One of the areas most affected by the development of technology is health. Many companies that take action to save human life are adapting technological developments to the medical world. From robots to 3D printers, most technological advances are used in medicine. The new developments that are expected to take place in the field of medicine in the coming period are as follows:
Healthcare Services Connected To The Home Network
Amazon Echo or Google Home are candidates for being the most useful assistant in our home in the future. As a matter of fact, there is a high probability that there are devices that will monitor your health among your smart devices connected to the home network managed by these devices. Your general health status and medical needs will always be known, taking into account components such as weight, blood sugar, and genetic makeup collected through this network. In emergencies, it will be possible to use these systems to call the health teams home.
Intelligent First Aid Systems
The medicine cabinets we keep at home, at work and at school will no longer only contain first aid supplies. Smart first aid systems, which can be used connected to the Internet, will explain in detail what to do when needed, and even allow you to make video calls with doctors when necessary. In addition, the analysis equipment in these devices will always help to measure your blood pressure or blood sugar values. Gale, developed by 19Labs, is an example of these smart first aid devices.
Health Bots Are Coming
Chat bots, which we usually encounter in public relations and sales areas, will also start to be used in the field of health. Listening to the complaints of the patients and making suggestions according to the symptoms, reminding you to take your medications on time, or providing psychological support.
Virtual Reality Enters The Operating Room
Although it seems to have been shelved for a while, applications are being developed that enable Google Glass to be used by surgeons in the operating room. Microsoft’s augmented reality glasses, Hololens, will also be used for medical students to better understand lessons such as anatomy and interactive physiology. With the launch of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the use of virtual reality in medical education is expected to grow further.
Our Data Will Guide Our Health
Many data such as the steps we take while running, our heart rate, the altitude we climb, our sleep times are measured by our wearable devices and smartphones. This data will become more detailed in the future, and algorithms that closely monitor our body characteristics will allow us to pay attention to what we eat and our activities. When we go to the hospital, doctors will be able to make more accurate diagnoses by using these data.
The results of the tests we have done in hospitals until now were not stored for later use. Now, the doctors who go later can see the results of the analysis done in a hospital. The application called Gliimpse, which is built on this system, also keeps track of the data we leave in hospitals. This initiative, acquired by Apple, will now send users’ data to the HealthKit app on Apple devices. Thus, this application will be much more effective in the decisions we make about health.
Home Health Service
Startups like Pager and Heal, which send doctors home when needed, have already received millions of dollars in investment. With the spread of such applications, it will be possible to call a doctor as if calling a taxi to the house. Similarly, companies that provide home medicine delivery will also emerge. ZipDrug is one of them.
Big Strides For Cancer Treatment
In order to develop the treatment of some diseases, not only the technology but also the appropriate legal basis must be prepared. The US administration, which has taken serious steps in this field, takes an active role in the development of cancer treatment with the initiative of the White House Cancer Study. New policies accelerate approval processes for developed drugs, increase patent protection and enable data sharing. These steps are expected to lead to significant advances in cancer treatment.
General Status Reports
Thanks to the analysis devices connected to the Internet, wide-ranging reports to be created according to the results of the analyzes you make at home will help determine your current health status as well as the general characteristics of your metabolism and susceptibility to diseases.