7 of the Most Audacious Medtech Predictions

Sometimes, being audacious can be a good thing. After all, the word simply means "showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks" according to the Oxford dictionary.

Think of President John F. Kennedy's famous words from 1961: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."

Medtech has its own idealists these days making moonshot predictions. Here are seven of the greatest hits:

1. People Living until 150?

Count English author and theoretician Aubrey de Grey among the futurists who see a potential for much longer lifespans than what humans presently experience. De Grey claims the science is already out there to reverse molecular and cellular damage in people and stop aging. "I predict that the first person to live to 150 is probably already in middle age, and that most people who are in their 20s now will probably live to at least that old," de Grey told Newsweek last year.

2. The Google Executive Who Thinks Immortality Is Possible

Ray Kurzweil, who is currently Google's director of engineering, has made a name for himself by developing brilliant inventions and saying things that sound audacious. Technology is progressing exponentially, he argues, which will lead to what he terms the Singularity--a point in which when humans transcend biology. This will give humans the option of immortality, Kurzweil maintains. Last year, Kurzweil told The New York Times that, by 2050, humans could build a virtual human body with nanobots. He continues: "by the 2030s we'll be putting millions of nanobots inside our bodies to augment our immune system, to basically wipe out disease."

It makes sense that Kurzweil works for Google. The company shares an admiration for his vision. And in 2013, it acquired the firm Calico, which is aiming to  "solve death," according to many media reports--including Time. While that may be hyperbolic, the company is serious in its quest to extend humans' life spans. As the Technology Review put it: "Pretty obviously, Google isn't going to solve death. But what's interesting is that [the company's co-founder] Page, now 40, and Google have the hubris to think they might."

Calico recently announced plans to build a $1.5 billion research center in San Francisco.

3. Replacing Physicians with Computer Programs

Legendary Silicon Valley investor Vinod Khosla made some waves a couple of years ago by predicting that algorithms could replace 80% of what doctors do. He hasn't softened since then. In May of this year, he proclaimed that "data science will do more for medicine than all the biological sciences combined," according to Venture Beat. 

4. Allowing the Blind to See

Not every claim has been as out of sight as immortality. Sylmar, CA-based Second Sight Medical Products has a more humble goal: enabling the blind to see.  The FDA in early 2013 approved its Argus II Retinal Prothesis Systemfor patients with late stage retinitis pigmentosa, and the first U.S. commercial implants took place early this year. A glasses-mounted camera collects visual information that is wirelessly transmitted to an implant that send electrical signals through the retina to the brain. Patients can only discern patterns of light through the Argus II, but it's a start. "This is a game changer in sight-affecting diseases, that represents a huge step forward for the field and for these patients who were without any available treatment options until now," Robert Greenberg, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Second Sight, said amid last year's FDA approval.

5. Healthy People Will Want to Have Artificial Hearts Implanted

A recent piece in Vice's Motherboard made a reasoned argument for why artificial hearts could be widespread within a decades time. Then, the article elevated its claims with this jaw-dropping tangent:

6. 3-D Printed Organs Are Coming

Need a spare ear? What about a liver or a heart? Already teams of scientists throughout the world are announcing breakthroughs in developing simple 3-D printed body parts such as artificial trachea, which have proven successful after implantation. Seeded with a patient's own cells, such organs would solve the problem of transplant rejection and the need to take immunosuppressant drugs. 

Still, it may be awhile before we see 3-D printing used to produce complex organs like hearts. Earlier this year, a scientist named Stuart Williams, who is Cardiovascular Innovation Institute's executive and scientific director, predicted that a 3-D printed functional heart could be produced within a decade. And he's more optimistic than most.

7. Heart Attacks Can Soon Be Predicted in Advance 

It came as no surprise that Apple's iWatch won't include a heart attack predictor. But that was a rumor floating around the Internet after the SF Gate stated that Apple "wants to develop software and sensors that can predict heart attacks by identifying the sound blood makes as it tries to move through an artery clogged with plaque, [according to an unnamed source.]" 

The idea that heart attacks could be predicted in advance has gained credence in recent years, thanks to research at Scripps that is investigating the presence of abnormal endothelial cells.

As Scripps Health (San Diego) chief academic officer Eric Topol, MD said late last year: 

Brian Buntz is the editor-in-chief of MPMN and Qmed. Follow him on Twitter at @brian_buntz. Chris Newmarker is senior editor of MPMN and Qmed. Follow him on Twitter at @newmarker

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