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MEDICAL: TRENDS
implemented into new areas of a person’s body. 6. Medical robotics Robots are becoming integral to both surgery and rehabilitation, with new applications and solutions continually emerging. In 2017, just 826 surgical robots were in operation, but this number is projected to reach 2,112 by the end of 2025. Likewise, the market for rehabilitation robotics, such as exoskeletons (Figure 2), is forecasted to increase from $239.1 million in 2022 to surpass $1.026 billion by 2030. Sophisticated motion control systems that integrate high-precision sensors and actuators are helping to drive the accuracy and repeatability of robots. Additionally, costs and energy consumption are falling as the market matures. In the next decade, the growing presence of robots in medical settings will not only decrease errors but also facilitate more remote surgeries, freeing up surgeons’ time by eliminating the requirement to travel to patients at other hospitals. 7. Digital twins in healthcare Another evolving concept in the medical industry is digital twins – virtual replicas of physical objects, systems, or processes created using real-time data and simulations. The impact of digital twins is already being felt across sectors like manufacturing, distribution, and environmental monitoring, where they play a crucial role in reducing errors and development time while enhancing understanding. As the potential of digital twins continues to grow, more medical applications will start to benefit from this transformative technology, with the emergence of sophisticated virtual models of patients, hospitals, and medical devices. Such digital models can drive complex simulations that allow for trial and error in the virtual world, speeding up research
Figure 3. VR headsets can aid healthcare personnel in both training and remote diagnostic applications (Source: Gorodenkoff/stock.adobe.com)
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