Technology and medicine have coexisted. The medical and pharmaceutical industries have continuously improved and saved millions of lives. It is impossible to predict what medical innovations will emerge next as time goes on and technology advances.
The top 10 new medical technology for 2022 are listed below
1) TECHNOLOGY OF MRNA
Recently, mRNA technology has gained attention because it is a component of the new Covid-19 vaccines. mRNA vaccines provide an alternative to the conventional vaccine strategy because of their high effectiveness, capacity for rapid development, and potential for low production costs.
A single-stranded RNA molecule called messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA, transports the genetic information that is derived from DNA. mRNA vaccines function by giving cells the genetic information they need to produce viral proteins, which the body can then use to mount an immune defense. The Covid-19 mRNA vaccines have greatly accelerated efforts to create additional mRNA vaccines for diseases ranging from cancer to the Zika virus.
It is believed that mRNA’s potential goes beyond vaccines. Since almost any protein can be encoded by mRNA, the same fundamental technology might also enable the development of a wide range of treatments by inducing a drug-like response in the body. Numerous protein-based medications, such as antibodies produced outside the body, have proven to be very efficient but also very expensive. Therefore, by using mRNA technology, development times and costs could be reduced by making the human body responsible for protein production.
2) VIRTUAL REALITY
The concept of virtual reality is not new. But it is now being used more frequently to manage and treat a variety of psychological disorders and illnesses, from stress and anxiety to dementia and autism. But its applications go beyond mental health issues; they also include effective pain management by altering patients’ attitudes and perceptions of pain.
Due to VR’s ability to transport you inside the human body, training procedures for medical professionals have also been greatly improved. The patient can virtually enter a panoramic view of their body while the doctor is diagnosing, which helps the patient understand their disease or condition.
However, its focus areas for medical advancements include preventive healthcare, rehabilitation, assistive living, cancer therapy, and surgery. VR has a tonne of untapped potential in these areas.
3) NEUROTECHNIQUES
Numerous facets of life could be improved by neurotechnology. It has many potential future applications in other contexts, such as education, workplace management, national security, and even sports, in addition to the medical and wellness industries, where it is already being used in practice.
All elements created to comprehend the brain, visualize its processes, and even control, fix, or enhance its functions are included in the field of neurotechnology. Computers, electrodes, or any other device that can be configured to intercept electric pulses traveling through the body can be used as these components.
Neurotechnology is currently used in the healthcare industry for brain imaging, which records the magnetic fields created by electrical activity in the brain, neurostimulation, which involves stimulating the brain and nervous system to affect brain activity, and neuro devices, an emerging technology that uses an implant to monitor or control brain activity. Although most neuro devices are still in the research stage, they have great potential to treat brain disorders. Neuralink is a prime instance of this. Elon Musk is the inventor of Neuralink, which is creating a device that would be inserted into the human brain and record brain activity before wirelessly transmitting it to a computer.
The results of this analysis could then be used to electrically stimulate brain activity. If successful, it might be used to treat neurological conditions like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. While Neuralink has so far only tested its chips on animals, Elon Musk has stated that the company intends to begin implanting its chips in people in 2022.
While very exciting from a therapeutic standpoint, neurotechnology is still up for debate. Data rights and privacy issues are brought up. Overall, while its potential applications are not yet fully understood, neurotechnology is anticipated to grow significantly in the global healthcare market over the next few years as neurological disorders and new illnesses are still being found and identified.
4) AUTOMATED INTELLIGENCE
One of the most exciting technologies reshaping the healthcare industry in 2022 is artificial intelligence.
When it comes to early disease detection and expediting an accurate diagnosis, AI is proving to be very helpful. For instance, the use of AI in breast cancer treatment is making it possible to review mammograms 30 times faster and with 99 percent accuracy, which eliminates the need for pointless biopsies. AI is also being used to monitor early-stage heart disease, enabling medical professionals to identify potentially fatal issues at an earlier and more curable stage. AI is also assisting clinicians in developing more thorough treatment plans that will help patients manage their conditions better.
