The University of Pécs organized the first International Healthcare Engineering Innovation Conference in Pécs. One of the main presenters dr. Metin Akay talked about exciting developments like brain chips used for treating brain tumours, and a non-invasive device used to diagnose blockages of the coronary arteries.
Dr. Akay, who is the chairman of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (IEEE EMBS), took a leading role in organising the first Pécs Healthcare Engineer Innovation Conference. The professor highlighted the diversity of the event's audience. 'Many medical students and doctors took part in the presentations, and I was honoured to have the dean of the Pécs Medical School in the audience of my lecture. This was different from the usual conferences where there are only engineers and IT experts. Moreover, the industry was also present, many companies held presentations. The meeting of technical experts, clinicians and the healthcare industry was quite special. I believe this is the direction we need to keep going, and I will do everything I can to ensure this conference will be followed by others, where the presenters will include clinical and industrial leaders in a higher number.'
The Turkish researcher–developer authored multiple books and founded the Healthcare Engineering Department of the University of Houston. He hopes that technology and mechanical developments will play an important role in decreasing the costs of treatments. 'We have a lot of data and equipment at our hands, and the next step is finding out how to make them the most cost-effective, and how to reduce the costs of treatment by using them. This could be a classic case of two birds one stone if we do it right: by using the data and equipment available we increase the quality of care and reduce its costs.'
Dr. Akay and his colleagues are working on developments like prevention medicine that aim to provide personalised treatment to patients, such as the “brain chip”, promising to revolutionise the treatment of glioblastoma, a highly aggressive and one of the most dangerous brain tumours.
They have also developed a device with placing on the patient's chest that can diagnose stenosis and its extent from the acoustics of the heartbeats change.
Read the full interview HERE.
University of Pécs
Vasvári Pál u. 4. Pécs,Hungary 7622