Technology has been integrated into every component of our lives. From how we interact with others to how we do our work everyday. This is the same case with healthcare technologies. Technology has allowed health care components to be delivered efficiently, something that can decide between life and death. Our ability to diagnose life threatening conditions quickly can aid in making sure people can live longer than ever and giving people the power to continue life on earth. At the end of the day, the use of technology will help save lives and improve living conditions for all of us.
This merging of technology and healthcare is not only reshaping the industry’s landscape but also redefining the possibilities of efficient and swift healthcare delivery. This article will cover some of the most recent technological advancements as well as the future of technology and healthcare.
Artificial Intelligence:
When we think of Artificial intelligence, we think about applications such as chat gpt, voice assistants and social media algorithms. However, there has been a surge of development of the use of AI in Healthcare as well. Here are only three of the many different applications emerging.
AI and Pharmaceutical:
- The drug development process to make a viable drug can take up to 5 years. The use of AI can shorten this process, making companies able to put a new drug in the market much faster and efficiently.
- Since there are over millions of trillions of different molecules that can be used for drugs and possible treatments, AI has made the process easier of developing drugs by utilizing its ability to compute possibilities of variations of molecules. Additionally, algorithms can be used to verify the effectiveness of drugs, chemical synthesis of drugs and screening processes.
Medical image analysis:
- In recent times we have seen countless articles and videos on the recent developments in medical image analysis. Ai’s ability to compute through a variety of images and provide an accurate model, is now able to detect tumors and conditions through a few seconds. This has and will be able to revolutionize the current process of medical analysis. An example of a specific condition this will make waves in, is glioblastoma (a specific type of brain tumor). For this condition, it can take a couple of weeks for doctors to be able to confirm whether there is a tumor. However AI can do the same with 90+ % accuracy and in mere seconds. Conditions like this are almost always detected in late stages, and by that point patients would only have a couple of years left to live. In conditions like this, time is essential and the use of AI will be able to conserve it.
Monitoring devices:
- This is what we have been revolutionizing here at DS box. Using AI’s ability to detect through image and variations in images and inconsistencies (for example things like how the body is reacting) will be essential for places such as hospitals and long term care homes where there are a lot of people managed by a few nurses.
Robotics in Healthcare
Recently there has been a rapid development of robotic devices to help in surgery, rehabilitation, and patient care. The main reason for this is the level of precision and lack of error that robotics can have, mitigating human errors in the process. Further we can see this being developed to help make the process all the more easier and efficient for surgery and making wait times much less.
Wearable health devices
This is one area that can have many benefits for fitness enthusiasts as well as people who have existing medical conditions who need to monitor their markers. Wearable devices are able to measure different markers such as people’s heart rate at any given time, their activity levels and in the future we can see its applications in other markets.
It can also be used to help monitor and aid in management of conditions such as diabetes which needs activity to be able to be monitored.
3D Printing in Healthcare
This has been developed to create different types of prosthetics and implants to help in rehabilitating people to help them use their limbs and body parts to the best of their abilities.
It has also been used to fabricate a variety of customized medical devices which require a high level of precision and accuracy. This includes forceps, clamps, hemostats and retractors
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)
While the rest of the technologies primarily target a variety of physical diseases and pain one can have, this one also has applications in mental health diseases.
This is one relatively new area which can have a variety of uses to aid in helping people heal their conditions and the mental pain a condition can have on someone. It can have a variety of applications in this such as aiding in medical training, pain management, and therapy for certain mental health conditions.
Healthcare Apps
There are approximately 6.92 Billion, which translates to 85.95% of the world’s population owning a smartphone. It is no wonder that healthcare apps, easily accessible to people, have become so prevalent. For example the health app on the iphone that can help make tracking weight, height etc. is a great place for that. Additionally apps like meditation and nutrition apps make the process of taking care of yourself all the easier.
The merging of technology and healthcare has been reshaping the landscape of medical practices and patient experiences. With advancements in AI, robotics, wearable devices, 3D printing, virtual reality, and healthcare apps, technology can help save lives, enhance patient care, and improve living conditions. As technology continues to evolve, healthcare stands to benefit significantly from these solutions.
