Progress in waves: medical technology research in the golden triangle

Improvements in hygiene, diet, disease prevention and healthcare have steadily increased our life expectancy. Our aging society now poses the question of how to balance improvements within the available health budget. The tremendous improvements in healthcare also mean that financial requirements are rising steeply. In addition, the number of chronic and age-related diseases is increasing and ever older and more fragile patients are being treated, who cannot endure aggressive treatments and increasingly require substantial aftercare. In this landscape, how can our society provide broad access to the appropriate cure and care?

I firmly believe that electromagnetic-based technologies will form a cornerstone in our answer to the need of society for the highest quality sustainable healthcare. Medical technologies (MedTech) will play an important role in the balancing act by providing cost-effective monitoring, diagnosis and therapy approaches for personalized care and cure. The distinct features and non-invasive nature of electromagnetic waves at different frequencies places them at the core of many medical applications. Devices like brain stimulators, magnetic resonance (MR) scanners and thermal tissue ablation devices rely on different types of electromagnetic waves. In addition, electromagnetics provides distant and in-body data transfer to enable point-of-care diagnostics and interventions closer to home.

Furthermore, I believe that the most effective way for developing and implementing these technologies is through tight collaboration between academia, clinical centers and industry. Waves of exchange in this ‘Golden Triangle’ are required to ensure a connection between engineering research advances and the needs of society and to crystalize the most cost-effective approaches.