The Hottest Medical Technologies for 2026-2027

Medical technology has come a long way since the invention of eyeglasses and the stethoscope. Better data has led to better biological understanding; better biological understanding has led to more precision. Meanwhile, broad advances in other forms of technology—specifically, computing, AI, materials science, and gene editing— have allowed the industry to address unmet clinical needs in ways that the early stethoscope users would’ve perceived as magic. 

Today’s hottest medical technologies are a concert of interdisciplinary innovation. The promise of areas like gene editing has finally crystallized in specific and practical applications. Foundational tools like the ultrasound and X-ray are experiencing their first major updates in decades. Medical technology is making healthcare more precise, less invasive, and more personalized. 

We’re living in the future, and perhaps the surest proof of that is the way that old truths are being upended: genetic diseases are no longer unavoidable; a continuous ultrasound monitor can be worn on a person’s body; inter-species transplants are no longer instantly rejected. Each year, another impossibility becomes possible. To learn more about the hottest medical technologies for 2026, read on.

Therapeutic Genome Editing

Genetic disorders have genetic solutions. Pharmacogenomics (covered in 2025) reads someone’s genes to help pick a particular drug, but therapeutic genome editing goes one step further, addressing the issue at a genetic level rather than treating the downstream symptoms. 

Consider sickle cell disease (SCD), a genetic disorder where mutations in the HBB gene create a cascade of problems. Traditionally, treatment has been through drugs, transfusions, and/or risky donor transplants. But therapeutic genome editing offers a new approach. The patient’s own blood-forming stem cells are taken out of the body and edited with CRISPR to switch fetal hemoglobin back on; fetal hemoglobin gives red blood cells a healthy hemoglobin that keeps them from sickling. The patient then undergoes chemotherapy to clear space in the bone marrow and gets the edited cells put back in through an IV. 

The FDA approved this form of therapeutic gene editing in December 2023 for patients 12 and older; in July 2026, it expanded approval to children as young as two. More genetic disorders could be next: rare single gene disorders first, then more common ones later on. Bottlenecks remain around safe delivery, and getting the editor to the right cells without causing collateral damage. But if done right, the worst effects of genetic disorders could be much more statistically rare in coming generations.

Gene-Edited Xenotransplantation

Over 100,000 people are on the US transplant wait list. About 17 die each day waiting, and every 8 minutes someone new is added to the list. That’s all despite the record number of transplants being performed each year (close to 50,000). The problem is the dearth of organ donors. There’s a lot of variance in which organs are available when, while the need is always crucial and time-sensitive. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just pick the organ you needed right off the shelf — or perhaps, right out of a pig?

Xenotransplantation is the placement of animal organs inside the human body. It’s not new: in the 1960s, there were attempts to transplant chimpanzee kidneys into human bodies; in 1984, a baboon heart was transplanted into an infant. In most cases of xenotransplantation, a catastrophic immune response happens almost immediately, as the human body rejects the transplanted animal organ. 

But researchers are now using CRISPR and other gene-editing tools to alter pigs so that their organs are less likely to be rejected by human bodies. Some gene-editing focuses on removing problematic pig genes, while other approaches focus on inserting human genes that may improve compatibility. The early results have medical researchers squealing. 

In 2025, the FDA cleared the first formal US clinical trial of a gene-edited pig kidney, and the first transplant was performed later that year. While gene-edited pig kidneys and hearts have been transplanted into humans under compassionate use in the past, the move from emergency cases to clinical trials is a big step.

Liquid Biopsies

Tissue biopsies are a crucial procedure in cancer detection, but they’re complex: they require imaging and invasive procedures. Liquid biopsies, however, are finding ways to spot certain forms of cancer through a relatively simple blood draw. The breakthrough came in detecting bits of ctDNA — circulating tumor DNA that’s been shed from tumor cells — in the blood, and then looking for cancer-linked mutations in those fragments. The process can flag residual disease months before a scan. 

