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Posted on July 4, 2024 by  & 

Decentralized Healthcare - IDTechEx Explores the Latest Innovations

VR goggles for interactive physio sessions and the use of online platforms for remote consultations contribute to new decentralized healthcare innovations. IDTechEx's portfolio of healthcare reports explores new approaches, from remote patient monitoring to the use of AI in drug discovery.
 
Online communications and wearables
 
Scan results and X-rays can be discussed and reviewed in high definition using online video communication platforms, where doctors and consultants can access patient information without the need for in-person appointments. As technology standards increase, these types of appointments are likely to be more widely accepted among patients and can reduce waiting times and free up clinic spaces. With the introduction of telephone appointments during the pandemic, remote patient monitoring has continued to be a popular method of communication within the sector.
 
Smartwatches play a role in online appointments, where doctors and professionals can review data collected by wearables, including heart rate monitoring watches and glucose skin patches. Between appointments, health data can be sent digitally to doctors so they might look at a patient's stats alongside reviewing a scan for context and greater accuracy. IDTechEx's reports "Wearable Technology Forecasts 2023-2033" and "Electronic Skin Patches 2023-2033" explore these gadgets in greater depth.
 
 
The role of artificial intelligence in healthcare
 
AI is somewhat of a buzzword amongst technological fields, but what if it could be helping to decentralize healthcare in the best way? Scans and X-rays could be interpreted by AI technology, speeding up the work of doctors. It could also be used to look through huge databases to create new molecules that could be effective in treating certain diseases, matching certain biological aspects to existing known treatments. See the IDTechEx reports "AI in Medical Diagnostics 2020-2030: Image Recognition, Players, Clinical Applications, Forecasts" and "AI in Drug Discovery 2021: Players, Technologies, and Applications" to gain insight into the intelligence behind these decentralized healthcare features.
 
Virtual reality - physio made fun
 
VR goggles can further enhance the ideal of decentralized healthcare by offering physio sessions remotely. VR not only allows physio classes to take place wherever suits the patient, removing excess burden from busy professionals, but it can also make the process more enjoyable with virtual sports or exercises. With the focus taken off the concept of physio, it may be less painful and more stimulating, getting people to use their bodies in certain ways while distracted with a game of tennis.
 
 
Virtual reality can also be used to give people the feeling of being outside when they may not be able to be, such as in hospitals or care homes, to train doctors and surgeons by watching surgery, and to give more people the opportunity to learn from experts all around the world without having to travel.
 
Decentralizing healthcare systems in these ways allows them to become more accessible and treatments to be available for more people, freeing up resources. Online appointments or VR-led physio sessions, reduced wait times, and extra appointments could hopefully change healthcare systems going forward.
 
For more information on the vast expanse of IDTechEx's healthcare technology research, please see www.IDTechEx.com/Research/Healthcare.
IDTechEx provides trusted independent research on emerging technologies and their markets. Since 1999, we have been helping our clients to understand new technologies, their supply chains, market requirements, opportunities and forecasts. For more information, contact research@IDTechEx.com or visit www.IDTechEx.com.

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Posted on: July 4, 2024

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