This article was taken from the February 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Elizabeth Tsai -- Founder, Benevolent Technologies for Health
"Customisation in medical devices may be addressed, at least in part, by an increased push towards rapid manufacturing. But, as patients change, so our devices must also be dynamic. At Benevolent Technologies for Health, we see wearable medical devices of the future -- such as orthotics and prosthetics -- as responsive and augmentative artefacts capable of adapting to your body over time in terms of materials, response, geometry and design. One of the biggest challenges is making this affordable and realistic -- not only in high-end devices, but also for the average patient. The goal is to achieve custom fit, function and comfort through material advances, without the need for custom manufacturing."
Aubrey de Grey -- Chief science officer, SENS Research Foundation
"With Google's announcement of its plans to launch its life-extension company Calico, we're rapidly heading to a future where age does not determine health. Medicine and healthcare will still exist, but they will be overwhelmingly preventative, focused on periodic repair of the molecular and cellular damage that the body does to itself as the inevitable side-effect of being alive.
We'll see a sharp rise in the pre-emption of pandemics and other major infections."
Laura Bosworth-Bucher -- Cofounder and CEO, TeVido BioDevices
"Combining the two emerging fields of tissue engineering and 3D bioprinting will allow for custom-building bone, cartilage, skin and, hopefully, even whole organs for transplantation -- removing the need for donors. Within five to ten years, TeVido aims to help breast reconstruction by creating custom 3D-bioprinted implants from a woman's own cells. With these bioprinted implants, we are starting the journey to making life better for cancer survivors."
Ron Gutman -- Founder and CEO, HealthTap
"Three adjectives that best describe the future are: immediate, trustworthy and personalised. We'll see 24/7 access to the best health information and doctors, any time and anywhere. Consumers will assess the quality and trustworthiness of doctors and info through the transparent meritocracy of peer review and feedback.
The info and care we receive will become personalised, based on data collected through devices, sensors and apps."
Mark Caulfield -- Chief scientist, Genomics England
"The introduction of DNA mapping for people with common or rare diseases might well transform the NHS's provision of healthcare.
Plans are underway for 100,000 patients to have whole-genome sequencing. The results will link to their electronic medical records, transforming the capability and capacity to apply this vital information to patient care. The technology will enable us to personalise patient response, getting the right treatment to the right patient."
Quyen Nguyen -- Associate professor, University of California San Diego
"Recent advances mean that medicine has increasingly become personalised. So a patient with an oral-cavity cancer, who was treated with surgery alone before, may receive up-front adjuvant therapy if the cancer has aggressive biomarkers indicating poor survival, rather than waiting for recurrence. In surgery, fluorescent markers and molecular navigation means tumours and nerves are displayed in real time, and in contrasting colours."
Anthony Atala -- Director, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine
"As a physician who builds replacement organs, I hope the work of our team and others will solve the shortage of transplant organs.
Regenerative medicine can include cell therapies to restore organ function as well as efforts to build replacement organs and tissue.
These offer the potential to cure rather than just treat disease.
Regenerative medicine is really the ultimate in personalised medicine."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
