Leading medical engineering into new frontiers

Opening the first session of the EBME Expo Leaders Network, EBME Expo Chair, Prof. John Sandham CEng explained that the aim of the group is to improve healthcare technology management and the impact of healthcare technology on patient care across private and public sector healthcare organisations. The afternoon encouraged a thought-provoking exchange of ideas on how the sector can navigate some of the key issues around: the increasing connectivity of HealthTech, the NHS drive towards more personalised care in patients' homes, and the need for increased investment in strategic management of HealthTech and the EBME workforce.

John Sandham pointed out that HealthTech has moved away from single devices, towards increasing complexity and connectivity: "When I started in this profession in the 1980s, I was fixing individual items on a bench. As technicians in the workshop, we would do the repairs to the equipment, then take it back. Over the years, the role has gradually changed… We have moved from individual, 'device-based management of equipment', to a 'systems-based management' process. Part of that is connectivity."

To address the evolving demands of the profession, EBME Expo will be introducing a Connectivity Stage, this year, underscoring the importance of addressing the challenges of integrating HealthTech into hospital networks to provide clinicians with a centralised and real-time view of patient data within the hospital and beyond.