The digital health trend has continued to accelerate throughout the global pandemic. Virtual consultations and the transition to telehealth has transformed the state of healthcare as we know it, and this looks likely to only pick up speed in the coming years ahead.

CEO of MedTech Florence Joffroy-Black and Managing Director Dave Sheppard recently contributed their thoughts on the state of digital health, what we’ve seen leading up to and throughout the pandemic, and what we’re likely to see coming down the pipe through 2021 and beyond. Key trends highlighted in their recent article published in MPO Magazine include:

Wearables: Some of the current trendy items in this category include watches, patches, rings, necklaces, and textiles.

Digital Therapeutics: Defined by Wikipedia as “evidence-based therapeutic interventions driven by high quality software programs to prevent, manage, or treat a medical disorder or disease.”

Software as a Medical Device (SaMD): The International Medical Device Regulators Forum specifies SaMD as software intended to be used for one or more medical purposes that perform these functions without being part of medical device hardware.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in SaMD: AI is the science, engineering, and development of intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs. ML is an AI technique used to design and train software algorithms to learn and act on data. Current deployment of AI/ML in medtech include imaging systems, monitoring solutions, and surgical planning software.

Cybersecurity: The use of technology to manage and mitigate risks for medical devices that are exposed to threats through the internet or other forms of connectivity.

Digital mHealth: Not every medical app is considered a SaMD. There are many apps that seek to improve overall well-being by providing patients and clinicians important health information.

To read the full article covering the changes and opportunities likely to be created in the Digital Health Industry moving forward, read the full article below.