Why deeptech is on the rise in medtech
The start of the year is all about trends. Deeptech: Why is it on the rise; why is the healthcare sector particularly relevant and what exactly is it? Lu Rahman finds out.
The conception of disruption is nothing new. And the healthcare sector is certainly no stranger to the idea, particularly over recent years. The effect that digital technology has had on patients and clinicians is evident, and it has definitely altered the way care is both accessed and delivered. When I started working in life science journalism, I would regularly be told that this sector innovates but does so slowly… medtech transformations didn’t happen overnight, but incrementally. That may be the case with some devices, but when you look at the pace and growth of digital technology within the industry over the last five years for example, it’s hard to think that anything in the sector goes at a slow pace.
Let me introduce you to deeptech, disruption at a different level, a disruptor with a difference. It takes what you know and changes it for the good of us all. And for those of you that say innovation moves slowly in medtech, this takes it to another scale. Deeptech covers disruptive technologies based on scientific discoveries that have a significant impact on our lives. But they have taken years to develop due to extensive research, testing and often work around intellectual property.
One of the key sectors feeling the effects of deeptech is life sciences. The phrase was coined by Swati Chaturvedi, CEO Propel(x). She says: “There are countless technology disciplines and startups comprising the ’high-tech’ world’ but we needed a way to categorise startups in the life sciences, energy, clean technology, computer sciences, materials and chemical sectors. After many hours of debate among ourselves and others, we decided to use the term ‘deep technology’ to build a new category of technology startups.”
Chaturvedi says that the definition of deep technology is, “companies founded on a scientific discovery or meaningful engineering innovation’. If you think this applies to most technology companies, then Chaturvedi says think again as most technology companies are built upon business model innovation. Deep tech companies are different.
“They are trying to solve big issues that really affect the world around them,” she says. “For example, a new medical device or technique fighting cancer”.
BCG and Hello Tomorrow have carried out research into deeptech. They have identified seven fields of deeptech that includes advanced materials, AI, biotechnology and robotics, among others.
So how where are the opportunities for medtech? Companies that are looking to utilise technology in a significantly disruptive way, will be the ones that benefit. With AI showing huge promise in the UK – 2018 was a record year for AI investment in the country – businesses that drive the healthcare market forward using this type of technology, will be the ones to watch. Companies such as Babylon Health have started to do this. One look at the company’s mission statement: ‘Babylon’s mission is to put an accessible and affordable health service in the hands of every person on earth,’ and it’s evident that this business is out to disrupt in a significant way. Using AI technology Babylon Health offers a selection of services that allow you to ask a health-related question, talk to a doctor, undergo a health check, or monitor and manage your health.
CMR Surgical is also working to change the way we access care. The company’s aim is to make minimal access surgery available to everyone and has designed a tool to fit into an operating room, working with the surgeon to improve patient outcomes.
The company says: “While our technology represents the next-generation in robotic-assisted surgery, we’re just as intent on breaking the mould when it comes to the way that our systems are developed, delivered and managed. We believe in building long-term collaborative partnerships that deliver sustainable benefit for everyone involved.”
Deeptech has huge potential. My favourite outline of the technology has to be from Uzma Choudry, Octopus Ventures.
She says: “We think about deeptech as the technology that allows us to transcend the status quo. Current technologies eventually block progress and deeptech is the un-blocker. Existing computer chips, for example, can’t handle the ravenous computing demands of AI and machine learning algorithms. Deeptech describes the radical new solutions that break open these bottle necks. Model T Ford motor cars weren’t just ‘faster horses’, to paraphrase Henry Ford. Whatever examples you choose, deeptech is central to the accelerating flow of progress in the world. Advancing technology now touches every aspect of life, from agriculture to education, health, commerce and communication. Deeptech is what will power the next industrial revolution”.