The 9th European Medical and Biological Engineering Conference (EMBEC 2024) took place at the Congress Centre Bernardin in Portorož, Slovenia, from June 9 to 13, 2024. Organized by the Slovenian Society for Medical and Biological Engineering and supported by the IFMBE, this conference showcased traditional and emerging fields in Biomedical Engineering. Highlighted topics included Artificial Intelligence in Health Care, Tissue Engineering, Bioinformatics, Neurotechnology, Electroporation-based Treatments, and Technologies for Medicine and Biology, with an emphasis on education, translational research, and commercialization.

The ABSPIE Lab, representing the University of Warwick’s School of Engineering, made significant contributions. Access the whole piece of news to read the details.

As a proxy for demographic changes, a report from a world leading medical device manufacturer estimated that by 2040 one fourth of the European population should work for the healthcare system, to balance the growing request of care due to aging population. This urges the provision of innovative technologies that can protect healthcare workers (HCW) and free their time from repetitive routinary activities, leveraging on key enabling technologies such as robots, AI, and IoT.

To address these challenges, it is necessary to rethink the organization of health services for the well-being of people and the communities in which they live. To be effective, BME need to work side-by-side with experts of sustainability and strength their collaborations with experts of global health, which are the once in charge for the reorganization of healthcare services in most countries. In fact, the conscious use of enabling and transformative technologies can provide safe, effective, and efficient solutions, while simultaneously generating new knowledge and new opportunities for sustainable economic development, in line with the SDGs. However, the adoption of innovative technologies is effective and sustainable, as well as safe and efficient, if and only if it is accompanied by an actual reorganization of services. Our community is requested to put global effort in finding innovative and sustainable technological solutions, which may help transforming healthcare systems, following the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG2030) and in line with the 5As principles: affordability, availability, accessibility, accommodation, and acceptability.

In this talk, Professor Pecchia will give an overview of the work done in the last few years, as WHO Innovation Manger during COVID and in large EU projects (such as GATEKEEPER, ODIN and EPoCA) in order to bridge research and global health ecosystems across different phases of medical devices lifecycle in which BME are involved: design, manufacturing, clinical and pre-clinical validation, regulations, assessment and management.

https://www.embec2024.org/plenary-speakers/ 

Dr Davide Piaggio has been involved as a co-lead for the new Spotlight on Society and Culture.

Six Spotlights have recently been approved by the University of Warwick, to foster a vibrant interdisciplinary research culture, support excellence in research and impact, and raise national and international visibility. The six Spotlights are namely Sustainability, Health, Business and Manufacturing, Society and Culture, Digital, and Behaviour.

The Society and Culture one focuses on inequalities, focusing on several themes including health, mobility, violence, political culture, education, and AI, automation and data.

Davide will bring his expertise in global health and frugal engineering.

You can find more information here: https://warwick.ac.uk/research/spotlights/society-culture/

During the last week of February, a delegation from the University of Warwick, comprising Dr. Davide Piaggio, Mr. Pedro Checa, and Dr. Lyla Latif, traveled to Shanghai, China, for a SJTU-Warwick Joint Seed Fund Project focusing on health data, regulations, and security. They participated in a conference co-hosted by SJTU, Warwick, and Duan Duan Law Firm, offering insights into medical device regulations, sustainability, and digital health. Additionally, they engaged with SJTU students through lectures. This event sets the stage for a forthcoming workshop at Warwick in June, which will involve a delegation from Shanghai.

The GATEKEEPER project, spanning over four years, aimed to develop and validate an artificial intelligence-based platform for active and healthy aging. Led by Prof. Leandro Pecchia, Dr. Giuseppe Fico, and Medtronic, the project brought together a diverse consortium of universities, research centers, and companies.
Other members of the ABSPIE Lab were key elements for the successful delivery of the project (Dr Piaggio, Dr Maccaro, Dr Pagliara, Dr Haleem).
Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project achieved fruitful results.