Emerging Technology
As defined by the World Economic Forum, an "emerging technology" is a technology that:
- arises from new knowledge, or the innovative application of existing knowledge;
- leads to the rapid development of new capabilities;
- is projected to have significant systemic and long-lasting economic, social and political impacts;
- creates new opportunities for addressing global issues; and
- potentially disrupts or creates entire industries.
With their enormous innovation potential, emerging technologies can lead to new commercial products, new approaches to protect human health or improvements in health care.
Emerging technologies also present unique challenges for the regulatory community as their products can span multiple industries and applications, and their potential risks and benefits are uncertain. What's more, the rapid development of emerging technologies requires regulatory systems to respond quickly to ensure effective oversight of products resulting from these technologies.
Health Canada supports research on emerging technologies and provides regulatory oversight of products of emerging technologies to better protect the health of Canadians. In this section, you will find information about two emerging technologies at Health Canada: