The Value Beyond the Device: A Reflection from MTC26

One of the ideas that stayed with me after The MedTech Conference this year was how much opportunity exists around a device once you take a broader view of the problem it solves.

Resmed was the example that stood out.

A CPAP device addresses an important clinical need. But delivering the device is only the beginning. The patient has to use it, get comfortable with it, and keep using it when something becomes frustrating. The care team needs visibility into what is happening between appointments.

Resmed has built a connected approach around those realities. Its myAir application helps patients understand their therapy and provides personalized coaching and support. AirView gives care providers access to therapy data and tools to help identify and address problems. Those capabilities extend the value of the device into the patient’s daily experience. Resmed

What interested me was the broader ambition: improving sleep, with the device as part of a system that supports that goal.

Insulet illustrates a similar idea in diabetes care. Its Omnipod 5 system brings insulin delivery, continuous glucose monitoring, and an application on a compatible smartphone or controller together. The integration is central to how the product works and how people use it every day. Omnipod

These examples raise a useful question for other medtech companies: how are we defining the product we are building?

If we define it primarily by what the hardware does, we may overlook opportunities to help patients stay engaged, give clinicians more useful information, or make the product work more effectively within a larger care environment.

I came away sensing real pressure on companies to move in this direction. Leaders see what connected offerings can do, and they want to understand what that could mean for their own portfolios.

The starting point is deciding where a connection would create value. Where do patients struggle today? What information would help a care team act? Which integrations would make the product more useful?

Those answers should shape the software, data, and engineering decisions that follow.

At Suntra, that is a conversation we can help teams work through, connecting product strategy with the engineering needed to deliver it.

The opportunity begins with taking a broader view of the problem your device is there to solve.