The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the inner workings of the healthcare industry in almost innumerable ways. On the one hand, several vaccines have been developed with unprecedented speed and grace, demonstrating humanity’s capacity for resilience and innovation in the midst of crisis. On the other, however, we cannot overlook the fact that hospitals remain overwhelmed with patients across much of the world, with many of the richest countries across Europe and North America the worst hit.
Of course, stemming the spread of COVID-19 was never going to be an easy task. The virus which causes the disease (often referred to by scientists as SARS-CoV-2), is easily transmitted through physical contact, infected surfaces and even through the air, meaning it thrives indoors and amongst large groups of people. As you’re probably all too aware by now, physical distancing has been the best tool we’ve had to fight the pandemic so far.
Although vaccines are likely to start bringing down infection rates very soon, the fact remains that COVID-19 has exposed how reliant medical professionals are on close physical contact when treating patients. The disease has coursed through many hospitals around the world, playing havoc with surgery schedules and forcing scores of doctors and nurses to self-isolate, leaving a small number of clinicians to take on huge amounts of work. Meanwhile, many routine doctor’s appointments have faced cancellation and delay due to the intimate nature of medical examinations and check-ups. There must be another way.
How the medical tech industry is stepping up to the challenge.
Fortunately, medical devices companies around the world are learning some important lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. It has become quite clear that cutting-edge technology has the potential to offer remote diagnostic and monitoring tools that could streamline the jobs of doctors and other healthcare professionals, without putting them at risk of catching contagious diseases.
COVID-19 is by no means the only threatening disease to have emerged in recent history, and it is unlikely to be the last. Developing advanced technology needed to cope with the current and future demands of a growing population is vital for maintaining public health and a robust healthcare ecosystem. Therefore, many companies are channeling money into research and development (R&D) for medical tech devices, harnessing the burgeoning popularity of the sector to meet the needs of a healthcare system under pressure.
The current market for medical tech
Wearables go far beyond generic fitness tracking monitors, with exciting new wearable health monitoring devices hitting the market. Some notable examples of cutting-edge technology making its way into consumers’ hands include:
Wearing a smartwatch or a fitness monitor such as a Fitbit can provide a doctor with much more insightful information about certain aspects of your health than a ten-minute consultation ever could. This is because data is collected and updated over long periods, allowing for a much more accurate diagnosis of a person’s state of health.
Promisingly, the gamut of wearables goes far beyond fitness tracking monitors. Other examples of cutting-edge technology making its way into consumers’ hands include:
- Wearable blood pressure monitors: These look like standard smartwatches but come equipped with oscillometric monitors designed to accurately measure blood pressure.
- Wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) monitors: These monitors have the capacity to measure a person’s ECG, meaning they can detect serious cardiac health issues such as atrial fibrillation.
- Biosensors: These are special patches designed to collect data on a patient’s respiratory rate, temperate, heart rate, and more. They have the potential to detect the warning signs of certain illnesses before they become a serious problem, thereby improving patient outcomes and reducing the workload of doctors and nurses.
You may be wondering at this point whether members of the public are likely to trust advanced IoT technology to monitor their vital signs. So far, the signs are looking positive. According to market research, the number of people using health and fitness apps in the US is likely to stay well about 84 million through to 2022.
Growth in the wearables industry is expected to continue, as healthcare institutions and corporations alike realize the potential of medical monitoring systems to improve healthcare, reduce pressures on doctors and nurses, inspire positive lifestyle changes, reduce employee turnover in certain settings, and even boost profit.
How medical tech companies can innovate in 2021?
To boost profitability and make a positive impact on the healthcare of people around the world, medical technology companies will need to innovate quickly. As well as continuing to come up with new devices that are able to perform increasingly complex tasks and continue to focus on R&D, they will need to think carefully about the logistics of producing items at scale. Trends to take note of include:
- 1. Lower manufacturing costs
To have a real effect on the workload of medical professionals and improve the overall health of populations across the globe, medical device companies must focus on making their products scalable. The problem with many innovative high-tech electronic devices is that they are relatively complex and expensive to manufacture, meaning they cannot be produced at scale.
- 2. Scalable tech solutions
At the moment, healthcare monitoring devices are prohibitively expensive for many healthcare providers, companies, and everyday consumers. To make them affordable and increase adoption, companies need to develop devices that can be produced at much lower manufacturing costs.
- 3. Improved power efficiency
Many medical tech devices require frequent recharging, particularly if users wear them for 24 hours a day. To combat this issue, companies must focus on meeting the demand for more power-efficient devices.
- 4. Improved wearability
Medical devices that need to be worn for extended time durations must be small, thin, light and comfortable to wear. Medical tech companies need to develop devices with a form factor suitable for long-term monitoring of patients, without discomfort during use.
How Lune Digital is playing its part?
At Lune Digital, we’ve been working with Medical tech companies for many years, helping them develop wearable devices and remote patient monitoring systems for medical use. As we start to move out of the COVID-19 crisis and into a “new normal”, we continue to provide the necessary technical know-how, expertise and resources to companies working to make the world a healthier place.
