Autonomous surgical robots, 3D printed organs, smart toilets ...... Technology is quietly upgrading healthcare|Technology Innovation World Tide
Technologies such as 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) are constantly being updated and iterated, giving the healthcare sector the "wings" to take off intelligently. The evolution from functionality to intelligence is not only transforming the hospitals of the future, but also enabling patients to enjoy faster and more accurate healthcare services. Wired magazine recently listed several technological advances that are set to emerge in the medical field.
Fully automated surgical robots
Various robotic systems have been developed and used around the world to treat human patients. The most typical example is the da Vinci surgical system. However, the system is not autonomous, which means that the robot cannot perform any surgical tasks on its own.
Researchers observe the STAR robot performing a laparoscopic anastomosis.
Image credit: Jiawei Ge/IMERSE Lab/Johns Hopkins University
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in the US have invented a surgical robot called STAR (Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot) that can perform surgery independently. The robot is equipped with 3D vision and machine learning algorithms. After the surgeon manually exposes the tissue edges, STAR takes images and develops a plan for suture placement based on the shape and thickness of the tissue. Once the human operator approves the plan, STAR independently sews the tissue together. If the tissue deforms or moves beyond a set threshold, STAR asks the surgeon if a new surgical plan should be created. This process is repeated until the robot has completed the entire operation. Last year, STAR successfully sutured the end of the pig intestine and performed laparoscopic surgery on a pig tissue model.
There are also intelligent surgical tools like the iKnife, which can "sniff out" tumours and identify diseases such as cancer in seconds. Invented by academics at Imperial College London, the tool combines an electrosurgical scalpel with a mass spectrometer. It functions by applying an electric current to biopsied tissue and chemically assessing the smoke it produces. In a recent study, the iKnife achieved an 89% accuracy rate for diagnosing uterine cancer.
Smarter disease monitoring
In March this year, French smart home manufacturer Withings launched a unique piece of technology called U-Scan, a 90mm pebble-shaped urine analysis device mounted on a toilet that detects biomarkers in the urine, including ketones and vitamin C levels. This smart toilet has a battery life of 3 months.
French smart home manufacturer Withings has launched a urine analysis device called U-Scan.
Image credit: Withings website
Withings says that urine contains more than 3,000 metabolites that immediately reflect the body's balance and health. And the device can track a woman's monthly hormonal changes by detecting luteinising hormone and pH levels, and syncing the results to a mobile app. The combination of these measurements can help people monitor their body metabolism to optimise their daily hydration and nutrient intake. It can also recommend exercise plans and provide dietary advice to users.
A team of Australian and Iraqi engineers have developed a device that monitors a patient's blood pressure without physical contact. The device simply films the patient up close for 10 seconds and analyses the video using an image processing algorithm which extracts vital health signals from two areas of the forehead.
3D printed organs become a reality
Last June, regenerative medicine manufacturing company 3DBio Therapeutics announced that a 20-year-old woman from Mexico had been transplanted with an ear 3D printed from her own cells. The woman was born with congenital microtia and had a malformed ear. 3DBio Therapeutics created the 3D printed transplanted ear from her own living cells and performed the transplant. The newly printed ear was shaped to precisely match the woman's left ear. The new ear will continue to regenerate cartilage tissue to give it the look and feel of a natural ear. This success also marks an important step forward in tissue engineering.
Virtual reality psychotherapy
According to a paper published last April in the medical journal The Lancet - Psychiatry, researchers from the University of Oxford in the UK and health technology company Oxford VR found that VR therapy was more effective than traditional therapy in relieving the symptoms of people with agoraphobia. Square phobia is a common anxiety disorder in adults, with sufferers often exhibiting symptoms of panic about being in public places or staying in open areas. Researchers have developed gameChange, an automated VR-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) tool that can help patients overcome their plaza phobia by engaging in simulated real-world scenarios. Users simply need to put on a headset and start the program to receive the therapy, without the need for computers, cameras or wires etc.
Virtual reality is being used in a new therapy to help people with mental health problems overcome social anxiety.
