Medical Design Briefs - February 2022 - 7

The COVID-19 Effect
COVID-19 altered the course of medical
technologies and the types of medical
devices that are being developed.
The pandemic has compounded both
the mental health crisis as well as the
opioid crisis, urging the demand for
cutting-edge research and new technologies
in this space, says Prasad, whose
company develops patient engagement
platforms. He says that there will be an
amplified need to help identify, combat,
and treat at-risk patients, as well as modify
treatment plans utilizing technologies
such as mHealth and wearables.
Another major impact of COVID-19 is
Automation will play a big part in the development of digital devices. (Credit: Web Industries)
consumer health diagnostics that keep
followers at peak performance, requir ing
seamless data capture and results ex -
change among devices and equip ment
tracking health-related vectors. "
The Technologies Driving the Trends
Noninvasive monitoring technologies
will grow using things like acoustic and
ultrasound, says Jorg Lorscheider, marketing
director for Omnica, Irvine, CA. And
emerging technologies such as AI and
machine learning (ML) will be used to
make sense of the data as well. Advances in
integrated circuits (ICs), battery technology,
and the Internet of Things (IoT) will
drive many of the improvements in digital
health products.
" ICs have been steadily advancing,
decreasing power demand while in -
creasing performance and capabilities.
These advances will drive technology
into smaller and more embedded applications,
allowing digital health products
to perform more tasks with greater complexity, "
says Bragança.
" Battery technology is being driven by
the current focus on the electric vehicle
(EV) market. Improvements in energy
density should allow for batteries with
smaller footprints and more customizable
formats. These batteries will help to
improve the capability and size of wearables
and handheld devices. IoT technology
is constantly being em ployed in a wide
range of medical products. As more
devices become connected, the pool of
available data will continue to increase,
allowing for new applications and instant
access to healthcare data, " he says.
Medical Design Briefs, February 2022
Cov
The Impact of AI/ML
FDA has identified 10 principles de -
signed to guide device manufacturers in
the development of medical devices that
use AI and ML. FDA says that these technologies
have the potential to transform
healthcare by " deriving new and important
insights from the vast amount of
data generated during the delivery of
healthcare every day. "
" Nearly every wearable will provide
data that would benefit from AI and ML
technology, " says Lorscheider. " It's amazing
what these tools can do to recognize
illness long before a doctor could. With
AI, we can see things that we could not
before. For example, simple heart rate or
blood pressure monitors could reveal
much more than they have currently
been used for. So existing technologies
will benefit from digital advances first. "
AI and ML will become commonplace
in any device that can benefit from pattern
recognition and predictive analysis,
notes Bragança. But, he says, these technologies
can also be applied to the vast
quantity
of healthcare
data
that
is
already available. " This will allow manufacturers
to gain insights and make predictions
that can help define product
requirements and allow for more personalized
interfaces, " Bragança says.
" While AI has been leading medical
innovation, we will continue to see the
impact of artificial intelligence in the
proper diagnosis and in processing of
healthcare data to reduce back-end errors
and improve overall care, " says Hari
Prasad, CEO of New York-based Yosi
Health.
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that it has accelerated an already progressing
trend of patients' comfort with and
reliance on technology, explains Bra -
gança. " As people become more accustomed
to technology in everyday activities,
medical devices will evolve to become
more individualistic. Digital health products
will trend toward more personalization,
offering better physiological and psychological
compatibility, " he says.
Wearable and handheld devices will
capitalize on this trend and begin to
dominate the digital health market. To
succeed, manufacturers will need to
Digital health products will provide more intuitive
interfaces and improved human factors.
(Credit: Designs for Vision)
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Medical Design Briefs - February 2022

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