Cassandra Melvin

SEMI Europe

Perspectives on healthcare, the medtech industry, and digital

Michael Strübin
Director Digital Health
MedTech Europe

Abstract
Healthcare represents one of the biggest sectors in advanced industrialised countries (the OECD average in 2017 was 8.8 percent of GDP), yet as a market it may be one of the most complicated to access: fragmentation, the strong role of the public sector, the high level of regulation, the often competing interests of powerful stakeholders, and other factors make life difficult for industry. New regulations for medical devices and in vitro diagnostic devices, enacted in 2016, will come into force in the coming years. And advances in technologies, especially in digital, have the potential to change and upend the doctor-patient relationship. These and more developments will be covered in this keynote from MedTech Europe, the largest trade association for the medtech industries in Europe.

Biography
Michael Strübin joined MedTech Europe as Digital Health Director in 2018 to help develop the industry’s voice in the digital health field and to represent MedTech Europe’s members vis-à-vis digital health policymakers and stakeholders.Prior to MedTech Europe, Michael ran the European operations of the Continua Health Alliance (renamed Personal Connected Health Alliance in 2014), an international association of health and technology companies, governments and research organisations to advance personal connected health. Between 2006 to 2008, Michael was the first European Director of the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Michael studied political science and humanities in Germany and the United States, and worked in international development and philanthropy. Since 2003 he has been based in Brussels.

Sensors to enable consumer health applications

Filip Frederix
Senior Marketing Manager Smart Medical Devices
ams

Abstract
Healthcare costs are rising due to an aging population and with decreasing funds from governments and insurance companies, our society needs to implement efficient healthcare solutions and more critically, pay more attention to prevention, early diagnosis and remote monitoring. This explains the recent rise of consumer health solutions. In this abstract, we will discuss the requirements related to the sensor technologies in medical-grade devices. We will demonstrate various technology approach options in the field of point-of-care (POC) diagnostics and portable consumer health devices. To take full advantage of preventative care, it is important that people are able to frequently monitor their health status. Research shows that monitoring tools must be easy to use, non-evasive and connected, with the ultimate goal is for these tools to be used at home or at the GP´s office. POC testing or rapid tests have the potential to solve these challenges. A relevant example is the commonly used home pregnancy tests, which are based on the lateral flow testing principle. At ams, we developed an electronic/optical readout for these tests to boost the sensitivity and enable multiplex capabilities. We will highlight a first prototype of this technology and its performance. We will also present the VivaVita, which is a result of a corporation between Joysys and ams. We will explain the working principle, the specifications and the applications. The VivaVita device allows generating medical quality data at a consumer level or outside a hospital setting. The VivaVita measures heart rate variability, ECG and blood pressure with a small, portable and fully integrated device. It is operated in a consumer friendly way, it is cost-effective and enables wireless data transfer and wireless charging. The core of the device is the AS7026 module, which is a low power, fully integrated optical module that allows for photo plethysmography (PPG) measurements in a reliable way.

Biography
Filip Frederix has worked for more than 20 years in the field of nanotechnology for healthcare products and is author of several publications and patents. Filip joined ams in October 2017 to spearhead the ams marketing efforts for Smart Medical Devices within the Imagine New Sensor Division. With a proven track-record in starting new business opportunities, Filip´s background includes working as an independent consultant supporting life sciences startups with capital raising and their business strategy. The largest part of his career was spent at NXP as a program director and new business development manager for healthcare products. In 2004 Filip won the prestigious DSM award, where he continued to work on emerging business projects at DSM in the Netherlands. While working as a post-doctoral researcher at IMEC, he earned his PhD degree in Chemistry from the University of Leuven in 2004. He serves as part-time professor at the University of Hasselt (since 2013).