Digital Technologies Driving Healthcare Industry in 2020

The healthcare industry is expected to reach $280 billion in upcoming years.

2020 will be an essential year for the health industry. When it is about digital health trends, law, artificial intelligence, telemedicine is used to solve the biggest challenges of our age.

Here is a list of the major trends you should know about digital health technologies in 2020:

Most essential digital health trend is MDR:

MDR i.e., Medical Device Regulation, will transform the entire admin scene in the EU. This is going to create an immense impact on mobile app development companies.

The MDR came in order in 2017 and implemented from May 26, 2020.

From that date, every new gadget should have promoted, sold, or appropriated in the European market and need to be confirmed. Strategize successfully and keep your health tech data secure, which guarantees you have great partners.

Health systems with telemedicine:

2020 is going to be the year of telemedicine as it is now mainstream in the healthcare industry. Personal health investment is booming at all lengths, prolonging the healthcare development circuit.

Almost every app and gadget is enabling healthcare application development companies to monitor, diagnose, and treat patients remotely.

It has real-time monitoring of ECG, GP consultation, and robots for doing surgery remotely.

Telemedicine is finding applications with monitors that remotely store a patient’s observation.

AI-enhanced technologies mimicking human-based behavior can drive innovation. Healthcare development companies must understand to make maximum use of AI technology to improve healthcare processes that achieve value with improved performance.

Telemedicine provides personalized and urgent care to patients and frees healthcare providers to deal with the higher number of critical cases.

Big Data and Analytics for Patient Care:

In the US, health care spending is highly expensive. Overall spending is $ 3.8 trillion per year.

Patient and patient care have revolutionized the way you think about health care. The analysis of this data provides a way to gain essential insights into medical conditions. At the individual level, data can form the basis for machine learning (AI), which models predict heart attacks.

On a broader scale, it provides an opportunity to transform epidemiology and save lives with mobile health globally.

Medical Artificial Intelligence:

Medical artificial intelligence has grown with big data analytics for diagnosis and care of the patient.

It will range from chatbots to initiate patients for help with emergency conditions for real-time diagnosis of heart attacks with the help of machine learning.

AI-based applications seek to improve and personalize healthcare delivery for individuals.

However, there are various challenges based on legal as well as technical for using the AI in health technology. Medical Data is usually taken in a distinct format and needs to be analyzed under observation in every few hours. This will transform the approach of traditional healthcare through machine learning. They could limit the application of AI in some scenarios where consent is the core of data processing under law.

The concept of creating a mobile app that is based on an anomaly detection system, a machine learning solution that exposes the intrusion of malignant tumors into health monitoring devices (such as MRI scans). Which is capable of intrusion detection? There is no anonymity in health care processes.

Population and its age:

The most prominent hurdle for global healthcare is demographics. Advancement in healthcare leads people to live more. But, the aging population can create a significant burden on healthcare app development firms.

Digital health applications and other digital devices can help leverage digital healthcare technology trends, often in different ways.

However, with increasing age by 2050, one in six people in the world will be over 65 (16%), one in 11 (9%) in 2019. It will open healthcare software development companies to address through Big Data and AI health issues via Healthcare software applications to improve care outcomes for patients in a hospital setting.

mHealth Apps and Wearable devices:

Virtual testing powered by wearable devices and the M-Healthcare smartphone app is expected to reach $ 450 million.

The virtual clinical trial concept is likely to emerge as it allows you to participate in trials of the clinic from your home or any other location.

The emergence of virtual tests helps reduce costs, as well as streamline processes and demonstrate real-world efficacy.

Augmented Reality role in Surgeries:

AR-based headsets and solutions take advantage of 2D images and other patient data and build 3D models of patient anatomy.

AR is a technique that is capable of revolutionizing the efficiency and cost optimization aspects of surgery while improving the error rate due to high accuracy and target detection within the patient’s body in the context of surgical navigation.

Also, the benefits of surgeon comfort, low effort, low wastage, or possibly low cost are parallel to AR’s performance systems.

EHR Blockchain Interoperability:

Blockchain has been a leader in healthcare, helping EHRs (electronic health records) with interoperability.

A significant challenge for doctors, resulting in regulatory non-specialization, poor referral management to specialists, now stays in the patient upon hospitalization and is unreadable in the hospital – all because the care team needs your complete medical history (eg, allergies Item). Access to specific drugs is not required.

Summing up:

Now that we have discussed about the trend of the most recent digital health technologies that will transform the landscape of the healthcare industry in 2020.