One of the more recent uses of AI in the life sciences is drug discovery. By developing more effective ways to discover and repurpose drugs, AI can speed up the drug discovery process, reducing the time it takes to develop a new drug and its associated costs.
5) 3D PRINTING
One of the most popular technologies on the market right now is 3D printing. These revolutionary printers in healthcare can produce implants and even joints that can be used during surgery. Since 3D-printed prosthetics are completely customized and can be made to match a person’s measurements to the millimeter, they are becoming more and more popular. Unprecedented levels of comfort and mobility are made possible by the.
Additionally gaining popularity is the use of 3D printing for preoperative planning. Surgeons are now able to attempt procedures they previously wouldn’t have been able to do thanks to the use of a realistic model of a real patient’s anatomy. A complex surgery that can be planned and practiced beforehand using 3D-printed models has the potential to improve success rates while also cutting down on operating room and recovery time.
Printers can be used to produce items that are both soluble and long-lasting. The organization, timing, and monitoring of multiple medications will be made easier for patients by using 3D printing, for instance, to ‘print’ pills that contain multiple medications. Bio-printing is another cutting-edge medical technology that takes 3D printing to the next level. The ability to regenerate skin cells for skin grafts for burn victims was initially revolutionary, but it has gradually made way for even more promising possibilities. Blood vessels, fake ovaries, and even a pancreas have all been made by scientists. The patient’s body then grows these artificial organs to replace the damaged original ones. Millions of patients who rely on life-saving transplants each year could be saved if artificial organs could be made that the body’s immune system would not reject.
6) PRECISION MEDICINE
Medical technology is becoming more and more individualized to specific patients as it develops. Precision medicine takes each patient’s unique genetic makeup, environmental factors, and lifestyle into account. For instance, a patient with cancer may receive medicine that is specifically formulated for them based on their unique genetic makeup thanks to precision medicine. As it targets tumors based on the patient’s genetics, causing gene mutations and making them more amenable to destruction by the cancer medication, this personalized medicine is significantly more effective than other forms of treatment.
Great opportunities exist for the future of healthcare to be transformed by precision medicine. While precision medicine is currently the most advanced in the field of oncology, it also has broader, exciting applications, such as in the treatment of infectious diseases and rare and genetic diseases. Precision medicine will, however, need to be integrated into healthcare, which will be a difficult process given infrastructure, knowledge, and equity issues that the sector must address before this becomes widely used.
7) CRISPR
CRISPR is the most sophisticated gene-editing medical technology to date. Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats is what it stands for It operates by utilizing the built-in defense mechanisms of bacterial cells’ immune systems, which are then capable of “cutting out” infected DNA strands. This DNA slicing has the potential to change how we approach disease treatment. Some of the biggest threats to our health, like cancer and HIV, may be eliminated in a few years thanks to gene modification.
Additionally, the use of CRISPR to treat rare diseases appears promising. The respiratory and digestive systems are impacted by the rare genetic disorder known as cystic fibrosis (CF). The CF gene leads to mutations that change how salt is regulated across cell membranes, thickening mucus that interferes with the function of the pancreas, lungs, and other organs. Numerous mutations contribute to cystic fibrosis, and several clinical trials are currently being conducted to determine whether CRISPR can be used to correct these mutations. Additionally, CRISPR is being considered a potential treatment for sickle cell disease, which is also brought on by a genetic mutation. The only effective treatment for patients up until recently was a bone marrow transplant, but CRISPR gene therapy has given patients new hope.
Numerous potential uses for CRISPR exist, including the rectification of genetic flaws, the treatment and prevention of disease, and the enhancement of crop growth and hardiness. Despite this, the medical technology also raises moral questions, primarily regarding humanity’s ability to “play God” and worries about gene-editing being used to create designer offspring.
