Digital Health Technologies That Are Too Futuristic To Be In Practice Now (If Ever) – The Medical Futurist Newsletter

Exciting promises that may never be fulfilled I am pleased to announce that this Wednesday, I will host a [live Q&A session]( focusing on the application of generative AI in healthcare. Your questions are highly [encouraged and welcomed]( - each query brings us closer to a better understanding and more effective use of AI in our profession. Other exciting snippets: I will test a blood-pressure-measuring smartwatch from YHE soon, and was happy for the positive feedback from our recent AI survey. I've been experimenting with DALL-E recently, and while the upcoming ChatGPT-integrated version sounds promising, my Midjourney subscription will definitely stay active until its release. I hope you will find the newsletter useful! Best regards, Berci Bertalan Meskó, PhD The Medical Futurist [DIGITAL HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE TOO FUTURISTIC TO BE IN PRACTICE NOW]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Nanorobots, food scanners, and bioprinting, while intriguing digital health technologies are considered too futuristic even by The Medical Futurist. Their widespread adoption is decades away due to their nascent technology and the challenges within the digital health field that must be addressed before their implementation. [READ MORE]( WHY DO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT? It's important to have open minds and positive attitudes, but so is keeping our expectations realistic and knowing what will not come in the near future. [AUTONOMOUS VENIPUNCTURE DEVICE AUTOMATES BLOOD DRAWING PROCEDURE]( --------------------------------------------------------------- I've been writing about the autonomous robot that can take a blood sample for years because drawing blood is a repetitive, yet risky procedure where human variability (e.g. how the phlebotomist woke up) is dangerous to patients. There hasn't been news on this front for some time but now Vitestro has developed an autonomous venipuncture device to fully automate the manual blood drawing procedure in hospitals and laboratories. [READ MORE]( WHY DO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT? Vitestro's device will be deployed in a large trial involving 10,000 patients in the Netherlands, and the company expects to obtain CE marking by the end of 2024. We may very soon see such machines in practice. [WELCOME TO THE DIGITAL HEALTH COURSE]( --------------------------------------------------------------- With 55 lessons and 2.5 hours of video content, we packed all essential digital health knowledge into this course. This structured program guides you from the basics to advanced forecasting techniques. You will learn how to recognize incoming trends, how to separate hype from meaning and how healthcare will change in the coming decades. [ENROLL HERE]( [ORACLE TO LAUNCH GENERATIVE AI TOOLS INTEGRATED WITH EHR]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Another tech giant joins the race for healthcare and Oracle chose the most exciting lane: using generative AI for clinical documentation. "It will automatically take notes during visits with patients and can propose next steps for providers, like ordering medications or scheduling labs, according to a press release." [READ MORE]( WHY IT'S IMPORTANT? The AI tool will be integrated next year into their recently acquired health records system. [HOW COULD DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY MAKE AN IMPACT ON PRIMARY CARE?]( --------------------------------------------------------------- The healthcare sector should widely adopt digital diagnostic tools and integrate lifestyle medicine—focusing on whole nutrition, regular physical activity, stress management, substance avoidance, quality sleep, and social connectivity—into mainstream practice. Ideally, the GPs of the near future will act as health coaches. They will interpret health data if something is not clear, give advice when results are not optimal, and spot and check irregularities based on data as soon as possible. [READ MORE]( [DEEPMIND’S NEW AI CAN PREDICT GENETIC DISEASES]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Google DeepMind released a machine learning model, AlphaMissense, that can analyze missense variants and predict the likelihood of them causing a disease with 90% accuracy (and better than existing tools). "AlphaMissense could help researchers prioritize the slow process of matching genetic mutations to diseases by quickly ruling out unlikely culprits. It could also help improve our understanding of overlooked areas of our genetic code. " [READ MORE]( WHY DO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT? Another great step towards a better understanding of our genetics. [AI CAN HELP SCREEN FOR CANCER—BUT THERE’S A CATCH]( --------------------------------------------------------------- The article analyzes some recent studies to address two questions: 1. Will AI-assisted screening lead to more overdiagnosis? And 2. Does overdiagnosis have negative health effects? "AI could use the information embedded in medical records to examine the trajectories of different patients cancers over time. In this scenario, it might be possible to distinguish those who don't benefit from a diagnosis. " [READ MORE]( WHY DO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT? In theory, catching cancers earlier should make them easier to treat, saving lives. But that’s not always what the data shows. MORE NEWS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE --------------------------------------------------------------- SIX YEARS – [Musk's Neuralink to start human trial of brain implant for paralysis patients]( WON'T WORK – [Scientists adapt VR tech for use in remote medical consults]( SELF CHECK-IN – [How one NYC hospital transformed the patient experience]( GOES AUTONOMOUSLY – [Scientists Successfully Maneuver Robot Through Living Lung Tissue]( [color-forwardtofriend-48.png](mailto:berci@medicalfuturist.com) [color-facebook-48.png]( [color-youtube-48.png]( [color-linkedin-48.png]( [color-twitter-48.png]( [color-instagram-48.png]( © The Medical Futurist 2023 This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Medical Futurist · Budapest · Budapest, Pest 1118 · Hungary