INTRODUCTION
Recently in India, ophthalmic instruments and orthopedic implants have been at the forefront of clinical advancements in patient care and are being developed with rapid technologies, with the ultimate task of enhancing the quality of patient life. It includes the advancements in lasers, robotics and implants which are helping out the patients with tremendous improvements as well as targeted and long-term delivery. Being aware of these new technological products will help clinicians to make effective and efficient healthcare choices, in addition to it, it will help them in standing out from the practicing clinicians. These technological advancements serve as strong indicators to highlight the progress that has been made in ophthalmic instruments and orthopedic implants in India.
For Indian medical equipment manufacturers, to produce improvement focused ophthalmic instruments and orthopedic implants, they need to overcome quality and design issues to provide efficient and safe clinical care for patients and to ensure the health and safety of medical professionals as well.
- RECENT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS IN OPHTHALMIC INSTRUMENTS IN INDIA
No other medical sub-specialty is as technologically oriented as ophthalmology. It includes stem cells, nano particles, lasers, fiber optics and robotics. R&D is being rapidly integrated into everyday eye healthcare. Diagnostic and therapeutic ophthalmic instruments market in India is driven by recent technological growth such as usage of portable ophthalmic devices, laser ophthalmoscopes and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) equipped ophthalmic instruments that can quickly treat the eyes of the patient with tremendous accuracy. In India, the use of portable ophthalmic instruments for the home-based clinical treatment is increasing as it enables homely diagnosis and monitoring of eyes. Recently, in India, the use of Handheld tonometer for portable measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP) is increasing enormously. It measures IOP without any technical skills. It can be used while patient is sitting, in supine position or elevated position. The Covid-19 has had a major influence on the ophthalmic instruments market in India. Disinfecting of ophthalmic instruments in hospitals is on a rise. The introduction of implantable miniature telescope is seen as a new discovery. The monocular implant is designed for helping out patients with last stage age related macular degeneration. The implant size is that of a pea and is inserted around the iris in a behind position. It enlarges images and projects them on healthier parts of the eye’s retina. In India, the production of Implanted eye has helped to increase the peripheral vision. It offers improved visual acuity, thereby improving the quality of life.
- RECENT BIOMEDICAL ADVANCEMENTS IN ORTHOPEDIC IMPLANTS IN INDIA
Latest biomedical advancements are being made to the existing orthopedic implant materials in the field of biomaterials in India, in order to reduce the harmful effects of the orthopedic implants. Numerous latest modifications are being made to these implant materials. Some of the modifications include titanium alloys, cobalt-chromium and nickel-free stainless steel that are being used to reduce the hazardous effects. Other measures include reducing the cost of alloys by replacing rare elements with minimum expensive elements. Recent research involves new alloys such as zirconium, magnesium, tantalum and niobium to satisfy biomechanical qualities. As a promising futuristic implant, biomaterial possessing an amalgam of various properties like good creep resistance, exceptional hardness, high wear, strong corrosion resistance and enhanced ductility, non-oxide ceramics such as silicon carbide and silicon nitride have been developed. To enhance biomechanical properties as well as to retain polymer’s qualities of degradation, various magnesium composites have been developed in India in order to satisfy the needs of orthopedic patients, thereby improving the patient care.
- CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEDICAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS
In India, before the commercialization of these recent advancements in ophthalmic instruments and orthopedic implants, for medical equipment manufacturers, it is important to understand their application effects. These effects can be understood in terms of their impact on their therapeutics in relation to the pre-existing treatment options, effect on quality of treatment, effect on economics in relation to previous therapeutic options. For Indian medical equipment manufacturers, in the market, there are several issues that hinder the market growth of these advancements. One of the issue is the design issue of the technologically advanced products. As new advanced products become more and more complex and with more precision, these face high design and quality challenges.
The opportunity for Indian medical equipment manufacturers in adopting new advancements in ophthalmic instruments and orthopedic implants include its potential of catering to the changing needs of the patients and clinicians as well. Efficient technology can have a wide positive impact on patients. These advancements can help the manufacturers to stay ahead of their competition in the healthcare market. These advancements can make the manufacturers in India, empower the healthcare especially patients of ophthalmology and orthopedics with new and improved products so that they can offer better services and products.
- CONCLUSION
In India, the future of healthcare lies in the development of enhanced design methodologies that are capable of combining the benefits of medical equipments such as ophthalmic instruments and orthopedic implants with advanced fabrication technologies. Undoubtedly, the advancements are driving the future through resolving several unanswered questions in terms of enhancement and effectiveness, however, before clinical or commercial application, it is significantly important to examine the potential health risks. Overall, these improvements in ophthalmic instruments and orthopedic implants hold great promise for providing exciting benefits to the patients in near future. Thus, in order to determine the potential health risks associated, considerable attention must be paid during production and application patterns of them before approval for clinical use.
