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School of Engineering

ABSPIE international influence and impact

ABSPIE lab members' influence extends across numerous European and International activities:

International

  • International Federation of Medical and Biomedical Engineering (IFMBE) https://ifmbe.org/ - Prof. Pecchia is Secretary General (‘22-‘25); Clinical Engineering Division Treasurer (’18-‘22); Health Technology Assessment Division Chair (’15-’18), Treasurer (’12-’15); Dr. Piaggio is collaborating member of Health Technology Assessment Division, Member of Africa Working Group and Member of the Publicity Committee.

  • International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine (IUPESM) https://iupesm.org/- Prof. Pecchia was Secretary General (’18-‘22).

  • European Alliance of Medical and Biological Engineering and Science (EAMBES) https://eambes.org/ - Prof. Pecchia is Past President (‘23-‘25), President (’21-‘23), Elected-President (’19-’21); Chair of the Public Affairs Working Group (PAWG) (’15-22).

  • European Parliament: Prof. Pecchia has been the Secretary of the European Parliament Interest Group on Biomedical Engineering. (2015-2023) 
  • WHO: as General Secretary of IUPESM and Treasurer of the CE Division, Prof. Pecchia cooperated with the WHO in activities regarding the HTA of Medical Devices for developed countries as well as for low- middle incomes ones, supported by the ABSPIE members. The IFMBE is an ONG recognised by the UN and as such, it holds a seat in the General Assembly of all the UN Agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO).
    • The WHO CompendiumLink opens in a new window of Innovative Health Technologies highlights cutting-edge solutions designed for low-resource settings. Dr. Davide Piaggio and Prof. Leandro Pecchia had the privilege of serving as a reviewer for this compendium via the IFMBE (International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering). This work not only reflects the commitment to advancing global health but also the close collaboration between the ABSPIE Lab and WHO in driving forward innovations that can transform healthcare delivery worldwide.

    • Also, Prof. Pecchia worked (2020-2023) as Innovation Manager (Senior Consultant) – World Health Organization (WHO), World Emergency Program (WHE), Infection Prevention And Control (IPC) Unit.

  • The ABSPIE significantly contributed in the past few years to the organizations of international Conferences, including:
    • Prof. Pecchia and Dr. Piaggio participated in the International Scientific Programme Committee at EMBEC2024 (Portoroz, 2024).
    • Dr. Piaggio contributed to the organisation of the Africa Region Biomedical Engineering and Health Technology Conference that was held in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2023 which was supported by the IFMBE Africa Biomedical Engineering working group.
    • In the 2nd edition of the IEEE Conference on ICT Solutions for eHealth (ICTS4eHealthLink opens in a new window, Rhodes, 2022), Dr. Piaggio was a member of the Organising and Scientific Committee.
    • The International Symposium on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (ISAHP2016), which was Chaired by Prof. Pecchia. All the ABSPIE PhD students contributed as tehcnical staff (linkLink opens in a new window).
    • The World Congress on BME (WC2015, Toronto): Prof. Pecchia was Chair of the “Track 13: Informatics in Health Care and Public Health” (linkLink opens in a new window)
    • Prof. Pecchia and Dr. Piaggio participated as chairs in several special sessions in the Joint event CMBEBIH & MEDICON 2023 Mediterranean Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing (MEDICON) International Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering (CMBEBIH).
    • The MEDICON2016, Cyprus: Prof. Pecchia was Chair of the Track on “HTA and Clinical Engineering” (linkLink opens in a new window)
  • Prof. Pecchia and Dr. Piaggio participated in the organisation and promotion of Bootcamp 2024Link opens in a new window, and IoT & AI for Sustainable Global Health and Wellbeing 2023Link opens in a new window.
  • The ABSPIE organized the First International Summer School on HTA, specifically designed for biomedical engineers and medical physicists. This school was supported by Warwick IAS, IFMBE HTAD, School of Engineering, GRP on technology and science in healthcare and organized in collaboration with the COST Action EMF-MEDLink opens in a new window (BM1309Link opens in a new window). Here are further details: linkLink opens in a new window. Prof. Pecchia also participated in the 2nd Summer School on Health Technology Assessment & Medical Devices (Here are further details: linkLink opens in a new window).
  • Prof. Pecchia and Dr. Piaggio participated in the XLI Annual School 2022 – Biomedical Engineering for Sustainable DevelopmentLink opens in a new window.
  • Prof. Pecchia has been supporting the European Commission JRC in the design, validation and dissemination of the MAFEIP tool. Read details hereLink opens in a new window.
  • Prof. Pecchia as Chair of the Public Affair Working Group of the EAMBES (European Scientific Society of BMEs) and Chair of the IFMBE HTA Division, Prof. Pecchia cooperated with the European Parliament to promote the role of BME in research, as a profession and as a stakeholder for the preparation and revision of European Regulations on medical devices. Since 2014, this activity has resulted in numerous achievements. Here are further details: linkLink opens in a new window.
  • AAATE: Dr Pagliara is the Treasurer of the Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe, elected in 2019 as a Board Member (2020-21) and re-elected for 2022-23
  • GLIC Italy: Dr Pagliara Advisory Board member (former Vice President) of the Italian Association of Assistive Technology Centres, board member elected in 2019 to 2021