The biomedical healthcare industry is specifically concerned with the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of illnesses. Innovation is the crossroad of scientific disciplines and technology is the pinnacle of that crossroad, constantly evolving as man seeks solutions to continuously changing medical requirements and attempts to keep up with technological advancements.
There are as such, few industries that move as quickly in terms of advancements in research and technology than the medical and pharmaceutical industry.
3D Printing
While it is older than you might imagine, it is only relatively recently that scientists have had the capability to harness the technology of 3D printing in order to reproduce bones and even some internal organs for use in the human body.
Not only can 3D printing be introduced into the body to replace diseased or failing organs, but surgeons are now able to use 3D printing to simulate solutions to perplexing medical conditions and perfect surgeries with less risk to life.
Not only this, but 3D printing is revolutionizing the field of prosthetics with customized limbs being available to patients at a significantly lower price. 3D printing continues to develop and advance with significant potential in the future.
Big Data
Big data is the buzzword in medical circles. It has changed research, analysis and intellect and offers significant insights into causes and treatments to better patient care. It allows us to build health profiles and better predictive models around individuals. In this way, medicine suddenly has access to more information than ever before, evolving our understanding and forcing most companies to embrace digitization and the information revolution.
Flow Cytometry
A continually evolving technology, Flow Cytometry has been used to advance the understanding and diagnosis of cancer. It has allowed researchers to study the development and progression of cancer in order to improve patient care and ultimately develop treatments. It facilitates analysis on a large scale and small scale as a 96 well plate can receive anywhere from 1 to 100 cells as they are sorted from the sample.
Medical Experimentation
The Ebola vaccine was developed in record time thanks largely to developments in technology. Experiments are now conducted in record time, taking weeks instead of years due in part to the fact that scientists are now able to simulate human reactions to certain drugs instead of having to rely on lengthy trials.
Mobile Medical Devices
Wearable gadgets are now changing the way that patients are attending to their own health care requirements. With the rising epidemic of diabetes, patients will be able to monitor their own blood glucose levels and, in the future, automatically self-administer insulin as needed. Smart devices are monitoring movement, diet, sleep and heart rates leading to better overall health. Research by the NIH indicates that patient-centric biomedical devices increase patient safety while providing enhanced care.
In short, medical technologies like minimally invasive surgeries, accurate diagnostic tools like scanners, increased data facilitating better monitoring systems are all leading to shorter recovery times and less time spent in hospital.