7. HEALTHCARE’S DIGITAL ASSISTANTS
Digital assistants like Alexa and Google Home have changed the way people interact with technology; in 2021, those digital assistants are taking on a similar role in healthcare.
Natural language processing and ambient listening have natural applications in the capture, analysis, and utilization of health data.
In 2020, Epic and Cerner, the designers of the two largest electronic health records (EHR) systems, began integrating voice-enabled virtual assistants on their software.
AI startup Saykara has launched a new voice assistant that can listen to, and understand, a physician-patient conversation, without being prompted through voice commands.
8. SMARTER PACEMAKERS
The artificial pacemaker, which dates back over 100 years, is still a critical piece of medical technology: over a million patients use them. By delivering electrical impulses to heart muscle chambers, they can prevent or correct life-threatening heart arrhythmias. Remotely monitoring these devices is an essential part of their functionality.
Traditionally, that monitoring has been far from optimal, relying on complex interfaces that the patient may not fully understand.
In 2021, pacemakers will get a little bit smarter. By enabling pacemakers with Bluetooth technology, they can be linked with smartphone-based mobile apps that patients better understand and utilize.
That, in turn, will improve remote monitoring, and, as a result, patient outcomes. Medtronic, one of the largest medical technology companies in the world, has already rolled out its next-gen patient monitoring system for pacemakers
