China’s 15th Five-Year Plan has raised healthcare technology to a national strategic priority, with medtech explicitly named in two of the 10 emerging-industry development priorities and 3 of the 8 frontier-technology domains.
According to the report, brain-computer interface (BCI) and advanced medical devices are amongst the 10 designated emerging-industry priorities.
Medtech Priorities
The BCI focus covers next-generation electrode and chip hardware, signal-decoding algorithms and Mandarin-language neurolinguistic databases, with applications spanning disease treatment, motor rehabilitation and health monitoring.
The advanced medical devices priority targets ultra-high-end CT, high-field MRI, precision radiotherapy and intelligent surgical robots, alongside implantables for cardiovascular intervention and orthopaedics.
Three of the plan’s eight frontier-technology domains also touch medtech—life sciences and biotechnology, brain science and brain-like artificial intelligence, and critical disease prevention, treatment and drug research and development.
These domains are key in driving innovation in the medtech sector, as they provide a framework for research and development in areas that are critical to improving healthcare outcomes. The focus on life sciences and biotechnology, for example, can lead to the development of new treatments and therapies, while the emphasis on brain science and brain-like artificial intelligence can enable the creation of more sophisticated BCIs.
BCI Sector Advancements
China’s BCI sector is already advancing quickly, with the country ranking first globally in noninvasive BCI mass production, second in the number of human invasive BCI implants, and second in BCI-related peer-reviewed publications.
The sector has averaged roughly 20 funding events per year over the past four years, with applications spanning clinical rehabilitation, psychiatric treatment, and neuromodulation to consumer health uses like sleep monitoring.
The rapid growth of China’s BCI sector can be attributed to the country’s strong research and development capabilities, as well as its large and growing market for healthcare technology. The sector’s focus on noninvasive BCI mass production, in particular, has the potential to make BCIs more accessible and affordable for a wider range of patients.
AI adoption in medtech is also moving from policy to practice, per the report, and is already embedded across screening and diagnosis, imaging, clinical decision support, treatment and rehabilitation.
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The integration of AI in medtech has the potential to significantly improve healthcare outcomes, as it can enable clinicians to make more accurate diagnoses and develop more effective treatment plans. The use of AI in imaging, for example, can help clinicians to detect diseases earlier and more accurately, while the use of AI in clinical decision support can help clinicians to develop more effective treatment plans.
Other policy directions flagged include continued optimisation of Volume-Based Procurement and pricing mechanisms, a bigger role for commercial health insurance in covering innovative products, expanded healthcare investment in county- and community-level care, and stronger supply-chain localisation.
These policy directions are critical in ensuring that the medtech sector is able to drive innovation and improve healthcare outcomes, while also ensuring that healthcare is accessible and affordable for all patients. The optimisation of Volume-Based Procurement and pricing mechanisms, for example, can help to reduce costs and improve efficiency, while the expansion of healthcare investment in county- and community-level care can help to improve healthcare outcomes in rural and underserved areas.
Recommendations for Medtech Companies
L.E.K. said medtech companies should assess where they can participate across the BCI ecosystem and build early partnerships with hospitals, universities and domestic innovators, whilst ensuring AI investments demonstrate measurable value to support regulatory approval and reimbursement.
As the medtech industry continues to evolve, it’s likely that companies will need to stay ahead of the curve in terms of innovation and investment in order to remain competitive.
According to the report, there are opportunities for companies to participate in the BCI ecosystem, and it will be important to watch how this develops in the coming years.
The plan’s focus on medtech and BCI is a significant development, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out in terms of investment and innovation in the sector.
Medtech companies can also benefit from partnering with research institutions and universities to develop new technologies and treatments, as well as from collaborating with healthcare providers to improve patient outcomes. By working together, medtech companies, research institutions, and healthcare providers can drive innovation and improve healthcare outcomes, while also ensuring that healthcare is accessible and affordable for all patients.
The development of new business models and partnerships will also be critical in driving growth and innovation in the medtech sector. Medtech companies, for example, can partner with technology companies to develop new digital health solutions, or with pharmaceutical companies to develop new treatments and therapies. By working together, medtech companies can drive innovation and improve healthcare outcomes, while also ensuring that healthcare is accessible and affordable for all patients.