Advanced Technologies in Healthcare
By: Nigel Whittle
Head of Medical & Healthcare
21st March 2019
4 minute read
Some of the biggest changes in the practice of medicine and healthcare over the past 70 years have resulted from improvements in the way diseases and illnesses can be diagnosed and studied. Innovative technologies now allow doctors to discover increasing amounts of detailed information about both the progression and treatment of disease, allowing new treatment options and care pathways.
The most significant developments which are likely to change the face of medicine over the next few decades include:
- Enhanced self-management for patients and the elderly through technology support systems to empower understanding and control of conditions.
- Improved patient access to health service infrastructure through utilisation of remote care and monitoring systems.
- Further developments in medical imaging and the application of Artificial Intelligence systems to effectively analyse and diagnose conditions.
- Precision medicine that can target medical interventions to specific sub-groups of patients based on genomic data.
- Robotic surgical systems that can conduct exquisitely precise operations in difficult-to-reach anatomical areas without flagging or losing concentration.
Self-Management for Patients
Day-to-day physiological monitoring technology, driven particularly by the spread of a variety of consumer wearable devices with communication capabilities, has the ability to collect and integrate health information from a variety of sources, both medical and consumer-based. The next generation of wearables is likely to significantly blur the division between technology lifestyle accessory and medical device, as reliable non-invasive sensors for the measurement of blood pressure, blood sugar, body temperature, pulse rate, hydration level and many more become increasingly implemented within these devices. The provision and integration of these derived complex sets of data has the potential to provide valuable information, that enabling a holistic approach to healthcare. The US FDA is currently working closely with industry to facilitate the introduction and effective use of these more advanced devices.
Enhanced Patient Access
In the UK, the NHS has brought high-quality medical services to every citizen, but often at the cost of long waits for visits to the doctor when a patient is concerned about his health. The introduction of improved access systems, including video-conferencing facilities, electronic health records and AI-powered chatbots, promises to be a powerful and game-changing move. In particular, chatbots systems such as Babylon Health or Ada can provide a highly accessible medical triage procedure, which can alleviate the pressure on over-worked doctors in GP surgeries, and allow those doctors to focus on patients with more serious conditions. With increasing sophistication, these chatbots can potentially provide accurate diagnostic advice on common ailments without any human interaction or involvement. The key concern is, of course, ensuring that the algorithms operate with patient safety foremost, which requires fine tuning to balance between over-caution and under diagnosis.
Medical Imaging and Artificial Intelligence
Following admission to a hospital, a key element of modern medicine is the use of imaging systems for clinical diagnosis, and the main challenge for doctors is to interpret the complexity and dynamic changes of these images. Currently, most interpretations are performed by human experts, which can be time-consuming, expensive and suffer from human error due to visual fatigue. Recent advances in machine learning systems have demonstrated that computers can extract richer information from images, with a corresponding increase in reliability and accuracy. Eventually, Artificial Intelligence will be able to identify and extract novel features that are not discernible to human viewers, allowing enhanced capabilities for medical intervention. This will allow doctors to re-focus on their interaction with patients, which is often cited as the most valued aspect of medical intervention.
Precision Medicine
The current paradigm for medical treatment is changing through the development of powerful new tools for genome sequencing which allows scientists to understand how genes affect human health. Medical decisions can now take account of genetic information, allowing doctors to tailor specific treatments and prevention strategies for individual patients.
In essence, precision medicine is able to classify patients into sub-populations that are likely to differ in their response to a specific treatment. Therapeutic interventions can then be concentrated on those who will benefit, sparing expense and often unpleasant side effects for those who will not.
Robotic Surgery
Currently, robotic surgical devices are simply instruments that can translate actions outside the patient to inside the patient, often working through incisions as small as 8mm. The benefits of this are clear in terms of minimally invasive surgery, and by allowing surgeons to conduct the operations in a relaxed and stress-free environment. At the moment the robot does not do anything without direct input, but with the increasing development of AI systems, it is likely that in 10 or 15 years, certain parts of an operation such as suturing may be performed automatically by a robot, albeit under close supervision.
What will new technology mean for healthcare?
It is fiendishly difficult to predict the impact of innovative technological advances on medical practice and patient care. However, the overall message is clear – improvements in front end technology will allow patients to have a greater responsibility for their own personal health and well-being. Increased access to medical practice through innovative and efficient mechanisms will allow doctors to focus their time on the patients identified as suffering from more serious illnesses. Highly trained AI systems can then complement the doctors’ prowess in identifying and diagnosing particular diseases. Finally, treatment options will be highly tailored to individual patients and their conditions, increasing the cost-effectiveness of treatment.
However, each of these technology developments comes with associated costs and challenges. Not least, new technology could fundamentally change the way that medical staff work, requiring new skills and mindsets to effectively transform medical care into a radically new approach.
