, and sieving it into actionable themes. Machine learning, a type of AI that helps IoT devices to learn without someone having to program them, will then allow systems to adjust according to the company’s preferences.

IoT Will Address Vast Concerns

From what we see today, there are numerous reasons why more and more businesses are incorporating IoT into their operations. From the COVID-19 pandemic and political unrest to environmental concerns like weather conditions, fuel costs, etc. All these affect the way the shipping of goods is done globally. Not to mention today’s consumer, who is very specific about how, where, and when they get products. From consumer electronics, to their healthcare, people will turn to IoT and other technologies to navigate different situations.

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IoT supply chain management will completely revolutionize the way industries get their products and services into the marketplace.

5G Networks Will Continue to Drive IoT Growth

5G network was rolled out in 2019, but the coming years will see many companies switch to this incredibly fast network. 5G promises more ability to connect more smart devices at one go. Greater speeds mean the information gathered by the IoT will be analyzed and managed to a higher degree. It will also drive innovation in companies that create IoT devices (like sensors, identity chips, and computing devices) and boost efficiency and organization. Thanks to 5G, billions more IoT devices can be plugged into the global network, according to Ericsson.

There Will be Supply Chain Digitization 

Efforts to connect all systems as well as implement new digital technologies will still be a priority in the future. Digitization in the supply chain creates transparency, eliminates silos, and enhances responsiveness. PwC foresees a digital environment that removes manual processes and offers a single view of the company and all its supply chain operations.

There Will be Plenty of Big Data 

The growth in IoT, along with the digitization of the supply chain, will yield plenty of big data. IoT will prove valuable for supply chain and logistic managers who want to understand consumer behavior and usage patterns, enhance their inventory management and streamline eCommerce.

IoT Will Become Virtually Invisible

IoT solution will become invisible in the future. The real value of IoT lies in the automation and insights that are enabled when one has access to real-time data on all critical aspects of the business. Manual observation will become uncommon because all alerts will be sent to devices. The future of IoT is billions of cheap, small, low-powered devices that offer instant insights into every system, process, and asset that’s critical to supply chain companies. It is ubiquitous, invisible, and primarily driven by notifications.