In 2017, there were many impressive things happening in the health care field. The FDA approved the first digital tablet. Chinese scientists have created the first genetically edited embryo. Microsoft has launched a new healthcare division. So, in 2018, let’s take a look at what can happen in the digital health field in the new year.
1 Technical war against diabetesAccording to WHO's latest estimates, approximately 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, and this number is growing steadily. We need to accelerate the pace of our efforts, at least for type 2 diabetes, which can be prevented by consciously choosing a lifestyle. Digital health has helped tremendously in the management and prevention of diabetes.
The UK National Health Service (NHS), the British Public Health and the British Diabetes Association (NHS) have partnered with leading companies in the technology sector to fight obesity and type 2 diabetes. They will test a range of applications, gadgets and other digital health products, and more than 5,000 people are expected to benefit from the pilot project. The experiment will last until 2019, but we expect to see some preliminary results in 2018.
In November 2017, Qualcomm and United Medical announced that they have integrated Samsung and Garmin wearables into their national health plans. It enables eligible program participants to earn more than $1,000 per year by completing daily walking goals. This is just the beginning of a good friendship between health insurance companies and wearable manufacturers.
It is estimated that 245 million wearable devices will be sold in 2019, and through trackers and wearable devices, more and more accurate data about our lifestyle will be available. It is inevitable that insurance companies try to use them. More and more companies will add sensors to reward healthy behavior. Therefore, it is expected that in the near future, insurance companies will flourish in the digital health field.
Augmented reality and virtual reality have great potential to transform the medical field. More apps and programs have emerged to help medical students learn anatomy and surgical practice. For example, the Anatomage Table is the world's first virtual anatomical surface, ideal for teaching anatomy. A special T-shirt with an application, Virtuali-Tee allows you to peer into the human body; similar to Hololens, it also makes organs, veins or bones visible in 3D.
These wonderful innovations should be included in the official curriculum, and some universities have planned to introduce this new technology. Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and the Cleveland Clinic opened a new health education park in 2019. Here, students do not learn anatomy from the body, they will learn from virtual reality through Hololens. Therefore, next year we will see more universities will be teaching through AR/VR/MR equipment.
4 Ongoing Medical Research 2.0In 2014, Verily, an research organization in the life sciences of Alphabet, announced the Baseline Project, working with Duke University and Stanford University to try to understand what a “normal†person looks like.
Then in April 2017, Verily announced that it would recruit 10,000 healthy people to participate in the Baseline Project. This research has the potential to greatly expand our understanding of human health. The study began in the San Francisco Bay Area and North Carolina, although scientists hope to expand the scope of the investigation. In four years, the researchers will collect genetic data, blood samples, medical images, and other information from the study participants. We look forward to their initial results this year.
San Diego-based Organovo focuses on 3D printed biomaterial technology. In 2014, they announced the successful acquisition of bioprinted liver tissue, which appeared to be 4-6 years from the liver transplant organ. These bioprinted livers can also be used in the pharmaceutical industry to replace animal models to analyze the toxicity of new drugs.
Organovo works with the FDA to understand the process of bioprinting so that it can be managed well. Since their first bioprinted products are expected to enter the US Food and Drug Administration in 2019, we are likely to see many regulatory discussions on 3D bioprinting in 2018.
Despite the booming of artificial intelligence in the medical field, companies that offer AI solutions have sprung up, and by the end of 2017, we have seen a handful of peer-reviewed papers written by investors. We should expect more scientific papers to prove their application cases in 2018. This is critical to laying a solid foundation for AI in the health care arena to consolidate its credibility as a tool for medical innovation.
In addition, artificial intelligence based chatter will become more sophisticated and sensitive. Chat robots in the health field, such as Ada health, HealthTap or Your.Md, will further improve their diagnostic skills or build special features such as voice interfaces.
In November 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Apple Watch's first medical device accessory, Kardiaband of EKG wearable manufacturer Alivecor. Basically, it is a sensor that detects arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation (AFib); it sends all the findings to the app on the Apple Watch. In addition, Kardiaband's intelligent algorithms are able to analyze and predict heart rate.
A few months ago, Apple launched a program called "Apple Heart Study" in collaboration with Stanford Medical. In addition, in December 2017, the tech giant announced the development of a future version of a smartwatch with advanced cardiac monitoring. All of this shows that we can expect Apple to have a stronger influence in the healthcare market.
Blockchain is a buzzword in 2017, just like artificial intelligence. However, there are many ways in the medical field that can take advantage of complex technologies, such as medical record management, data security, or drug supply chain management.
In September 2017, IBM Watson and the FDA signed a two-year agreement to explore the use of blockchain technology to securely share patient data. However, there are also some startups trying this technology. PaTIentory helps hospitals ensure the safety of patient data while enabling patients to track their own data. So far, they have conducted a pilot project with 500 patients.
In March 2017, the Baltic countries' eHealth Authority signed an agreement with the blockchain pioneer GuardTIme to ensure the safety of more than 1 million Estonian health records. Dubai has also begun testing blockchain technology to ensure the safety of its electronic medical records. In 2018, several startups are expected to show how this technology can help democratize data.
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