Innovation for Efficient, Effective and Economic Patient-centric Solutions: Global Collaboration holds Promise and Potential

Read time: 5 minutes

Audience: Healthcare professionals, Entrepreneurs, Startups, MedTech Experts, Pharmaceuticals & Wellness professionals, Consultants, Government departments, Policy strategists, Research Institutions.

Keywords: Healthcare, WHO, World Economic Forum, MedTech, Generative AI, Innovation

Ongoing healthcare developments can be summarized in statements mentioned recently by WHO, that Healthcare innovation is accelerating at an unprecedented scale, particularly in the digital sphere. Current disease detection has evolved with advances such as artificial intelligence and gene editing.

Healthcare Continuum and 9VOM Publishing present the most promising healthcare innovation or development fields that will soon change the healthcare ecosystem globally in terms of high-value deliverables within the shortest possible time for a sooner response and better quality of life for the patients.¹

When a patient needs surgery/ treatment for an illness/ disease, the advances in healthcare technology will likely escalate the probability of a successful outcome. For a long time, medical innovations have continually advanced our ability to treat complex diseases like vaccines for smallpox (18^th century), antibiotics development (1920s), and the world’s first organ transplant (1954, Boston).

Some recent interesting innovations:

·     AI-enabled mammograms can be reviewed 30 times faster with almost 100% accuracy in breast cancer cases.

·   A deep-learning algorithm developed by Qure.ai is facilitating the early detection of lung cancer. Its study shows a 17% improvement with AI to interpret chest X-rays. Now, it has partnered with AstraZeneca to scale up and reduce lung cancer mortality rates globally.

·    Encouraged by Stanford bioengineer Dr. Manu Prakash’s hand-powered, paper-based centrifuge, other researcher Cho and her team developed a diagnostic device for UT (urinary tract) infections — based on a fidget spinner. The handheld device has a central bearing and a small reservoir to hold 1-mL of urine. The user holds the device in the middle and spins it. Any bacteria are concentrated on a filter membrane. An on-device, dye-based assay enables the detection of infection — by the naked eye — in about 50 minutes.⁴

·    While Octopi was designed for the real-time detection of malaria parasites in the blood, researchers in Nepal and Kenya are adapting it for sickle-cell disease and STD. “Sharing is an important part of the solution,” says Dr. Prakash. “Once you share sets of technologies, people build things on top, bringing incredible capabilities.”

The current technological advances are revolutionizing the healthcare sector and those pointers have been summarized by recently published research, WHO reports, World Economic Forum, and other global authorities. Below are the summarized core pointers of segments driving the Healthcare force:

Artificial intelligence (AI) & Generative AI

Algorithms and machine learning are being used in timely detection, accurate diagnosis, and treating disease. More than 80% of MedTech leaders said their organization’s largest digital investments were going toward AI.

3D printing

As per Statista data; 110+ hospitals in the US had point-of-care 3D manufacturing in 2019, compared to just 3 in 2010. It has facilitated various disciplines like dental implants, replacement joints, made-to-measure prosthetics, manufacturing skin tissue, and possibly even medication.

It accelerates production processes cutting down the cost and time (produce hearing aids from more than 1-week to just 1-day, American Hospital Association).²

CRISPR gene editing

Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) gene-editing technology can transform the treatment process even in diseases like cancer and HIV along with the possibility on rare conditions like cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease soon by altering cell mutations. It works by “harnessing the natural mechanisms” of invading viruses and then “cutting out” infected DNA strands. Yes, it has ethical concerns around changing genomes, which need to be addressed.

Recently, a team of scientists was prosecuted in China in 2020 for their claim to create the world’s first “designer babies” using CRISPR.

Virtual & Augmented reality (VR & AR)

This is blooming globally and can be deployed in various ways, such as simulation, performing more advanced surgery, helping with pain relief, and treating mental health.

Smart bandages

A bandage with sensors to track wound healing promises faster closure of wounds, increases new blood flow to injured tissue, and enhances skin recovery by significantly reducing scar formation mentioned by Stanford University team behind it and Artem Trotsyuk. Still, it requires overcoming cost and data storage issues.

