Berci Meskó, MD, PhD @Berci

Is this the future of prosthetic feet? SoftFoot Pro mimics the biomechanics of a real human foot—without motors, just pure engineering brilliance. "Developed by the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) and the University of Pisa, this flexible, waterproof prosthetic is not just for people with limb loss. It’s also designed for the humanoid robots of the future." It can adapt to uneven terrain and supports up to 100kg. Developers also mention that leveraging 3D printing for sole components could democratise access to the prosthesis by lowering production costs. A Nature paper on the technology: nature.com/articles/s4146…

I looked into how many people use AI and, particularly, large language models worldwide. I merged all the statistics I could find: 1) People who have NEVER used AI: ~6 billion people (≈75%) 2) People who use free LLMs: ~1-1,5 billion people 3) People using health-related LLMs ~100 – 300 million people weekly 4) The tiny white dot: People who can use prompt and context engineering. The last point is crucial because those represent the skills we all need to exploit the advantages of such available AI models.

Did you know that there is a validated supercentenarian database listing of the world’s oldest people? You can see the rankings by gender or country. Currently, the oldest verified person in the world lives in the UK, and she is 116 years old! Check it out! longeviquest.com

Twin sisters conjoined at the head have been separated using pioneering technologies, such as AI and mixed reality devices for pre-operative planning. They were born in Nigeria, but the 40-hour-long surgery took place in the UAE with more than 60 professionals across the UAE, the UK, Nigeria and Brazil. They recovered and are now back in Nigeria. "The surgery utilized several new and updated techniques involving artificial intelligence. According to a BBC report, the twins were scanned to create detailed imaging of their brains so that surgeons could remotely rehearse the surgery in mixed reality." It was only the ninth ever separation of craniopagus twins, and hopefully, the team will share how they used those technologies while preparing for the marathon operation in detail. Source: people.com/conjoined-twin…

I just had a podcast with npj Digital Medicine. The discussion was based on my recent editorial at npj entitled "The emergence of medical futures studies uncovers medicine and healthcare’s untapped potential". In that, I describe why medicine and healthcare need futures methods to better prepare for multiple futures. I hope you will find value in the discussion. Check it out here: cassyni.com/events/BSHWpZy…

New video! The Real Math Behind Why Healthcare Needs AI youtu.be/eqFOXtw89r4 For years, we have debated whether AI belongs in healthcare. But the deeper question is whether healthcare can remain sustainable without it. In this video, I look at the numbers behind the workforce crisis, rising demand for care, and why AI may be less about replacing doctors than making healthcare possible at all.

Are you looking for real-life examples and use cases of generative AI in healthcare? This website comes up with such lists of relevant examples with detailed descriptions. You will find stories about using generative AI to create new medical images or to detect fraud, among many others. Here is the list: aimultiple.com/generative-ai-…

BREAKING NEWS! MidJourney goes Medical! They claim to have a scanner that is a hundred times faster and 10 times cheaper than an MRI! MidJourney was the first AI image generator I ever used. I was fascinated by what it could create, working on a Discord channel. Now, out of the blue, they announced MidJourney Medical and some even more surprising details: They have dreamed of something as powerful as MRI, and as casual as a trip to the spa. Actually, they built a machine to scan billions of people every year, one minute per person. It's ultrasound-based but generates MRI-level resolution. There is a technical video at the link below. Here is the process: "It starts by stepping into a shallow pool of golden light. You then begin to descend into the water. Your body passes through a ring of underwater sensors, each acting like a dolphin, using its echolocation. The sensors send ultrasonic sound waves through your body from every angle. With enough waves, and enough angles, we form an image of what's happening inside your body." Source: midjourney.com/medical/blogpo…

Here is the real math behind why healthcare needs AI! For years, we have debated whether AI belongs in healthcare. But the deeper question is whether healthcare can remain sustainable without it. In this video, I look at the numbers behind the workforce crisis, rising demand for care, and why AI may be less about replacing doctors than making healthcare possible at all.

We will see more and more of such stories where LLMs helped get a patient closer to a diagnosis. And the big thing here is not that it suggested the correct diagnosis, but that the patient could get this kind of medical advice in seconds, before turning to a healthcare institution. Using AI is a must due to worldwide doctor shortages and the overwhelmed healthcare system, not because we want algorithms to diagnose us more or better than doctors. "For five days, I had what felt like a stubborn muscle spasm in my left calf. It was tender, swollen and getting worse. I assumed it was a muscle problem and went to my chiropractor, who treated it as a muscle issue. But the pain kept worsening, and I turned to an AI health tool I had built for myself, based on my expertise in training companies on how to adopt AI tools effectively, using my medical records, medications, lab work and visit notes. It flagged deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, and pointed me to the diagnostic step that mattered: an ultrasound." Source: The Guardian theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

We will test Inito’s new InSight Wireless Reader, an at-home fertility hormone reader that promises lab-level precision in a home setting. What makes it interesting is that it tracks four hormones (estrogen, LH, PdG and FSH) separately from a single strip, aiming not just to predict fertile days, but also to help confirm ovulation. The company also says its technology can better handle issues such as PCOS or irregular cycles by measuring both alpha and beta LH, and that its readings match blood-test hormone trends 95% of the time. This is exactly the kind of device we like to test at The Medical Futurist: one that brings more data, more personalization and potentially more agency into people’s hands. What would you want us to examine while testing it? Accuracy? Ease of use? Usefulness for irregular cycles? How understandable is the app? Whether the data actually helps decision-making?

