What role will technological growth and innovation play in the future of health care?
Technological progress is discovering new methods of producing goods (Team, 2021). Technology is already present in the healthcare field and has enabled to saving of lives and improved treatment; hence plays a vital role in the field. Technological growth and innovation will play various roles in the future of the healthcare field. The paper will discuss the seven roles, which are 3D printing, nanotechnology, virtual Reality, artificial intelligence, health care tracker, medical tricorder, and robotics (“Future of Healthcare: 10 Ways Technology Is Changing Healthcare”, 2020, par.1- 43).
3D printing technology has enabled the field to print pills, limbs, and blood vessels, to mention a few. It was evident in 2019 when a group of medical officers created a method that they could use to print live skin with blood vessels. This skin would be useful to the burnt victims and the NGO organizations that handle the refugees from war areas who need the 3D prosthetic. In addition, we can see from the pharmaceuticals field where they use technology to print drugs, and even researchers are coming up with ways to print several layers of the drug to enable patients to stick to their plans. Thus in the future, this technology will help medics print more real live skin (“Future of Healthcare: 10 Ways Technology Is Changing Healthcare”, 2020, par.39-41).
In the future use of nanotechnology will be used to treat cancer, operate minor surgery, or even deliver drugs to the human body. It was evident in 2014 when researcher Max made scallop-like macro bots that did swim in one’s body fluids. Currently, the pill cam is already being used by various healthcare fields. Furthermore, in 2018 an MIT researcher created a wireless electronic pill controlled by a digital device’s command, which displayed diagnostic information and released the drug into the body system. Consequently, in the future, this technology will deliver drugs to the human body (“Future of Healthcare: 10 Ways Technology Is Changing Healthcare”, 2020, par.32-35).
Virtual Reality is bringing continuous changes in the medical field since one can watch surgery from any physical location, not necessarily in the hospital. The technology is used to train future medics like surgeons and for the actual surgeons to practice. The types of equipment are mainly manufactured and distributed by the Osso VR. The type of technology boosts the morale and overall performance of the surgeons using it compared to those taught traditionally, as is evident in the research done at Harvard. More so, technology makes surgeons fast and accurate. Therefore, in the future, this technology will create more skilled surgeons (“Future of Healthcare: 10 Ways Technology Is Changing Healthcare”, 2020, par.13-15).
Artificial intelligence can use its algorithm to mine medical records, design treatment plans, and even create drugs since it is faster than human labor. It is evident in 2015 when medical researchers were looking for ways to redesign Ebola drugs to treat the virus, and they found two types of drugs that were suggested by the company’s AI technology. In another case, Google’s Deep mind designed an AI program that could analyze breast cancer, and it outshined all the medics related to such fields. Thus in the future, this technology will help develop drugs and identify the root cause of diseases (“Future of Healthcare: 10 Ways Technology Is Changing Healthcare”, 2020, par.9-12)
Healthcare sensors enable people to monitor their health and control it. One can monitor their sleep and find the best activities for their abilities. Various devices fit various patients and enable them to monitor their health and share results with their doctors, making them time-saving and efficient. Therefore, in the future, it would save patients time visiting the doctor’s premises (“Future of Healthcare: 10 Ways Technology Is Changing Healthcare”, 2020, par.19-21). Furthermore, there are three examples of medical tricorder today: the Check pro, which measures various aspects like heart rate and blood pressure. Medland measures important factors, and the Bio sticker measures the body position and skin temperature. In the future, this technology will be able to measure the abnormalities in the DNA (“Future of Healthcare: 10 Ways Technology Is Changing Healthcare”, 2020, par.22-24). In addition, Robotics technology has enabled the health care department to lift heavy patients and those with spinal cord issues. It is evident in 2019 when a medical institution was able to control a robot with its brain. In the future, it will help perform various surgeries DNA (“Future of Healthcare: 10 Ways Technology Is Changing Healthcare”, 2020, par.36-38).
To sum it up, future technology growth in the healthcare field would help medics print real-life skins for burnt-out victims and deliver drugs to the human body. Further, it will create more skilled surgeons and help develop drugs and identify the root cause of diseases. Lastly, it will save the patients time going for check-up visits, measuring DNA abnormalities, and performing various surgeries in the field.
References
Future of Healthcare: 10 Ways Technology Is Changing Healthcare. The Medical Futurist. (2020). Retrieved 16 July 2022, from https://medicalfuturist.com/ten-ways-technology-changing-healthcare/.
Team, C. (2021). Technological Progress. Corporate Finance Institute. Retrieved 16 July 2022, from https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/economics/technological-progress/.
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