Experts from Various Fields Gather to Discuss Cutting-Edge Medical Topics "Innovation+ Finance" Boosts Development of Medical Startups in Hong Kong

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 16 December 2024 - The Hong Kong Center for Cerebro-cardiovascular Health Engineering (COCHE) and College of Engineering, City University of Hong Kong proudly hosted the inaugural International Cerebro-cardiovascular Medical Innovation Summit (ICMIS) on December 12th. This flagship event brought together leading experts from industry, university, and research sectors to foster cross-disciplinary integration and collaboration among experts, to explore the path of innovation in the healthcare industry. During the summit, COCHE signed an MoU with Shanghai Innovation Bank to establish a partnership focused on fostering medical innovation.

Bringing Together Leaders from Industry, University and Research

The inaugural International Cerebro-Cardiovascular Medical Innovation Summit was held at City University of Hong Kong, featuring prominent representatives from industry, university, and research sectors in the medical field from both Mainland and Hong Kong to explore and drive forward the frontiers of medical innovation. At the opening ceremony, Ms. Gracie NG, Chief of Staff and Acting Chief Corporate Development Officer, HKSTP, Prof. Johnny Chung Yin HO, Associate Vice-President (Enterprise), and Prof. LU Jian, Dean, College of Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, delivered speeches. Ms. Gracie NG said: "The collaboration between COCHE and Shanghai Innovation Bank is of great significance to the bank's business, greatly filling the industry gap in the cooperation between finance and the innovation technology sector. The importance of financial support for the success of startups is also fully reflected in this collaboration. The 'innovation + finance' cooperation model will promote the development of the Hong Kong technology innovation ecosystem."

Prof. Johnny Chung Yin HO points: "City University of Hong Kong is the first local university in Hong Kong to promote the concept of 'One Health', in which we established the Institute of Digital Medicine in April of this year. The institute is dedicated to leveraging the university's research strengths in engineering, life sciences, artificial intelligence, and data science to provide innovative digital healthcare solutions. CityU will continue to cultivate more innovation and technology talent through the HK Tech 300 Program and the CityUHK Academy of Innovation, transforming the university's research outcomes into practical applications. Additionally, it will collaborate with the College of Engineering and COCHE to promote innovation and advancements in the healthcare sector. "

Prof. LU Jian welcomed the guests on behalf of the summit's co-organizers, in which he mentioned: "The field of engineering plays a crucial role in connecting technological theory with real-world product applications. I am pleased that this summit provides a platform for experts and scholars from various fields to converge, communicate, and collaborate. The summit aims to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, transforming innovative ideas into practical solutions, and dedicate the contribution to the advancement of healthcare outcomes. "

Collaboration with Shanghai Innovation Bank to nurture medical innovation

During the opening ceremony, COCHE signed an MoU with Shanghai Innovation Bank, establishing a partnership in fostering the "New Quality Productive Forces" through the "innovation + finance" model.

The MoU outlines a collaborative framework whereby COCHE will serve as a platform to facilitate the integration of technology innovation resources, including the business matching of relevant startups. This partnership seeks to establish a new win-win cooperation model for innovative enterprise incubation, merging science and technology with finance. Shanghai Innovation Bank will offer tailored debt financing, eco-system connections and various business empowerment initiatives for emerging medical technology startups and support their globalization strategies through collaborative efforts.

Prof. Kannie WY CHAN, Centre Director of COCHE, commented: "Funding has always been a significant challenge for the translation of technical solutions into clinical use in Hong Kong. This collaboration provides a much-needed boost to our medical research efforts. By leveraging the 'innovation + finance' model, we can enhance the transformation of research outcomes, generate greater economic benefits, and advance the development of medical new quality productivity forces."

Explore Pathways Towards Forward-Thinking Medical Innovation

The summit featured two main sessions: "Digital Medical Innovations in Community" and "Ecosystem for Medical Innovations" where experts shared insights and engaged in discussions on a range of topics. Prof. LU Xiongwen, Dean of School of Management at Fudan University, delivered a plenary speech titled "Overview of Empowering Healthcare Enterprises through Management in China and Globally", where he mentioned: "The development of the health industry has enormous demand, and the entire sector is poised for significant growth. Whether in the field of cardiovascular health or the broader health industry, management empowerment is essential. From scientific and technical personnel to product development, and then to industrialization and marketization, the entire process requires management intervention to enable innovation and technological development through effective management. "

Prof. Bryan YAN, Head of Division of Cardiology (Academic Affairs) at the Faculty of Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, delivered a keynote speech on "Stroke Prevention with Innovation". Prof. Bryan YAN highlights innovative strategies, like AI modelling and ECG monitoring for early detection and intervention, that can lead to stroke prevention being greatly enhanced. " By establishing health monitoring systems and raising awareness of risk factors, the goal is to identify individuals at risk of stroke as soon as possible. Integrating these technological solutions can significantly improve prevention efforts, leading to better health outcomes and a lower incidence of strokes." Prof. Bryan YAN said.

In addition to serving as a platform for medical and university exchanges, the summit also arranged pitching sessions for different start-up incubated by COCHE to showcase their innovative medical technologies. Among them, Pyrocks Ultrasonics Company mainly produces an AI-Powered Ultrasound Patch for CVD Risk Assessment. This innovation can revolutionize the way people face and manage CVD by screening groups with varying levels of CVD risk, providing timely protection against CVD-related deaths.

The inaugural International Cerebro-cardiovascular Medical Innovation Summit (ICMIS) successfully brought together experts, scholars, and industry representatives from various fields to discuss cutting-edge medical topics and promote multi-party collaboration. The summit organizer, COCHE, has taken the lead in the path of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular medical innovation, establishing a partnership with the Board of Directors of Yan Chai Hospital in Hong Kong. Through COCHE's innovative medical technologies and products, health screening activities have been conducted in multiple communities across Hong Kong, enabling residents to become aware of potential health risks in a timely manner. COCHE believes that the future of the healthcare sector relies on interdisciplinary collaboration, and the successful execution of this summit is expected to contribute valuable insights and support for the development of cardiovascular health medicine.

Hashtag: #Cerebrocardiovascular#MedicalInnovationSummit #ICMIS

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The 1st International Cerebro-cardiovascular Medical Innovation Summit (ICMIS)

The International Cerebro-cardiovascular Medical Innovation Summit, a premier gathering of university, clinical, regulatory, industrial, financial, and other diverse fields, featuring leading experts from international realms. This summit aims to serve as a platform for exchange and sharing, fostering dialogue and collaborations among experts across various domains, to explore the path of innovation in the healthcare industry and drive forward the frontiers of medical innovation.

Website: https://www.icmis2024.com

Hong Kong Center for Cerebro-cardiovascular Health Engineering (COCHE)

In collaboration with the University of Oxford and the Karolinska Institutet, Hong Kong Center for Cerebro-cardiovascular Health Engineering (COCHE) was established under City University of Hong Kong in 2020. The COCHE, supported financially by Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC), was admitted to Inno-Health cluster of InnoHK Programme which is a major R&D initiative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. We are developing flexible sensing, biomedical and molecular imaging, nano-biosensing, and AI in health with the focus on innovative wearables that collect key vital signs, including but not limited to continuous blood pressure and electrocardiogram signals on an unobtrusive and real-time basis. The collected data is transmitted for further analysis and integration with other biomarkers, paving the way for the early detection and diagnosis of possible acute cerebro-cardiovascular diseases.

Website: https://www.hkcoche.org/