Medical Innovations

According to a panel of Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists led by Chief Wellness Officer Michael Roizen, MD, innovations like artificial pancreas for diabetics, pacemaker for sleep apnea, and gene therapy for blindness will change healthcare in 2018.

The Top 10 Medical Innovations of 2018 were announced at the concluding event of Cleveland Clinic’s Medical Innovation Summit, held in Cleveland, October 23-25, 2017. Here are the 10 medical Innovations in the order of estimated importance:

1. Hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery system

The world’s first artificial pancreas, the closed-loop insulin delivery system helps make Type 1 diabetes more controllable.

This new technology was approved by the FDA in late 2016.  It facilitates direct communication between the continuous glucose monitoring device and insulin pump to calm down blood glucose at a record level. This technology changes the “open loop” theory which needs patients to use information from their permanent glucose monitor to find out how much insulin to inject.

More patients are anticipated to claim the technology in 2018 as more insurers compensate for the system. Experts are hopeful that endings in patients with Type 1 diabetes will speed up a similar technology for Type 2 diabetes.

2. Neuromodulation to treat obstructive sleep apnea

Around 21 million Americans get affected by “Sleep apnea”, the most common sleep disturbance, and it can cause high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. As the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device is the gold-standard treatment, more than 40 percent of sleep apnea patients turn down to use it.

Companies are now selling an implant which gives stimulation to open key airway muscles throughout sleep. This technology is controlled by a remote or wearable patch, and acts like a pacemaker, helping coordinate air intake with the action of the tongue, using a breathing sensor and a battery-powered stimulation lead. These neuromodulation systems have had positive results in clinical testing and are expected to provide a better night’s sleep to more patients.

3. Gene therapy for inherited retinal diseases

In 2018, the FDA is expected to grant a new gene therapy for hereditary retinal diseases. Sending a new gene to targeted cells through viral “vectors” is likely to develop vision in some patients with Leber congenital amaurosis and retinitis pigmentosa.

Originated by biallelic RPE65 mutations, these are unusual genetic conditions which cause progressive vision loss and blindness. Now, there are no FDA-approved treatments. But, a new gene therapy sends a new “normal” working replica of the gene which results in an efficient protein. Researchers put this gene inside a modified virus, and this ‘’vector’’ transports it to retinal cells.

In 2017, the FDA honored orphan drug status to RPE65 gene therapy, and a panel of U.S. health advisers recently suggested endorsement for this innovative approach. Experts believe an endorsement could produce orphan drug and back through status for more gene therapies.

4. The unprecedented reduction of LDL cholesterol

Low density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol, causes fatty deposits which can block arteries. By certain new drug amalgamations, LDL levels can be decreased by 75 percent.

New studies shows that a 20 percent decrease in threat of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction or stroke for patients who take statins combined with a new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs (PCSK9 inhibitors) to achieve ultra-low LDL levels.

With more than 400,000 coronary disease deaths yearly and around 102 million Americans living with high cholesterol, these new strategies could change the tide in 2018.

5. The emergence of distance health

Eradicating geographic obstructions to care can result in timelier, more competent and more optimal results and major cost savings. Distance health technologies or “telehealth” can allow care for both the physically challenged and those most susceptible to infection.

Due to the rising of mobile technology and customer demand, hospitals are getting prepared for extensive adoption in 2018. Reportedly, 90 percent of healthcare professionals have or are building a telehealth program.

Besides, more patients are now outfitted with attachable devices which can help record and report medical information to doctors to observe their condition. More than 19 million patients are expected to use these remote monitoring devices in 2018.

With momentum building, experts consider that the emergence and speeding up of distance health technologies and services are guaranteed in 2018.

6. Next generation vaccine platforms

Developing one vaccine costs $200 million and takes no less than 10 years. With recent Ebola and Zika occurrences, it’s clear that the development needs to be accelerated to curb an epidemic.

In 2018, innovators will improve the whole vaccine infrastructure to develop new vaccines faster and break ground on novel methods to better supply vaccines to huge populations.

For instance, innovators are perfecting freeze-drying vaccines to let delivery to more remote locations. Companies are trying to develop flu vaccines using tobacco plants, insects and nanoparticles in faster techniques. Oral, edible and mucosally delivered vaccines, intranasal vaccines, and vaccine chips are being developed. A bandage-sized patch for flu vaccine is likely to be on the market in 2018.

These new methods of developing, shipping, storing and vaccinating are expected to help ward off current and future diseases and epidemics.

7. Arsenal of targeted breast cancer therapies

In 2018, targeted therapies will be introduced more extensively to treat breast cancer, a disease which kills above 40,000 American women annually. A range of new targeted treatments — for example, PARP inhibitors for patients with specific BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, and novel CDK 4/6 inhibitors for ER-Positive/HER-2-negative breast cancer — are having positive results in clinical trials.

Additionally, novel HER-2 targeted agents carry on showing benefits in a subgroup of HER-2-positive patients

Experts think that the growing outcomes of these studies point to the rising survival rate and it maybe the vital end of chemotherapy for a major number of breast cancer patients.

8. Enhanced recovery after surgery

Earlier, the pre- and post-surgery practice has been normal for almost all procedures: No eating before surgery; apply pain medications for comfort; and stay in bed for recovery. However, because of rising hospital readmissions and a surging opioid outbreak, innovators are renovating post-surgery policies, and conveying remarkable results, with ultra-low readmission rates.

Recent research shows an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol which allows patients to eat before surgery, controls opioids by recommending alternate medications, and persuades regular walking. These help reduce complication rates and speed recovery. It can decrease blood clots, nausea, infection, muscle atrophy, hospital stay and many more. Patients also are provided with a post-operative nutrition plan to speed up recovery, and physicians are using multi-modal analgesia to reduce the use of narcotics.

In 2017, surgical societies and large healthcare systems teamed up to make funding and education for hospitals those search to execute the protocols on a large scale.

9. Centralized monitoring of hospital patients

Hospitals have struggled for long time with “alarm fatigue,” when busy caregivers become desensitized to the continuous noise of cardiac telemetry observing systems. Essential warning signals can be missed in the noise of irritation pings. According to reports, up to 44 percent of inpatient cardiac arrests are not identified properly. As a result, less than one in four patients survives in hospital cardiac arrest, report by American Heart Association.

Centralized monitoring has emerged as the answer. Off-site workers use advanced equipment, including sensors and high-definition cameras, to check blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, pulse oximetry and more. Complex data are incorporated to trigger on-site interference when suitable while filtering out many insignificant alarms

In 2016, one research showed 93 percent survival rate of cardiopulmonary arrests among patients for whom a centralized monitoring unit gave advance warnings.

After that, more innovation has yielded a system that can double the number of observed patients per technician, advance clinical outcomes, and reduce communication transport times. The outcomes of the “eye in the sky” approach are capturing the attention and thoughts of hospitals around the world.

10. Scalp cooling for reducing chemotherapy hair loss

The practice of “scalp cooling,” is a technique that reduces the temperature of the scalp a few degrees instantly before, during and after chemotherapy, has been demonstrated to be successful in protecting hair in women those receive chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer. The scalp cooling system was permitted by the FDA in May 2017.