It's an understatement to say technology changes constantly. This truth extends to medical imaging technology too, including X-rays, CT and CAT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds. This field is always seeing advancements that improve accuracy, ease-of-use, and patient outcomes.

Here are five trends shaping medical imaging today that medical device manufacturers must keep up with. The designs of new life-supporting imaging equipment must incorporate modern patient, physician, and technician demands. Here's how to do it and what to know:

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The radiology world has been watching AI with interest for years, and the field has quite a bit to gain from its ongoing advancement. So do its patients.

Researchers in Korea published research in 2018 demonstrating the usefulness and accuracy of artificial intelligence in radiology settings. Their technique, called deep-learning-based automatic detection (DLAD), outperformed human radiologists in tests.

When humans and machines were both asked to analyze chest X-rays featuring malignant pulmonary nodules, DLAD demonstrated a higher success rate. However, the researchers noted the most accurate diagnoses came from radiologists performing their analysis first, then using on-machine DLAD processing as a quality check.

As manufacturers improve imaging equipment further, their design efforts should stress that last point especially. At their very best, AI and automation work to augment and complement human effort rather than replace it outright. Hardware and software designs should reflect that synergy.

2. Neural Nets
Several major tech companies have their sights on radiology-focused AI projects using a specific, finely tuned kind of machine intelligence—neural nets.

Microsoft is actively exploring radiology applications for its DeepMind AI platform. Meanwhile, Facebook's artificial intelligence collaboration with the New York University School of Medicine purports to conduct MRI scans in up to one-tenth the time it previously took.
 
Conducting a full MRI scan on a patient used to be a grueling, 50-minute ordeal. With the addition of neural nets—which actively filter out useless data, enhance the value of useful data, and recognize key image characteristics—the time gets slashed to five minutes.
 
The speed advancement promised by NYU's "fastMRI" is especially great news for technicians and physicians who find themselves under daily time pressures. This advancement is also beneficial for young or elderly patients who find it difficult to sit still as they await test results.
 
3. PLC-Based Controllers
MRI, CAT scan, and PET scan machines all have specific warm up, cool down, and operational temperature requirements. In the past, equipment manufacturers could count on mechanical temperature controllers to satisfy patient and technician expectations.
 
Today, Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)-based controls keep imaging equipment at the ready and optimally working. PLCs are a workhorse in the exploding Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, providing edge computing and analysis as well as remote control and monitoring for industrial equipment.
 
MRI, CT scan, and PET scan machines benefit from PLC-based controllers because these are better than mechanical controls at numerous tasks. Unmonitored temperatures in MRI machines result in inaccurate images, whereas PLCs better handle the shock of electrical surges as the machinery starts up for operation. PLC-based medical chillers can come in sizes ranging from one to 100 tons, suitable for various operations.
 
Dependable machines are crucial for diagnosing and treating patients. Ultimately, industrial control in medical imaging means machines are always ready when needed. Avoid unnecessary wear and tear and always keep them within optimal maintenance conditions.
 
4. 3D Printing and Portability
Some of the most frustrating imaging equipment to use, from the patient's perspective, is Magnetoencephalography (MEG) imaging. Studying brain activity is vital work, but traditional MEG imaging equipment is heavy, bulky, and stationary. Patients must travel to a healthcare facility to use the machines, adding further complications to the experience.
 
In a paper published in the journal Nature, researchers describe the most likely future of MEG and other types of imaging. Using a 3D printer, the multi-university team built a radically different kind of MEG system. Worn by the patient like a helmet, it's lightweight and portable enough that it can travel almost anywhere, even when the patient cannot.
 
Best of all, the new MEG system offers even more accurate results than previous-generation imaging equipment. The system also travels into brand-new territory by allowing the patient to continue moving around during their brain scan. In contrast, patients had to remain completely immobile to use incumbent MEG imaging.
 
3D printers are on track to become a revolution in the health care field. This mobile MEG system can be printed anywhere in the world and tailored to specific patients. This factor is true of other 3D-printed medical devices as well, including implants, prosthetics, and wearables.
 
Today, medical device manufacturers must embrace 3D printing and other methods to differentiate themselves. The market is moving toward bespoke medical devices and small-batch products.
 
Knowing which regulatory bodies have weighed in on 3D printing medical devices, like the FDA, will define manufacturers' competitiveness for years to come. So will the ability to design and incorporate smaller, lighter, more rugged, and more resistant connectors, chassis, logic boards, and other components.
 
5. Consolidation in the Market
The last several years have seen significant consolidation within the medical manufacturing sector, even as new entrants crop up regularly.
 
The period between 2007 and 2016 saw mergers involving KKR & Co., Accellent, Lake Region Medical, Greatbatch, Nypro, Flex (Flextronics), Avail, Molex, Phillips-Medisize, MedPlast, Vention, Coastal Life, and many others.
 
Again, this is not to say newcomers can't make a mark on their own—but there seems to be a definite trend toward companies pivoting to medtech, where they previously didn't have any experience in the field, typically through buyouts. Consolidation has a mixed-to-poor end-result for the consumer. For manufacturers, it's a reminder that one novel design or process improvement is often enough to capture the attention of a much larger fish.
 
How Does This All Affect Medical Device Manufacturers?
From a design perspective, each of these examples shows embedded computing and intelligence are helpful—and they're also an expected part of high-value industrial equipment, including medical imaging tools. Remote industrial control and monitoring allow equipment operators to tell at a moment's notice when machines have reached ideal operational conditions. Meanwhile, onboard logic provides a previously missing element in quality assurance.
 
The fourth example shows how far 3D printing has come, which is a fraction of its vast potential in the medical field. Manufacturers are working quickly to capitalize on additive manufacturing, making it a hotspot for innovation and competition.
 
Finally, we're reminded the market is a complicated and sometimes hostile place. The widespread consolidation of healthcare manufacturers means companies must hold true to their original philosophies, even as they become parts of larger corporate families.
 
Patient outcomes have always relied on visionaries coming up with new technologies and methods. With an aging global population and regular public health scares, this work is more important than ever for designers and manufacturers.

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Megan Ray Nichols is a science writer and the editor of Schooled By Science. Her work regularly appears on Real Clear Science, Manufacturing.net, and Astronaut.com. Keep up with Megan by following her on Twitter.