CÚRAM Present Research Agenda for Medical Devices in the EU

By Paris Ediagbonya

CÚRAM Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Research Centre for Medical Devices at NUI Galway have presented a research agenda to European Union policymakers and Medtech industry leaders.

The aim is to put forward a centralised research agenda for the development of medical device technologies.

Researchers with CÚRAM are working alongside industry partners and hospitals to design and produce these ‘smart’ medical devices, such as implants which will respond to the individual body’s environment to provide relief to areas where it is needed.

CÚRAM aims for this technology to be affordable and to provide revolutionary benefits to patients with chronic illnesses such as heart or musculoskeletal disease, wound healing, and diabetes.

Professor Abhay Pandit, Scientific Director of CÚRAM, hosted a webinar at NUI Galway where he presented ‘smart’ medical device technology which would potentially help those with chronic illnesses and improve their quality of life.

The webinar titled ‘A Research Agenda for Medical Devices in the EU’ aimed to pitch a unified plan to researchers and academics from the industry, with the help of the European Union’s Horizon Europe programmes.

Some of the topics discussed at the webinar included medical device research in Europe, Artificial Intelligence medical devices, advanced therapy medicinal products and medical devices for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Many MEPs and research and industry leaders from the US and the EU spoke at the webinar such as Sean Kelly MEP, Maria da Graça Carvalho MEP, Professor Mark Ferguson, SFI Director General, Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government of Ireland and Chair of the European Innovation Council Advisory Board and Karina Angelieva, Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Bulgaria.

CÚRAM launched a consultation white paper before the webinar which provided an opportunity for stakeholders to contribute to their medical device research agenda.

The objective of the research agenda is to inform decision makers at an EU level. This includes informing them of research agendas both nationally and regionally and the implementation of the European Union’s Horizon Europe, a research and innovation programme established in 2021.

A series of upcoming webinars and panel discussions are to be held in the coming months. More details can be found on their website at curamdevices.ie.