University of Twente welcomes €102.5M Dutch national plan for medical technologies

The Dutch government will invest €102.5 million in the country’s medical technology sector over the next ten years. The joint commitment of the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and of Health, Welfare and Sport underlines that medical technology not only contributes to future-proof healthcare, but also creates opportunities for innovation, economic activity and the earning potential of the Dutch economy. Within this national MedTech growth plan, the Twente-based Hospitals of the Future initiative will play a key national role as one of three lines of action.

The investment and the three national lines of action were announced during the MedTech 2035 working conference in The Hague. Philips also announced a €50 million investment in MedTech at the conference.

The national recognition confirms the need for a new approach to healthcare in the Netherlands. Demand for care is growing, while the availability of healthcare professionals is coming under increasing pressure. Within Hospitals of the Future, healthcare organisations, knowledge institutions, public authorities and technology companies are therefore working together to create a healthcare system in which medical technology can be developed, implemented and scaled up more rapidly.

Tenfold increase in healthcare productivity by 2050

The Hospitals of the Future programme aims to achieve a tenfold increase in healthcare productivity by 2050 using medical technology. Complex, high-volume and/or highly specialised care will remain concentrated in hospitals. Wherever possible, other forms of care will be provided at home, digitally or at other locations across the region, supported by smart technology and data. In this way, high-quality, accessible and affordable healthcare can be maintained. At the same time, healthcare professionals will be supported in working more effectively, experiencing greater job satisfaction and continuing to provide compassionate, patient-centred care, while the economic potential of medical technology will be strengthened.

The initiative is supported by Twente Board, Medisch Spectrum Twente, the University of Twente’s TechMed Centre, FME and regional partners including Saxion University of Applied Sciences, ROC van Twente, ZGT, DEMCON and Teledyne. Together, they are working on labour-saving medical technologies, smart digital healthcare solutions and redesigned working practices. By bringing together healthcare, research, education and industry, they are creating an environment in which innovations can be developed, tested, validated and adopted more rapidly and on a wider scale.

It is in Twente that all these elements come together. The region offers a distinctive combination of closely collaborating top clinical hospitals, the University of Twente with its strong technical-medical profile and TechMed Centre, well-established regional healthcare partners, universities of applied sciences and vocational education institutions, and a highly developed manufacturing and MedTech industry. Together, these organisations are working towards a shared goal: making healthcare smarter, more person-centred and less labour-intensive. In doing so, Twente is becoming both a testing ground and a driving force for the healthcare of the future.

With previously committed public and private seed funding, as well as support from the Twente Region Deal and the Agenda for Twente, a solid foundation is already in place. The national investment will enable the Twente model to be developed further and scaled up across the Netherlands. In this way, Hospitals of the Future is evolving from a regional initiative in Twente into a national programme for the implementation and wider adoption of medical technology.

This article was first published on 7 July y University of Twente.