In 2026, the FDA approved a treatment path tied to a ctDNA test for certain bladder cancer patients. Right now, it’s being used to monitor for residual disease or evidence of cancer recurrence post-treatment. But there are also cautious steps being taken towards using liquid biopsies in early screening and initial diagnosis. 

In 2024, the FDA approved Shield, the first blood test authorized as a primary colorectal cancer screening option for average-risk adults. It’s not yet equivalent to colonoscopy (Shield detects about 83 percent of colorectal cancers, but only 13 percent of advanced adenomas). But it’s still a breakthrough: a simple blood draw is massively cheaper, quicker, and easier to perform; more early detection could save many lives.

Wearable Ultrasound

Ultrasounds have been a bedrock of medical diagnostics since entering routine clinical use in the 1960s. Like the X-ray, they’re a way of looking inside the body without penetrating it, using sound waves to take images of soft tissue and organs. It lets clinicians check on babies on the womb, or detect abnormalities in the body like cysts and tumors. But traditional ultrasounds are mere snapshots of a small and specific point in time. 

Wearable ultrasound patches are different. Made from flexible material, these adhesive patches are a little thicker than a Band-Aid and range from credit card to smartphone-sized. They allow for continuous ultrasound monitoring and can track trends in cardiac function, blood flow, and bladder filling. This opens up a host of new applications for ultrasound technology, particularly for post-op cardiac patients. 

Highly experimental, but more than theoretical, the first flexible ultrasound materials only started to get serious attention in 2015. More recently, an MIT team developed a patch that could image organs continuously for 48 hours; in 2023, a wearable cardiac patch was developed that worked even during exercise. Most of the applications of wearable ultrasounds are distinct from traditional ultrasound applications, but there is some overlap: in 2026, a patch for high-risk pregnancies performed comparably to handheld ultrasound.

A Look Back at the Three Hottest Medical Technologies for 2025

Magnetic Nanorobots

An aneurysm “is a bulge or “ballooning” in the wall of an artery. Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to other parts of the body. If an aneurysm grows large, it can burst and cause dangerous bleeding or even death.” If an aneurysm in the brain bursts, it causes a stroke. To come up with a solution for these dangerous events, researchers have developed nanobots (nanoscale robots) which could be used to manage bleeds in the brain caused by aneurysms.

This study points to a future where tiny bots could be controlled remotely to carry out complex tasks inside the human body. These tiny robots, roughly one-twentieth the size of a red blood cell, are engineered to carry clotting agents encased in a specialized coating that melts at specific temperatures. In lab experiments, scientists injected over a billion such nanobots into an artery and successfully guided them as a collective swarm using magnetic fields and medical imaging. 

Once the nanorobots reached the aneurysm site, external magnetic sources directed them to cluster inside the aneurysm. By applying heat, the coating on the nanobots melted, releasing a natural clotting protein that helped seal off the aneurysm and prevent potential bleeding in the brain.

This new technology has only been tested in rabbits so far. However, with further study in 2025, it could be used to stabilize aneurysms in human patients.

Pharmacogenomics

Not every drug is right for every person. A study in 2024 found that around 80 percent of people have a genetic variation that could change how they respond to medication.

Pharmacogenomics is the study of how a person’s DNA affects their response to medications. This field aims to personalize treatments by tailoring prescriptions to an individual’s genetic makeup. By analyzing genetic information, researchers and doctors can determine the most suitable drug or adjust the dosage to improve effectiveness and reduce side effects.

This approach is already being applied in cancer treatment, where genetic profiling of both the patient and the tumor helps identify the best course of action. It is also helping refine the dosage of blood thinners to lower the risk of complications in heart patients.

Though still developing, this field has the potential to revolutionize medicine. As personalized treatments become more common, integrating genetic insights into prescriptions could lead to more effective and safer healthcare for people of all ages.

