{"id":1025,"date":"2020-02-26T10:23:39","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T15:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/siemens-opcenter\/?p=1025"},"modified":"2026-03-26T04:58:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T08:58:12","slug":"leveraging-on-manufacturing-digitalization-to-drive-growth-in-medical-device-and-diagnostics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/opcenter\/leveraging-on-manufacturing-digitalization-to-drive-growth-in-medical-device-and-diagnostics\/","title":{"rendered":"Leveraging on manufacturing digitalization to drive growth in Medical Device and Diagnostics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

First, digitalization is changing the\npatient\u2019s expectations. Patients have access to more medical information than\never before, enabling them to self-diagnose and \u201cshop around\u201d for providers and\ntreatment options. Patients are becoming more critical of the value received\nfor their healthcare money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add to this the growing complexity of\nmedical technology itself. The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), connected\ndiagnostics, next-generation implants, customized orthopedics, personalized\nmedicine \u2013 these complexities are creating new challenges for medical device\nmanufacturers not only from the treatment itself, but from the data generated\nthroughout. It is an increasingly Big Data conundrum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This reality is changing the way medical\ndevice manufacturers are running their business. Today, best-in-class\ndigitalized med-tech companies are 4 times more likely to monitor intelligent\nanalytics. Most of med-tech executives perceive intelligent analytics as one of\nthe major opportunities for growth and perceive consumer feedback as a vital\nbenefit of operations within IoMT programs. In short \u2013 medical device companies\nmust have an infrastructure to support the analysis and application of this big\ndata, and use it to better meet patient expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FDA and other regulatory agencies are expecting\nmedical device manufacturers to do this. They have shifted their regulatory\nparadigm from compliance to quality. They are rewarding manufacturing behavior\nthat applies intelligence and best practices to improve product quality. The\nFDA reported that from 2009 to 2014, there was a 3x increase in adverse events\nand a 50% increase in product recalls. These numbers will rise without proper\ndigital processes implemented across all business segments within a given\nmedical device organization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what are the most important things\nmedical device manufacturers should be doing (if they aren\u2019t already) to\noperate in a world changed by digitalization?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, manufacturers must leverage the\ncapabilities of digital manufacturing systems to empower every phase of the\ninnovation process. That requires connected, collaborative, intelligent systems\nacross the manufacturing enterprise. At Siemens, we call this connectivity the\n\u201cDigital Thread.\u201d It is leveraged by a single platform with a common data model\nto create a powerful foundation for speed, quality, and cost efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, \u201cDigital Twins,\u201d or digital\nrepresentations of the physical world, can be used to predict and optimize\nquality and performance of devices from design to development to production to\nutilization. Before large investments are made in producing particular designs,\nsetting up plants, assembly lines, and fabrication work cells, performance can\nbe simulated and improved in the digital realm, where mistakes are much less\ncostly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you get feedback from manufacturing\noperations, Digital Twins enable you act on that feedback by comparing the\npredicted performance against the actual performance, and based on that\ninsight, make adjustments in the device design and the manufacturing processes.\nWe call this \u201cClosed-loop Manufacturing.\u201d It is the culmination of digital\ntransformation in manufacturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Central to\nthis platform is the point at which the digital realm intersects with the\nphysical realm \u2013 manufacturing operations. Manufacturing operations management\n(MOM) systems play a key role in translating digital optimization processes\ninto reality. Some of the key capabilities include<\/p>\n\n\n\n