The future of healthcare application development companies to create healthcare applications empowered with AI and blockchain.

Look at these health trends shaping the healthcare industry, highlighting the endless possibilities the healthcare industry has to offer with health-based apps.

The Essential Advantages of Implementing Workplace Safety Inspections

Understanding Workplace Safety Inspections
Workplace safety inspections are systematic processes designed to identify and mitigate potential hazards in the work environment. These inspections are a fundamental aspect of occupational health and safety management, aiming to ensure that workplaces adhere to safety standards and regulations. They involve examining various elements, such as equipment, processes, and employee practices, to detect any risks that could lead to accidents or health issues.

Key Components of Effective Safety Inspections
Prioritization: Some workplace elements may pose greater risks and thus require more frequent and detailed inspections.
Regularity: The frequency of inspections can vary from hourly checks to annual reviews, depending on the nature of the workplace and the activities conducted.
Expertise: The person conducting the inspection should have the appropriate level of knowledge and responsibility. In some cases, this may involve external professionals or regulatory bodies.
The industry context plays a significant role in shaping the focus of safety inspections. For instance, a restaurant will prioritize food safety and hygiene, while a transportation company will concentrate on vehicle maintenance and driver health.

The Top Benefits of Conducting Safety Inspections
Preventing Failures and Accidents
Regular safety inspections can identify potential equipment malfunctions or unsafe practices before they lead to accidents. By proactively addressing these issues, businesses can avoid the costly downtime and negative consequences associated with workplace incidents.

Protecting the Business and Its Reputation
Safety inspections help safeguard a business from the financial and reputational damage that can result from accidents or regulatory non-compliance. They also contribute to maintaining consistent product or service quality, which is crucial for customer trust and business partnerships.

Ensuring Employee Safety and Satisfaction
A safe work environment is a fundamental right for employees. Regular inspections demonstrate a company’s commitment to its workforce’s well-being, which can lead to higher job satisfaction and retention rates.

Budget-Friendly Practices
Investing in safety inspections can be cost-effective in the long run. Preventative maintenance and early detection of issues are generally less expensive than emergency repairs or replacements.

Time Efficiency
Time is a valuable resource, and safety inspections can help optimize it by preventing disruptions caused by accidents or equipment breakdowns. This proactive approach allows businesses to maintain smooth operations and avoid costly delays.

Providing Insight for Improvement
Safety inspections can reveal opportunities for improvement, whether it’s upgrading equipment, optimizing workspace layout, or implementing new safety protocols. Employee feedback during these inspections can also provide valuable insights into potential enhancements.

Embracing Technology in Safety Inspections
While traditional pen-and-paper methods have their place, digital solutions like workplace safety inspection software offer a modern approach to managing safety data. These platforms can streamline the inspection process, provide real-time insights, and facilitate better decision-making for future safety strategies.

Advantages of Safety Inspection Software
Customization to fit specific business needs
Easy access to historical data for trend analysis
Efficient documentation and reporting capabilities
Conclusion
Workplace safety inspections are a critical component of a successful business strategy. They not only comply with legal obligations but also foster a culture of safety, efficiency, and continuous improvement. By leveraging technology, companies can further enhance the effectiveness of their safety programs, ensuring a safer and more productive future for all stakeholders.

Third Natural Eukaryotic Epigenetic Mark Found

DNA carries the blueprint to build the body, but it is a living document: the design can be adjusted by epigenetic markers. In humans and other eukaryotes, two major epigenetic marks are known.

A group at the Marine Biology Laboratory (MBL) now found a third epigenetic mark in this freshwater invertebrate, Adineta vaga, which has previously been found only in bacteria. For the first time, a horizontally transferred gene has been shown to remodel gene regulatory systems in eukaryotes.

“We found that vermicularis rotifers were very good at capturing foreign genes as early as 2008,” said study director Dr. Irina Arkhipova. “What we found here is that about 60 million years ago, rotifers accidentally captured a bacterial gene that led them to introduce a new epigenetic mark that did not previously exist.”

Dr. Fernando Rodriguez, a research scientist at the Arkhipova laboratory and co-first author of the team’s paper published in Nature Communications, said: “The CRISPR-Cas system in bacteria is a good comparison and it began as a basic research finding. CRISPR-Cas9 is now widely used for gene editing tools in other organisms. It’s a new system. Does it have applications and implications for future research? It’s hard to say.”

