Kevin Coker, Proxima Clinical Research CEO02.18.22
MedTech innovation is booming like never before, positioning 2022 as an incredibly promising year. Even amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the advent of 3D printing in regenerative medicine—from polymers to bioabsorbables—plus the increasing integration of robotics and real-time data capture and management across diagnostic and other devices show us how and where medical invention is picking up speed.
Robotics and principles of Artificial Intelligence will continue to play a bigger role in medical devices as both large and emerging companies develop everything from surgical robots—like those in development with J&J and Medtronic—to Elon Musk’s NeuraLink computer to brain interface. In fact, Musk couldn’t help himself, recently claiming on a quarterly earnings call that the new Tesla humanoid robots were going to have a significantly higher impact than the electric car. While we won’t expect them to be delivered this year (or any year soon), we should believe that this proclamation was more than mere premonition. Perhaps less obvious than the robot takeover, we will continue to observe big impacts from the use of robotics and machine learning across all areas of development, from manufacturing to packaging and inspection.
Medical devices empowered with AI will continue to rise as the principles of AI further integrate into medical device software for the use of obtaining and analyzing information from wearables, Internet of Things (IoT), and point-of-care devices. Given the rise in telemedicine and the continued risk of human-to-human interaction from virus migration, more people and providers want healthcare with minimal human touch. AI and machine learning are now actually expected to be integrated into the majority of new MedTech products as the insights become further involved in future decision making across the healthcare spectrum.
Earlier last year, the FDA released new guidance on AI and Software as a Medical Device (SaMD), as they seek to understand machine learning algorithms and give better and more consistent guidance to innovators, which vary greatly across divisions. In response to this trend, the current administration has even appointed a new AI czar, Lynn Parker, to help agencies communicate these complicated concepts with one another and transfer knowledge more efficiently.
Additive manufacturing will also continue to play a bigger role in the creation of current and new medical device prototypes as the technology continues to improve—along with the types of materials that can be printed, such as steel and the super strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber Kevlar® by DuPont™. 3D bioprinting is starting to become a reality in everything from bioabsorbable materials appearing as key components to full-scale organ level regenerative medicine. One example of this is the recent acquisition of Volumetric bio by 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) to explore human organ printing. 3D Systems and Volumetric plan to develop a sizeable biofabrication facility in Houston’s East End Maker Hub, further positioning the city as a hub in life sciences innovation.
Femtech has been a growth area in investments as the industry grabs attention and headlines. This is more of an area to watch as I’m not sure how much of this attention is translating to inventions quite yet, but the conversation has started, and we may see a surge of inventions coming out these investments in the coming years.
Less quixotic but just as important, quality management systems and reproducibility requirements have increased greatly as industry expectations and requirements for increased quality and reproducibility continue to drive automation.
The industry is booming. Innovation is maturing in directions never before seen nor explored. We’re on the brink of another information explosion as AI/machine learning and robots drive new heights of discovery and data drives innovation.
Kevin Coker is the co-founder and CEO of Proxima Clinical Research, a contract research organization guiding emerging med tech, biotech, pharmaceutical, and diagnostic device companies through regulation and clinical requirements to take their inventions from concept to commercialization. Coker also serves as a Principle of M1MedTech, an elite accelerator for early-stage medical companies, and co-host of Inventing Tomorrow, a podcast and educational forum for younger inventors of every kind.
Here are a few trends to watch for in 2022 and beyond:
Let’s start with industry challenges. The ongoing pandemic will continue to be the big story in the creation of new revenue streams for certain companies while impacting sales and logistics for all others. Indeed, the number one inhibitor in MedTech innovation across the life sciences industry continues to be supply chain and logistics issues as countries around the globe struggle to get products to hospitals and other point-of-care logistics. Supply chain and logistics aside, the industry is booming with new inventions unlike anything we’ve seen in the past. Trends to note in 2022 will span the diagnostics sector with revenue specifically focused on growth within point-of-care diagnostics.Robotics and principles of Artificial Intelligence will continue to play a bigger role in medical devices as both large and emerging companies develop everything from surgical robots—like those in development with J&J and Medtronic—to Elon Musk’s NeuraLink computer to brain interface. In fact, Musk couldn’t help himself, recently claiming on a quarterly earnings call that the new Tesla humanoid robots were going to have a significantly higher impact than the electric car. While we won’t expect them to be delivered this year (or any year soon), we should believe that this proclamation was more than mere premonition. Perhaps less obvious than the robot takeover, we will continue to observe big impacts from the use of robotics and machine learning across all areas of development, from manufacturing to packaging and inspection.
Medical devices empowered with AI will continue to rise as the principles of AI further integrate into medical device software for the use of obtaining and analyzing information from wearables, Internet of Things (IoT), and point-of-care devices. Given the rise in telemedicine and the continued risk of human-to-human interaction from virus migration, more people and providers want healthcare with minimal human touch. AI and machine learning are now actually expected to be integrated into the majority of new MedTech products as the insights become further involved in future decision making across the healthcare spectrum.
Earlier last year, the FDA released new guidance on AI and Software as a Medical Device (SaMD), as they seek to understand machine learning algorithms and give better and more consistent guidance to innovators, which vary greatly across divisions. In response to this trend, the current administration has even appointed a new AI czar, Lynn Parker, to help agencies communicate these complicated concepts with one another and transfer knowledge more efficiently.
Additive manufacturing will also continue to play a bigger role in the creation of current and new medical device prototypes as the technology continues to improve—along with the types of materials that can be printed, such as steel and the super strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber Kevlar® by DuPont™. 3D bioprinting is starting to become a reality in everything from bioabsorbable materials appearing as key components to full-scale organ level regenerative medicine. One example of this is the recent acquisition of Volumetric bio by 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) to explore human organ printing. 3D Systems and Volumetric plan to develop a sizeable biofabrication facility in Houston’s East End Maker Hub, further positioning the city as a hub in life sciences innovation.
Femtech has been a growth area in investments as the industry grabs attention and headlines. This is more of an area to watch as I’m not sure how much of this attention is translating to inventions quite yet, but the conversation has started, and we may see a surge of inventions coming out these investments in the coming years.
Less quixotic but just as important, quality management systems and reproducibility requirements have increased greatly as industry expectations and requirements for increased quality and reproducibility continue to drive automation.
The industry is booming. Innovation is maturing in directions never before seen nor explored. We’re on the brink of another information explosion as AI/machine learning and robots drive new heights of discovery and data drives innovation.
Kevin Coker is the co-founder and CEO of Proxima Clinical Research, a contract research organization guiding emerging med tech, biotech, pharmaceutical, and diagnostic device companies through regulation and clinical requirements to take their inventions from concept to commercialization. Coker also serves as a Principle of M1MedTech, an elite accelerator for early-stage medical companies, and co-host of Inventing Tomorrow, a podcast and educational forum for younger inventors of every kind.
