The Digital Future for Medtech in Web3

The Web3 market cap is being valued at more than six trillion dollars, according to Market Research Future USD with projections to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44.6% from 2023 to 2030, according to Grand View Research. Gaming, luxury, publishing and art are not the only ones exploring its application. Scientists have long regarded emerging technology incorporation as part of the research process. In my former life, I worked in Radiation Oncology. The treatment of cancer uses electromagnetic radiation to target cancer cells or tumor beds while sparing healthy tissue and limiting unnecessary exposure. We operated stereotactic radio surgery with margins to the millimeter of definition using breakthrough technology. We retrofitted machines with software and hardware running studies before these devices were even created.

Blockchain is being used in the medical field for decentralized open-source research protocols and smart contract capabilities for time efficiency and patient data safety. A web3 merger is a little less straightforward.

"However, developments in emerging technology like blockchain and Web 3 have put the concept of decentralization increasingly into focus in the field of science...fostering collaboration and innovation" -Sensoriumxr.com

The idea of enabling wider participation and weeding out inefficient processes in science with the intervention of monopolizing intermediaries has been coined as Decentralized Science or, DeSci. Leveraging the decentralized core of blockchain, DeSci could create global access to data and community building around shared research causes. I see this in the art world right now, a once highly elitist and exclusive industry that has been inundated by its cracks with NFTs and platforms like OpenSea, the largest NFT digital art marketplace in the world. It began in web2 with self-publishing platforms like Medium and LinkedIn, which are still centralized, for-profit organizations but opened the playing field as to whom had access to have their stories read. In medicine, projects such as VitaDAO, who have recently helped a group of Danish researchers at the Scheibye-Knudsen Lab fund a study to repurpose existing FDA-approved drugs into anti-aging medicine.

The exploration of the Metaverse has yet to seep into medical research practice but I took part in the early stages at USZ hospital in Zurich back in 2012. Our research suggested that digitally immersed interaction with treatments can drastically ease a patient's mental well-being about the procedure. This, in turn, creates a treatment protocol no matter how complex, able to sustain maximum reproducibility for patient safety and accuracy. Why couldn't there be developments with Metaverse technology to gather data on patients' mental stages of cancer treatments or other diseases?

We used 3D imaging software designed to assist with treatment planning for dosimetrists and physicists. Medical Dosimetrists design individualized treatment plans for cancer patients who have been prescribed radiation therapy as one of the only modalities of their treatment protocol by oncologists. Since most do not work on the floor with the patients they miss the human aspects of the actual treatment delivery process and often highly intricate and amazing treatment plans are created without feasibility for that particular patient's physical or mental capabilities to maintain the positioning. We had researchers using that same 3d software to run info-sessions for new patients, introducing them in 3d to what they will experience on treatment day. As more understanding of the process increased, stability and participation increased. We used technology to tap into emotions that were designed for mathematical use and my brain runs wild with similar web3 capabilities. Patient UX has been long sidelined with a staggering limited amount of research putting value into using technology for emotional well-being and data research.

The decentralized science landscape reaches from publishing and data access to communities, chats and research funding tools through NFT marketplaces catered to science exploration. With over a 40% projection increase in a $6 Billion dollar fairly new industry, I do not foresee Web3 stopping at art, gaming, and membership perks.