The profound impact of digital transformation on medical device manufacturing | So Good News

The MedTech sector in India has demonstrated its value in the last two years in solving many real-world problems plaguing the healthcare system. Today’s current economic conditions; There is a drive to improve productivity to meet the challenges posed by public expectations and stricter regulatory standards. As stated in Frost & Sullivan’s report on the MedTech industry, the sector has significant potential. The study reveals that MedTech is poised to grow at a steady CAGR of 6.3% from a FY2020 value of US$394.4 million to 2025. In this case, MedTech provides a unique position for India to become a global manufacturing hub for high-quality medical devices. But the potential to reap that value lies in embracing digital transformation in manufacturing.

Realization of MedTech 4.0

The digital journey started early; Major MedTech companies began by carefully developing and implementing a digital strategy roadmap to make small but immediate changes to select processes within the industry. This is followed by developing and maintaining a digitally skilled workforce; By adopting agile techniques and dealing with potential cyber threats. As a result, major MedTech companies are struggling with inventory management; logistics and distribution; equipment maintenance; Achieved success in the areas of product development and warehouse operations.

MedTech Industry 4.0 – Integrating and implementing digital transformation into manufacturing facilities throughout their operations paves the way for improving quality and standardizing results. Some of the areas that have been successfully implemented are as follows.

• Internet of Medical Things (IoMT): small appliances Advances in portability and connectivity enable a connected healthcare infrastructure. Through IoMT, this connected ecosystem gives manufacturers access to real-world data that can be further used to improve their products. collect data to develop usage insights from users; Used to meet interoperability requirements and better understand the product’s operating environment.
• Advanced design engineering A.I. deep learning; With advances in graphic modeling and 3D printing technologies, The speed of conceptualization and development of medical devices has increased significantly compared to the previous process. It gives the manufacturer better tolerance; Helped to work towards more efficient and ergonomic products. production quality control; Artificial Intelligence contributions in the field of yield optimization and predictive maintenance have shown significant improvements in products over the years.
• Cloud Computing: Today, large organizations are increasingly focusing on cloud computing by moving their data and software to the cloud. Such modern capabilities enhance much-needed capabilities for manufacturing operations managed through enterprise resource planning tools.

Digital solutions for device tracking

As part of key implementation changes, one of the most important updates that the MedTech industry has undergone is the implementation of device traceability – from development to end of life. However, During the production stages, Design control traceability is key to product safety and efficiency. This provides regulatory agencies with assurance that the desired product will reach the end user. Digital solutions provide much-needed guidance and workflow for these processes. As part of the quality control and assurance process; Digital traceability provides easy identification for a continuous iterative improvement plan.

In addition to traceability; Another important parameter that can be simplified with digitalization is the change management process. design review during the development and manufacturing phases of the device; confirmation; This is especially important when it comes to aspects such as validation and verification.

In India, We have large MedTech organizations that have already implemented these aspects and are reaping the benefits associated with these implementations. This not only increases productivity, but also reduces quality issues and opens up new vistas for exporting to developed markets. As MedTech companies in India and other parts of the world continue the digitization process of manufacturing medical devices, the overall quality of products currently available in the market will rise. One of the broader consequences of such a transformation will no doubt be dramatic changes in the larger healthcare ecosystem.

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