The healthcare sector, in spite of using cutting-edge technology, is also crucially traditional. For decades, the procedure has been the same, with a focus on curing diseases when they appear. However, changes are finally on sight.
The first one is the emerging focus on disease prevention. An example is MyLevels’ use of glucose monitors, to see the impact of food on your body (Mylevels.com, 2018). Although its main application is to promote healthier nutrition, the technology also has application for diabetes treatments. But the technology can go even further, with sensors being implanted into the body itself. Digestible nano-sensors could provide real-time information regarding the patient’s health, both to his doctor and to himself (Rothkopf, 2016). This is especially empowering for patients, in situations where they are often left helpless and crucially uninformed. Such technology not only has the potential to change the way we treat our bodies, but also to change the amount of control we have over them.
A different technology worth mentioning is 3D printing. Having a part of you removed is traumatic enough; yet patients also have to deal with a scarce amount of donors. That is a problem 3D printing is pledged to solve: thanks to the incredible broad range of possibilities, this technology can produce medical prosthetics, implants, and even organs (CB Insights Research, 2018). And its full potential is still to be seen: the first 3D printed kidney transplant dates back only to 2016 (Murgia, 2018), so one can imagine the possibilities 10 years from now.
Finally, another impactful technology is drone delivery. As my classmate Nicole mentioned in her article -you can find the link to her article below-, drones in Rwanda deliver blood samples to dedicated hospitals, leading to faster treatment. Seeing how companies like Amazon use drones for deliveries, it is possible we will witness the rise of drones delivery, not only to hospitals, but to our offices, homes.
It might seem like these technological breakthroughs are unrelated -they indeed all tackle very different health issues. But the truth is that they have been enabled by a quite recent technology -namely AI. Investments in healthcare related tech -and AI- have increased exponentially, with large “hub” firms turning their heads to this industry, hoping to get the largest piece of the pie. See the venture of Amazon, JP Morgan & Berkshire Hathaway, but also investments from Apple, Google, and many others. With so many giants preparing to compete, it will be interesting to witness how the future of healthcare will look like -possibly with a shift from a public service, to a private one.
Nicole’s article: https://digitalstrategy.rsm.nl//2018/09/30/how-drones-are-saving-lives-in-rural-rwanda/
Bibliography:
CB Insights Research. (2018). From Construction To Art, Here Are 25 Industries That 3D Printing Could Disrupt. [online] Available at: https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/3d-printing-technology-disrupting-industries/?utm_source=CB+Insights+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ba91154b4a-Top_Research_Briefs_09_01_2018&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9dc0513989-ba91154b4a-89733553 [Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].
Murgia, M. (2018). Toddler gets world first adult kidney transplant using 3D printing. [online] The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/01/26/toddler-gets-world-first-adult-kidney-transplant-using-3d-printi/ [Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].
Mylevels.com. (2018). myLevels: tap into your body. [online] Available at: https://mylevels.com/ [Accessed 8 Oct. 2018].
Rothkopf, D. (2016)., The Great Questions of Tomorrow
