2017: A Massive Growth Year
The rate of adoption in healthcare innovation and digitization is far beyond the advancements other industries are making. To help capture the growth, it is reported that investors have poured over 5.7 billion USD in 889 digital in 2015. During that same year, over 1,000 investors made an equity investment in at least one digital health company. A massive increase compared to the 234 that were invested in 2010.
For OEMs, 2016 was the year to invest largely in emerging and exciting medical technologies. For 2017, is predicted to be the year where more information will be analyzed and provided about the tech’s functionality. Companies like IBM have made sizable investments in artificial intelligence and med tech. While other companies, like GlaxoSmithKline, invested millions for bio electronic joint-ventures.
THE BUZZ
Due to the transforming healthcare and medical technology industry, a new disruptor is constantly entering the market. It is wise for companies to be aware of the opportunities, threats, and how adaptable the new technologies to stay ahead of the competition.
During the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) the Internet of Things in healthcare were one of the most talked about products amongst attendees. With the iHealth Next platform, medical professionals can monitor a comprehensive set of vitals through several smart-connected devices such as glucometers and blood pressure monitors.
A popular digital trend at CES was the ‘Sleep Tech’ and diagnostic tools for sleep and stress reduction. Sleep Number is a sleep tech industry leader with their new smart bed, the Sleep Number 360. The smart bed analyzes the users sleep patterns throughout the night and responds by the changing positions. In the morning the bed warms the users feet to wake them up in the morning. The bed uses Sleep IQ technology and connects with the user through the SleepIQ app.
2017 is the year to continue making strides in healthcare and innovated technologies. Although challenges will be presented this has not stopped the drive in investors and scientists to make health care better.
