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Top 10 R&D Stories Of 2020: The Year Of Diagnostics And Telehealth

 
• By Phil Greenfield

One of the few silver linings in a tumultuous year dominated by a global pandemic was the huge boost given to the diagnostics and telehealth sectors. But while new technologies for rapid testing for COVID-19 and remote monitoring tools dominated the headlines, there were also key developments in robotic surgery, early-stage cancer testing and cardiac arrhythmia treatment. Here are Medtech Insight’s most popular R&D stories in 2020.

The word TOP 10 written in vintage metal letterpress type on a soft backlit background.

Much of 2020 of was dominated by the rush to develop swab tests for SARS-CoV-2 based on traditional polymerase chain reaction and latterly rapid antigen tests, as well as serology tests to detect antibodies, and therefore help determine the effectiveness of new vaccines. In fact, the emergence of technologies for antibody testing was the most read story by our subscribers in 2020 and a project to develop a rapid antibody test was the No. 2 story. New tests flooded the market through emergency authorizations; some were subsequently withdrawn due to problems with their accuracy.

The pandemic proved to be a catalyst for the infectious disease diagnostics sector, leading some companies with innovative molecular testing technologies for laboratory and point-of-care use to bring forward plans...

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