Emerging Technology

Key Emerging Technologies

The rapid development of new technology over the past 20 years has dramatically changed the healthcare industry. These technologies have improved quality of life for many people all over the world as well as adding years to the predicted life span. With the population’s predicted lifetime span rising, it is very important for the healthcare field to evolve constantly, in order to keep up with the aging population. Healthcare is focused on the quality of life of a patient. The following three key emerging technologies will ensure a better quality of life for patients: a bionic pancreas, magnetically-guided gene therapy for healing blood vessels, and pressure sensors on contact lenses, to detect glaucoma, are a few emerging technologies that will affect the healthcare field over the next 10 to 20 years.

The developers of the bionic pancreas have a goal for it to be approved for market distribution by the year 2017. The bionic pancreas regulates blood glucose levels as well as insulin levels for patients with Type 1 diabetes. The benefit of this device is it helps prevent hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. Both of these can cause serious damage to the body over time.

Frequently patients have busy lifestyles and it becomes hard to manage their diabetes. This device manages diabetes for them. Instead of the patient testing their blood sugar and calculating their insulin dose and then finally administering accordingly, the bionic pancreas manages the levels for the patient. A glucose sensor is placed into the body with an injector that is automated. An app on the iPhone allows a device known as the Dexcom G4 Platinum Glucose monitor to communicate with the Tandem T Slim pump every five minutes and calculates how much insulin or glucagon needs to be administered. Clinical trials have been done in both adults and pediatric patients and it has shown promising results. It is not yet in market, but is expected to be FDA approved by...