Use and Future of Sensors in the Healthcare Industry – Synopsis

I believe that the use of sensors in the healthcare industry will gain widest acceptance in the next 3-5 years. Being part of the healthcare industry, I already see a variety of sensor use and can safely predict its rapid expansion in the foreseeable future.

Some of the existing uses of sensors include:

·        Pressure & Temperature sensors which are used in anesthesia delivery machines, sleep apnea machines, ventilators, kidney dialysis machines, blood analyzers, medical incubators, humidified oxygen heater temperature monitoring and control equipment, neonatal intensive care units to monitor patient temperature, digital thermometers, and for organ transplant system temperature monitoring and control.

·        Accelerometers which are used in heart pacemakers and defibrillators, patient monitoring equipment, blood pressure monitors, and other integrated health monitoring equipment.

·        Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and Magnetocardiography (MCG) systems use superconducting quantum interference devices or SQUIDs. These highly sensitive magnetometers measure extremely weak magnetic fields and are used to analyze neural activity inside the brain.

·        Encoders can be found in X-ray machines, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, computer-assisted tomography equipment, medical imaging systems, blood analyzers, surgical robotics, laboratory sample-handling equipment, sports and healthcare equipment, and other noncritical medical devices.

·        Biosensors find applications in blood glucose and cholesterol testing, as well as for testing for drug abuse, infectious diseases, and pregnancy.

Some of the promising uses include:

·        Implantable Sensors: Although, implantable sensors and/or active monitoring devices are already in use, the trend is to move from a limited range of passive, implantable medical biosensors and monitoring devices to active implantable devices. Implantable biosensors can test for indicators of disease/symptoms and regulate the release of a drug to help treat the disease.

·        Energy Harvesting Sensors: There is a large potential market for self-powered, implantable medical devices where, for instance, body heat is harvested to power a wireless medical sensor. Similarly, by converting body movement to mechanical energy and muscle stretching into electricity, nanogenerators could produce a breakthrough class of self-powered, implantable medical devices.

·        MEMS Sensors: MEMS sensors are typically low power, their silicon interferes less with body tissues, integration permits a large number of systems to be built on a single chip, and their small size enables less invasive (and therefore less painful) instruments. For instance, MEMS accelerometers can alert medical professionals when a patient falls. Wearable, intelligent devices equipped with MEMS inertial sensors can be used to detect and assess the severity of a fall and signal for help, aided by a GPS to provide location information.

·        Bio Sensors: Biosensor probes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, mainly owing to a combination of advances in two technological fields: microelectronics and biotechnology. Biosensors are highly valuable devices for measuring a wide spectrum of analytes including organic compounds, gases, ions and bacteria.

Some of key expansion factors include:

·        Increasing demand from the healthcare sector for better and improved care. Healthcare organizations want real-time, reliable, and accurate diagnostic results provided by devices that can be monitored remotely, whether the patient is in a hospital, clinic, or at home.

·        Increasing importance of sensors in almost all medical devices. Sensors can increase the intelligence of medical equipment, such as life-supporting implants, and can enable bedside and remote monitoring of vital signs and other health factors.

·        Further developments in sensor technology and newer medical applications for sensors.

·        An aging and expanding population globally is accelerating the development of new and different types of medical equipment, including various sensors used inside both equipment and patients' bodies.

·        Expanding economies in some Asian countries bolstered the market demand for medical devices and instruments. The funds allocated by the respective governments in these countries for promoting healthcare sectors have benefited the medical sensors market.

Potential Roadblocks to the adoption or expansion may include:

·        Inadequate cyber security controls which may reduce the customer confidence in using these technologies.

·        Dealing with the cost and administrative burden of complying with the ever stringent and in some instances (unnecessarily) overly complicated regulatory compliance requirements.

·        The affordability factor -cost of ownership will remain, for the foreseeable future, one of the key factors slowing down the widespread adoption. This will create a constant pressure for the manufacturers to lower prices which may in-turn restrict the development of newer products for existing applications. 

·        Extended product lifecycles - sensor manufacturers require long development cycles as most sensor and sensor-based systems go through a long qualification period during which time they are not in routine use, are restricted to specialized sites, and undergo validation trials, mostly within research laboratories.

·        Finally, a lack of technology awareness among medical practitioners, requiring greater promotion by the sensor and medical devices manufacturers.

References

1.     Dr. Rajender Thusu (2011, Apr 1). Sensors Facilitate Health Monitoring

Retrieved from http://www.sensorsmag.com/components/sensors-facilitate-health-monitoring

2.     Sally Robertson (2011, Apr 1). What are Biosensors

Retrieved from https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-are-Biosensors.aspx