Ingestible Electronic Devices for Gastrointestinal Monitoring

A digital pill (also known as an ingestible sensor, or a smart pill) is a pharmaceutical dosage form that contains an ingestible sensor inside of a pill. The sensor begins transmitting medical data after it is consumed. The technology that makes up the pill, as well as the data transmitted by the pill’s sensor, are considered to be part of digital medicine.

These ingestible electronic capsules equipped with cameras and sensors are emerging as non-invasive tools for real-time monitoring of the gastrointestinal tract. These devices or capsules facilitate early detection of abnormalities, improving diagnostic accuracy and patient comfort compared to traditional endoscopic procedures.

These innovations exemplify the rapid advancements in medical technology, offering new possibilities for diagnosis, treatment, and patient care in 2025 and beyond.

A Look Back at the Five Hottest Medical Technologies for 2024

Adaptive Hearing Aids

The realm of hearing aid technology has been increasingly integrating AI and other advanced technologies to enhance the audiological experience for users. In 2025, these enhancements are becoming even more sophisticated, with features such as split-processing hearing aids that provide a completely immersed sound experience, and advancements in remote care and connectivity.

Companies like HearUSA are leading the way in bringing these technologies to market. The integration of AI in hearing aids is helping to improve sound quality, reduce background noise, and even predict the user’s listening needs based on their environment. Furthermore, the advent of gene therapy and precision medicine is paving the way for potential regenerative therapies for hearing loss.

Just as AI tools have revolutionized radiology by detecting abnormalities in chest X-rays, AI’s role in hearing aid technology is becoming increasingly pivotal. It’s not just about amplifying sound anymore – it’s about delivering a personalized, high-quality auditory experience that adapts to the user’s needs.

Bioprinting

Bioprinting for organ transplants is an innovative technology that involves creating a 3D structure of biological material, often referred to as ‘bioink‘. This bioink is composed of living cells and is used to print bodily tissues or organs layer by layer. The ultimate goal of this technology is to print organs that can be successfully transplanted into humans, potentially solving the issue of organ rejection and the shortage of donor organs.

One of the promising aspects of bioprinting is the capacity to use a patient’s cells to create these organs. This personalization can significantly reduce the risk of transplant rejection. However, it’s important to note that the field of bioprinting is still in its infancy, with most researchers estimating that full-sized 3D-printed organ transplantation in humans is between 20 and 30 years away.

Brain-Machine Interfaces

Medical technologies for patients with spinal cord injuries have seen significant advancements in recent years. Brain-machine interfaces are now being used as a modern tool to help patients with spinal cord injuries control various prosthetic devices. Furthermore, spinal cord epidural stimulation (scES), which passes electrical current directly to the spinal cord, holds great promise for aiding in recovery.

Assistive technology has also come to the fore, with advanced wheelchairs, smartphones, and other devices offering increased independence to people with spinal cord injuries. Moreover, “dancing molecules”, breakthrough therapies involving sending bioactive signals to trigger cells to repair and regenerate have dramatically improved severe spinal cord injuries.

Moreover, New York’s largest hospital system, Northwell Health, has been developing bioelectric technology over the last few years that would allow paralyzed patients to move. This bioelectric technology harnesses the body’s own electrical signals so it communicates properly with the nervous system, and a paralyzed patient hooked up to a bioelectric device can feel and even move. Notably, the hospital has already seen incredible applications. Keith Thomas, a man living with paralysis, was successfully able to grasp, lift, and even drink from a cup following a clinical trial.

Glucose Monitoring Wearables

The domain of diabetic blood sugar monitoring technology has been leveraging advancements such as biosensors and AI for some time now, primarily to enhance continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and improve the quality of life for people with diabetes. However, the technology is now being implemented in novel ways, including non-invasive blood glucose monitoring skin patches that interface with smart devices.

In 2025, companies like Dexcom are pushing the boundaries of these technologies. Dexcom has expanded its glucose monitoring to Type 2 diabetes with Stelo, its new continuous glucose monitor. The Diabetes Technology Society Blood Glucose Monitoring System Surveillance Program provides information on the performance of these devices. Furthermore, the advent of smartwatches featuring groundbreaking advancements such as non-invasive blood glucose monitoring and AI has added another dimension to diabetes care.

