If Gears of War 2, the Apple iPhone and Pioneer KURO HDTVs represent the glamorous side of modern technology, consider the advances that will keep you alive long enough to enjoy them.

According to the National Statistics website: "In mid-2007 the resident population of the UK was 60,975,000. The average age was 39 years, up from 37 in 1997..." People are generally living longer and several companies are pursuing new technologies to keep it that way.

The idea of virtual healthcare extends beyond regular sessions of Wii Fit. Intel, for example, has recently announced the first product in its Personal Telehealth programme.

The new 'Intel Health Guide' consists of an in-home patient device (PHS6000) that runs the Intel Health Care Management Suite. The software enables doctors to remotely monitor a patient's health, send important care reminders and talk to patients via video conference. Watch the demo on the Intel site.

Over in Japan, Cyberdyne Inc. has developed a robot HAL suit, designed to aid the disabled. While Honda has used the technology developed for its ASIMO robot to create a 'walking assist device' that straps around the waist and thighs.

Most recently, Philips has revealed its intelligent pill technology – the iPill. According to Philips, the iPill can work out its location in a patient's intestines by measuring the immediate pH level. This enables the iPill to release its medicinal cargo precisely where it's needed and in controlled doses via a microprocessor-controlled pump.

It's advances such as these that will radically improve the way that healthcare is practised in the future. We're still a long way off from robotic limbs or personal vehicles – see the Toyota iReal. But it's a start.