District trials for medical technology

A medtech district is emerging in the North East, capable of becoming a national reference point. The signs are all there. Starting with Veneto, where the medical and biomedical technology sector is quite dynamic.

Among the most far-reaching initiatives undertaken so far is the Tech4Life Regional Innovative Network, which already has 75 partners, including seven university departments, seven institutions and a variety of manufacturing, commercial and service companies. Created in 2021, it aims to foster research and innovation in life sciences and health technologies, and to facilitate the creation of public-private partnerships at local, national and international level. Among the areas on which the partner companies are focusing, explains network chairman Denis Faccioli, are 'the development of digital identity platforms for booking private health consultations, the innovation of the digital twin, on which to simulate the effect of drugs and therapies, AI as an accelerator of diagnosis through the analysis of medical data and diagnostic images, precision medicine, and sensor technology linked to medical devices and wearables'. Precisely the production of medical devices and technological tools for prevention, diagnosis and treatment (the so-called biomedical) is one of the most dynamic medtech fields in the region.

According to data from Venicepromex and the Padua Chamber of Commerce, in 2023 Veneto had 1,595 active companies, a negative variation of about 1.4% compared to 2019, and 6,057 employees (+10% compared to 2019). And among the most consolidated areas for the biomedical sector, Padua stands out, which not only boasts 23% and 27% of the regional total of companies and employees respectively, but also shows a certain effervescence of initiatives in the medical field.

The World Health Forum last March was an example of this, and there will be another, the first edition of a new Expo entirely dedicated to the biomedical industry. Scheduled for 18 and 19 November at the Padua Trade Fair, the first edition of the Circular Medical Expo was created as an evolution of the 2022 and 2023 Veneto Biomedical Exchange, and aims to foster growth, innovative capacity, and the internationalisation of companies in the sector, as well as the creation of a real allied industry. According to the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Padua, Antonio Santocono, 'Padua is increasingly establishing itself as a reference pole for innovation in the health sector, not only for the excellence of clinical practice and academic research, from medicine to biomedical engineering, but also for the events capable of connecting university and enterprise'. For his part, Nicola Rossi, president of Padova Hall, expressed his satisfaction with the event, which will include a calendar of meetings, an incoming programme to involve buyers from foreign markets (primarily Europe and the Middle East), and an exhibition area: "Skills, talents, technologies: all this will find space in a transversal event. This is a unique event for our area, the result of a positive synergy between companies, universities and institutions, and in line with the innovative drive that characterises our exhibition centre'. For the special prosecutor of the agency for internationalisation Venicepromex, Franco Conzato, the Circular Medical Expo will be a valuable opportunity to explore frontier innovations: 'Telemedicine, early diagnostics, and minimally invasive surgery are just some of the most interesting directions in which biomedicine is moving, with solutions often involving the application of artificial intelligence-based technologies. A market, that of AI in healthcare, which according to some estimates could be worth $188 billion by 2030, up from $11 billion in 2021.

The role of education is also crucial: at the University of Verona, engineering meets medicine. Promoting teaching and research on the design of systems for innovation medicine, adapting Industry 4.0 technologies to the medical field, is the goal of DIMI, the Department of Engineering for Innovation Medicine born from the merger of the Engineering and Physics section with that of Innovation Biomedicine. With 56 lecturers, more than 40 PhD students, 30 research assistants, 8 temporary researchers and 16 laboratory technicians, at DIMI we work in frontier areas, from biometrics robotics to bioengineering, from AI in medicine to anti-tumour target-therapy, passing through innovation in clinical and methodological research.