Lu Rahman takes a look at some of the best medical device innovations that make the standards in the sector so high.
A few things crossed my mind as the team was getting ready for the Med-Tech Innovation Expo here at MPN. Run by our sister team and publication Med-Tech Innovation News, the event offers some of the best solutions for the healthtech and medtech supply chains and allows medical device manufacturers to partner with some of the most innovative companies in the UK and Ireland.
Take Blue Frog Design for example, which has made use of 3D printing to help a patient with an ongoing skin condition. The patient was suffering from paraesthesia, a skin condition that causes tingling, tickling, numbness and burning sensations for no apparent physical reason. Blue Frog Design was able to 3D print a structure that stopped the patient’s clothes from touching his upper body, removing the irritation and improving his quality of life.
It’s a great example of the way the medtech sector innovates in response to medical need. Long gone are the days of devices like the Mallam Scarificator. This four-bladed device was dipped into the pustules of someone carrying small pox, and was then stabbed into the arm of a child. Or what about the Ecraseur which was used in the nineteenth century to strangle hemmorhoids, uterine and ovarian tumours by placing a wire around the unwanted growth? Thankfully we’ve definitely come a long way. Take the team of researchers at Leicester University as an example – they’ve been looking at how clinicians and scientists have been using near-patient and remote sensing technologies to analyse breath samples to better diagnose cardiorespiratory disease. Medtech now is designed to benefit the patient without hurting them, which has to be a good thing.
It’s this kind of innovation that makes this sector a pleasure to work in. On a daily basis we hear about devices and technological advances that are designed to safeguard our health and boost our well-being.
I have to admit there are times I do wonder what’s going on. I recently received information about a vaginal speaker designed to communicate to a foetus. I’m sure there’ll be many people out there that might think this is a useful product. Unfortunately I’m not one of them. Or what about the bracelet that produces negative ions to counteract the effects of positive ions we may encounter? Scientifically the jury’s out as to the harmful effects of positive ions but my question is, just how effective can a bracelet be at doing this if they are a danger to our health?
Possibly I’m a sceptic but I guess when you work in a sector that’s filled with groundbreaking innovation, the bar is well and truly raised. Keep the innovation coming.