The Top 10 Super-Creepy Medical Technologies
We are all for new technologies here, spending our days researching where the science of medicine goes. With that said, every now and then we see something so creepy that it freaks out even the seasoned team of The Medical Futurist.  So here we collected ten examples of either super creepy medical technologies or ingeniously evil uses of perfectly innocent technologies.  The blood drawing robots First, this doesn’t really sound creepy. Drawing blood might not be our favourite thing, but nothing of a terror for most of us either. Vein scanners are around for a while, actually being a useful little tool ...
Source: The Medical Futurist - May 3, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: TMF Bioethics Cyborgization Robotics Science Fiction Security & Privacy AI dream smartwatch virtual reality blood draw sleep tracking artificial womb gene editing medical robot creepy technologies Source Type: blogs

Ten Super-Creepy Medical Technologies
We are all for new technologies here, spending our days researching where the science of medicine goes. With that said, every now and then we see something so creepy that it freaks out even the seasoned team of The Medical Futurist.  So here we collected ten examples of either super creepy medical technologies or ingeniously evil uses of perfectly innocent technologies.  The blood drawing robots First, this doesn’t really sound creepy. Drawing blood might not be our favourite thing, but nothing of a terror for most of us either. Vein scanners are around for a while, actually being a useful little tool ...
Source: The Medical Futurist - May 3, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: TMF Bioethics Cyborgization Robotics Science Fiction Security & Privacy AI dream smartwatch virtual reality blood draw sleep tracking artificial womb gene editing medical robot creepy technologies Source Type: blogs

How To Spot If Your Remote Care Physician Is An A.I.?
I know, this sounds far-fetched, something like a science fiction movie dilemma. But what if it’s not? It is a fact that millions of healthcare workers are missing around the globe. Whether we miss 10 million or 18 million depends on who you ask. We also know that the number of patients in need of healthcare is only growing. And it also seems pretty obvious that with the current medical training models (and healthcare financing) we will never be able to fill this gap. Thus, expecting that A.I. will step in and take over some of the tasks from human practitioners seems only logical. And necessary. Logical, necessary, b...
Source: The Medical Futurist - April 28, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: TMF Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Bioethics Cyborgization Future of Medicine Science Fiction digital health A.I. doctor Source Type: blogs

Looking Back At Today ’s Healthcare In 2060
I receive many questions after my talks and on my online channels about the not yet visible future. People want to know what healthcare will be like in the next decades. But throwing around predictions will not help us design a better healthcare. Although showing a utopian future of healthcare might do so. On a chilly October afternoon in 2060, after having watched the leaves falling off the trees in our garden for too long to get bored, my beautiful and overtly curious grandchild, Nina, came to me and started asking me questions. She pointed at one of the many CubeSensors in the living room – small,...
Source: The Medical Futurist - April 26, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: berci.mesko Tags: Healthcare Design Science Fiction future Medical education Medicine Personalized medicine technology gc4 Source Type: blogs

One Rational Expectation For Each: The Next Healthcare Moves Of Tech Giants
Walmart announced the opening of five new ‘Walmart Health’ Centres in Florida in April, promising low-cost healthcare services. Not very surprising given how the American firm has been steadily building a foothold in this industry in recent years without any signs of slowing down.  In the U.S., Walmart established 600 COVID-19 testing sites during the pandemic; before the current announcement, Walmart Health business has rolled out in 20 locations across Arkansas, Georgia and Illinois in the last three years complete with primary care, emergency care, labs and more. By 2029, Walmart’s board even plans to scal...
Source: The Medical Futurist - April 14, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: TMF Forecast Future of Medicine digital health Healthcare tech giants Source Type: blogs

From Surgeries To Keeping Company: The Place Of Robots In Healthcare
Assisting surgeries, disinfecting rooms, dispensing medication, keeping company: believe it or not these are the tasks medical robots will soon undertake in hospitals, pharmacies, or your nearest doctor’s office. These new ‘colleagues’ will definitely make a difference in every field of medicine. Here’s our overview to understand robotics in healthcare better so that everyone can prepare for the appearance of mechanic helpers in medical facilities. Metallic allies for the benefit of the vulnerable While there are concerns for machines replacing people in the workforce, we believe there are adv...
Source: The Medical Futurist - April 11, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: berci.mesko Tags: Future of Medicine Future of Pharma Robotics digital health Healthcare Hospital medical nanotechnology Surgery pharmacies future of hospital blood telemedicine social companion social companion robot telemedical medical rob Source Type: blogs

4 Approaches To Eliminate Bias In Healthcare A.I.
Historically, healthcare data has been focused on white men, and in the age of artificial intelligence (A.I.), this represents a challenge to train the algorithms to deliver results that are representative across the ethnic and gender spectrum. Given that existing data leans towards the white male subset of the population, this will inevitably lead to ‘algorithmic bias’ in healthcare. The latter term is what researchers define as the instances when the application of an algorithm does not account for inequities but may in fact exacerbate them in healthcare systems. Indeed, researchers have found that inherent biases...
Source: The Medical Futurist - April 7, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Pranavsingh Dhunnoo Tags: TMF Artificial Intelligence in Medicine E-Patients Future of Medicine Healthcare Policy Telemedicine & Smartphones AI algorithm digital health bias AI bias Source Type: blogs

