INNOVATION
The Cleveland Clinic Top 10 Innovations Every year at this time, the Cleveland Clinic gets out its crystal ball and reveals what it believes will be the most important advances in medicine in the coming year. These were selected by a panel of Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists, led by Michael Roizen, M.D., Emeritus Chief Wellness Officer at Cleveland Clinic, and announced at the 2019 Medical Innovation Summit in October in Cleveland.
“Healthcare is ever changing and we anticipate that these innovations will significantly transform the medical field and improve care for patients at Cleveland Clinic and throughout the world,” said Dr. Roizen. Here, in order of anticipated importance, are the Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2020:
1. DUAL-ACTING OSTEOPOROSIS DRUG Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones become weak and brittle, effectively increasing their risk of breaking. With osteoporosis, the loss of bone occurs silently and progressively – often without symptoms until the first fracture. Providing more bonestrengthening power, the recent FDA approval of a new dual-acting drug (romosozumab) is giving patients with osteoporosis more control in preventing additional fractures. 2. EXPANDED USE OF MINIMALLY INVASIVE MITRAL VALVE SURGERY The mitral valve allows blood flow from the heart’s left atrium to the left ventricle. But in about one in ten individuals over the age of 75, the mitral valve is defective, causing the action of regurgitation. Expanding the approval of a minimally invasive valve repair device to a population of patients who have failed to get symptom relief from other therapies provides an important new treatment option. 51 | HS&M NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
