From Patent To Product: The Speed Of The Digital Health Evolution

We’re bombarded with mindblowing headlines of new medical miracles every day. BCI helps paralysed patients talk again! Robots in the stomach! Micro-organs on organ-on-chip technologies! But it is almost impossible to see through the hype and know if and when these will yield actual, patient-ready solutions. So let’s get into this maze and decipher how a new, revolutionary medical technology develops from an ingenious idea to a market-ready product with two real-life examples: the artificial pancreas and wireless ECG. In early April, the UK’s NHS rolled out an artificial pancreas (APS) for Type 1 diabetes patients, as a world first. This is a still-not-final chapter in a story that started in the 1960s. What the heck takes so long when we need to save lives? Why do medical inventions take decades to hit the market? And how could we speed up the process and still stay safe?  The triumphant headlines about digital health and AI unicorns might tempt us to believe that a brilliant idea and a dash of entrepreneurial magic are all it takes and we are set for life. But revolutionary healthcare products are rarely born overnight, the journey is marked by obligatory milestones of research and regulatory navigation.   It took over two generations to help diabetes patients The artificial pancreas story is decades older than me, a perfect case study for two reasons. First, it took over 60 years to bring the concept to life. Second, this starkly illustrates...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: TMF artificial intelligence digital health Innovation patent analysis Medicine Source Type: blogs