Medical care
Medical care is a social functional phenomenon, served by nurses, professional doctors to restore a situation whether physical or mental, emotional well-being and many other distinct functions, to get a health benefit. Medical care helps in aiding the society in many ways, complementing the functions of schools, law enforcement, courts and other systems concerning the abilities to perform their lives in society. The medical care aids in serving the advancements for better health by curing and preventing illness. Medical care helps in advanced serving through the processes of curing and preventing illness.
Medical Technology
Medical technology is the improvising innovations for the betterment of analysis and health-related issues in the field of health and medical care to the people. The application of well-organized skill and knowledge for the treatment using medical devices, vaccines, medications, procedures, systems, and monitoring devices help in solving health problems and betterment of quality lives. The health care industry includes pharmaceutical industries, procedures, devices and organizations systems and computational and information systems. The last five decades have tremendously taken development towards this.
Medtech uses a wide range of medical devices, equipment, healthcare products to treat diseases and conditions for humans. These technologies intend to improve health care quality by diagnosing earlier, less invasive treatments, reducing hospital stays and rehabs. Medical devices, IT, biotechnology and health care services are generally included to be a part of medical technology. The impacts include both social and ethical issues.
Benefits of Medical care and technology
We can never deny the benefits of medical care and the improvised technology of today, much of the recent progress seen in this medical field is precise to the technological innovations. The impact includes mainly, quality of human life, jobs in healthcare and the world economy. The investments in these fields state that there is good growth in the medical filed at a slow pace.
The advantages in healthcare, among which we can include the decreased death cases, patient well-being, treatment, recovery time have slowed down and to the last, the job opportunities have widened the path for the medical workers.
Innovations to new heights with newer gadgets, applications have entered life, where we can have tabs, smartphones, devices, enabling access to many apps in monitoring health. With the advancements in medical technology, the patients are keen to know how this has effects on medical technology, more accurate and tracking devices have emerged known as wearables. Which can monitor our vitals for any signs of complications like related to heart failure, breathing problems, diabetes or UTI. Medical technology has bought life for many students, medical professions, practitioners and the best for the patients. These are on high demand now, having long-term professional tracks with high paid salaries.
Emerging medical devices with images:
FreeStyle Libre: Flash glucose monitoring system: This is a glucose-measuring system, that does not require, finger sticks or fingerstick calibrations. The device has a sensor that must be placed on the back of the upper arm, where it measures the glucose levels. The sensor is designed and is capable to read the glucose levels through clothes. The scan done by the device gives glucose results of 8 hours of historical data and a trend showing the direction of the glucose headed. It can hold the data up to 90 days enabling to show the levels of glucose over time.
SpyGlass: This device is designed for advancing the efficiency in procedure and productivity and this system has ease of setup, uses image quality. This helps in providing a visual system used for cholangiopancreatoscopy. It helps in eliminating the optical probe reprocessing and helps in lessening the risks of cross-contamination and image degradation over many uses. The digital sensor has a 60% wider resolution observation of ducts with continuous articulation direction and accessory exit. The tapered catheter tip is having an atraumatic design which in turn helps with cannulation and traversing tight strictures. SpyGlass also provides better visualization and ease of access for diagnostic and many other therapeutic applications like biliary system cancer, pancreatic cancer, bills duct cancer, gallbladder cancer, intraductal pancreatic mucinous tumor, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas, gallstones, primary sclerosis cholangitis, pancreatitis, pancreatic stones/debris, biliary papillomatosis, and indeterminate pancreatic strictures and masses.
Watchman: This device is a left atrial appendage closure device that helps in reducing stroke risk, prevent migration of blood clots. This is an alternative to long-term Warfarin therapy in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.
BrainScope One: This device is an easy-to-use, non-invasive, handheld platform allowing physicians to assess head injuries at a point-of-care. The device is based on EEG technology having cleared the FDA. BrainScope One is not involving the introduction of instruments into the body that is non-invasive, painless and it could be used on patients who are aged 18-85 years within 3 days of a head injury. It also helps physicians to diagnose clinically measuring and interpreting brain activity and neurocognitive function.
FoundationOne CDx: This device is used for solid tumors, including colorectal, breast, ovarian and melanoma. It is designed to give physicians clinically actionable information and is an FDA approved device. Each test has microsatellite instability and tumor mutational burden to help make immunotherapy decisions.
Omnigraft Dermal Regeneration Matrix: This is used as a bilayer dermal regeneration for treating diabetic foot ulcers. This has a silicone layer and can be called as replacement layer for the derma made of collagen/chrondroitin-6-sulfate matrix bioengineered scaffold, which promotes porosity and also degradation and regenerating derma. The piece of part or patch has a silicone layer for the regeneration of epidermal and covering the wound which can be removed after 2-3 weeks. This helps neuropathic diabetic foot ulcer treatment, with no capsule, tendon or bone showing which are more than 6 weeks.
