The ageing trend is a megatrend that will have enormous influence on healthcare in the future as people not only live longer (life expectancy is expected to be 100+ by 2020 for many countries) but expect to be well for longer too. Obvious impacts include higher expenditure on pharmaceuticals and care for the elderly which are already at record levels in the US (healthcare spending in the US was US $1.7 trillion in 2003), but the type of diseases we’ll see will also change. We’ve already seen voice lifts and other forms of anti-ageing surgery. Expect to see more R&D dollars put behind things like memory recovery and enhancement and the replacement of body parts. Also expect to see more debate about subjects like euthanasia.