They point out in the text, “We combined multiple lines of evidence to determine that 4mC modifications can be used as epigenetic marks in eukaryotic genomes, and our work shows how a horizontally transferred gene becomes part of a complex regulatory system that is maintained by selection over tens of millions of years of evolution.”

Epigenetic marks are modifications to the bases of DNA that do not change the underlying genetic code but “write” additional information on it that can be inherited with the genome. In two epigenetic marks known in eukaryotes, methyl groups are added to DNA bases, either cytosine or adenine. Epigenetic marks often regulate the expression of genes—they turn genes on or off—especially during early development or when the body is under stress. They can also repress “jumping genes,” which are transposable elements that threaten genome integrity.

“Eukaryotes mostly use base modifications for regulation, and 5mC is the main form of epigenetic modification in eukaryotic genomes.” The team added: “5mC, commonly referred to as the ‘fifth base’, plays an important role in genome defense against mobile genetic elements and is frequently associated with transcriptional silencing, establishment of closed chromatin configurations and repressive histone modifications.”

4mC has not been shown to act as an epigenetic mark in eukaryotes, scientists say, “and most claims about 4mC in eukaryotes lack the confirmation of orthogonal methods and do not identify the components of the enzyme.” In fact, 4mC is also cytosine modified, but its methyl group is located similarly to bacteria, which essentially recapitulates evolutionary events more than 2 billion years ago, when traditional epigenetic marks emerged in early eukaryotes.

Vermicularis rotifer is a highly adaptable animal, as discovered over the years by the Arkhipova and David Mark Welch laboratories at MBL. These organisms can dry completely over a period of weeks or months and then resume vitality when there is water. During their drying phase, the DNA of R. vermicularis breaks down into many fragments. “When they rehydrate or otherwise make their DNA ends accessible, this may be an opportunity to transfer foreign DNA fragments from ingested bacteria, fungi, or microalgae into the genome of rotifers,” Arkhipova said. They found that approximately 10% of the genome of rotifers comes from non-metazoans.

Nevertheless, the Arkhipova laboratory was surprised to find that the rotifer genome is similar to bacterial methyltransferases (methyltransferases catalyze the transfer of methyl groups to DNA). “We hypothesize that this gene confers a new function to this repressed transposon, and we have spent the past 6 years demonstrating that this is indeed the case,” Arkhipova said. As the authors comment, “We found N4CMT, a bacteria-derived horizontal transferase,” the researchers said in the paper, “Our results show that non-native DNA methyl groups can remodel the epigenetic system, silence transposons, and show the potential of horizontal gene transfer to drive regulatory innovation in eukaryotes.”

“Quite unusual, not previously reported,” added Arkhipova. “Horizontally transferred genes are considered as operational genes rather than regulatory genes. Imagine how a single, horizontally transferred gene forms a new regulatory system because the existing regulatory system is already very complex.”

“This is almost incredible,” said Dr. Irina Yushenova, a research scientist and co-first author at the Arkhipova laboratory. “Try to imagine that sometime in the past, a piece of bacterial DNA happened to fuse with a piece of eukaryotic DNA. They all join the rotifer’s genome and form a functional enzyme. It’s not easy to do, even in the lab, it happens naturally. This complex enzyme then created this magical regulatory system, and vermicularis began to use it to control all these jumping transposons. It’s like magic.”

“You don’t want transposons to jump around in your genome,” Rodriguez said. “They’re gonna screw it up, so you gotta control them. The epigenetic system that achieves the goal is different in different animals. In this case, horizontal gene transfer from bacteria to Bdelloid rotifers creates a new epigenetic system in animals that has not been previously described.”

“Bdelloid rotifers, in particular, have to control their transposons because they mainly reproduce asexually,” Arkhipova points out. “Asexual ancestry has fewer means of inhibiting deleterious transposon proliferation, so adding an additional layer of protection can prevent the collapse of mutations. In fact, the transposon content in leeches is much lower than that in sexual eukaryotes, which do not have this additional epigenetic layer in their genomic defense system.”

These novel findings may open the door to new tools and research directions for studying genome function and adaptability in rotifer systems. As the authors summarize, “Overall, our findings help solve a fascinating evolutionary mystery: how do DNA bacterial enzymes with non-epigenetic modifications penetrate eukaryotic gene silencing systems and are preserved in tens of millions of years of natural selection?”

They added: “The system shows that horizontal gene transfer can reshape the complex regulatory circuits of metazoans, thereby driving major evolutionary innovations including epigenetic control systems. The role of horizontal gene transfer in the evolution of eukaryotic regulation has been a topic of intense debate.”