The healthcare industry is an essential pillar of society. Without administering proper health products and services, the general public will suffer many health-related challenges, including malnutrition, disease outbreak, unresolved accident injuries, premature death, and an overall decrease in the quality of life.
Through years of medical and healthcare operation, technology made sure that it’ll become the heart of information, research, and implementation. The competence of the healthcare and medical industry against impending threats can be measured according to what technology can provide.
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Quality Healthcare Through Quality Technology
Technology plays a vital role in dictating the accessibility and quality of healthcare to the people. It’s the most significant driving factor that allows physicians and clinicians to deliver high-quality patient care.
But, what exactly does it have to offer today? In this article, we’ll take a look at notable ways how technology is revolutionizing the healthcare industry in the present and beyond:
1. Emergence of Reliable Medical Imaging
Treating a medical condition will be difficult without having a grasp of what you’re fighting. To accurately diagnose a disease, physicians will have to look inside the patient’s anatomy, which can be accomplished through various imaging techniques that are polished by technology.
Medical imaging is a healthcare facet under radiology, which focuses on disease diagnosis and treatment using medical imaging procedures. Some of the most common radiology tests today are:
- X-ray
- Nuclear medicine
- Ultrasound
- Computed tomography (CT)
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Positron emission tomography (PET)
These imaging techniques specialize in different purposes and have their own set of pros and cons. Among these imaging modalities, MRI can produce highly detailed images, particularly full-body MRI scans, and are far less harmful from radiation exposure. Check out this MRI basic guide to know more about the technology behind it.
2. Application of AI To Drug Development
Artificial intelligence (AI) contributes to different industries, including healthcare. Drugs and medications have long been a significant part of disease management and treatment, but the challenge of developing, synthesizing, and producing them in masses has become more difficult and expensive in the past years.
Furthermore, more complex drugs are getting inefficient to develop and produce. Since drugs that can safely and effectively solve simple conditions have already been approved for large-scale use, what’s left are medications for less common and more elusive health conditions.
Thankfully, AI saves the day with the following drug research and development applications:
- Allows prediction of the target protein’s 3D structure
- Allows prediction of drug-protein interactions
- Helps design biospecific and multitarget drug molecules
- Contributes to chemical synthesis by providing insights into reaction mechanisms
- Helps predict the drug’s toxicity, bioactivity, and physicochemical property
3. Healthcare Embracing Telemedicine
Telemedicine is the crossover of technology and medicine. Even without the physical presence of a health professional, telemedicine allows patients to receive healthcare services through digital healthcare tools and software.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine has become immensely useful for remote patients. Since patients aren’t advised to visit medical facilities, to avoid contracting the disease, they can rely on telemedicine to communicate with their medical professionals.
Here are some of the best features and functions that most telemedicine platforms have today:
- Clinical document generation
- Audio- and video-enabled conferencing
- Remote scheduling and appointments
- Electronic health record (EHR) integration
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant communication
- Standard device support for laptops, tablets, and smartphones
- Access to communication system images and picture archiving
- Patient history management and analysis
4. Getting Help From Healthcare Robots
Aside from genuine, human hands, robots also have the potential to assist the healthcare industry. The field of robotics is exploring to employ human machines for both medical and non-medical applications.
Medical robots can take the place of medical staff doing repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on challenging responsibilities involving creativity, decision-making, empathy, and human care. Meanwhile, some robots can also be programmed for a different, more specialized purpose, such as the following:
- Surgical assistants
- Medical transportation
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Sanitation and disinfection
Additionally, robotics are being combined with other forms of existing technology to streamline the workflow efficiency of various healthcare facilities. Although robots can offer significant help for patient care and general health services, medical professionals still remain irreplaceable.
5. Use of Wearable Healthcare Technology
It shouldn’t always take a health professional to help you understand your own health, especially if you’re tracking progress when developing healthy habits. Thankfully, wearable technology has got your back. Small, compact devices such as health watches, fitness trackers, biosensors, and more, allow consumers to have a better grasp of their health and well-being.
The use of wearable healthcare technology can positively influence various sectors of the community. For instance, companies can promote wearables to their employees to foster a healthier corporate culture and reduce employee turnover.
Also, health insurers can start reducing their insurance costs as the use of wearable healthcare tech encourages health-conscious behavior, resulting in fewer hospital visits brought by poor health management.
6. ML Software Allows Improved Medical Information
A subset of AI, which is typically confused as the same, machine learning (ML) is also stepping up to improve the healthcare scenario. Compared to artificial intelligence, machine learning is more defined and specific.
Machine learning essentially teaches computers and machines to think like humans by feeding them with relevant data, until eventually, the computer teaches itself. Although you might not see ML into real medical action, it’s behind important pieces of healthcare information, including the following:
- Recordkeeping
- Medical imaging diagnosis
- Disease identification
- Drug discovery and manufacturing
- Behavioral modification
- Clinical trial and research
- Outbreak prediction
- Crowdsourced data collection
Depending on what data is fed onto the computer and what the programmers want to achieve, ML can be configured for the purposes mentioned.
7. Application of 3D Printing To Medical Hardware
Another tech favorite that’s typically associated with the construction and manufacturing industries, but still has the same importance to the medical industry, three-dimensional (3D) printing, or additive manufacturing, makes 3D objects possible through printing sliced models via a specialized printer before getting them assembled into one, entire 3D piece.
3D printing is popularly known in the product design and manufacturing industry, but you’ll be surprised by how it’s taking the healthcare industry to a new dimension. Because of the customizability and reliability of additive manufacturing, it’s utilized in creating these healthcare innovations:
- Bioprinting tissues and organoids
- Customized surgical tools and prostheses
- Use of 3D-printed models for medical education
- Use of 3D-printed representations for patient education
- Personalized drug 3D printing
- Use in forensic practice
Wrap-Up
Technology has endless possibilities for mankind. As long as it’s utilized properly by the right hands, there’s no doubt that these healthcare technologies will be improved or even replace with more advanced systems, processes, and hardware for the next few years.
