One of the sectors served by the manufacturing industry in the Netherlands is the medical & care sector. Medicines, intervention techniques, diagnostic tools, aids, all things that are developed and produced in our country. A sector with special requirements for quality, traceability and hygiene.
A sector also that is incredibly broad. As broad as the medical & care sector is collectively - from dentist to therapist to hospital, so broad are the supplying industries. From devices to chips that take over body functions. From drugs to robotic technology used in the operating theatre. Medical devices, laboratory equipment, surgical instruments, implants, consumables, but also software. And the manufacturing industry plays a role in all these parts of the sector.
Size
To give a very brief impression of the scale: the European medical devices market alone comprises no less than 500,000 different products. Products used in healthcare facilities, in the home and at work. And in addition to all that, work involves dangerous radiation and hazardous substances so personal protection also adds another dimension.
A 2015 Rabobank report divides medical technology into no less than six sectors because of the impact of different techniques. A distinction is made between implants & prosthetics, diagnostics & imaging, in vitro diagnostics, drug delivery technology, drug development & manufacturing and m-health (digital healthcare) & 'smart technology'. Moreover, further subdivisions are again made in various sectors. Which just goes to show how broad the sector as a whole is.
Distribution of medical technology companies in the Netherlands - Source: Rabobank medical technology sector report
Innovation
In the healthcare and medical sector, innovation is inextricably linked to manufacturing. An ageing population and increasing demand for care is causing anxiety. In addition, there is a major staff shortage in healthcare, on the one hand due to budget cuts and on the other due to the shrinkage of available staff. Medical technology plays an important role in addressing these problems. Technology products can offer great added value.
This value consists in particular of: economic value - e.g. the patient can return to work faster, limiting healthcare cost increases through efficiency improvements, increasing quality of life and, last but not least, addressing the further growing labour shortage. Through the smart deployment of existing and future technologies and innovations, substantial savings can be made on labour costs in - long-term - care.
Process and product innovation
The success of innovations depends not only on the products that are developed, but at least as much on how those products are used. And it is often the case that with new technology, the care process also needs to be adapted. Cooperation between the industry and the people who will work with it is therefore of great importance. The Order of Medical Specialists has drawn up a Guideline on new interventions in clinical practice for this purpose. How is the introduction provided, is there a step-by-step plan and how is embedding in the organisation arranged.
Patient safety is paramount. Before a technology has found its way into the hospital, many tests have already been carried out with it and they are also closely monitored after introduction.
Classification
To determine the risks of a technology, the EU uses a classification system. It assesses whether the technology is used inside or outside the body, the duration of use, whether it is invasive - being introduced into the body using surgery - whether there is contact with vital organs and, last but not least, what the consequences for the patient would be if the technology were to fail.
Class I refers to medical devices deployed outside the body that are not intended to keep people alive. Class II are devices that make contact with the body and depending on the type of contact, these are again divided into IIa and IIb. For example, contact lenses, hypodermic needles and hearing aids belong to IIa and anaesthesia equipment, bone cement among others belong to IIb. Class III covers the most high-risk devices such as pacemakers, but also dissolvable sutures. The latter devices must be notified to a notified body that assesses authorisation.
"The European Medical Technology Industry in figures" - MedTech Europe - Source: Rabobank medical technology sector report
Future
Futurologists can take heart from medical technology. Developments are rapid and who can say how we will take care of our health in 10 to 20 years' time? Predictive care may be able to help keep healthcare costs manageable, and what can biotech and nanotech mean for us?
Expectations are high. Telemedicine. Wearables. Implants that make the effects of epilepsy and Alzheimer's disappear and bioprinters that can print out organs. Will we have a healthcare robot at our bedside? Will we still be operated on by a flesh-and-blood surgeon? And what will DNA manipulation mean, for example, for reproduction as well.
Hot off the press
Today's techniques create tomorrow's applications. The medical sector is leading the way when it comes to deploying 3D printing. Many hearing aids and dentures are printed completely customised, on demand. Even skull implants are already being printed.
3D printing of medicines could make drug production cheaper and eventually even be used in pharmacies or at home. The first intelligent pills have also been registered. Pills that incorporate a microchip as a sensor. That chip signals from the body about heart rate, breathing and temperature.
The sector faces many opportunities but strict regulations. The emergence of biomaterials, DNA and stem cell technology and the growing role of ICT mean that more and more disciplines are coming together. Networking is therefore becoming increasingly important in this sector and various means are used for this, from meetings to LinkedIn groups. Various bodies have set up websites and partnerships for this purpose, such as zorgvoorinnoveren, SOMT, Stichting Ondernemingen Medische Technologie.
By: Janet Kooren
Photos: Shutterstock
