Medical devices have existed in some form for centuries, resulting in thousands of innovative implementations over the years. Throughout history, medical devices have addressed a wide array of disease states – often, one device has purpose across different disease states. Devices fall into categories including single use devices, implantables, imaging equipment, medical supplies, software and surgical instruments.
As medical devices evolve and become more sophisticated, we are seeing a trend toward specialization. When robotic devices for minimally invasive procedures started to proliferate the market in the 1990s, for instance, we tended to measure the value of the devices by the variety and quantity of maneuvers and procedures they could handle. That inspired a generation of devices that attempted to “do everything,” particularly in the burgeoning field of laparoscopic surgery.