Simbex at BIOMEDevice in Boston
Simbex Chief Business Development Officer, Greg Lange, reports on what he saw at this year’s BIOMEDevice conference in Boston.
“Cross-pollination to drive medtech innovation” was the topic of one of the first sessions of this year’s BIOMEDevice Boston conference. Our own CEO, Rick Greenwald, moderated a discussion with representatives from Johnson and Johnson, Draper Labs, and MPR Associates. First, what does cross-pollination mean? In this context, it means applying innovations that have been introduced in other industries to medical devices. There are many examples of innovations that were created for one purpose and then applied (more successfully) for another purpose. In the discussion, the participants highlighted some of the hot areas in other industries that are being applied to medical devices.
These include:
- 3D Printing
Think about the potential to create patient specific organs. Consider what Dean Kamen, New Hampshire inventor, is doing. - Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
The use of AI and Machine learning can improve decision making and diagnostic capabilities. See what the industry is saying about AI. - Augmented Reality
One panelists suggested: Think about minimally invasive surgery where the surgeon utilizes augmented reality to supplement field of view with more information, like identifying where a nerve is located to avoid cutting the nerve. - Low cost sensing
Also, MEMS and wireless technologies that allow for disposable/lower cost medical products
- Automated Regression Testing
This concept was proposed because of the rapidity with which technology is changing (think operating system updates) and the ability of connected devices and software products to evolve more rapidly than they ever have before. This will be critical to not only keep up with OS updates and be responsive to customer needs, but to meet the need of frequent security updates. - Data Analytics and Data Visualization
Watson has been staking a claim in healthcare for a while. More and more people are thinking about leveraging “big data” in healthcare. However “big data” is only useful if it is analyzed in meaningful ways, so applying new methods to convey information to clinicians in order to improve decision making and change behavior is going to be a critical part of the next decade of device innovation in healthcare. - Real-World Evidence
At some point, we will have the information we need to demonstrate which devices are most cost-effective, which products provide the best outcomes in which situations, and not how devices are prescribed, but how devices are actually used to inform clinical decision making, product design and payment.
I look forward to seeing what is cross-pollinating next year at BIOMEDevice Boston 2019.
