Olivia Friett discusses new innovations in the new year and some of the products from 2022 that stood out.
Only a few weeks into the new year and I have already given up on my new year’s resolution – I can’t be the only one, surely? Wanting to walk and ride my bike more than drive has been more of a challenge than imagined, but I’m going to blame the cold and wet weather. But enough of all this “new year, new me” malarky, I’m more excited to see the new innovation in the medical industry that 2023 is going to bring.
10 months ago, when I began my journey in this sector, I never thought I’d not only write about some incredible products, but actually getting to see them in action too.
One example that springs to mind is Primasil and the University of Huddersfield improving on Paxman’s head cooling equipment design. The device was originally made in the 1990s, but last year, the duo made further developments on the device in order for it to bring relief to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy by reducing the risk of hair-loss. It’s a silicone rubber cap that sits on the head and has an instant cooling capability to help prevent chemotherapy-induced alopecia.
Medical innovation is not always about finding a cure or a solution, it can be helping the patient and easing them through their treatment, which is exactly what this is. Studies have showed that the equipment was successful on 53% of women in a cooling group versus 0% of women in a non-cooling group, meaning over half of women are able to retain their self-confidence whilst going through this ordeal.
Another device is the Bluetree Medical transparent face masks; it makes so much sense and seems like such a simple idea but thinking about it as someone not in the industry, during the pandemic, I never would have thought about the downside to masks. Of course, we all disliked the ‘inconvenience’ of having to wear them and as someone who wears glasses, they fogged quite often, but we never stopped to think about the true downside to wearing masks, such as people who rely on lip reading.
It's not only people with hearing difficulties who rely on lip reading, in fact about 46% of British people are believed to lip read as part of everyday communication. That’s nearly half the nation having their communication affected by wearing face masks. Bluetree has several different transparent face mask designs that are all Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) approved.
GlucoRx have designed a needle free monitoring device for people with diabetes. The multi sensor continuous glucose monitor uses radio frequency technology to measure blood glucose levels every minute.
The device, called GlucoRx BioXensor, comes to market at the perfect time, as about 422 million people have diabetes, according to the World Health Organization. The GlucoRx BioXensor can prevent onset diabetes with its alarms, meaning patients no longer have to prick their finger several times a day to test their blood. This device is yet another example of the incredible innovation in this industry.
These devices don’t necessarily save a life, but make the lives of patients easier, safer and more comfortable and, of course, last year is going to be hard to top, but I’m looking forward to seeing what’s new to come in the industry in 2023.