New leadership at e/MTIC: ‘collaborating even more’

The healthcare sector is facing major challenges. An aging population and staff shortages are putting pressure on the system, prompting the need for innovative solutions. Eindhoven Medtech Innovation Center (e/MTIC) has one clear mission: to contribute to healthcare through research and innovation and to bring solutions from idea to patient faster. A changing of the guard is currently taking place within e/MTIC. After years of dedication, Kees van der Klauw and Franklin Schuling are stepping down. Their successors, Noortje Bax and Beatrijs van der Hout, are already poised to take over the reins.

Looking back on seven years of e/MTIC

The foundation for e/MTIC was laid by the insight that innovation needed to take place closer to clinical practice. Although healthcare and research remain fragmented worldwide, and access to data often remains limited to individual hospitals, e/MTIC offers a local model that breaks down these barriers within the region. This strategic collaboration between academic partners, hospitals, and Philips has created a unique environment where clinical practice, research, and technology converge more rapidly. Franklin Schuling, one of the e/MTIC founding fathers, looks back on the past few years: “What strikes me most is the enthusiasm with which people work together. I am impressed by the clinicians, specialists, PhD students, and Philips employees; how they have put their shoulders to the wheel within e/MTIC.”

Additionally, the center has taken significant steps in the field of data management. After all, healthcare innovation increasingly revolves around medical technology and data processing. Developing methods to use data safely and responsibly has proven to be crucial in this regard.

Kees van der Klauw adds: “Having a lot of data does not mean you can just put it into an algorithm. It is important to think carefully about how to do this safely and responsibly.”

A good example of the smart and safe use of data is Healthdot: a patch that can remotely measure patients’ vital medical parameters. This technology, developed by Philips and further validated in collaboration with the e/MTIC partners, was ultimately taken over by a spin-off called smartQare. It has been widely adopted from the outset by institutions such as Catharina Hospital. This example demonstrates how collaboration within an innovation ecosystem yields practical applications. The Healthdot offers solutions to the pressure on healthcare personnel and finances, and shows how technology, processes, and people come together to better support healthcare.

The future of e/MTIC

According to Van der Klauw, e/MTIC is a successful example of public-private collaboration within the Brainport region. The challenges in healthcare are felt worldwide, but effective solutions start locally. Successful innovations are expected to scale up further to the national level in the coming years, and the implementation of new technologies is expected to receive a further boost. Schuling emphasizes the importance of involving new parties, such as data companies and international knowledge institutions, to achieve the necessary upscaling.

Taking the helm

With the arrival of Noortje Bax and Beatrijs van der Hout, e/MTIC is getting a new boost. Both already know e/MTIC from the inside and share the conviction that collaboration is the key to success.

Bax: “We believe it is important that projects start primarily from a clinical issue, rather than from a technological perspective. You can then examine how a technological innovation can provide a solution to such an issue. Together with various parties, we ensure that technology is validated in the right way, so that it can be applied effectively in practice. A product or solution can then be scaled up to a national or international level.”

To achieve this, Bax and Van der Hout also aim to focus more on strengthening the community, bringing people from different levels of the organizations closer together, from PhD students to administrators. An important tool is the power of cross-appointments. Van der Hout: “Employees are given a place in multiple partner organizations. One can take a look behind the scenes at the other. This shows how broad the impact can be by joining forces.”

Practical examples

Bax and Van der Hout see considerable potential in ongoing projects, such as the aforementioned smart plaster, which is currently being used to monitor bariatric patients and may also be utilized after colon cancer surgery. In addition, there is a strong focus on sleep research. Poor sleep is a significant risk factor for various conditions, including cardiovascular disease. Projects involving the Kempenhaeghe Expertise Center, Eindhoven University of Technology, and Philips are currently underway, among other initiatives, to develop wearable technology that enhances the measurement of sleep quality at home. Máxima MC is committed to the further development of safe care for mothers and children.

Bax concludes: “These three focus areas are not only priorities for the clinical partners involved, but are also closely linked. Premature birth, sleep disorders, and pregnancy complications are all related to cardiovascular disease. Within e/MTIC, all these different lines of research come together nicely.”

Click here to listen to the podcast about the shift in leadership at e/MTIC on Spotify.