Portal de apoyo a la economía del conocimiento en Canarias. Gobierno de Canarias

Medical engineering has become a key R&D area of the Canary Islands Regional Government while public expenditure has become increasingly relevant in the sanitary sector in recent years. There is a well-developed public healthcare system in all seven islands, which employs highly trained and experienced medical staff and surgeons with innovative ideas in different technological fields.

In the biomechanical field, capabilities exist to develop medical devices (especially implants and surgical instruments): design and behaviour modelled by finite element studies, manufacturing of complex geometric equipment (using cutting-edge numeric control machinery), and mechanical testing. Already, there are biomechanical products ?Made in the Canaries? that are globally commercialized. New R&D product lines for physically handicapped persons have also started. Recently, special interest has grown regarding minimally invasive surgery projects due to the expected expansion of the sector. Medical imaging not only improves the surgeon?s vision and orientation, but it also allows the use of special instruments in areas inaccessible to experienced hands.

The medical research groups in the Canary Islands are in constant contact with prestigious international institutions via networks like the European SIMILAR (human-machine interfaces) and the US NAMIC (National Alliance of Medical Image Computing). Moreover, there is active development of web and multimedia information to disperse medical knowledge in order to bring patients and doctors together.

Further information about this area: rd@canary-tech.org