One of the few silver linings in a tumultuous year dominated by a global pandemic was the huge boost given to the diagnostics and telehealth sectors. But while new technologies for rapid testing for COVID-19 and remote monitoring tools dominated the headlines, there were also key developments in robotic surgery, early-stage cancer testing and cardiac arrhythmia treatment. Here are Medtech Insight’s most popular R&D stories in 2020.

The emergence of multi-cancer blood tests for early detection is captivating investors and driving multi-billion-dollar acquisitions. Companies such as GRAIL, Thrive Earlier Detection and Guardant are predicting revolutionary change in the way cancer is diagnosed and treated. The biggest hurdle, however, may be coaxing health care systems and health insurers to join the revolution.

Funding will accelerate an FDA registrational study of the company's first liquid biopsy product, as competition increases in early cancer detection.     

The total addressable market for genomics-based infectious disease testing has expanded in recent months, says Illumina, after becoming the first company to receive a US EUA for a next-generation sequencing-based COVID-19 test. It came amid a raft of innovation activity and tuck-in M&A for the San Diego company.