Generative AI to drive MedTech industry growth and innovation with failure to adopt key threat

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to be a tailwind for the MedTech industry over the long term, analysts at UBS believe, with little pointing to AI being a threat in any way.

In a note to clients following a conversation between the analysts and an expert in this area, they wrote that both generative AI and AI more broadly will bolster MedTech market growth by increasing procedural volumes as the technology leads to quicker and more accurate diagnosis.

“This will come through AI’s ability to streamline workflow and processes in the hospital that will enable higher patient throughput; improve diagnostics to both get more patients diagnosed overall and diagnosed earlier; and inform and develop preoperative planning and providing guidance and navigation intra-operatively,” the analysts wrote.

“All of this will ultimately drive higher patient volumes through better diagnostics and enable the healthcare system to better treat these higher patient volumes by improving efficiency and throughput, from the administrative processes through the actual procedure.”

The expert, a healthcare and life science consultant with more than 15 years of senior operating experience, also pointed to other long-term benefits of AI for the MedTech market and the wider healthcare industry, including accelerating the onset of personalized medicine, improving clinical decision-making, driving cost efficiencies across the delivery of care, and improve patient accessibility.

Surgical robotics and patient diagnostics stand out as the earliest beneficiaries, according to the analysts.

“Our expert highlighted that generative AI may increase the accuracy of surgical robots and may be able to provide real-time insights to surgeons to improve surgical procedures,” they wrote.

“In addition, our expert noted that patient diagnostics will be one of the first and most prominent beneficiaries as generative AI could not only increase the accuracy of diagnostic technologies, but it also has the potential to improve the stage at which patients are diagnosed with conditions, leading to improved treatment.”

However, they highlighted that according to the expert: “Generative AI’s data recognition, analysis, and production capabilities should benefit the majority of end markets across MedTech as the technology enables devices to better target, analyze, and treat patients.”

Failure to embrace AI main threat to MedTech

The analysts noted that when pressed on any potential threats AI could pose to MedTech, the expert said that AI was only a threat to companies that are reticent to evolve and adopt AI as a key piece of their technology system.

Another barrier to adoption is that companies need to navigate regulatory bodies and insurance payors to secure technology approvals and coverage, the expert added. 

Nonetheless, companies across the MedTech industry have already embraced AI to drive innovation and efficiencies, from developing personalized cancer therapies to predicting potential public safety issues arising from weather risks.

PredictMedix leverages AI for its contactless and non-invasive infection and impairment testing offering. Its Safe Entry Stations use facial and voice recognition to identify cannabis and alcohol impairment, in addition to screening for extreme fatigue and infectious disease.

With its flagship AI-powered drug discovery platform which analyzes well-characterized patient tumor databases from multiple cancer types against a variety of drug compounds, Predictive Oncology is developing personalized cancer therapies.

Taking a similar approach is BullFrog AI (NASDAQ:BFRG), which aims to reduce the time, costs, and risks associated with drug development with its proprietary AI platform bfLEAP.

Meanwhile, Canadian provider of remote patient monitoring hardware and software Cloud DX (TSX-V:CDX, OTCQB:CDXFF) is innovating in the medical device technology space with AI, smart sensors, and cloud diagnostics.

Across the border, Medivolve’s AI-driven platform brings together diagnostic labs, pharmacies, and physicians to help the company achieve its goal of addressing gaps in the United States’ fragmented healthcare system.

On the public safety front, Predictiv AI’s subsidiary Weather Telematics uses patented air quality monitoring sensors to provide predictive weather risk information, for example, about air quality concerns, hyperlocal lightning strikes and flash flooding.

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