Warwick Takes Centre Stage at MEDICON 2026

University of Warwick and ABSPIE Lab Make a Major Impact at MEDICON 2026

Siena, Italy | 14–17 September 2026

The University of Warwick was proud to serve as a co-sponsor of MEDICON 2026, the Mediterranean Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing, held at the Università di Siena. The Warwick team made its presence felt throughout the four-day event, manning a booth that showcased the breadth of research and educational programs availableat the School of Engineering.

Warwick was highlighted as one of the top contributors to the conference in terms of scientific submissions, a reflection of the growing strength and visibility of our biomedical engineering community at international level.

Scientific Contributions

Davide Piaggio

Davide was one of the most active Warwick contributors across the conference, appearing in four distinct roles:

"Next-Gen Biomedical Engineers: Navigating AI, Sustainability, and Regulation" (with Pedro Checa Rifa). Presented as part of the Special Session "Designing Future Ready BME Programs", this talk explored how biomedical engineering education must evolve to equip the next generation of engineers to navigate artificial intelligence, sustainability challenges, and increasingly complex regulatory landscapes.

"WORKSHOP: Defining the Competencies of the Next-Generation Biomedical Engineer" (with Pedro Checa Rifa, Alessia Maccaro, and Lenka Lhotska). Co-organised under the EAMBES banner, this participatory workshop brought together international stakeholders to collaboratively define the competency frameworks needed for future BME graduates.

Co-author - "Listening Effort Under Active Noise Cancellation: A Pupillometry Study" (with Tommaso Bianchi, Anagha H. Varista, Leandro Pecchia, and Margherita A. G. Matarrese). Presented at the opening plenary of the final day, this work investigated cognitive listening effort using pupillometry under noise-cancelling conditions.

Davide also acted as chair for some of the sessions.

Pedro Checa Rifa

Pedro was equally central to Warwick's presence at the conference:

Digital and AI-Enabled Screening Methods for Diabetic Neuropathy: a Systematic Review" (with Davide Piaggio, Paramjit Gill, Daniel Fox, KambenVyapooree, Hannah Kobia-Amanfi, and Jinjian Jiang). This systematic review, presented in a session chaired by Davide Piaggio, assessed the current landscape of digital and AI-based tools for diabetic neuropathy screening, a growing area of clinical need.

"Next-Gen Biomedical Engineers: Navigating AI, Sustainability, and Regulation", co-presented with Davide Piaggio (see above).

Co-organiser of the EAMBES workshop on next-generation BME competencies (see above).

Pedro also acted as chair for some of the sessions.

Muhammad Farooq Shaikh

"DINO by Paperbox: A Serious-Gaming Platform for Early Screening of Learning Difficulties in Children" (with Giacomo Pratesi, Alice Ravizza, and Davide Piaggio). Presented in the Tuesday afternoon plenary, this talk showcased DINO: a serious-gaming platform developed to support early, scalable screening of learning difficulties in children, combining engaging gameplay with clinically meaningful digital phenotyping.

Emelia Sewell & Liam Weaver

"A simple waveform-based method for automatic detection of patient-ventilator asynchrony in non-invasive ventilation" (Emelia Sewell, Federico Longhini, Carlo Cosentino, Eugenio Garofalo, Gianmaria Cammarota, Declan Bates, and Liam Weaver: PRESENTER: Emelia Sewell). This clinically impactful work introduced a straightforward and waveform-based algorithm for automatically detecting patient-ventilator asynchrony in non-invasive ventilation, a common and under-detected problem that can compromise patient outcomes in critical care settings.

Sina Saffaran

"Digital Twins for Regulatory Testing of CO₂ Rebreathing in Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Masks" (with Hossein Shamohammadi, A.R. Harvey, A. Sims, T. Canchi, and Declan Bates). This presentation showcased the use of patient-specific digital twin models to evaluate CO₂ rebreathing risks in CPAP masks a highly relevant regulatory challenge as in-silico testing methods gain traction with bodies such as the UK's CEiRSI. The work demonstrates how computational simulation can replace or complement costly and time-consuming physical testing in medical device safety evaluation.

Booth & Outreach

The School of Engineering booth was a highlight of the exhibition area, drawing delegates from across Europe and beyond. The team showcased research materials, educational resources, and interactive gadgets, generating conversations about Warwick's work in AI-enabled healthcare, medical devices, and BME education. The booth served as a natural meeting point for existing collaborators and a launchpad for new ones.

EAMBES Engagement

Davide Piaggio and Pedro Checa Rifa were also active at the EAMBES booth in their roles as Secretary General and EAMBES President Management Office member, reinforcing Warwick's strong ties with the European Alliance for Medical and Biological Engineering & Science. Their co-organisation of the workshop on next-generation BME competencies — part of the formal EAMBES programme underscored Warwick's growing role in shaping the future of biomedical engineering education across Europe.