8) TELESURGERY
Since the Covid-19 pandemic started in 2020, demand for telehealth and telemedicine has increased. While telehealth includes remote non-clinical services, telemedicine focuses specifically on remote clinical services. Since the pandemic, more people have adopted new working and living practices; as a result, this trend is likely to continue gaining momentum. By 2026, it is predicted that the global telemedicine market will grow from $68.36 billion to $218.49 billion.
Both patients and medical professionals can benefit from telemedicine in several ways. It provides patients with excellent comfort and convenience, and because they are not responsible for any additional costs like childcare or travel, it may also be less expensive. Other populations, such as the elderly, the geographically isolated, and those unable to leave their homes, can also benefit from improved access. Telemedicine is also advantageous for healthcare providers because it lowers overhead costs, reduces the risk of illness and infections, and enables practitioners to see more patients because they can work more flexibly.
In the past two years, telehealth and telemedicine have become more widely used, and in 2022, 1:1 doctor-patient video conferencing will no longer be the standard for virtual care appointments. For instance, we can anticipate the development of medical technology that will enable group sessions, enabling multiple patients to be supported concurrently, in response to the rising number of patients requiring behavioral therapy for mental health conditions.
9) HEALTH GARMENTS
Since wearable medical technology first became popular in recent years—specifically, since the release of Bluetooth in 2000—demand for them has increased. Nowadays, people use wearables that are synced with their phones to track a variety of things, including their sleep patterns, heart rate, and physical activity. Wearables can be useful in preventing chronic conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease due to the aging population in much of the developed world by assisting patients in tracking and enhancing their fitness.
The market for wearable medical devices is still dominated by smartwatches, which are produced by all the major tech companies, including Apple, Google, and Samsung. Depending on the model, they can record electrocardiograms, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and sleep patterns. Smartwatches with blood glucose sensors are currently being developed by manufacturers, which will make it simpler for people with diabetes to manage their condition. Along with smartwatches, other devices such as smart rings, smart clothes, and wearables are gaining popularity and are proving to be more and more helpful in gathering data for clinical research.
Insideables and implantables are also currently being developed, demonstrating that technological development is not limited to externally worn devices. These internal microcomputers have so far been used to support the function of organs like the heart and brain. Many people believe that inside tables, also known as smart pills, are the next stage after external wearables. These come in the form of a hard capsule that must be swallowed and transmit measurements—such as glucose levels—or images from inside the body to help with diagnosis. Since implantables and inside tables are still in their infancy, it is anticipated that they will revolutionize healthcare in the years to come.
10) MENTAL HEALTH AND TECHNOLOGY
According to estimates, depression will account for the majority of disease burden globally by 2030, necessitating the development of new treatments more than ever. Numerous new technologies that can assist in addressing patients’ ongoing mental health needs have emerged over the past year.
Before a patient ever meets with a provider, some apps can finish patient intake forms and offer an initial diagnosis, and AI-powered tools are revolutionizing the way mental health treatments are provided. AI chatbots like Woebot, which can be used in smartphone apps to help patients practice cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques, and voice recognition software like Ellipsis can listen for early indicators of emotional distress in a patient’s voice and speech patterns. Digital symptom tracking is also essential for improving future mental health services that are effective. Patients are prompted to share data every day by online symptom tracking. The data is then analyzed by an AI algorithm to spot patterns and notify providers in real time of any warning signs.
Video games are another new medical technology being used for mental health. endeavors, which received FDA clearance in 2020, is the first and only video game therapy. The game, which requires a prescription, is used to help children with ADHD who are 8 to 12 years old improve their attention span. Seventy-three percent of participants in clinical studies said their capacity to pay attention had increased.
Following this success, video games are expected to become a more widely used, reasonably priced, and easily accessible treatment for a variety of health issues. A groundbreaking video game publisher and developer devoted to creating gameplay that can simultaneously amuse players and deliver, enhance, and hasten treatment for a variety of illnesses and conditions was recently announced by DeepWell Digital Therapeutics.
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