Let's see the top 10, most exciting technological shaping the long term future of medicine!
This is Bertalan Mesko and you are watching the channel of The Medical Futurist.
In one of my recent videos, I talked about those trends and technologies which I think
will shape the future of medicine in the year 2015. But in many cases, I get questions about
well the long-term future of medicine and healthcare. So let's see my actual favorite
technologies that I think will really shape the way we practice medicine and healthcare
is delivered. Let's start with the first one, cognitive computers.
Cognitive computers have the potentials to be as important in the history of medicine
as stethoscopes were more than a hundred years ago. Because now the amount of information
is so huge it's humanly impossible to deal with that so we need help. And cognitive computers
like IBM Watson can do that job. Checking the medical records of patients, the 23 million
medical papers and medical textbooks, and then coming up with the actual suggestions.
But the doctor makes the final call. In this case, the doctor could finally focus on the
patient instead of trying to find the right information for that case.
The second is virtual and augmented reality. With virtual reality masks, we could change
the whole hospital experience letting patients experience the actual procedure they will
receive later on. They could see what it would look like in real life. With augmented reality,
showing more from the digital world through a smart glass or digital contact lens, we
could make sure to let people access the information they actually need immediately.
Number 3 is having scanners at home. First, health scanners like the medical tricorder
depicted in the TV series Star Trek which by scanning the patient would tell some basic
diagnostic options but there will also be food scanners with which we could actually
tell what kind of ingredients our food contains from ingredients to allergens and even vitamins.
Number 4 is about wearables, then smart clothes, then the so-called insideables. Devices with
which we can measure vital signs and health parameters at home. Now we use wearable gadgets
measuring blood pressure, pulse and EKG, then we will have smart clothes that can measure
all these in one piece of clothing. And then we would have insideables, chips and little
devices living inside the bodily fluids or just implanted into our body measuring all
the required health parameters and letting us know when we should take care of something
important. Number 5 is about 3D printing. Instead of
the expensive manufacturing process, we can now 3D print plenty of things from customized
prosthetics to medical equipment. Now we can print out biomaterials such as liver tissues
with which we could eradicate the use of animals testing for pharma companies. And then in
the future we would be able to print out actual drugs. A Scottish group has been working on
that. Just imagine how it would disrupt the whole healthcare industry printing out drugs
in 3D live at the pharmacy instead of manufacturing the drugs in large factories.
Number 6 is about genomics or biotechnology. Everyone will have their genome sequences
at home and then by using that, we will get really customized, personalized therapies.
We will have the data of our microbiomes, the microbes living in our guts, and then
we could be able to make decisions about what to eat exactly based on our metabolic background
and the metabolic background of our microbes. Number 7 is nanotechnology. We will be able
to deliver drugs to the actual places, I mean cells in a targeted way. In cancer, it would
eradicate the range of side effects of chemotherapies. Or with such nanorobots, we could detect signs,
early signs, of diseases. It would put prevention to an absolutely to stage or level.
Number 8. is about distant care or telemedicine. In areas with doctor shortages when care is
needed but there is no medical professional or device around that location, we need help.
And with the help of great medical solutions, we could provide the care. So then patients
don't need to travel for hours or wait for hours to find out whether they need to go
to a doctor right now or not. But they can find it out first at home or at a local care
service with an assistant by using digital solutions such as the digital stethoscope,
devices measuring ECG, pulse, blood pressure and all the vital signs including blood markers
as well. Number 9 is about surgical robots and androids.
Just imagine the daVinci robot, the most sophisticated surgical robot out there getting more and
more precise, better and better every day. Imagine clinical robots walking around in
the clinic and giving access to distant care showing the physician's face through a high-definition
quality, the sound, even the handshake with force feedback gloves. If I wear a force feedback
glove when I touch the patient's skin, the doctor continents away could feel the same
feeling with his or her hands. And Number 10, exoskeletons and neuroprosthetics.
Imagine using brain implants that could improve our cognitive skills from memory to attention
or problem solving making us real life cyborgs, augmenting human capabilities which will lead
to serious ethical concerns about whether they might be biological differences because
of financial ones. Some people can afford brain implants and some others cannot.
So these are the 10 main trends and technologies which I'm really excited about and I cannot
wait to start using artificial intelligence, really good biotechnological solutions, digital
services for providing good care. And I think that now such technologies can let us keep
the human touch in medicine. Actually only technology can let us keep the human touch
in medicine. If you want to read more about futuristic predictions about the future of
healthcare, please read my recent book, The Guide to the Future of Medicine, and please
do share what you think about that. Thank you!