As the second quarter of the 21st century begins, technology is poised to revolutionize the health of humankind — again.

“Over the next 10 to 20 years, healthcare technology is going to evolve in ways that will redefine what’s possible. Some of those changes will happen in the next few weeks and months,” said Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha.

Here’s a look at some of the healthcare technology trends that our experts believe you’ll hear more about in 2025.

Smart surgical instruments

The ability to combine computing power, diagnostic algorithms, sensors and cameras is beginning to provide first-of-its-kind assistance to surgeons before, during and after procedures. Smart surgical instrument systems can already record surgeries from the inside, then use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to compare and analyze hundreds of those procedures. It’s revolutionizing how surgeons learn, share and collaborate. On the horizon: systems that may someday be able to analyze tissue or organs during surgery, detect anomalies and provide real-time information that helps surgeons make decisions while they operate.

“It has the potential to take some of the art out of surgical procedures and replace it with science and data,” said Bill Peine, vice president of research and technology at Medtronic. “It will help surgeons re-define best practices for particular operations and then precisely replicate them from procedure to procedure.”

Also on the horizon: Surgical tools that can automate certain tasks or allow surgeons to log in to procedures from hundreds of miles away.

Using math to predict disease

Think AI in medicine is a thing of the future? Nope. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already approved nearly 1,000 medical devices that use AI.

“Artificial intelligence is just math. Highly complicated math, to be sure, but it’s basically just math,” said Rodolphe Katra, the global chief AI officer at Medtronic. “AI is here and we’re already leveraging it heavily. It’s a megatrend in healthcare.”

So how can math improve a person’s health? By crunching data.

Scientists are constantly developing new, highly complex algorithms that can identify trends or commonalities within mountains of anonymized health data. Medtronic is already using such AI in a device which helps doctors identify colon polyps that might be missed by a clinician. 

Another example: Algorithms in an implantable heart monitor help doctors more accurately detect abnormal heart rhythms like atrial fibrillation (AF), which if left untreated can increase the risk of stroke or heart failure. Once diagnosed, these abnormal heart rhythm conditions can be treated with drugs or medical interventions, such as AF ablation procedures.

Next up? Advanced algorithms that can analyze heart data and identify early signs of treatable heart disease before the patients even know they’re sick!

Disrupting Brain Signals to feel less pain

Scientists are beginning to unlock the secrets of how the brain interacts with the rest of the body. Take pain, for example.

The sensation of pain is a complex interaction of chemical and electrical signals between an injured area of the body and the brain. Medtronic recently unveiled a cutting edge implantable medical device that can sense the body’s biological signals as they travel to the brain along the spinal cord, and then automatically deliver electrical therapy that blocks pain signals before they reach the brain. The result — a medical technology for pain treatment that can adjust to a person’s needs up to 50 times per second.

Similarly, researchers know that electrical disturbances in the brain cause medical problems such as Parkinson’s Disease. Detecting those electrical disturbances amid the other noise in the brain is sometimes compared to hearing a whisper over the sound of a jet engine. The latest Medtronic deep brain stimulation (DBS) devices can detect those electrical whispers in the brain to manage therapy and reduce certain motor symptoms of Parkinson’s.

"We’re transforming brain modulation through sensing-enabled DBS,” said Amaza Reitmeier, vice president and general manager of brain modulation in the Neuromodulation business at Medtronic. “These advancements are providing patients with the ability to physically engage in everyday moments that many of us unintentionally take for granted. We’re just getting started. Our goal is to improve many, many more lives with this therapy.”

Equalizing healthcare for women

There are deeper differences between men and women than you might think.

Medical research is finding that men and women often experience different symptoms even though they suffer from the same health problem. High blood pressure, heart disease and many other serious conditions look different in men vs. women and require different treatments. But the vast majority of treatments often favor men. Why? Because for decades, clinical studies of medical issues predominantly studied men only.

Watch for many more female-centric clinical research studies like the Medtronic SMART trial, which looked at how one of our most sophisticated heart valves performs specifically in women. “We need to look at more than just gender,” said Nina Goodheart, President and General Manager of Structural Heart and Aortic portfolio businesses at Medtronic. “We also need to consider other demographics like age, ethnicity, and lifestyle factors. We’ve got a long way to go but we’re making progress.”

You’ll get more personalized treatment

Advancements in healthcare technology will increasingly allow doctors to treat each patient with therapies specifically designed for that individual person. Computers could create an incredibly detailed digital copy of a patient’s anatomy and physiology, which doctors could then use to personalize care.

Take for example, a patient with severe back pain who needs spine surgery. Hospital systems can now access databases of thousands of previous spine surgeries to power algorithms that visualize multiple permutations of a surgical procedure. This allows surgeons to customize a surgical plan and use tools (such as rods inserted in the spine) that are specifically designed for the individual patient.

Or, if a person has a particularly intricate vascular system, surgeons could use a digital copy of the patient’s anatomy to map out or even rehearse a surgery ahead of time.

“We’re making terrific advancements in truly personalizing healthcare,” said Nathalie Virag, senior research director at Medtronic’s Bakken Research Center in Maastricht, The Netherlands. “The potential to improve patient outcomes is real and it’s very exciting.”

L001-01152025

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