There are so many high-level, breakthrough studies coming out weekly about AI's role in medicine that it becomes really hard to keep up with the new findings. Here are three recent examples. 1) Towards autonomous medical artificial intelligence agents (Nature) nature.com/articles/s4158… "EHR-integrated artificial intelligence agent can turn clinical intent into structured, actionable EHR operations, possibly making it a more effective decision-support partner for physicians." 2) Towards Conversational AI for Disease Management (Nature) "AMIE was non-inferior to primary care physicians in management reasoning as assessed by specialists and scored better in both preciseness of treatments and investigations, and in its alignment with and grounding in clinical guidelines." The AI even outperformed physicians on higher difficulty questions. 3) General-purpose large language models outperform specialized clinical AI tools on medical benchmarks (Nature Medicine) "Frontier LLMs outperformed clinical AI tools in all three evaluations. Clinical AI tools performed comparably to auto-enabled Google Search AI Overview on the RCQ." Amazing progress.

From this book, Your Map to the Future, you will learn how to do: 1) a futures wheel exercise 2) scenario analysis 3) forecasting the outcomes of questions about the future 4) vision writing to improve empathy for your future self 5) trend spotting and horizon scanning to see what is going to happen in your fields of interest Among many others! Check out the e-book version on Leanpub: leanpub.com/yourmaptothefu…

This is still the meme of the year. And it is funny because it teaches us something serious about the future of healthcare. 1) Don’t share blind predictions that don’t help present-day decision-making. A prediction is only useful if it helps people prepare better today. 2) Don’t make confident predictions in fields you don’t understand deeply enough. Healthcare is not just technology, but culture, regulation, workflows, trust, and so much more! 3) Never underestimate physicians. Their role is much deeper than performing isolated tasks such as image analysis.  That is the difference between prediction and foresight.

The evolution of wearables is staggering: from devices people had to proactively wear, to smartwatches they can wear without noticing, to skin patches that can measure vital signs continuously. Here is a new proof of that, this time from Australia. It can monitor heart and lung sounds, demonstrating potential as an alternative to stethoscopes for at-home use. It recorded cardiorespiratory data even while participants walked, worked, ate meals and climbed stairs! "The AusculPatch, which is taped to the chest or over peripheral arteries, continuously captures subtle vibrations produced by the heart, lungs, blood flow, and pulse waves. The device was also designed to minimise interference from surrounding ambient noise." It's incredible what evolution the stethoscopes are going through! Source: mobihealthnews.com/news/anz/austr…

BREAKING NEWS! The FDA just updated its curated list of FDA-cleared, AI-based medical technologies. I analyzed it for you, as always! 1) Medical specialties Radiology is still the clear winner, by far. AI used in cardiovascular conditions comes in second, and neurology stands out as the third. Of course, there must be a lot of overlaps in these categories. 2) Type of submissions 510(k) 1466 De novo pathway 39 Premarket approval 19 3) Date of Final Decisions The highest number of approvals took place in 2025 (333), and there are already 92 approvals in 2026. The crazy focus on healthcare AI keeps on moving forward. Source: fda.gov/medical-device…

After giving hundreds of keynotes to the top 30 pharmaceutical companies all around the world, I thought I would write my conclusions and predictions about the future of the industry. This is "Technologies Shaping the Future of Pharma". It serves as a collection of relevant examples, best practices and exciting ideas that can help any pharmaceutical company prepare for change. Check it out on Leanpub: leanpub.com/thefutureofpha…

Every week, I track news, studies, trends, and announcements that show where medicine and healthcare are really going, from the latest AI breakthroughs and digital health tools to the cultural shifts redefining patient care. The Medical Futurist Newsletter brings you: ✅ Curated insights on the most impactful health-tech trends ✅ Real-world AI examples you can apply today in clinics, research, and strategy ✅ Big-picture perspectives to help you prepare for what’s next — before it hits the headlines It’s concise, free, and trusted by 22,000+ health professionals, researchers, and innovators worldwide. I don't want to brag, but the opening rate is consistently over 60%. :) Subscribe here for free: medicalfuturist.com/newsletter

I'll do a podcast with npj Digital Medicine today at 2 pm CET. Check it out: cassyni.com/events/BSHWpZy… The discussion will be based on my recent editorial at npj entitled "The emergence of medical futures studies uncovers medicine and healthcare’s untapped potential". nature.com/articles/s4174… In that, I describe why medicine and healthcare need futures methods to better prepare for multiple futures. I hope you will find value in the discussion, see you there and ask questions live!

I'm usually cautious about the announcements coming from big AI firms, but this one sends a clear message: don't allow anyone to create synthetic DNA. Many top company executives are calling for legislation to require companies that produce synthetic DNA and RNA to screen every order and keep records of the people placing them, rather than relying on voluntary industry practices! "The signatories are requesting federal legislation that requires providers of synthesized DNA and manufacturers of synthesis machines to keep detailed records, verify a customer's legitimacy before shipping an order, examine synthesis requests for sequences of concern, and record synthesis orders and sequence data to support potential biosecurity investigations." Their fear is that as AI progresses significantly, it is going to become much easier to work with materials, even for non-professionals. Source: mobihealthnews.com/news/openai-go…