Image credit: University of Oxford, UK
In addition, gameChange's therapy can also be used to treat people with mental illness. For example, the system places the patient in a simulated environment, such as a café or a bus, which allows them to overcome their fear of reality.
Fully automated surgical robots
Various robotic systems have been developed and used around the world to treat human patients. The most typical example is the da Vinci surgical system. However, the system is not autonomous, which means that the robot cannot perform any surgical tasks on its own.
Researchers observe the STAR robot performing a laparoscopic anastomosis.
Image credit: Jiawei Ge/IMERSE Lab/Johns Hopkins University
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in the US have invented a surgical robot called STAR (Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot) that can perform surgery independently. The robot is equipped with 3D vision and machine learning algorithms. After the surgeon manually exposes the tissue edges, STAR takes images and develops a plan for suture placement based on the shape and thickness of the tissue. Once the human operator approves the plan, STAR independently sews the tissue together. If the tissue deforms or moves beyond a set threshold, STAR asks the surgeon if a new surgical plan should be created. This process is repeated until the robot has completed the entire operation. Last year, STAR successfully sutured the end of the pig intestine and performed laparoscopic surgery on a pig tissue model.
There are also intelligent surgical tools like the iKnife, which can "sniff out" tumours and identify diseases such as cancer in seconds. Invented by academics at Imperial College London, the tool combines an electrosurgical scalpel with a mass spectrometer. It functions by applying an electric current to biopsied tissue and chemically assessing the smoke it produces. In a recent study, the iKnife achieved an 89% accuracy rate for diagnosing uterine cancer.
Smarter disease monitoring
In March this year, French smart home manufacturer Withings launched a unique piece of technology called U-Scan, a 90mm pebble-shaped urine analysis device mounted on a toilet that detects biomarkers in the urine, including ketones and vitamin C levels. This smart toilet has a battery life of 3 months.
French smart home manufacturer Withings has launched a urine analysis device called U-Scan.
Image credit: Withings website
Withings says that urine contains more than 3,000 metabolites that immediately reflect the body's balance and health. And the device can track a woman's monthly hormonal changes by detecting luteinising hormone and pH levels, and syncing the results to a mobile app. The combination of these measurements can help people monitor their body metabolism to optimise their daily hydration and nutrient intake. It can also recommend exercise plans and provide dietary advice to users.
A team of Australian and Iraqi engineers have developed a device that monitors a patient's blood pressure without physical contact. The device simply films the patient up close for 10 seconds and analyses the video using an image processing algorithm which extracts vital health signals from two areas of the forehead.
3D printed organs become a reality
Last June, regenerative medicine manufacturing company 3DBio Therapeutics announced that a 20-year-old woman from Mexico had been transplanted with an ear 3D printed from her own cells. The woman was born with congenital microtia and had a malformed ear. 3DBio Therapeutics created the 3D printed transplanted ear from her own living cells and performed the transplant. The newly printed ear was shaped to precisely match the woman's left ear. The new ear will continue to regenerate cartilage tissue to give it the look and feel of a natural ear. This success also marks an important step forward in tissue engineering.
Virtual reality psychotherapy
According to a paper published last April in the medical journal The Lancet - Psychiatry, researchers from the University of Oxford in the UK and health technology company Oxford VR found that VR therapy was more effective than traditional therapy in relieving the symptoms of people with agoraphobia. Square phobia is a common anxiety disorder in adults, with sufferers often exhibiting symptoms of panic about being in public places or staying in open areas. Researchers have developed gameChange, an automated VR-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) tool that can help patients overcome their plaza phobia by engaging in simulated real-world scenarios. Users simply need to put on a headset and start the program to receive the therapy, without the need for computers, cameras or wires etc.
Virtual reality is being used in a new therapy to help people with mental health problems overcome social anxiety.
Image credit: University of Oxford, UK
In addition, gameChange's therapy can also be used to treat people with mental illness. For example, the system places the patient in a simulated environment, such as a café or a bus, which allows them to overcome their fear of reality.
