Modern electronic healthcare devices have transformed patient diagnosis and treatment in recent years — and they will continue to do so in 2024.
Having enabled the delivery of efficient at-home services during the pandemic, when doctors’ surgeries and hospitals were constantly overrun, today’s medical technology (MedTech) solutions are now facilitating faster, more accurate healthcare as the UK’s population rapidly ages.
This year, we will see new medical artificial intelligence (AI) systems and innovative sensor-based devices experiencing the most significant developments, with cutting-edge techniques and improved regulatory frameworks within reach.
Allow us to take a closer look at these developments and explain how electronics manufacturers should approach them over the next 12 months and beyond…
This year’s biggest advances in electronic healthcare
Whilst AI is nothing new in the medical industry (popular wearable devices from 2023, such as heart rate, blood pressure and glucose level monitors, all used this technology), it will take on several new uses in 2024.
For example, AI-assisted CT and MRI scans will help detect early-stage tumours and other soft tissue abnormalities that are not always visible to the naked eye — aiding in sooner, more effective prevention and treatment strategies.
Meanwhile, AI-enabled scientific image-checkinging systems like those recently developed by Proofig AI will scan and flag potential causes for concern in scans. With a reduced risk of human error and no need for time-consuming manual checking in research papers, these systems will help streamline scientific advancement.
Taking the capabilities of AI one step further, machine learning (ML) systems will also provide real-time feedback on trainee surgeons’ techniques during procedures like laparoscopies. So, students will advance quicker and busy senior surgeons will have more time to treat patients.
But AI and ML are not the only aspects of electronic healthcare that will be big this year…
Advanced positive airway pressure (PAP) masks equipped with not one, but two fast-reacting pressure sensors are set to monitor sleep apnoea sufferers’ breathing with more precision than ever before. In turn, these crucial wearable devices will help minimise airflow disruption and maximise comfort for wearers.
Plus, as remote healthcare continues to expand beyond just virtual consultations, we will witness the emergence of telemedicine 2.0, in which MedTech supports patients a whole host of from-home tests and treatment plans — and the uptake of wearable devices soars.
Ensuring safety, whatever the product
Fortunately, this year will see the development of comprehensive guidelines and industry standards to help ensure the safe, effective deployment of electronic healthcare solutions.
For instance, the UK government’s Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has released its Roadmap towards the future regulatory framework for medical devices, which hopes to see formal regulations come into play before 2025.
However, as it stands, it is not easy to ensure new medical devices function flawlessly and do not put patients at risk — especially when a minor error can be the difference between life or death.
For this reason, we recommend anyone interested in developing their own AI-powered systems or wearable devices to work with a trusted electronics manufacturing solutions provider like EC Electronics.
Having worked in the healthcare sector for over 20 years, we have experience producing a range of electronic medical equipment.
We are not only experts in printed circuit boards (PCBs) — the backbone of any medical device — and provide an array of high-quality PCB assembly services to ensure flawless results every time, but our teams are also fully certified to the relevant quality standards.
So, when you work with EC Electronics, you know you (and the patients your devices are used by) are in good hands.
Eager to learn more about our work as an electronics manufacturing services provider in the healthcare sector? Get in touch at sales@ecelectronics.com or call +44 (0)1256 461894 — we would love to discuss how we can help with your upcoming project.