For an informative chat on how Plextek can assist with your Healthcare technology project, please contact Nigel at hello@plextek.com
Some of the biggest changes in the practice of medicine and healthcare over the past 70 years have resulted from improvements in the way diseases and illnesses can be diagnosed and studied. Innovative technologies now allow doctors to discover increasing amounts of detailed information about both the progression and treatment of disease, allowing new treatment options and care pathways.
The most significant developments which are likely to change the face of medicine over the next few decades include:
- Enhanced self-management for patients and the elderly through technology support systems to empower understanding and control of conditions.
- Improved patient access to health service infrastructure through utilisation of remote care and monitoring systems.
- Further developments in medical imaging and the application of Artificial Intelligence systems to effectively analyse and diagnose conditions.
- Precision medicine that can target medical interventions to specific sub-groups of patients based on genomic data.
- Robotic surgical systems that can conduct exquisitely precise operations in difficult-to-reach anatomical areas without flagging or losing concentration.
Self-Management for Patients
Day-to-day physiological monitoring technology, driven particularly by the spread of a variety of consumer wearable devices with communication capabilities, has the ability to collect and integrate health information from a variety of sources, both medical and consumer-based. The next generation of wearables is likely to significantly blur the division between technology lifestyle accessory and medical device, as reliable non-invasive sensors for the measurement of blood pressure, blood sugar, body temperature, pulse rate, hydration level and many more become increasingly implemented within these devices. The provision and integration of these derived complex sets of data has the potential to provide valuable information, that enabling a holistic approach to healthcare. The US FDA is currently working closely with industry to facilitate the introduction and effective use of these more advanced devices.
Enhanced Patient Access
In the UK, the NHS has brought high-quality medical services to every citizen, but often at the cost of long waits for visits to the doctor when a patient is concerned about his health. The introduction of improved access systems, including video-conferencing facilities, electronic health records and AI-powered chatbots, promises to be a powerful and game-changing move. In particular, chatbots systems such as Babylon Health or Ada can provide a highly accessible medical triage procedure, which can alleviate the pressure on over-worked doctors in GP surgeries, and allow those doctors to focus on patients with more serious conditions. With increasing sophistication, these chatbots can potentially provide accurate diagnostic advice on common ailments without any human interaction or involvement. The key concern is, of course, ensuring that the algorithms operate with patient safety foremost, which requires fine tuning to balance between over-caution and under diagnosis.
Medical Imaging and Artificial Intelligence
Following admission to a hospital, a key element of modern medicine is the use of imaging systems for clinical diagnosis, and the main challenge for doctors is to interpret the complexity and dynamic changes of these images. Currently, most interpretations are performed by human experts, which can be time-consuming, expensive and suffer from human error due to visual fatigue. Recent advances in machine learning systems have demonstrated that computers can extract richer information from images, with a corresponding increase in reliability and accuracy. Eventually, Artificial Intelligence will be able to identify and extract novel features that are not discernible to human viewers, allowing enhanced capabilities for medical intervention. This will allow doctors to re-focus on their interaction with patients, which is often cited as the most valued aspect of medical intervention.
Precision Medicine
The current paradigm for medical treatment is changing through the development of powerful new tools for genome sequencing which allows scientists to understand how genes affect human health. Medical decisions can now take account of genetic information, allowing doctors to tailor specific treatments and prevention strategies for individual patients.
In essence, precision medicine is able to classify patients into sub-populations that are likely to differ in their response to a specific treatment. Therapeutic interventions can then be concentrated on those who will benefit, sparing expense and often unpleasant side effects for those who will not.
Robotic Surgery
Currently, robotic surgical devices are simply instruments that can translate actions outside the patient to inside the patient, often working through incisions as small as 8mm. The benefits of this are clear in terms of minimally invasive surgery, and by allowing surgeons to conduct the operations in a relaxed and stress-free environment. At the moment the robot does not do anything without direct input, but with the increasing development of AI systems, it is likely that in 10 or 15 years, certain parts of an operation such as suturing may be performed automatically by a robot, albeit under close supervision.
What will new technology mean for healthcare?
It is fiendishly difficult to predict the impact of innovative technological advances on medical practice and patient care. However, the overall message is clear – improvements in front end technology will allow patients to have a greater responsibility for their own personal health and well-being. Increased access to medical practice through innovative and efficient mechanisms will allow doctors to focus their time on the patients identified as suffering from more serious illnesses. Highly trained AI systems can then complement the doctors’ prowess in identifying and diagnosing particular diseases. Finally, treatment options will be highly tailored to individual patients and their conditions, increasing the cost-effectiveness of treatment.
However, each of these technology developments comes with associated costs and challenges. Not least, new technology could fundamentally change the way that medical staff work, requiring new skills and mindsets to effectively transform medical care into a radically new approach.
For an informative chat on how Plextek can assist with your Healthcare technology project, please contact Nigel at hello@plextek.com
