With Simon Stevens’ financial backing for innovation in the NHS, technology in the medtech sector looks set to have a secure future. Charles Taylor, HeartFlow, shares his predictions on where medtech is heading in the next decade.
At the end of 2019, Simon Stevens, the NHS’s chief executive, announced plans for the recommended use of three new innovations to become mandatory on the health service. As part of a consultation on what has been called the ‘medtech funding mandate’, the HeartFlow Analysis, SecurAcath and a placental growth factor (PIGF) test have all been identified as innovations that can improve efficiency in the NHS and transform outcomes for patients - true examples of the impact medtech could have on the future.
Our company, alongside the two others, is part of the medtech community, helping to improve modern healthcare which is now inexorably linked to technological innovation. The HeartFlow Analysis, for example, is a non-invasive test that helps clinicians understand the severity of coronary heart disease by using artificial intelligence (AI). Leveraging deep learning and highly trained analysts, HeartFlow creates a 3D digital model of a patient’s arteries to help clinicians understand the location and severity of blockages. The HeartFlow Analysis has the highest diagnostic performance compared to other non-invasive tests, and can reduce the need for additional tests and deliver cost savings.
AI will drive this new frontier of medicine. According to the latest research, 75% of healthcare businesses are currently rolling out AI and machine learning technologies. And investment is not going to slow down over the course of the next decade. In this piece I’ll share my predictions for the healthcare industry and discuss the forces driving change.
Healthcare as the next tech frontier
We’ve only just scratched the surface of integration between IT, computers, and healthcare, and the 2020s will see the whole field explode. But first, the industry needs some more trailblazers to convince investors and demonstrate success, which in turn will make it easier for others to get funding.
As one of the first players on the medtech scene, and most recently valued at $1.5 billion, HeartFlow is often treated as a barometer for the wider sector. However, we could see more interest in healthcare from established technology companies such as Google. Both Google and Microsoft see enormous potential in AI to improve patient experiences, clinical insights and hospital care. Google has already announced large research projects for diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson’s, where it’s hoping to make strides in diagnostics, patient and disease management.
This will undoubtedly create opportunities for smaller companies, who may see the big tech giants acquire them. While tech giants undoubtably see the potential in a new revenue stream for the next few years, start-ups will also benefit from better access to financing.
I believe that HeartFlow and other new players will become the big names in med-tech over the next 5-10 years, rather than the existing tech giants. To be successful, digital health companies must be bilingual in healthcare and tech.
Healthcare transforms the public’s trust in tech
Data collection and application is the key to greater levels of automation and more sophisticated AI. However, social media companies in particular have damaged consumer trust and confidence in the ability of companies to safely collect and use data, mostly with reports of misuse.
All of this has meant that, at present, patients are nervous about the idea of companies having carte blanche access to their data. Companies like HeartFlow are beginning to prove that there’s a direct link between having access to data and improving patient care – with evidence that their analytical tools have contributed to patients’ quality of life, while protecting patient privacy.
Consumer trust is further built when institutions collaborate with academic institutions to improve performance and ensure rigorous research. For example, HeartFlow works with academics at Imperial College London on collaborative research projects to further develop the application of deep learning AI techniques for medical imaging. Developments rooted in AI are leading the way and helping to make the diagnostic process more accurate and efficient. As machine learning improves, its capabilities and applications will continue to increase, and provide more data to aid physicians in noninvasively detecting and diagnosing disease.
Of course there’s more medtech companies can do in building consumer trust and helping people to realise that these innovations are advancing medicine and improving lives for other people. This decade will see a cultural shift and better understanding among the global population that medtech companies will only be able to positively impact everyone’s healthcare if they responsibly access data.
Will tech replace clinicians?
There’s almost unlimited scope for further development and technology will undoubtedly play a vital role in helping to tackle the health challenges over the course of the next ten years.
Does that mean doctors are soon to be a thing of the past? Absolutely not. Trained medical minds will still be integral to the interpretation and application of data that such innovations produce. It’s in their hands that innovation truly has the potential to improve and save countless lives.
To this end, medtech will augment the roles of doctors and become a key part of their day-to-day job. For example, when it comes to medical imaging, a physician can only look at less than 10% of the data from each image they review. Technology will hugely augment this.
A better understanding of technology is therefore necessary, and digital healthcare modules will need to be incorporated into medical degrees. It’s also likely that we’ll start to see data scientists employed in hospitals to help clinicians with examinations. More broadly, jobs will be created to support these new technologies that we can’t really even contemplate yet.
Final words
In the UK, the NHS is working closely with the medtech sector as part of its ongoing efforts to provide world-leading patient care. This collaboration is essential for both parties to push forward meaningful development and can have applications across the medical spectrum, from oncology and cardiology to general surgery and maternity care.
The medtech funding mandate is a very promising initiative that should encourage the rapid uptake of innovative technologies and help the NHS achieve its digital ambitions. I look forward to seeing the advancement of med-tech in healthcare, and the science that will help the world to meet some of its biggest challenges in the years ahead. Patients, physicians and healthcare providers will benefit as we start to see more companies that are not only bilingual in healthcare and tech but dream in both languages.
