New technology to reshape healthcare industry

New report outlines key technologies that will help healthcare reach new frontiers

Technologies such as E-Power and High-Tech Healing are set to reshape the delivery of healthcare, according to a report published on Friday.

The report, conducted by CSC and entitled ‘The Future of Healthcare: It's Health, Then Care' identifies five key trends that will help hospitals and healthcare providers control costs while providing more effective treatments.

These trends are as follows:

1. E-Power to the Patient

According to CSC, patients will have more control over their care management on a daily basis and will be empowered through the availability of health information. The technologies that will support this include smartphone and internet-accessible applications such as iTriage healthcare information, the PatientsLikeMe.com social networking website and a Band-Aid-like heart rate sensor which sends data wirelessly to a smartphone. For homebound patients, intelligent bathrooms and sensor-rich "living laboratories" are in pilot stages.

2. Earlier Detection

Accelerating early diagnoses is crucial to starting treatment for, and preventing, illnesses. A new range of detection options will help improve early diagnosis, including breath tests using nanotechnology to detect diabetes and cancer, off-the-shelf cameras and fibre optics for cancer identification. It also cites lab-on-a-chip tests, and sensor-based at-home solutions for diagnosing sleep apnea.

3. High-Tech Healing

Next-generation implants and ingestibles will monitor disease progress, dispense medications, and assist and replace malfunctioning organs and limbs. The technologies that will make this happen include: glucose monitoring tattoos, smart pills that send notifications when swallowed, an artificial pancreas for diabetics and artificial retinas for blind patients.

4. Resources: More, but Different

Care provider roles will change and resources will be more widely available through remote technologies and online communities. Sensor-laden teddy bear robots for monitoring children in hospitals will help make this happen, along with robotic care assistants for the elderly, smartphone-enabled patient coaching and monitoring, serious video games for honing medical decision-making, mobile medical training and ongoing education applications using the internet, smartphones and tablets.

5. Global Healthcare Ecosystem Emerges:

A rich ecosystem, armed with data and knowledge, will support more connected care and research collaboration to advance disease identification and treatment. Supporting technologies and collaborative networks include: M2Gen for personalised cancer treatment, Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation conducting clinical testing on three continents, the Global Public Health Grid to improve public health information, and health information exchanges.