A local healthcare group has unveiled a revolutionary vision to increase people’s life expectancy to 101 years — which it said could be possible through various technologies, from digital twins to artificial intelligence and futuristic concepts like a personalised smart coach.
Pure Health, the UAE’s largest integrated healthcare platform, seeks to increase lifespan, health, and quality of life, as well as unlocking time for people in Abu Dhabi.
“The vision is to make Abu Dhabi the land of longevity, where people from across the globe migrate to live longer, healthier and happier lives,” Shaista Asif, group COO, said during an event at Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Farhan Malik, CEO, noted a “healthcare revolution” was needed to make people live a fuller life.
“The biggest cause of death is not cancer, heart disease or any other ailment – it’s ageing. We need to look at ageing as an epidemic. When we talk about longevity, we don’t just mean increasing life spans, but health spans: making people healthier for longer.”
Demographic shift
Globally, there is a major demographic shift as the world is ageing with more people over 64 years of age than children under 5.
Malik underlined that an “explosion” of new medicines, treatments, technologies and social strategies will change the way people age – a factor which will have a direct impact on the economy too.
“Life expectancy currently is 76 years. If we increase the life expectancy from 76 years to 101, we have added an extra 25 years of demand to the economy.”
The futuristic vision, Asif said, isn’t possible if all healthcare verticals work in isolation – Pure Health has, therefore, merged them together.
“At Pure Health, we are in the process of not just converging different technologies but also different fields. We have successfully integrated and merged them together under one umbrella, for them to have a joint purpose, and shared responsibility, to achieve one vision,” she said.
Pure Health also launched a new logo during the event. Their assets currently include Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha), the National Health Insurance Company (Daman), The Medical Office, Pure Lab, Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Centre, and Rafed, among others.
Pure Health will be not just using its own medical data but also inputs from smart homes to diagnose a disease and offer remedies. Asif presented the case of Ahmed as an example – a child whose life has been transformed with the use of advanced technology.
When a football coach notices an abnormal growth on Ahmed’s arm, a photo taken by him is sent to an AI-enabled medical device, which detects cancer.
While growing up, a “digital twin” is created to check for which particular drugs will be effective on Ahmed and help him play football for the national team.
Later, he meets with an accident, damaging his heart, but bio-printing gives him a new organ.
Real-time data from his smart home and a personalised smart coach keeps track of all his vital parametres and work to realign Ahmed’s healthcare journey, ensuring a better, healthier and longer life.
The use of stem cell technology, bio-printing, artificial intelligence, genome sequencing, robotic surgery, and personal data collected over the years sees Ahmed live to celebrate his 101 birthday.
“There will be one integrated life coach to offer proactive preventive care. We are moving into an era where we don’t get sick, we don’t get cancer, our organs don’t fail. The digital twin will eliminate sick care and bring about proactive, preventive healthcare.”
Asif said that technology is getting faster, smarter and cheaper, and helping higher levels of connectivity than before.
“Pretty soon smartphones are going to convert into smart glasses, which will be replaced by smart lenses, from which you will be able to see your metaverse – a term better suited to the realities of healthcare.”
Malik said that AI will be redefined in future to “always immortal”; “just because something is not possible today doesn’t mean that we limit our thoughts and [don’t] think about the future and immense opportunities.”
Malik added that talents from all over the world will move to Abu Dhabi, which will help build a knowledge-based economy.
“Just like the world migrated to America, the land of opportunity, we will make people migrate to Abu Dhabi – the land for longevity. But we need to act on this now.”
