Asia Takes Robotic Body Parts and Smart Hospitals Further
- China is pushing into areas like gene sequencing, big data
- Australian researchers study bionic eye, robot exoskeleton
This article is for subscribers only.
Despite being home to more than half the world’s population and some of its most dynamic economies, Asia hasn’t traditionally been at the forefront of health-care innovation. Sure the continent has some of the largest markets for pharmaceuticals. But when it comes to blazing new trails on the treatments of tomorrow, Asia has lagged.
There are signs, though, that’s starting to change. Increasingly affluent — and rapidly aging — populations are demanding better care and investors are becoming more adventurous. Although many of Asia’s health-care innovations are at a nascent stage, and their success isn’t guaranteed, they do have the backing of governments keen to build cutting-edge medical technologies.