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CÚRAM SFI Research Centre for Medical Devices based at NUI Galway, will present a webinar and series of panel discussions with EU policy makers and Medtech industry leaders in the European Union. The event takes place on Tuesday, 16 February.

The webinar will bring together leading researchers from industry and academia, along with policymakers and regulators to consider a consolidated research agenda for medical devices within the context of the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, which began in January 2021.

The titled webinar 'A Research Agenda for Medical Devices in the EU' will present key recent developments in next-generation medical device technologies and their potential to impact health outcomes and improve the quality of life for patients with chronic illnesses. It will also consider the enabling policy and the regulatory environment necessary to sustain the competitiveness of this highly innovative European sector.

The webinar will be hosted by Professor Abhay Pandit, Scientific Director of CÚRAM at NUI Galway. High profile speakers attending the event include Sean Kelly MEP, Maria da Graça Carvalho, MEP, Professor Mark Ferguson, SFI Director General, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland and Chair of the European Innovation Council Advisory Board and Karina Angelieva, Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Bulgaria.

The webinar will consist of eight panel sessions led by research and industry leaders across the US and EU and will be attended by MEPs. The panel topics include: Medical Device Research in Europe; Artificial Intelligence Medical Devices; Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products; Global Perspectives: Medical Devices for the Sustainable Development Goals; Regulation; Research; Data Infrastructures and Science Capacity Building for Medical Devices; Skills and Education for a Competitive Future.

In advance of the webinar, CÚRAM has launched a consultation White Paper providing stakeholders with the opportunity to contribute to a medical devices research agenda for the European Union. This research agenda aims to help inform EU level decision-making, such as the implementation of Horizon Europe (the research and innovation framework programme running from 2021-2027), as well as national and regional research agendas. It will also serve as a reference document to advance partnerships and innovative collaborations to address pressing global challenges.

CÚRAM aims to radically improve health outcomes for patients by developing ‘smart’ medical devices and implants. It develops these devices through collaborations with industry partners and hospital groups to enable their rapid translation to clinics, positioning Ireland as the driver in developing medical device technologies that will provide affordable transformative solutions for chronic diseases.

CÚRAM’s researchers are designing and manufacturing implants to respond to the body’s environment and delivering therapeutic agents exactly where they are needed and its outputs will particularly benefit patients with chronic ailments such as heart disease, wound healing, diabetes and musculoskeletal diseases.

For full agenda and speakers details, visit: https://cordis.europa.eu/event/id/148320-a-research-agenda-for-medical-devices-in-the-eu.

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