The Swedish health care system is facing major challenges in the upcoming years, given the demographics where we are getting older and as a result need more care. A common challenge for all health care facilities is comprised of finding smarter, more effective solutions for delivering high quality care. It is primarily about delivering more care but with fewer resources. How is that possible? With the right technological tools care procedures can be optimised without the compromise of quality. Modern medical technology solutions present new opportunities for a more person-centred and efficient care in the future.
There is a lot of medical expertise in Sweden supporting development of smart and efficient solutions for future healthcare. “In order to meet the challenges, we need to work with synchronised efforts from academia, health care and industry. Technical frontline expertise is spread across all three – and it is only when they work together that we can find good solutions. It is against this background organisation MedTechWest has been established”, says Director Henrik Mindedal.
Strong collaborative platform
MedTech West is a network and collaborative platform for research, education, development and evaluation of new biomedical concepts and technologies founded by Chalmers University of Technology, University of Gothenburg, University of Borås and the region of Västra Götaland. By initiating and managing increased collaboration between the health care sector, industry and academia, the organisation aims to increase the volume and quality of collaborative research projects in the area of medical technology.
“Our core ambitions are to promote active participation in the introduction of new technology platforms into the clinical environment and to promote understanding and the exchange of knowledge and ideas in the biomedical sector. We also facilitate networking activities between the health care sector, industry and academia through several events throughout the year”, Henrik Mindedal explains.
Applying innovations to practical use
A key question is: how can innovations be applied in order to create measurable value in the health care system?
MedTechWest has divided its activities into six prominent areas of research, namely: Image Analysis, EM Modeling, Microwave Technologies, Smart Textiles, Sensor Technologies and E-Health. Being at the forefront of technological development, the organisation has recently integrated a seventh area of research, focusing on soft tissue engineering.
Within each research platform are a number of projects. Each project represents one or more innovations, which in turn leads to a large number of generated innovations per year. Henrik Mindedal: “We are a powerful generator of development; we aim to become even more comprehensive including more research groups and companies associated with medical technology advancement. We also want to attract players from other countries to set up business in our region, presenting even more opportunities for future collaboration”.
Dedicated Director
MedTechWest Director Henrik Mindedal has worked in the medical technology field since the early 1990s. He has held various senior positions in forward striving companies such as Siemens and Samba Sensors. Henrik Mindedal has also been involved in the innovation system during many years, working with research-related business development and marketing. He now dedicates his knowledge and long experience to the development of innovations that will revolutionise future health care.