Precision Medicine

Precision medicine, also known as personalized medicine, is an innovative disease prevention and treatment approach that considers an individual’s unique genetic makeup, environment, and lifestyle. This approach allows doctors and researchers to predict more accurately which treatment and prevention strategies will work for certain diseases within specific groups of people. It contrasts to a one-size-fits-all approach, where disease treatment and prevention strategies are developed for the average person, without considering the vast genetic and environmental variations between individuals.

Precision medicine can help people by providing tailored treatments that can lead to better health outcomes. It can also identify individuals who may be at risk of developing certain diseases based on their genetics, thereby allowing for early interventions or even preventive measures. Precision Medicine Group is an integrated team of experts in fields ranging from advanced lab sciences to translational informatics and regulatory affairs which aims to revolutionize how we improve health and treat disease.

A Look Back at the Five Hottest Medical Technologies for 2023

ChatGPT

ChatGPT has infiltrated almost every technology sector, and the healthcare field is no exception. This natural language processing tool is being integrated in many aspects of medical technology. Not only are medical practitioners seeing their workday streamlined with ChatGPT, but it can also help administrative staff and patients. For example, ChatGPT is used very effectively as a chatbot that can answer general patient non-medical questions, schedule appointments, and give information about common medical conditions. Targeted chatbots provide specialized support, such as One Remission for cancer patients and Northwell for pregnancy support. 

Another area where ChatGPT is helping significantly is helping providers with their charting. Epic Systems, an electronic health record that is reported to handle over 78 percent of the US medical records, announced it will be integrating ChatGPT to summarize chart notes, hunt for trends in a given record, and help care providers write their medical notes with simple prompts, saving hours of work every week. 

Predictive Medical Diagnosis Software

AI technology is now being implemented into predictive medical diagnosis software. These tools use machine learning algorithms to analyze medical data and predict the likelihood of certain medical conditions or diseases in patients. It can assist healthcare providers in making informed decisions based on data-driven insights, improving the accuracy and efficiency of medical diagnosis and treatment. 

This new software will not replace physicians and will always need to be checked for accuracy, but it can detect things a doctor might miss and help speed up the time to a diagnosis. 

Folio3, an innovative company in this space, can provide medical providers with holistic and intelligent diagnoses. One application is detecting and diagnosing HER2 cancer. This software can survey the biopsy results and perform cell segmentation and spot counting. Previously, a pathologist physically counted stained cells on a slide. 

Automated Medical Coding

Automated medical coding is an AI-based technology that assigns standardized codes to healthcare services, procedures, and diagnoses recorded in electronic health records. It saves time and reduces errors associated with manual coding while ensuring consistency and accuracy. Using natural language processing and machine learning algorithms, the software identifies key information from clinical notes, lab results, and other sources. 

One key player in this field, Fathom, claims it can automate up to 80 percent of medical billing. It can also be used to review already completed billings for accuracy. Overall, it improves efficiency, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness in the healthcare industry, leading to more timely billing and reimbursement and freeing up staff to focus on other important tasks.

AI Radiology 

Radiology has been integrating AI for quite some time to do computer-aided cancer detection, auto-segmentation of organs, and natural language processing to help with reporting. However, now it is being implemented in many new ways, including using AI to read X-rays and other imaging. 

The Radiological Society of North America reported in March 2023 AI tools can now detect abnormal chest X-rays. With the global shortage of radiologists, tools that can streamline work and predict a diagnosis can save a lot of time. In fact, the tool used in the report found that the AI was more sensitive in detecting chest abnormalities or diseases than the physicians. 

