The word “Technology” really astounds me!!!
Technology has transformed our daily lives so well by creating amazing tools and resources. We get all the useful information just at our fingertips. We all are so much dependant on technologies such as televisions, mobile phones, computers, etc and cannot live without them in today’s fast world. In coming future, driverless cars may be very usual for everyone, and robots will be seen commonly in factories and hospitals, etc.
Future technology is sure to transform our lives in unbelievable ways!
Nowadays, people are using Modern technologies such as smart watches and smart phones which are the multi-functional devices. Apart from providing ease, fun, entertainment, connecting each other, technology can help save lives of ill people at Medical level. We can off course say that technology has made revolutions in our lives and also has made it easier, safer, faster, better, and more fun.
So do you all think whether technology has revolutionized Health care also?
Let’s check!
Health technologies, consisting of medicines, vaccines and medical devices, are an essential component of effective healthcare systems. Better equipment has allowed doctors to provide more extensive care. Better treatments have increased the quality of life of people suffering from chronic health condition. Better medicine has completely eliminated the fear of some severe medical conditions of the past. In the same way, the future of the healthcare is now advancing in digital healthcare technologies, such as;
- Telehealth
- Healthcare trackers, wearable’s and sensors
- 3D-printing
- Robotic surgeries
- VR/AR
Access to the health technologies and one of the advantages of it is a decline in preventable death cases. By the use of modern medical technologies, the treatment and recovery time is reduced significantly. Technologies could win the battle for us against many deadly diseases such as cancer, etc. We should change our own attitude by looking at the betterment of our own health through digital technologies.
So let’s look into few of the modern digital technologies which has and are changing the healthcare.
Telehealth:
As the world is getting technologically oriented, most of the patients now prefer digitally led services. Telehealth allows the patient to receive medical care sitting at home through the digital platforms in order to avoid long waiting queues at the hospitals and clinics for face to face doctor appointments. A Telehealth platform like MediFlam offers virtual consultation to the patients sitting anywhere, at anytime with the Doctor to receive instant diagnosis and medical advice.So in my view, Telehealth is a revolution in Healthcare! What do you’ll think?
Healthcare trackers, Wearable’s and Sensors:
Wearable, implanted and digestible sensors help us to know more about ourselves and measure health parameters and vital signs wherever we need. These sensors make telemedicine and preventive care possible by bringing healthcare to the patient’s home.
Wearable Fitness Trackers
Wristbands are some of the simplest wearable fitness trackers which are prepared with sensors to keep track of the person’s physical activity and heart rate.
Smart Watches
Earlier, smart watches were used to count steps and tell time, but nowadays, smart watches are transformed into a healthcare tool. Apart from its regular functions, the latest smart watches offer exercise and health tracking benefits of fitness trackers.Have you heard of the Apple Heart Study app?
Ok let me tell you, this app was launched to monitor a person’s heart rhythms and alert those who are experiencing Atrial fibrillation. Other than these, there are many such apps which are also used to monitor sleep, fine tune work out routines, weight, your cognitive capabilities, stress levels, meditation sessions, etc. The brands that cater these are Fitbit Ionic, Polar H10, Apple, Muse Headband, etc.
Wearable ECG Monitors
Wearable ECG monitors has the ability to measure electrocardiograms, or ECGs. The Move ECG is able to measure an electrocardiogram as well as detect Atrial fibrillation and can send the reading to the physician. Pace, distance, elevation, as well as automatic tracking for walking, running, swimming, etc are also monitored by it.
Wearable Blood Pressure Monitors
The first wearable blood pressure monitor called Heart Guide was launched in 2019 by Omron Healthcare. It is an oscillometric blood pressure monitor that can measure blood pressure and other daily activities. It looks like a smart watch.
Biosensors
The wearable biosensor is a modern digital device. It is wore in different wearable systems like smartwatches, smart shirts that allows the levels of blood glucose, BP, the rate of heartbeat, etc. The Philips wearable biosensor collects data on the movement, heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature of a person.