KBCT: Koning Breast CT is a breast imaging device serving high-contrast, real 3D images of the breast. This device also provides spatial resolution and painless compression in a 10-second exposure with radiation levels as similar to normal mammograms. The features of 3D are 3D isotropic images helping clinicians evaluating tissue at any angle and thus having no overlapping structures. The scan is a non-contrast, contrast-enhanced and shows calcifications and blood vessels.
Implantable system for Remodulin This device is designed to treat the patients having pulmonary arterial hypertension. The model includes the company’s SynchroMed II implantable drug infusion pump and the newly developed intravascular catheter delivering Remodulin intravenously to the patients who had previously received the drug through an external infusion pump.
Abilify MyCite: Abilify MyCite is a prescription medication with a sensor inside that is designed to treat many of the conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder and major depressive disorder. The Abilify MyCite system tracks if the medication has been taken. Taken within 30 minutes the ingestion can be detected, but at times for a smartphone app or web portal to detect it takes up to 2 hours if the medication has been taken.
Top 10 Medical Device Companies in the world
Medical devices have their own and unique functions in the medical field. The companies have invented many devices from the fields of diagnostics, medical imaging machines to orthopedics, surgical instruments with broader perspectives. The devices work basing on innovative software technology, with many advancement techniques. The growth of health technology is with technology and artificial intelligence. The following are the top medical device listed companies
Medtronic
Medtronic is a top medical device manufacturing company in the world for 2019 with annual revenue of approx. $30 billion in the year 2018. Mazor Robotics has been included in this company which orthopedic deal of the year 2018.
DePuy Synthes (Johnson & Johnson)
They develop and manufacture products in various therapy areas like orthopedic, cardiovascular, vision care, diabetes, and surgery. It is a medical device subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson’s. The company market sales are mainly into the surgical vision, wound closure, biosurgery and electrophysiology.
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific is an American based biotechnology industry and also a medical device company. The company has an agreement with Becton Dickinson for advanced bioprocessing and has entered into the gene therapy manufacturing market firm. The company has its market for the best analytical instruments and many special segments in diagnostics growth in 11 and 7%.
Philips Healthcare
Philips Healthcare includes Remote Diagnostic Technologies, EPD Solutions, Blue Willow Systems, and NightBalance. This is a subsidiary of the multinational technology conglomerate Philips. It is also emerging as a leader in the health technology sector.
GE Healthcare
The medical device company is an addition to General Electric. GE has the markets in Latin America and Southeast Asia in sales of imaging products and health care systems. It is also into the business of artificial intelligence of medical platforms and solutions.
Fresenius
This is into the key global markets like dialysis services, health care products and care coordination. The company has its part of the acquisition of Cura Day Hospitals. It has increased revenue based on the high sales of dialyzers, machines and peritoneal dialysis products
Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Laboratories is in developing medical devices in vascular disease, diabetes and vision care as a world leader. Abbott in January 2019 has bought Cephea Valve Technologies which is a medical device firm, developing minimally invasive heart valve replacement technology and which could eliminate the need for open-heart surgery.
Cardinal Health
This is a multinational health care company, emerging in medical device technology supplying laboratory, surgical, wound care and home healthcare products (to over 100 countries). This company has its growth leading to success for the post-acute (rehabilitation or palliative care) and branded products such as Cordis. Cardinal Health has its additional progress into Medronic’s Patient Care, Deep Vein Thrombosis and Nutritional Insufficiency business.
Siemens Healthineers
Siemens Healthineers is a branch of the German automation and electrics conglomerate Siemens. This is one of the medical technology branches. The company develops medical devices and technology on medical imaging and diagnostics.
Stryker
Stryker is a US-based medical technology firm and has its market into the joint replacements, surgical equipment, medical machinery, neurosurgical and spinal devices development. It has remarkable growth in 3 business segments of Orthopaedics-5.9%, MedSurg-8.6%, and Neurotechnology and Spine18%.
Emerging Market
From a bigger perspective, medical technology is helping the world economy. Many business firms are into this medical technology today. When questioned how medical technology has changed in healthcare, there might not be a straight answer but it’s a slow-growing ongoing process but has a greater impact on world economies.
China has emerged as a new international participant in this field and has a huge impact on the market. China competitors provide 20-30% lesser prices by offering capabilities and functionalities than the other global competitors.
As we look into the global market analysis, we see that more investors are showing interest in this sector. This will surely reshape economic status globally. Millennials entering the medical and IT fields encompass that we can expect even more innovations and developments in the upcoming years.