Drug Discovery with Quantum Computing

Drug discovery is a complex and time-consuming process involving identifying compounds that are likely effective in treating specific diseases. Traditional methods can take years, and the success rate can sometimes be quite low. However, the emergence of quantum computing has the potential to accelerate this process significantly. Quantum computing performs complex calculations using quantum-mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement. Because of this, it can process large amounts of data simultaneously, making it an ideal tool for drug discovery. 

Several recent case studies have been published on how well this new method of drug discovery works. One such case was a collaboration between Accenture Labs, 1QBit, and Biogen. They found that “using the traditional molecular comparison method to run comparisons on millions of molecules in conjunction with this quantum-enabled application to dive deeper and gather more contextual information on selected results offers Biogen a distinct competitive advantage through time to market and cost savings.”

A Look Back at the Five Hottest Medical Technologies for 2022

1. Remote Patient Monitoring

Thanks to remote patient monitoring (RPM), physicians can now know what is happening with a patient without being physically close. There are several benefits to RPM, including better patient outcomes, faster response time, and significant cost reductions over time. In fact, RPM goes hand in hand with telemedicine in reducing the need for patient travel and mitigating everyone’s exposure. 

Thanks to legislative changes to Medicare for the Covid-19 pandemic, various forms of RPM were approved for reimbursement, effectively increasing the popularity of this new technology. 

Prevounce, a medical software provider, notes that in 2020, an estimated 23.4 million patients utilized some form of remote patient monitoring. The most common types of monitoring were blood pressure, weight, heart rate, and blood sugar, all without having to go into an office or a lab. 

This practice is becoming so widespread that a survey conducted by Spyglass Consulting Group found that 88 percent of healthcare providers had invested in or were evaluating adding RPM to their practice. 

2. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) takes on many different forms in healthcare. The primary trend for AI in healthcare in 2022 will be utilizing machine learning to evaluate large amounts of patient data and other information. By creating tailored algorithms, programmers can mimic human thought and write programs that seemingly think, learn, make decisions, and take action. 

No, this does not mean that sentient robots will suddenly deliver medical care. However, it does mean that, given a patient’s medical records, history, and current symptoms, physicians may be given suggested diagnoses, medications, and treatment plans. The physicians will always have the final say, but the information will be available. 

By analyzing healthcare data robustly and comprehensively, healthcare leaders can use the findings to improve patient outcomes, reduce costs, and boost staff job satisfaction.  

3. Digital Therapeutics

Patients who have chronic illnesses often require ongoing care from their physicians. This care can include patient education, symptom monitoring, medication adjustment, and behavioral changes. Not only is this care costly, but it is also very time-consuming for medical staff and patients. Now, there are new digital therapeutics that can fill this role.

A doctor prescribes digital therapeutics to a patient for their particular medical condition. These sophisticated software programs can be accessed as apps on a patient’s smartphone or through a personal computer. They undergo the same rigorous testing as all medications, including randomized clinical trials.  Medical conditions well suited for digital therapeutics include diabetes type I and type II, cancer, anxiety, musculoskeletal pain, ADHD, asthma, migraines, insomnia, and substance abuse. 

As patients use the applications, information about their well-being is reported back to their physician. This allows doctors to monitor patients without seeing them regularly and spot problems much earlier than when a patient needs to wait for an appointment. 

4. Technology in Mental Health

Several new technologies have emerged over the past year that can help address a patient’s ongoing mental health needs. While most assessments and initial treatments may still need to be completed by a clinician, patients can now use additional tools to improve their mental health between appointments. 

The digital therapeutics mentioned above are uniquely suited for providing high-quality ongoing mental health care. Increasingly, some apps can complete patient intakes and provide an initial diagnosis before a patient ever meets with a provider. A traditional therapy method called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been widely adopted in digital therapeutics with significant success, combined with virtual or in-person therapy, to help patients change their behavior. 

Another technology being newly utilized for mental health is video games. The FDA recently authorized EndeavorRX, the first prescription video game designed to treat ADHD in children ages eight to 12. In clinical studies, 73 percent of participants reported an increased ability to pay attention after just one month of treatment with zero adverse side effects.  

