The fast-paced advancement of technology has been a driving force of expansion and innovation in the healthcare industry. And while the medical industry has a history of being slow to adopt new processes and innovations, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced health care to adapt to keep up with the times. As a result, several promising healthcare technologies have popped up, with the potential to save lives.
Smarter AEDs
It was a life-saving innovation when the complex and bulky hospital defibrillator was transformed into the easy-to-use, portable automated external defibrillator (AED). This device allowed people with no first aid training to save lives.
That said, from the simple AED comes models with new and innovative technological features.
Smarter AEDs have now improved patient care. Some new AED techs can record patient data the moment the treatment starts or once the AED is attached. It then makes the data transmittable to hospitals and emergency services, ensuring that the doctors waiting for the patient’s arrival have accurate medical data to work with.
However, AEDs are not always readily accessible, and this may result in preventable deaths happening. For that reason, there are AED manufacturers who have made it their mission to change that with technology designed to get life-saving therapy to an individual when and where it’s needed. To learn more about this, you can check out Avive.Life.
In addition, some AEDs are also equipped with patented software detection algorithms to instantly and accurately detect abnormal heartbeats. It can determine if a patient’s heart rhythm is life-threatening, and it can facilitate delivery of life-saving defibrillation, as appropriate.
Remotely Monitored Pacemakers
The artificial pacemaker, which dates back several decades, is still a critical piece of medical technology, aiding millions of patients. By delivering electrical impulses to the heart muscle chambers, this device can correct or prevent life-threatening arrhythmias.
That said, monitoring this device is an essential part of its functionality. However, previous methods of monitoring were far from optimal, as they involved complex interfaces that a patient may not fully understand.
Today, pacemakers have gotten smarter. By being equipped with Bluetooth technology, these devices can be linked to mobile apps that patients can easily use and better understand. This, in turn, helps improve remote monitoring and patient outcomes.
Nanomedicine
The idea of nanotechnology may seem familiar to you because of mentions in sci-fi movies and superhero movies, but what you may not know is that nanotech is slowly becoming a reality.
Before the end of 2021, researchers and scientists had already created microscopic self-replicating organic robots known as xenobots. While it still requires more research, it’s safe to assume that this year is the start of revolutionary experiments in the field of nanomedicine.
This refers to the use of nanoscale objects and materials such as biocompatible nanoparticles, nanoelectronics, and nanorobots for specific medical manipulations and purposes such as diagnosis and treatment.
One of the most exciting possible applications for these nanorobots is to hunt down cancer cells and viruses.
Thus, this technology is expected to be used to fight against numerous genetic, oncologic, and autoimmune diseases on a cellular level to potentially save thousands of lives.
Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning
Computers and humans are good at different things, yet they need to work in tandem to provide top-quality medical care. That being said, machine learning and artificial intelligence are at their best when supplied with vast amounts of raw data. From there, they can help physicians and other healthcare providers by removing the uncertainty from image scan analysis and providing decision support in non-absolute treatment options and diagnoses.
Future revolutions in computing power could also make it possible for artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze health scans and data in a greater capacity. From there, major revelations for medical science can be uncovered, as detected patterns could be used to predict, prevent, and treat certain diseases.
Bioprinting
The existence of printed organs is yet another concept that seems to have been taken from sci-fi movies but that’s now becoming a reality. Although still in the development phase, bioprinting has already made its way to clinical testing.
There’s the challenge of rejection from a recipient patient, but it’s possible that, through the help of AI, healthcare providers can analyze both organs and recipient patient characteristics so that they can better engineer these organs to be compatible with their assigned host.
Bones, corneas, skin, and ears are all organs in clinical testing for bioprinting. Sooner or later, the medical field will be able to create new organs for transplant instead of waiting for donors.
Takeaway
The above technologies are just some of the most promising innovations in the healthcare setting today. They have the strongest potential to save more lives in 2022 and in the coming years. Hopefully, with the current pace of technological advancements, these innovations can evolve along with other concepts that will ensure a better future for the healthcare industry.
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