Here are some of the top technology inventions and innovations for health in 2022:
• Gene therapies advanced, with FDA approvals of new gene therapies for diseases like hemophilia and retinal diseases. Gene editing tools like CRISPR also made progress.
• Implantable devices continued to miniaturize, with pacemakers, defibrillators and neuromodulation devices becoming smaller and more powerful. Some can be recharged wirelessly.
• Nucleic acid vaccines moved closer to approval, with promising results from mRNA COVID vaccines laying the groundwork for RNA-based vaccines and therapeutics against other diseases.
• Tissue engineering made gains in using scaffolds, cells and biomaterials to create implantable tissues and regenerate damaged body parts. This includes creating blood vessel networks within tissues.
• AI algorithms to diagnose diseases from medical scans showed continued improvement, though challenges remain around generalizability, explainability, data biases and clinician acceptance.
• Virtual reality and augmented reality tools for health applications advanced, with uses ranging from surgical training and simulation to mental health therapy and rehabilitation.
• Wearable health trackers collected more data than ever, though barriers persist to integrating that data into clinical care and using it to meaningfully improve health outcomes.
• Telehealth expanded to provide more virtual care options during the pandemic and help address healthcare access issues, though reimbursement and regulatory policies vary.
The top technologies for health in 2022 centered around gene and cell therapies, miniaturized implantable devices, nucleic acid vaccines, tissue engineering techniques and the application of emerging technologies like AI, VR/AR and wearables. However, realizing the full potential of these innovations will require overcoming persistent challenges around data integration, scalability and cost.
