Powering the Future of Healthcare

The medtech industry is at a pivotal moment. Healthcare is moving from hospitals to our hands. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a dramatic shift toward ultra-portable, point-of-care devices that bring monitoring, diagnostics, and even treatment closer to patients than ever.

With healthcare typically expensive and time-consuming to access, and medical risks escalating as conditions progress, earlier detection is a powerful tool to promote timely care. Continuous monitoring, tracking, and diagnostics allow for earlier identification, resulting in improved outcomes, reduced long-term costs, and a new way to deliver optimal care.

The Rise of Point-of-Care Devices

Point-of-care technology, diagnostics or treatment delivered at the patient’s location, whether at home or in a clinical setting, is increasing in popularity. Wearable devices like continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are a striking example of this trend. The CGM device market is growing at annual rates above 15%, indicating broad yearly adoption increases. year, roughly 300 million CGMs were sold, which is unprecedented in the medical device industry. Further, Statista reports over 40% of U.S. households own a wearable device.

The need for early detection has been key to driving demand of AI-powered medical devices. Data from wearables may not yet factor into a physician’s formal diagnosis, but that’s starting to change. These devices can flag early warning signs and prompt faster follow-up, which can have a huge impact on subsequent treatment.

Consumers also want to take their health into their own hands and gain deeper insights into their physical wellbeing. Many wearables now serve as valuable early indicators, empowering individuals with real-time health data and enabling continuous health monitoring for more personalized, proactive care.

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How Semiconductors Are Enabling the Shift in Care

Advanced semiconductor technology is behind every successful point-of-care device. These chips enable the 24/7 monitoring, ultra-low power operation, and on-device intelligence that are essential for these devices outside the traditional care setting. Medical device manufacturers consistently prioritize miniaturization, power efficiency, excellent signal-to-noise performance, and extreme reliability in device development. Meeting all four simultaneously is only possible with advanced, custom semiconductor design.

Differentiated silicon technologies like 22nm FDSOI offer an ultra-low-power technology platform that can integrate best-in-class connectivity, edge AI, power management, non-volatile memory, and low-noise receivers in an SOC and are ideally suited for wearable and point-of-care medical devices. Technologies like 55BCD/BCDL can integrate logic with the high voltage needed for handheld ultrasound applications

Historically, many medtech devices relied on chips that served other industries and weren’t specific to healthcare. Now, the industry requires application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) designed for the unique performance and power needs of medical devices. This shift allows manufacturers to create smaller, longer-lasting, and more differentiated products that patients can trust. As form factors shrink and performance demands grow, more companies are turning to chip innovation to power the next generation of medical technology they’re developing.

From Annual Check-Ups to Always-On Care

Semiconductors are also helping drive a broader transformation, from infrequent physician appointments to real-time, AI-enabled healthcare at home. Short-term performance alone isn’t enough for these devices. They often require support for a decade or more, making lifecycle stability and long-term availability critical to their construction. Trust in healthcare is essential, and it’s built on reliability over just innovation.

The Future of At-Home Medtech

Looking ahead, two emerging areas highlight how semiconductors could continue to reshape care delivery. Imaging is already becoming more accessible through handheld ultrasound devices that connect to smartphones, enabling AI-assisted diagnostics even in low-resource settings. Additionally, advances in DNA and protein sequencing could soon allow for on-demand, on-device analysis, enabling faster clinical action.

These personalized technologies point to a future where healthcare is more tailored, proactive, and accessible. As care continues to move from clinic to home, semiconductor innovation will play a foundational role in transforming medicine from reactive interventions to continuous, informed insight.