Recently, Forbes published an analysis article that looked forward to the technological trends in the medical field in the next five years. Although this prediction is a bit unreasonably optimistic, these five technologies do have the potential to subvert the healthcare industry.

Immunotherapy: Huge potential

Immunotherapy is a therapy that changes the way the immune system treats tumors and cancer. It has opened up new areas of research and improved patient survival. For example, malignant melanoma has a high unmet need, but currently only a limited number of treatments are available. More than 160,000 cases of melanoma are diagnosed worldwide each year, resulting in 40,000 deaths.

Immunotherapy can be widely used in different patient groups. Once it is found that this therapy is effective in treating tumors, its development potential is huge. Although checkpoint inhibitors dominate the clinical practice, there are still some other therapies with development potential, such as the construction of new molecules - chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), combination therapy of new and old drugs, modification of dosing regimens, and the use of vaccines. The market valuation of checkpoint inhibitors in 2015 was US$3 billion, and it is expected to reach US$21.1 billion by 2020 at an average annual compound growth rate of 139%.

Artificial Intelligence: Assisted Diagnosis is on the rise

Artificial intelligence (AI) can depict and imitate the functions of the human brain through machines or software. The application of AI in the healthcare industry is mainly to help doctors improve patients' treatment outcomes by analyzing the medical knowledge memorized in the program, thereby providing better treatment plans. In times of emergency, AI can provide doctors and researchers with clinically relevant, real-time, high-quality information, all of which comes from data stored in electronic health records (EHRs).

The AI ​​healthcare application market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 42% and is expected to reach global popularity in 2021. Outstanding treatment effects, lower treatment costs, elimination of unnecessary hospitalization procedures, simpler workflows, and patient-centered treatment methods are the primary reasons why AI has been widely accepted and developed rapidly in the healthcare industry.

By 2020, chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes may be detected in minutes, mainly through a cognitive system that can recognize typical physiological features and project real-time 3D images on a screen. By 2025, AI systems may be used in 90% of hospitals and insurance companies in the United States and 60% worldwide. AI systems can provide more convenient and cheaper high-quality care for 70% of patients.

With the help of digital image processing, pattern recognition, and machine learning artificial intelligence platforms, AI can obtain more accurate and reliable medical image analysis.For example, a startup company, Butterfly Network, has developed a handheld three-dimensional ultrasound tool that can create real-time three-dimensional medical images and send the data to a cloud server. These can help identify pathological features and automatic diagnosis.AI clinical support like this will have a significant impact on the development of the overall medical imaging diagnosis market.

Innovative, automated patient guidance and solutions such as AI-powered medication adherence, which uses advanced facial recognition and motion sensing software to observe patients, are already being used in one of the main processes of healthcare: directly observed therapy (DOT). New market entrants with similar treatment options will quickly capture this market segment.

IBM Watson Health’s recent $2.6 billion acquisition of Truven Health Analytics creates a new and important dimension of health data analysis and further strengthens IBM’s already strong position in the healthcare market.

Liquid biopsy technology: potential non-invasive detection of tumors

Liquid biopsy is a minimally invasive cancer detection technology. By analyzing tumor-related analytical markers or cells in the blood, it can achieve minimally invasive, real-time, and rapid cancer diagnosis, which is likely to subvert the detection and diagnosis process of cancer. At present, repeated biopsies are required to study the ever-changing tumors, which is also a huge challenge for patients. Liquid biopsy provides a very attractive investment opportunity for diagnostic companies. Blood biomarkers, such as ctDNA and CTCs, have begun to track and monitor tumors in a non-invasive way. In the next two years or so, liquid biopsy will become an auxiliary form of tissue biopsy. The effectiveness of this technology has been proven, and it can even detect worsening disease conditions before a CT scan. Compared with tissue biopsy, the most critical advantage of this technology is that it does not require "looking for the root cause of the disease."

CRISPR/Cas9 (RT) is widely used in drug development

CRISPR/Cas9 is a gene editing technology that enables targeted, accurate, efficient, and reliable modification of DNA. It has the power to transform R&D pathways and product development in major sectors of the global life science economy. In 2014, the technology began to gain traction as companies began to use it to develop therapeutics. Sangamo Biosciences is the company that has used one of the technologies, zinc finger nucleases, the most extensively, to develop clinical-stage human disease treatments. Other startups, such as CRISPR Therapeutics and Editas Medicine, have focused on CRISPR technology and have received millions in VC investment.

While gene therapy has gained prominence in human disease treatment applications, there are areas such as agriculture and specialty chemicals where the technology has moved beyond market research. Gene editing offers opportunities for:

Modifying key traits in crops and animals

Improving food crop yields and nutritional quotient

Breeding crops that can withstand natural disasters, pests or extreme weather

Breeding strong, disease-resistant animals through improved nutrition

An analysis of NIH funding for CRISPR/Cas9 from 2013 to mid-2015 shows that this very promising gene editing technology has been developing rapidly. Funding increased seven times from 2013 to 2014, and more than tripled from 2014 to 2015. CRISPR/Cas9 technology has a significant impact in the field of disease treatment, and it will not end up staying at the research level. This technology overcomes many of the difficulties of genome editing tools such as RNAi, TALENs and ZFN, and may have a market value of hundreds of millions in the next few years.

3D printing: Changing the rules of the game in organ or tissue repair industry

3D printing technology has great potential in the healthcare industry because of its unique customization capabilities. Customization can greatly reduce surgical time and medical costs. Currently, the most widely used application is 3D printing of stents or prostheses (medical implant materials), such as dental implants and hearing aids. What really makes 3D printing an industry changer is human tissue printing: printing livers, hearts, ears, hands and eyes or the construction of the smallest functional units, and then to the production of large tissues and organs. These can be used as surgical transplants to repair or replace damaged tissues and organs.

It is estimated that more than one million people worldwide need a kidney transplant. However, due to the shortage of donor organs, only a little over 5,000 patients can actually receive a transplant. The shortage of legal donated organs has led to a sharp increase in the illegal organ trade around the world. By 2025, the valuation of 3D printing companies in the healthcare industry could reach approximately $6 billion. Some of the more famous 3D printing companies in the healthcare industry include Stratasys Ltd., Arcam AB, Organovo Holdings Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Services Inc. and Stryker.

These five technologies have great potential to transform the entire healthcare industry.