Medical Design Briefs - February 2022 - 6

2022 Digital Trends
the digital age - using the power of
data, artificial intelligence (AI), cloudbased
platforms, and new business models
to improve health outcomes, lower
the cost of care, and improve the human
care experience for patients and staff
alike. " This outlook is driving a new era
for healthcare companies and the products
they develop.
" Digital health products have opened
many new avenues for improving public
health. These types of products will continue
to improve their functionality
while offering a more personalized
experience. Digital health products will
become more tailored to the individual,
providing more intuitive interfaces and
improved human factors, " says Ken
Bragança, vice president of operations at
Designs for Vision, maker of specialized
optical surgical and dental products in
Bohemia, NY. " Software will continue to
adopt this approach, " he says, " providing
analytics and predictive modeling to
paint an overall picture of an individual's
health. "
Bragança predicts that such devices
will become smaller and more powerful,
allowing wearables and handhelds to
create a distinct advantage in the market
as technology blends with the human
element. " This personalized approach
will alter the way medical professionals
and patients perceive health and medical
technology, allowing for quicker and
more accurate decision making, " he says.
Jabil's report finds that nearly four in
10 developers of health solutions have a
2022 will see manufacturers increase their development of digital solutions. (Credit: Web Industries)
plan in process to create and deliver digital
solutions, although there are some
differences based on solution types.
Those developing infection detection
and monitoring, diagnostic equipment,
and pharmaceutical equipment are
more likely to believe they are fully capable,
whereas makers of other device
types are working to execute on their
plans.
" We anticipate an increase in the use
of wearable diagnostic devices and that
this trend will accelerate throughout
2022 and beyond, " says Kevin Young, vice
president of corporate development at
Web Industries, a contract manufacturer
headquartered in Marlborough, MA.
The company specializes in assembling
COVID test kits and is a converter of PPE
used in the medical industry.
" The earlier you diagnose an illness,
the better chance there is to treat it and
improve recovery. The second part of
that is that it reduces costs to insurance
As the pandemic made it more difficult to
access healthcare services in person, wearable
devices gained greater acceptance by patients
and providers alike for remote monitoring, diagnostics
and drug delivery. (Credit: Avery
Dennison Medical)
6
Cov
companies. They're especially interested
in early diagnosis to cut long-term costs
for illnesses that could have been prevented
or at least treated before becoming
acute. We're also going to see more
point-of-care and at-home test devices,
as we have with COVID-19, " says Young.
" The migration of testing from a clinical
setting to the home will continue to proliferate,
not just for COVID but for many
other maladies. We see companies gearing
up to facilitate more home testing,
especially for early detection. "
Philips predicts that telehealth and
remote patient monitoring will become
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a " mainstay of healthcare " and says that
other digital and mHealth platforms are
on the same trajectory.
Michael Muchin, general manager,
North America, Avery Dennison Medical,
also says there that has been a lot more
acceptance of digital technologies in the
healthcare space. " This change has been
driven by the inability to go into a doctor's
office or hospital setting. Viable remote
monitoring wearables and other solutions
existed before the pandemic, but they
weren't always trusted and/or accepted, "
he says. " Now, with the challenges of going
to receive care in person, there's much
more openness and understanding that
remote monitoring and digital health
solutions are reliable. "
Muchin says he also sees growth continuing
for remote monitoring. Avery
Dennison Medical develops solutions for
the interface between the wearable
device and the skin, plus construction
layer materials to hold device components
together. These technologies keep
people safe and allow them to get on
with their daily lives without having to be
in the hospital or a doctor's office to be
monitored, he says.
" The phenomenon of self-tracking with
technology and the community of users
and makers of tools who are focused on
'self-knowledge through numbers' will
drive technological advancements, " says
Justin McMath, director of corporate development,
healthcare and medical technologies
at Molex, a maker of electrical and
electronic connectivity systems based in
Lisle, IL. " The result will deliver real- time
Medical Design Briefs, February 2022

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Medical Design Briefs - February 2022

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