There’s a lot going on with healthtech

As humans it’s in our nature to help each other and to do that we must understand how our bodies work. The healthcare industry is striving to find ways for people to live longer and healthier lives. Through ongoing innovations with healthtech our ideas are becoming smarter, more sophisticated and life altering.
Let the procession commence
At the EIT Digital Health Tech Event at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven we were able to marvel at the diversification of ‘sickcare’ and healthcare. The keynotes which kick-started the event were diverse, the speakers all had different perspectives with regards to healthtech. Some focused on the preventative side of healthcare, others showed us the ability of robotics as super surgeons, smart monitoring/tracking and another used historical relevance to present an overview of past healthcare and what the future holds.
Fallen comrades, music and science
There were so many different ideas and viewpoints focussing on various ailments and treatments. My colleague was able to see an injured serviceman walk again, thanks to a robotic exoskeleton developed by Mobilab. Tinnitracks delivered a compelling presentation about the trials and tribulations people go through with tinnitus. They showcased their web application that filters music that can be used for tinnitus therapy. I myself have friends who suffer from tinnitus so it was great to see that there are methods which could eventually block out the problem completely. In the early detection segment of the day Ugentec presented automated DNA PCR analysis for improving efficiency in lab diagnostics.
Market diversity
Both existing and emerging markets were at the forefront throughout these exhibitions and there were some shocking ideas too, Virtual Reality was available in the form of an epilepsy simulator. Interu_psy spread awareness by putting the user in the patient’s shoes, showing them what it’s truly like to suffer from the crippling disorder. It was disturbing seeing what happens to someone who suffers from full blown epilepsy and the unpredictability of it really set me back. However, this system could help doctors to better understand their patient’s needs on a personal and professional level.
There were old fashioned ideas that took a new shape. Quimo’s smart stress balls help people with eating disorders to measure their emotional state. This was emphasised with a video depicting the insecurities people with eaten disorders face.
Respecting our elders
The largest correlation at the tech event was focussed on the elderly. Thing Tank one of the keynote presenters showed a reality based video looking at a hardened old trickster outsmarting the monitoring and tracking devices despite clearly needing to adhere to the instructions to prolong his life. Other exhibitors like Memorizon took a more cognitive approach, looking at the decline of a person’s mental health towards the end of their journey with dementia and Alzheimer’s being the two life changing absolutes.
Human nature at it’s finest
One thing to take away from this event is that the innovations in technology are helping advancements in healthcare however engineers and clinicians need to understand each other to bring out the best of both worlds. Many of the presenters and exhibitors expressed an emotional or vested attachment to their jobs and that made everything that much more interesting. You could see their devotion and honesty to make a difference and it made you proud to see all these changes that are taking place before our very eyes and for the betterment of human kind.