There are many innovations that are changing the medical field at a very high pace. There is virtual reality that will help patients who are in rehabilitation to heal much more quickly than they do now. Artificial intelligence is being developed that will be even better at detecting tumors in lungs than current medical experts can. Ultrasound devices are being developed that will be far less expensive than the machines that hospitals use today. People will be able to connect them to their phones. Medical software companies are developing these things. Let’s take a closer look at three of the things that they are now developing:
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Flight Forward
UPS has been involved in a trial program called Flight Forward. This program entails using drones to deliver medical samples that are critical to patient care. The test program involved two branches of a hospital located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The distance between them is 150 yards. As a result of the success of this test program, the FAA allowed Flight Forward to expand to twenty hospitals around the United States over a period of two years.
David Abney, UPS’ CEO, expects Flight Forward to become an essential part of UPS’ overall operations. It will be used to deliver urine. Blood and tissue samples will be delivered by using Flight Forward. Drugs will also be delivered by Flight Forward.
Anonymous, Searchable Data
Tens of millions of people use smart watches and other devices to track certain things about their health. There are companies that are developing ways to combine a lot of health data so that it can be both anonymous and searchable. This will give technicians involved in medical research a great tool that will help them to develop drugs, study lifestyles, and do many other things. Evidation is a company that is based in California that is doing just that. They are using three million volunteers and trillions of pieces of data.
A Cure For Diabetes
Type one diabetes affects millions of people. Treatment entails careful eating, taking insulin injections, and monitoring blood sugar every day. Doug Melton, a Harvard Biologist, has an idea. He wants to use stem cells to create beta cells that will replace ineffective cells in a body and produce insulin. He is the co-founder of Semma Therapeutics, which has been acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. They have created a device that is small and implantable. This device holds millions of replacement beta cells. They let both glucose and insulin get through. Melton feels that these devices could be a cure for diabetes if they end up working as well for people as they do for animals. People who now have diabetes would no longer have diabetes. They will be able to lead normal lives. They will be able to play, eat, and drink like everyone who has never had diabetes.
These are just three of the many things that are now changing medicine. Medical software companies are at the forefront in helping people lead healthier lives.