5. Internet of Medical Things

The Internet of Things refers to the invisible network formed by physical objects connected to the Internet. For healthcare, this encompasses new technologies such as remote patient monitoring, 5g-enabled devices, and wearable sensors. The more than 500,000 web-enabled medical devices are increasingly interconnected to provide the most accurate and up-to-date patient data.  

As technologies and software improve, smart medical devices can network with nearby smart devices to help improve patient outcomes. This will eventually allow doctors to monitor patients’ status holistically and systematically. For example, one study found that a FitBit is more reliable at measuring physical activity and better at assessing a five-year risk of death than more traditional methods. All patients need to do is make the data they already have accessible.

A Look Back at the Ten Hottest Medical Technologies for 2020-2021

1. Advanced Telemedicine

Telemedicine took a great leap forward during the Covid-19 pandemic. In January 2020, 24 percent of healthcare organizations had an existing telehealth program. According to Forrester, an analytics firm, the country was set to complete over a billion virtual care visits by the end of the year. Forced into functionality, many of telehealth’s regulatory barriers have been removed, and healthcare organizations now have nearly a year’s worth of data on evaluating and improving telehealth services. 

In 2021, many healthcare organizations will focus on integrating telehealth services with existing physical ones. Virtual visits will continue to be used to increase access to primary care and urgent care and improve collaboration with clinics, long-term care facilities, dialysis centers, and mental health services. All of this, however, hinges upon a more permanent lifting of regulatory barriers: the American Medical Association and others, are urging Congress to act fast. 

2. New Methods of Drug Development

The development of multiple safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines in less than a year may be remembered as one of the greater scientific accomplishments in human history. The process was sped along by regulatory fast-tracking and innovations in how medical trials are conducted: virtual clinical trials, held mostly online, eased the burden of participation. Combined with a spirit of collaboration rather than competition between pharmaceutical companies, they could pave the way for a bright future in drug development.

Some of the relaxed regulatory procedures around drug development will fade with the Covid-19 pandemic, but innovative approaches to testing and collaboration could linger. An alliance between several pharmaceutical heavyweights—including Gilead, Novartis, and WuXi AppTec—has already begun collaboratively exploring new antiviral treatments and sharing preliminary data. The FDA has released guidelines for virtual trials, opening up a new frontier for developing and testing new drugs. 

Once Covid-19 is relegated to the history books, what’s next? 

3. Data-Driven Healthcare

According to Bain, a consultancy firm, Healthcare’s big data market is expected to reach nearly $70 billion by 2025. As health data collection continues to accelerate, its applications become more widespread, and its potential for improving treatment options and patient outcomes skyrockets. The biggest barrier, however, has been a lack of interoperability: one healthcare organization’s data is not easily transferred to (and easily processed by) another organization. Covid-19 underscored that problem further. 

In November 2020, when Google Cloud launched its healthcare interoperability readiness program, interoperability took a large step forward. Aimed at helping payers, providers, and other organizations prepare for the federal government’s interoperability regulations, it gives program participants access to data templates, app blueprints, security tools, and implementation guidelines. If healthcare organizations can get on the same page, the potential of the industry’s big data could quickly turn kinetic. 

4. Nanomedicine

Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology, which operates on the atomic, molecular, or supramolecular scale. For something of such a small size, the potential is huge: nanomedicine has applications in imaging, sensing, diagnosis, and delivery through medical devices. 

Researchers are finding new ways to use nanomedicine to target individual cells, and in 2021, that research will be put into action. CytImmune Sciences, a leader in cancer nanomedicine, has recently completed a Phase I trial of using gold nanoparticles to target drug delivery to tumors; BlueWillow Biologics, a biopharmaceutical company, has developed nanotech that fights viruses and bacteria. 

