Convergent Technology Event Proves a Winner Again

The third in a series of Convergent Technology events, held at the Beardmore Hotel and Golden Jubilee National Hospital, Clydebank on 12 March 2008, met with similar acclaim to earlier events. "Conquering Clinical Challenges Together" focused on a series of presentations chaired by respected clinicians supported by a wide range of cutting-edge companies showcasing technologies that have the potential to meet future healthcare needs.

Attracting over 100 delegates, the event was aimed at innovative companies and individuals from a wide range of technology backgrounds; doctors, dentists, nurses, medical physicists, physiotherapists and other professionals in the Healthcare Service; medical device industry members, academics and researchers; and organisations and companies providing support services to the medical device community.

Technologies on display varied from Blaze Venture Technologies proprietary products for rapid screening and surface decontamination of MRSA, Lab901s microbiological diagnostics for bacterial, viral and fungal targets in the hospital and health protection sectors, PAL Technologies miniature acceleration sensing solutions for healthcare applications, to PWB Healths soon to be in the shops hand held BreastLight device which adds the dimension of internal sight to a womans normal look and feel breast awareness routine.

Keynote Speaker Dr Aileen Keel, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Scotland advised delegates that Scottish medical technology had much to be proud of. Scotland, she said Chas particular healthcare needs and these clinical needs, together with the remote nature of many parts of our landscape, present us with a unique set of challenges. In encouraging delegates to engage with the 23 showcase companies present to identify new applications for their technologies to help address these needs and maintain Scotlands high profile as a world leader in medical innovation and excellence, she said it was her belief that collaboration across multiple disciplines and industry sectors was the way forward.

The first presentation of the day, on Assistive Technologies/Remote Monitoring was given by Professor David Godden, Director of the Centre for Rural Health at the University of Aberdeen. Professor Godden talked about the role of telemedicine in the new configuration of primary care services in remote and rural Scotland and reported the value of, and the public's enthusiasm for, e-health. He stressed however that for most this is seen as an addition to, rather than a replacement of, traditional face-to-face medical advice. He also touched on such advances as the integration of mobile phones with physiological measurement activity and the advent of facilities such as Cisco Systems' HealthPresence Pod - a self-service healthcare stand concept which contains a range of medical devices including blood pressure cuffs, glucose monitors, audioscopes and stethoscopes, that upload data directly into an electronic medical record with high-definition video conferencing technology which could prove of great value in Scotlands remote areas.

Such was the interest generated by the showcasers that the second presentation after the morning coffee break started a little late because the presenter - Professor Hing Leung (Professor of Urology/Surgical Oncology and Honorary Consultant Urological Surgeon, University of Glasgow / Beatson Institute for Cancer Research) found it difficult to drag himself away from the exciting exhibits. Once at the podium, Professor Leung outlined the opportunities which existing technologies offer in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer including technological and biological advances. Delegates saw video clips of robotic assisted surgery where the surgeon uses open surgery hand movements which are replicated by robotic equipment designed to mimic the dexterity of the human hand and wrist. Technology such as this, Professor Leung said, is wonderful but could still be improved. At present although we can more than adequately stitch up an incision, and do so with minimum invasion, its difficult to gauge the tension of the stitches made. Professor Leung also discussed potential opportunities offered by evolving therapies and technologies in the treatment of prostate cancer and said that improved imaging devices/technology to help define the disease stage, would be of immense value.

Jim Shepherd, Professor of Vascular Biochemistry, University of Glasgow and Honorary Consultant, Glasgow Royal Infirmary rounded off the afternoon by discussing the methods currently used to try and identify those of us at most risk of a coronary event. In considering unmet need in the assessment of cardiovascular risk, his presentation looked at traditional risk factors assessment smoking, drinking, cholesterol etc levels - and at potentially novel techniques such as electrocardiography, carotid intima-media thickness, coronary artery Ca2 scoring, endolethial dysfunction and c-reactive protein. Although each of these had their merits however, his conclusion was sadly that global coronary risk assessment remains an imprecise art and that there is still therefore scope for new devices and technologies to assist in this area.

Those who attended praised the event, saying it was not only useful as a networking opportunity but also extremely informative about areas of clinical needs requiring technological solutions. Indeed the opportunity to see and understand first hand how new technology might be used to aid patient wellbeing proved so attractive that one of the exhibitors is already working on two opportunities as a direct result of their involvement in the event.

The event was jointly supported and organised by Stirling University Innovation Park (SUIP Ltd), Medical Devices in Scotland (MDIS), Scottish Health Innovations Limited (SHIL), The ED Technology Support Centre for Scotland (EDTC) and Nexxus, The West of Scotland BioScience Network.