NORTEXCEL engaged FreedomGrow, experts in technological research – including 3D printing for cardiovascular applications -, to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the clinical and economic evolution and evidence of 3D printing for healthcare applications, in particular surgical planning.

The results were consistent: there is a clear opportunity to explore and promote the 3D printing market segment in Portugal, in particular in health domains. The untapped potential existing in regions such as Norte should be used to create relevant innovative projects and proof-of-concepts where the 3D printing technology is investigated to boost the development of novel solutions to answer the constant demands of modern healthcare systems.

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The increase of the life expectancy and the reorganization of the social structure have meant that the elderly population, with an increasing size, needs special care. The potential of the Norte region to develop solutions to improve the well-being and the autonomous and healthy life was the motivation for the present study developed by IncreaseTime for NORTEXCEL.

The results allowed to identify the innumerable solutions that link technological evolution to the well-being and health care of the elderly, from basic and simple tasks to more complex situations. This study also made it possible to understand how the technology could contribute to the caregivers’ approach to the care needs and the preventive detection of health and wellness problems.

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The development and advancement of the medical devices sector is one of the fastest within the engineering world. However, this is a very heterogenous group of products in terms of design, use and purpose, causing companies operating in the sector to have very different innovation approaches depending on the type of products that they are developing. Especially in the case of SME, this constitutes an extra challenge and a barrier. To increase the success rates of the development and commercialization of new medical devices, the support of public or private structures specialized in this field is fundamental.

In this study, KIS Consulting explores the Dynamite methodology, developed by Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH in Austria, adapts it to the Portuguese reality and proposes an implementation strategy by NXCEL. This may constitute a relevant support tool for the development of medical devices to be offered by NXCEL, that could have a very positive impact in the competitiveness of this sector.

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The first part of this report identifies the need to potentiate the innovation process in the Norte region of Portugal and the potential of NXEL to have an important role on it. According to Jump4Better, one way to substantiate this role is by promoting the development of an innovation platform specifically design for the medtech sector. The second part of the report presents a benchmark with existing idea and innovation management platforms. This, combined with the know-how of Jump4Better on the subject, allowed to identify the main features of an innovation management platform to be implemented by NXCEL, as well as its development phases.

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This study is part of a consulting service provided by Inova DE GmbH to NXCEL in order to find new challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Considering the objectives of NXCEL of acting as an interlocutor between the region’s scientific community and industry, identifying innovation opportunities and trends and actively participating in applied research and technological development projects, Inova DE GmbH was involved in this report. Its goal is to undertake a comprehensive analysis of technological and economic developments in the area of cardiology in order to detect new market trends taking into account the innovation opportunities in this area. The report indicates a particularly significant potential in the development of wearable devices hardware and functionalities, with implications for improving the quality of service provided to patients, coupled with the simultaneous reduction of health care costs.

Check out the main conclusions here!