One field that has seen a drastic change over the years is medicine. 3D printed body parts, gene technology, artificial intelligence and a lot more – the future is truly upon us. Medical breakthroughs are being made every day over the globe.
Here is a list of the ten most profound medical innovations that are going to change the future.
1. Artificial Intelligence.
In this age of technology, artificial intelligence knows no bounds. AI is saving and changing lives today. It is not intended to displace clinicians or clinical judgment but it serves to enhance the interaction between patient and doctor. Its application is in image analysis, decision support and patient triage. Decision support systems quickly decipher the huge amount of data present in the Electronic medical record. It highlights the problem areas on the image scans and helps in the correct diagnosis of the problem. It also reduces the huge load of the already overworked physicians by asking patients a series of questions about their symptoms. With AI integration it will be about working smarter and finding solutions.
2. Advancement in Immunotherapy for cancer treatment.
Immunotherapy is the use of the body’s own immune system to fight with cancer. The market for immunotherapeutic drugs has seen an unprecedented number of FDA approvals. One of the most notable advancement is of joint therapy. In patients with metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, joint therapy has been incredibly effective. Also, there is an integration of immunotherapy with chemotherapy. Another innovation involves the use of engineered T cells. With discoveries every day, there is hope that treatment will soon be available for all the tumor profiles.
3. 3D printing to make patient-specific products.
Utilizing this technology, medical devices are now being matched to the exact specification of the patient leading to greater acceptance by the patient’s body, greater comfort. Some noteworthy applications include external prosthetics, cranial/orthopedic implants and customized airway stents for the diseases which narrow the airway. Another application is the printing of the normal anatomy of humans and providing vidual aid in surgical planning. 3D printing with its wide applications has now become a trendsetter in customizing patient care.
4. Robotic surgery.
An extension of the physician’s hand, robotic surgery provides pinpoint accuracy. Using a controller like an interface, this technology increases safety while decreasing invasiveness, recovery time and pain after the surgery. Robotization is also reaching the endovascular procedures like a percutaneous coronary intervention to the spinal surgeries. With continued advancement in the field, surgeries performed will be the shortest and least invasive with time.
5. RNA based therapies
Similar to DNA based technology, RNA based therapy is the newest innovation and it has shown great potential. By interfering with genetic data at the RNA level, the scientists can obstruct the genetic abnormality before it is translated into non-functioning proteins. This is being explored in a variety of rare genetic diseases like Huntington’s disease, familial hypercholesterolemia, age-related retinitis. RNA based technology is opening windows for progress in therapeutics.
