The growth in the amount of data collected on our health, from our interaction with health services as well as our own devices and online activities, means providers have an increasingly accurate picture of where and when intervention may be needed. They have also created disease-resistant bananas, which could transform an industry that currently spends a quarter of its production costs fighting disease.ĭata and AI drives shift to fairer healthcare insurance and coverage A handheld device capable of detecting if people are infected, without having to rely on inaccurate indicators such as coughing or a temperature, could be hugely beneficial in returning a level of normality to our lives.Īnd looking beyond medical use cases, methods demonstrated by on UK startup, Tropic Biosciences, have been used to create caffeine-free coffee beans, reducing the cost and resources spent decaffeinating regular beans. The technology has also been used to create a “ lab on a chip," designed for fast detection of coronavirus infection. By manipulating these phenotypes through techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9, scientists have already made many advances in treatments of killer diseases, including Duchenne muscular Dystrophy, heart disease, and cancer.ĭue to breakthroughs in this field, we're likely to see accelerated development of forms of treatment known as "precision medicine," where drugs can be customized to match the genetic profile of individual patients, making them more effective, as well as less likely to cause unwanted side-effects. These traits, known as phenotypes, govern the cell’s longevity, its ability to survive against injury or illness, and many other factors. Gene editing enables us to influence specific traits that are inherited by new living cells, when new proteins are created by the division of existing cells. Genomics and gene editing lead to further breakthroughs These also have mental health implications - companion robots are being introduced into care homes in the UK they were found to be successful at reducing symptoms of loneliness and social isolation. These will reduce the likelihood of infection (a big problem in hospitals even before Covid). This is a particularly vital consideration in highly populated countries such as China and India, where doctors are in short supply.Īnother facet of this trend will be the ongoing development of robotic and autonomous healthcare assistants capable of working in hospitals or right in people's homes. It’s also thought that during 2021 one third of virtual care appointments will be related to mental health issues.Īs well as reducing the risk of spreading contagion, remote medicine allows medical professionals to squeeze more patient consultations into their busy schedules. If it's possible to receive the same level of care at home as you would from a visit to a doctor's surgery or outpatient clinic, then surely it makes sense to do so? Particularly for minor and routine appointments, the number of virtual visits have skyrocketed during the pandemic and is predicted by Forrester analysts to hit one billion by the end of 2020.
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Once again, technology will play its part in mitigating these dangers, from health apps that monitor our activity and remind us to take breaks and exercise, meditation and mindfulness apps, and remote therapeutic services.
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Without daily face-to-face contact, it will be more difficult for managers to assess whether their teams are overworked or taking the right precautions to safeguard their health. Here, there will be other challenges, such as a need to support the mental health of workers as they juggle home and work responsibilities. For some companies, it will still be safer for staff to remain remote going into 2021 and possibly throughout the year.