Welcome To The Virtual Ward!  
The expression ‘virtual ward’ is trending. But is it just the expression we hear about more often, or is there a real trend? And by the way: what is a virtual ward? And what is it good for?  It is yet difficult to find one, generally accepted definition for the new phenomenon. The same phrase is used for a number of quite different solutions. For the sake of understanding, here is what we think about when we speak of virtual wards. “A virtual ward is a solution that supports patients who would otherwise be in hospital to get the acute care, remote monitoring and treatment in their own homes, with the use o...
Source: The Medical Futurist - April 5, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: TMF Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Digital Health Research E-Patients Future of Medicine Health Sensors & Trackers Healthcare Policy Telemedicine & Smartphones virtual ward Source Type: blogs

From Organ Designers To Telesurgery VR Planners: Healthcare Jobs in 2040
In this study, the researchers employed the VR prototype for surgical planning using a standard VR setup in two real cases of patients with liver tumours who were scheduled for surgery at a University Hospital for Visceral Surgery. Surgeons used the VR prototype before the surgery to plan the procedure in addition to their regular planning process. They used semi-structured interviews before and after the surgery to explore the benefits and pitfalls of VR surgical planning. Within 20-30 years, AR/VR operation planners will help surgeons in the preparation for very complex surgical interventions. While the medical pr...
Source: The Medical Futurist - March 31, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: TMF Forecast E-Patients Future of Medicine Medical Education Science Fiction digital health healthcare jobs future jobs Source Type: blogs

The Fight Against The Ever-Widening Health Gap Between Rich And Poor
According to a series of studies published in the Lancet, the wealthiest American women live approximately 10 years longer than their poorest counterparts, and this gap widens to a shocking 14,5 years for men. With these figures, the USA is the most unequal country in terms of health outcome among the OECD countries. And the outlook is not great either. Researchers warn us that this difference we now see between the top and bottom 1% is only going to grow. Without intervention, the difference in life expectancy between the richest and poorest 20% will expand to 10 years in a generation’s time. There are differences be...
Source: The Medical Futurist - March 29, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: TMF Digital Health Research Future of Medicine Healthcare Design Healthcare Policy Telemedicine & Smartphones health literacy democratised healthcare Source Type: blogs

Can A. I. Tutors Help Train Enough Medical Professionals?
By 2030, the global economy will have led to the creation of some 40 million new jobs in the health sector; mostly in middle- and high-income countries. Paradoxically, the WHO stresses that in parallel, the world will be short of up to 9.9 million physicians, nurses and midwives by that year. Moreover, the availability of healthcare workforce is unequally distributed, with some countries having 5 times more doctors than others; or, in some cases, 9 times as many nurses as others. The imbalances and shortages are predicted to persist in the foreseeable future; with the WHO adding that even the increase in health workers ...
Source: The Medical Futurist - March 24, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Pranavsingh Dhunnoo Tags: TMF Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Medical Education AI healthcare jobs future of education AI tutor Source Type: blogs

Fighting Fake Drugs With Miniscule Printed Watermarks: An Ingenious Idea
It is extremely difficult to tell how many people lose their lives due to counterfeit drugs every year globally. Estimates vary between hundreds of thousands to over a million. No matter which figure is correct, falsified medication and substandard drugs are causing significant losses in human lives. The share of counterfeit drugs is around 10% globally. It is as high as 30% in some countries, while it stays below 1% in others. I am sure you can guess that the one-digit numbers belong to the richest countries, while the big figures are typical in Sub-Saharan Africa. But before you lean back assured, let me remind you: f...
Source: The Medical Futurist - March 22, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: TMF Forecast Future of Pharma fake drugs counterfeit medicine watermarks QR code substandard drugs Source Type: blogs

Fighting Fake Drugs With Miniscule Printed Watermarks: A Genius Idea
It is extremely difficult to tell how many people lose their lives due to counterfeit drugs every year globally. Estimates vary between hundreds of thousands to over a million. No matter which figure is correct, falsified medication and substandard drugs are causing significant losses in human lives. The share of counterfeit drugs is around 10% globally. It is as high as 30% in some countries, while it stays below 1% in others. I am sure you can guess that the one-digit numbers belong to the richest countries, while the big figures are typical in Sub-Saharan Africa. But before you lean back assured, let me remind you: f...
Source: The Medical Futurist - March 22, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: TMF Forecast Future of Pharma fake drugs counterfeit medicine watermarks QR code substandard drugs Source Type: blogs

Social Robots: Are Robotic Pets Any Worse Than The Real Ones?
Social companion robots are getting increasingly popular, more widely used and accepted. This might have happened anyway, but the pandemic accelerated the pace of their “deployment”.  Not so surprising, many social workers have experienced that COVID restrictions took a huge toll on elderly people living alone. The loneliness of the ageing population is a known phenomenon. A vast amount of research has found that a significant percentage of people above 65 are living alone, and many of them feel lonely and isolated. Also well proven is the fact that loneliness alone is a health risk. Elevated cortisol levels, t...
Source: The Medical Futurist - March 17, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: TMF Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Cyborgization Robotics Science Fiction social companion robot elderly care social robots therapeutic robots robot pets Source Type: blogs

How Do We Know If COVID Is Over?
Is it the end of COVID? – we hear this very question more and more often these days. This topic has been analysed over and over in the past two years, I also wrote about it more than once. Here, at the beginning, we outlined possible scenarios on how the pandemic will develop. By now we can determine that we ended up somewhere between #2 and #3. We also discussed how widespread vaccination is the way to go, and how it will contribute to getting back our lives. The speculation on finally getting over it is not surprising. It is in line with recent reports, and the discussion about the pandemic entering the endem...
Source: The Medical Futurist - March 15, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andrea Koncz Tags: TMF Covid-19 public health covid19 pandemic endemic end of covid Source Type: blogs