It will be different next time. Much different, hopefully.
 
Future pandemics are unlikely to resemble the disjointed patchwork of COVID-19 mitigation efforts implemented worldwide by lawmakers and health officials. Instead, they possibly will involve more coordinated responses and widespread testing, as well as technological innovations inspired by design thinking.
 
Such thinking could result in redesigned public spaces that double as treatment areas during an outbreak and airports with more security screening lanes. Hospitals are likely to rethink conventional schematics too, potentially employing such pandemic-busting features as negative pressure zones, special patient evaluation areas, telehealth centers, and flexible-use rooms (i.e., those easily modified between acute care and ICU).
 
With the COVID-19 threat unlikely to abate in the fore- seeable future, design thinking could potentially become a powerful tool in helping to better manage and control forthcoming pandemics. The approach is already being used to improve healthcare equity and spawn creative solutions to medicine’s most pressing dilemmas.
 
MPO’s January/February feature, “Inventive Interaction,” explores the various forces at play in medtech R&D. Raghu Vadlamudi, chief Research & Technology director at Donatelle, was among the various experts interviewed for the story. His full input is provided in the following Q&A.
 
Michael Barbella: Where are companies spending their research dollars now—on incremental improvements to existing devices, or game-changing innovation?
Raghu Vadlamudi: Bigger and established OEMs in the medical device industry spend their research dollars on incremental improvements on existing devices while the smaller startups work on game-changing innovations. It’s faster and less costly for a smaller company to get the product to the market through all the regulatory channels.
 
Barbella: How is value-based healthcare shaping the kinds of medical devices/technology being developed?
Vadlamudi: The value-based healthcare is directing the industry to provide point-of-care diagnostic services that minimize the cost of healthcare services. The wearable medical device technologies are another arena, the medical device industry is focused on. This technology would play a big role in artificial intelligence and big data.
 
Barbella: Please discuss the importance of university/academic partnerships in developing cutting-edge medical devices.
Vadlamudi: The university/academic partnerships in developing cutting-edge medical devices are of paramount importance.  The “for profit” companies do not develop new medical devices unless there is a huge market for them. There is a need in the medical device industry to provide solutions for rare diseases and pediatric disorders. Universities with government grants and not for profit companies together can make a difference in these areas.
 
Barbella: Can a company effective tackle a healthcare need/problem and devise a solution based on its own internal R&D? Please explain.
Vadlamudi: It depends on the size of the company and its resources. Billion-dollar companies with their bigger R&D budgets can afford to allocate resources to tackle healthcare need/problem which can take decades at times. Small startup companies would be looking for grants and academic support to provide solutions.
 
Barbella: How will AI, big data, and digital health affect the R&D process going forward?
Vadlamudi: AI, big data and digital health will transform the R&D process tremendously in a positive way. These technologies will provide information readily to the innovators in order to improve the existing products and to health care providers to monitor the patients’ health in providing the appropriate treatment.