5. 5G-Enabled Devices

If the biggest drivers of cutting-edge technology—AI, IoT, and Big Data—are to reach their full potential in healthcare, they need a reliable and lightning-fast internet connection. Enter 5G. With a reliable real-time connection, the most immediate benefits will be seen in telemedicine, expanding access to care for millions. But that’s only the beginning. More connected devices, with more authentic data streams, open up the possibility of a revolutionized healthcare system. 

With next-to-zero latency, 5G-connected sensors, and medical devices can instantly capture and transmit data. That will improve patient monitoring, which will, in turn, improve patient outcomes. Futurists are already considering the benefits of a marriage between 5G, healthcare, and robotics. 

But patients won’t have to wait long to see a change: experts say 5G-enabled devices will rapidly bring on a new healthcare paradigm, nicknamed 4P, which is predictive, preventative, personalized, and participatory. 

6. Tricorders

For decades, tricorders have been medical technology’s version of the flying car: its origins are in science fiction, and the concept is elegant and eminently useful. As far back as the 1960s, tricorders were imagined to be palm-sized devices that could quickly and accurately monitor a wide array of vital signs while performing simple diagnostics. Unlike flying cars, however, tricorders have finally made the leap from the screen into users’ hands. 

While some companies have attempted to craft workable prototypes, none have yet passed FDA approval or made it to the market. However, the race is on as several medical device companies are vying to win the 10 million Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition. The first workable device that can accurately diagnose 13 medical conditions without the need for a physician, as well as monitor five vital signs, will win the grand prize.  

7. Healthcare’s Digital Assistants

Digital assistants like Alexa and Google Home have changed how people interact with technology; in 2021, those digital assistants are taking on a similar role in healthcare. Natural language processing and ambient listening have natural applications in capturing, analyzing, and utilizing health data. 

In 2020, Epic and Cerner, the designers of the two largest electronic health records (EHR) systems, began integrating voice-enabled virtual assistants on their software. AI startup Saykara has launched a new voice assistant that can listen to, and understand, a physician-patient conversation, without being prompted through voice commands. 

8. Smarter Pacemakers

The artificial pacemaker, which dates back over 100 years, is still a critical piece of medical technology: over a million patients use them. They can prevent or correct life-threatening heart arrhythmias by delivering electrical impulses to heart muscle chambers. Remotely monitoring these devices is an essential part of their functionality. Traditionally, that monitoring has been far from optimal, relying on complex interfaces that the patient may need to fully understand. 

In 2021, pacemakers will get smarter. By enabling pacemakers with Bluetooth technology, they can be linked with smartphone-based mobile apps that patients better understand and utilize. That, in turn, will improve remote monitoring and, as a result, patient outcomes. Medtronic, one of the largest medical technology companies in the world, has already rolled out its next-gen patient monitoring system for pacemakers. More will follow.

9. A Lab on a Chip

If it’s taking too long to get samples to the lab, why not bring the lab to the samples? That was the idea of researchers at Stanford University, who recently developed “a lab on a chip” based on CRISPR enzyme Cas12. About half the size of a credit card, it contains a complex network of channels smaller than the width of a human hair and can deliver a coronavirus test’s results in under 30 minutes. 

Researchers say that the test could also be modified to detect other infections by recalibrating the CRISPR enzyme for a different genetic marker. As the Covid-19 pandemic taught the world, testing is the first step in combating infectious diseases. With a lab on a chip, that testing can be done quickly, safely, cheaply, and more efficiently. 

10. Wearables With a Purpose

Fitness trackers have been rising for years: FitBit shipped 9.9 million of its wearable devices in 2019. But the next trend in medical wearables is more specific. For diabetes patients, wearable continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are set to become the new normal.

Wearable CGMs remove the need for intermittent glucose testing and instead keep track of one’s blood sugar levels in real time. This allows users to see the immediate impacts of food and exercise, and shape their lifestyles accordingly. It can also catch cases of hyperglycemia immediately. Medical technology companies are jumping in with two feet: Dexcom, a CGM developer, had revenue of $1.9 billion in 2020 and expects a 15 to 20 percent jump in 2021.