In tomorrow’s healthcare system, your everyday ‘doctor’ will be an algorithm, and your frontline caregiver will be a device made from the right material.
It’s 2035. Idris just finished lunch at home. His next dose of medication has already adjusted itself based on local air quality and his own biometrics from this morning. At 78 years of age, he doesn’t need to do anything himself, and he doesn’t have to go to the hospital for his check-ups.
Welcome to the future of healthcare. It’s not delivered in clinics, but built into everyday life and empowered by materials, devices, and data, all working in sync, at home.
For manufacturers, this means designing for the rhythm of real life, not clinical routines. The question is: Are you adapting your designs for where care will be delivered?
Meeting patient needs beyond the hospital
It may sound futuristic, but 2035 is just ten years away. Materials, partnerships, and design choices made today will shape the devices that enter the market in the next decade.
In that short space of time, an additional 300 million people will be over the age of 65. Clinics and hospitals can’t scale indefinitely. At the same time, elderly patients often prefer to stay at home, living independently with dignity as long as possible.
With more people living longer, healthcare systems face a challenge of capacity. Care will need to be delivered across more settings as it moves closer to the patient through wearables and daily self-care routines.
Industry dynamics are opening new possibilities
This isn’t just about where care is provided. It’s also transforming how devices are developed and what they need to deliver.
Three dynamics are opening up new possibilities for medical device design:
- A growing and ageing global population seeking greater independence
- A rise in long-term conditions requiring daily management and personalised medication
- AI integration making devices more predictive, responsive, and self-manageable
Healthcare is set to become more personal, more connected, and closer to home. The decisions you make and the materials you choose today will determine how ready you are for the world of tomorrow.
Futureproofing medical devices
With the transition from hospital to home, materials used in medical devices need to rise to the occasion
without compromising safety, durability, or performance. By 2035, device performance will be defined by ease of use for patients, durability for daily use, and designed with
sustainability in mind. To achieve this,
medical-grade polymers will need to support:
- Miniaturisation without losing strength while meeting increased regulatory compliance
- Sensor integration, connectivity, and adaptive features
- Long-term durability under daily handling, wear and sterilisation
- Global sustainability standards for bio-based, recyclable and reusable materials
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Jana Zietzling, Expert Team Lead for Medical & Healthcare at IMCD Advanced Materials says, “In the future of homecare, medical devices won’t just treat conditions, they will understand the person behind them, adapting in real time to deliver care as unique as each heartbeat. And medical-grade polymers will be the enabler of this transformation.” |
In our recent
global sustainability survey, 75% of respondents active in the Medical & Healthcare industry reported incorporating sustainable materials into their products. The two most widely adopted solutions are recycling and renewable sourced materials, both of which were also ranked as the top two in terms of expected impact over the next five years.
Is your materials strategy future-ready?
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“The challenge isn’t just technical. It’s collaborative,” explains Steffen Müller, Business Development Manager Healthcare at IMCD Advanced Materials. “Getting it right means working closely with manufacturers, early in the process, to translate a vision into material choices that are safe for patients and future-ready.” |
Helping you choose the right medical-grade polymer
To support better material decisions, we have visualised the links between key functions of future devices and the features they require. It’s a practical overview to help make informed decisions about current and future medical device developments.
Log in with your MyIMCD account to continue reading and discover our medical product portfolio.
