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Medical Technology

Catalonia moves toward computerized medicine

Barcelona’s Pompeu Fabra University and Hospital Clinic will work together to develop a scientific and technical infrastructure in the field of biomedical imaging systems applied to minimally invasive procedures and the management of biomedical information in Catalonia, with the goal of becoming a leader in Europe

STAFF | JANUARY 17TH, 2011

From left to right: Raimon Belenes, CEO of the Hospital Clínic,
Josep Joan Moreso, dean of the UPF, and Josep M. Piqué, deputy
director general of the Clínic

Medical technology applied to medicine is advancing towards a new paradigm of personalized medicine, a cutting-edge area of research that will continue to grow in coming years. These technologies, and particularly those related to imaging and minimally invasive procedures, will be based on developments in medical robotics, medical imaging computing, computational modeling and physiological information systems dedicated to the health sector.

In order to move in this direction, Barcelona’s Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and Hospital Clínic have signed an agreement to work together to develop a scientific and technical infrastructure in the field of biomedical imaging systems applied to minimally invasive procedures and the management of biomedical information in Catalonia. The aim is to become a leader in Europe in this new and expanding field.

This is an innovative model of a public-private partnership with a strong international presence. It will be administered by the Insigne Barcelona Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Modeling. Insigne is a foundation promoted by the UPF, which wants to become an international reference in translational R+D in imaging and simulations in the context of medical technologies and minimally invasive procedures.

The creation of the new institute comes from the experience gained by the Centre Computational Imaging & Simulation Technologies in Biomedicine (CISTIB) – a research center directed by Alejandro Frangi, ICREA researcher and professor in the Department of Information and Communication Technology of the UPF – and will develop research projects on the latest techniques and methods of imaging and biomedical simulation for diagnostic and therapeutic problems with direct application to the clinical world.

The UPF and Hospital Clinic have worked together for six years on projects of the sixth and seventh European Framework Programme. The Hospital Clínic is known for its high-level of health care. It is the medical center with the highest level of scientific output in the biomedical field in Spain and one of the leaders in Europe.

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