Economy and Inflation Consulting

Providing expertise to the healthcare industry. AI in Fintech is enabling wider engagement of users bridging the banking and financial services gap. 

Investment facilitation in innovations

Despite the decline from 2023, it seems likely that investing in innovation and improving R&D productively will remain priorities.

Workforce and talent management

The workforce shortages affecting hospitals and health systems have not had the same impact on life sciences companies. The battle for scientific talent in life sciences tends to be an important topic because it can drive competitive advantage.³

Health equity services

Ensuring drugs and medical devices will be effective for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender is important. With a companywide approach to health equity, life-sciences companies can develop more equitable products and services, and see better outcomes and tangible business benefits.

Supply chain solutions

The geopolitical tensions could have an impact on their 2024 strategies. Generative AI and other digital technologies can future-proof, flexible, and resilient supply chains. While there may be challenges to overcome in 2024, the life sciences sector is likely to continue to drive great innovation and positively impact human lives.

Designing accessible solutions

It leads to the opportunity of accessible point-of-care devices, for use in low- and middle-income countries, and can be used by anyone, anytime, anywhere. Scaling and affordability are important along with ease of use/access for the health workers.⁴

In October 2023, WIPO unveiled its groundbreaking Global Health Innovation Fellowship in partnership with the Indian DBT’s Biodesign Program and the IIT-Bombay & IIT-Delhi. This Biodesign Program involves training aspiring innovators with lower-resource settings in mind, creating a meaningful impact on global health.⁵

GenAI may play a part in aspects as diverse as healthcare R&D, consumer billing (reducing medical costs), and other aspects like efficiency, productivity, and cost improvements—all leading one expert to call the next digital evolution “the AI era”.⁶

Interestingly, experts mention the involvement of AI in plastic surgery at radiological diagnosis, facial plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery, free flap monitoring, data recording, and surgical simulation & robots. The experts also warn that AI should assist and not replace the clinical decision or the clinician. Patient-doctor interaction should not be compromised and the clinician’s expertise, decision-making, experience, communication, patient’s faith, and comfort should not be overlooked while using AI.⁷

Recently, a major initiative has been taken to bring access to innovative research and knowledge to all, especially those dedicated to the global south, in the form of the Global South Healthcare Journal.

We summarize this blog with the projections presented by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General himself-

“The WHO Innovation in Health approach is our commitment to work in new ways with our Member States, workforce, and partners and leverage our respective strengths to find the most impactful innovative solutions and bring them to the people who need them the most. Join us, and let's get to work.”

 

References:

1. Available at https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/02/health-future-innovation-technology/#:~:text=Healthcare%20innovation%20is%20accelerating%20at,diseases%20are%20detected%20and%20treated

2.      Available at https://www.aha.org/aha-center-health-innovation-market-scan/2022-06-07-3-ways-3d-printing-revolutionizing-health-care

3.      Available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2023/10/03/the-10-biggest-trends-revolutionizing-healthcare-in-2024/?sh=3ede0aed1d13

4.      Bhamla MS, Benson B, Chai C, Katsikis G, Johri A, Prakash M. Hand-powered ultralow-cost paper centrifuge. Nature Biomedical Engineering. 2017 Jan 10;1(1):0009

5.      Available at https://www.wipo.int/policy/en/news/global_health/2024/news_0005.html

6.      Available at https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/the-future-of-digital-health

7.      Kumar V. Artificial Intelligence in Plastic Surgery. Clinical Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2024;1(2):37-9. Available from: https://9vom.in/journals/index.php/cjprs/article/view/216

 

Warm Regards,

Authors:

Supriya Dixit¹, Ashwani Shukla²

¹PhD Scholar (Bioinformatics), Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow (UP), India

²Academic Publishing Expert, 9VOM Publishing, India

Corresponding email id: supriya.dixit.28@gmail.com

Date: 11^th May, 2024

How to cite this article: Dixit S, Shukla A. Innovation for Efficient, Effective and Economic Patient-centric Solutions: Global Collaboration holds Promise and Potential. 9VOM Blogs [Internet]. 2024 May 11. Available from: https://9vom.blogspot.com/2024/06/innovation-for-efficient-effective-and.html