Medical or healthcare technology has recently become one of the fastest expanding and growing industries that are bursting with technology innovations.
But what are the latest trends we expect to see in 2015 for the next generation of medical devices?
Power to the portable med tech devices
Devices have become smaller and as a result, smarter and more complex mechanisms are progressively in demand. Finally, there seems to be an increased demand for mobile technology used in hospitals and other medical associated fields, including acute ventilators, portable anaesthesia workstations, and intra-oral scanners.
So watch out for the portable med techs this year, I’m sure you’ll see some floating around. Look out for battery-powered medical devices delivering high power discharge from batteries with high energy densities used in mobile hospital setups and for emergency services such as ambulances etc.
Security and authenticy in med tech
Unfortunately copycat batteries are now available at the click of a button. And what makes it worst, these knock offs are spreading fast in the healthcare industry and can be bought at a simple click of a button. The problem is that copycat batteries often mimic big name brands but lack the certification, testing and even vital circuitry that protects lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries from unpredictable failure, overheating and potentially exploding.
Battery original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as well as consumer brands including Nokia and Kodak have already taken action to protect their lucrative aftermarket from reputational damage by introducing security measures such as hologram labels and traceable unseen ink markings on devices.
This year we should see companies push further into securing their products, making sure that it is easily seen as authentic to all consumers. Accutronics has already made headway into improved security by making available a hardware-embedded software algorithm (SHA-1) which can identify and separate fake batteries, stopping them from being used in critical-care devices. This also provides better batch traceability and prevents fraudulent warranty claims.
West v East in med tech
Generally it has been the western world such as the US and Europe that has monopolised the med tech industry, however we should now see a shift in power to the Asian market, specifically China, as it is booming, with growth and expected to continue over the next few years.
This is because there are hundreds of millions of new patients – due to growth in economy and more people being able to afford medical attention, creating a significant demand for high tech devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators and insulin pumps.
2015 will see the trend for European and North American MedTech OEMs begin to establish a more permanent presence in Asian and Far Eastern economies to secure and win market share of the premium medical industry sector.
Trials and error in MedTech
Having already gained traction in the customer electronics sector, wireless, or inductive charging, to give it its full name, will begin trials in many med tech devices in 2015. One of the vulnerable areas of rechargeable medical devices to date has been the connection made between the charging port and the mains AC power supply. This can be a source of access for dust and water as well as being a haven for bacterial growth.
2015 will see more medical OEMs explore the use of inductive charging to improve device IP (ingress protection) ratings. Introducing fully enclosed and waterproof designs will make it possible to sterilize devices in high pressure hospital autoclaves. The resultant lack of user-serviceable parts will further elongate device lifecycles by the implementation of a return-to-base repair strategy being adopted widely.
As you can see that the medical industry is swaying more towards the techy side of things and so they should. Migrating to tech solutions means that the healthcare industry can save costs, improve their efficiency and save much more time and efforts.
We have worked with many medical businesses including the private and start-ups. We have helped them build a number of devices including a Patient Care System, Performance Management System and others. In building these software’s we have built rich industry expertise and knowledge.
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