These wearable sensors help in detecting premature health conditions and can reduce the hospital visits, waiting long in queue’s at the clinics. This in turn can bring awareness in the telehealth concept by monitoring the vital signs sitting at home and discussing the same with the Doctors on telehealth platform by taking online consultations.Isn’t it a revolution in Healthcare!
3-D Printing
3d printed lungs 3d printed human hearts, 3d printed organ transplants!!!Yes, you read it correct!
Organ donations or getting an organ donor is a huge problem nowadays. The organ donor numbers are very less compared to transplants needed and this result in long waitings.
3D printing could be the biggest revolution in medical technology which can save time as well as lives of people.
3-D Printers are becoming one of the latest medical technologies in the Healthcare sector. It is used to create living human cells or tissue for use in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. If we look into the advantages of 3D printing;
- It is used to replace human organ transplants
- To quicken the surgical procedures
- Produce cheaper versions of surgical instruments
- Improve the lives of those dependants on prosthetic limbs
The doctors can use 3D printing to make products that specifically match a patient’s anatomy. These printers use three dimensional techniques to create customized prosthetic limbs, skull implants, cranial implants, or orthopedic implants such as hips and knees to be used in the surgery. It is used to plan different surgeries and customize dental restorations. It is also helpful and used to manufacture personalised pharmaceuticals.
3-D bio printing quickly produces an organ transplant which surgeons can use to practice prior performing complicated surgeries. It could enhance a surgeon’s skills as well. It minimizes trauma for patients by speeding up the procedure. This type of procedure has been performed successfully in Successful surgeries has been performed starting from a full-face transplant to spinal procedures using 3D printing.
3-D printing is widely used in printing drugs, bio printing blood vessels, heart valve printed with dual syringe machine, printing bone, 3D Printing Medical Applications to Treat Burned Patients, printing medical equipment, etc
By knowing this, I can surely say that modern Medical Technology is a boom to Healthcare!
Robotic Surgery :-
Robots always amaze me! And it astounds me more when I hear a surgery done by a Robot!!!
As the technology is speeding up, we see robots from sci-fi to even hospitals now. They are changing the healthcare and have brought the revolution in Medical technology. A surgical procedure done using a robotic system is called a robotic surgery.
Some surgeries are highly difficult or impossible but such surgeries are nowadays performed using robotic systems by the surgeon. Robotic surgery is way better than a open heart surgery as it results in smaller incisions which can reduce pain, requires less time and provides speedy recovery. The success rate ranges between 94% and 100%
The robotic use started in 1985 in a delicate neurosurgical biopsy, a non-laparoscopic surgery. Whereas India got its first urologic robotic installation in 2006 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
It seems Robotic Surgeries are the most exciting and fastest growing fields of healthcare and it has revolutionized the world with its Medical technology!
Augmented reality (AR) & Virtual reality (VR)
I think most of us are aware about the virtual reality but do you know what augmented reality is and what their uses are in Medical sector?
Augmented and virtual reality has several healthcare applications in the medical world. Augmented reality means a person do not lose touch with reality and it puts information into our eyesight quickly. The advantages of using AR is,
- More accurate and low-risk surgeries are performed by surgeons
- It saves time during emergencies cases.
- AR provides all the information to the surgeon on the screen within fraction of seconds. So no need of searching for any medical records.
Virtual reality provides almost real experience in a virtual way. VR also helps medical students to prepare better for real-life operations, to get close to real life experience using technology. They can gain the experience by rehearsing procedures and providing a visual understanding of how the human anatomy is connected. VR also helps patients in diagnosis, treatment plans and to help prepare them for procedures they are facing.
Thus, AR and VR are very effective in Healthcare for providing better medical guidance and supervision as well as they enhances a surgeon’s capability also.
There is no doubt that the future of Medical technology will continue to revolutionize the Healthcare, in turn our lives as well…
