Technology is at our fingertips. Think of all the health monitors or wearable fitness trackers that people are using today. Virtual healthcare practices have changed our attitude towards the medical and healthcare industry. While there are loyalists as well as dissenters who rue the lack of personal connection with the doctor and quality care, tech innovations are breaking barriers meanwhile.
Technology in Healthcare
It could be as simple as information sharing between doctors and patients, or something as profound as robotic aid in a high-risk surgery. Better still, make it a remote surgery where the patient and doctor are separated by miles in between them! Clearly, recent tech advancements are disrupting the medical and healthcare industry with its dynamic applications.
It started with the online consultations and took off from there.
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Telemedicine or virtual consultations are a thing of the past now. Even when they started, the dramatic impact it had on traditional healthcare roles has changed our collective attitude towards the industry. As these technologies develop further, more applications for professionals and patients stand to promote the overall wellness. Today, apps on the phone track our exercise and calorie intake, check obesity development, and monitor heart health.
Here are 5 recent tech innovations that have disrupted the industry for the long haul:
1. Virtual Reality or AR/MR/VR in Healthcare
Both medical professionals and patients stand to benefit from the multi-sensory, immersive experience that VR provides.
Think of realistic and low-risk simulated environment for training surgeons. On the other hand, in the arena of pain management or mental health, immersion in virtual worlds can produce better results. VR’s therapeutic potential and rehabilitation chances in acute pain and anxiety disorder cases are far-reaching.
2. Nanomedicine
This is the stuff of sci-fi genres. Nanotechnology and nanodevices are arming the healthcare industry with control on the molecular level. Nanopharmaceuticals are aiming at smaller drugs and more precise delivery systems. For instance, delivering chemotherapy to targeted tumours rather than poisoning the whole body.
3. 3D Printing
Creating medical tools from buildable materials ranging from plastic to stem-cells, 3D printing has revolutionised the medical industry. Aided by the custom-friendly aspect of 3D printing, organ transplants and tissue repair, prosthetics and braces, even layered stem-cell organoids are possible today. Faster prototypes at a fraction of the traditional cost is a huge leg-up in the healthcare scene. The most dazzling innovation through this method is the ‘poly-pill’ that holds several drugs for multiple illnesses with different release times!
4. Internet of Medical Things or IoT
Connected devices, cloud-computing, and the internet have allowed a larger the exchange of data, convenience, and automation. The IoT is significantly changing how healthcare professionals can manage patient records, control inventory, monitor and provide preventative care. In a way, this could be the most significant disruptive technology as a lot of other tech advancements have been possible only through this.
5. Precision Medicine
Diagnosis, treatment, and preventive care based on an individual’s environment, lifestyle, and genetic makeup is a big shift from the all-purpose generic approach. Precision medicine is suggested based on diagnostic and molecular genetic testing processes such as genome sequencing and DNA mutation investigations. This will revolutionise preventive measures reducing treatment time and expenditure as well as healthcare requirement.
As healthcare and technological advancements grow together, the industry becomes more optimised providing quality care. It is evident in the cosmetic health industry where non-surgical procedures have advanced significantly. You can get Botox in Perth with breakthrough serums and great aftercare with minimal or no recovery time.
In fact, tech innovations have disrupted the healthcare industry so significantly, it is impossible to see it survive without them.
Source: Health Techzone
