Discussing the integration of engineering design, evidence-based medicine, and the cost effectiveness of medical technologies, students, faculty, and health professionals gathered at the Thayer School of Engineering for its Engineering in Medicine Symposium last Thursday and Friday.
The symposium featured distinguished speakers on topics ranging from the cost effectiveness of new medical technologies to business models for new biotechnologies to developmental challenges with new medical devices.
It was divided into sections, each featuring a few speakers and a short discussion in which audience members could ask questions. Professors from Thayer served as moderators for each section. A poster session outside featured students from Thayer School involved in biomedical research.
The symposium opened with a plenary session on Thursday featuring Ronald Newbower, Strategic Director and Chief Technology Officer for the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT). Newbower spoke about translating new technologies into devices used in health care, citing a remote sensing device made by CIMIT. Once weighing in at a few pounds, the same device is now the size of a Band-Aid and can be worn discreetly by the patient.
The session continued with Roderic Pettigrew, director of the National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. Pettigrew introduced three major trends in biomedical engineering: the move from expensive, post-symptom care to pre-clinical prevention; invasive procedures to minimally or non-invasive surgery; and hospital based care towards telemedicine in the home.
The symposium continued on Friday with five sessions, each addressing a different theme. The first session covered the intersection of evidence-based medicine and engineering design. Speakers in this section included former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop ’37, biomedical librarian Pamela Bagley and DMS professor Paul Batalden.
Session two delved into the topic of qualifying the cost effectiveness, utility, and need of technology in health care. Milton Weinstein from Harvard University, DMS professor Hilary Llewellyn-Thomas and DMS professor Anna Tosteson focused on the cost-benefit ratio of new medical technologies.
The speakers in session three turned the discussions towards policy as Robert Sprinkle, associate professor from the University of Maryland, and Ashifi Gogo, a Ph.D. candidate at Thayer School, discussed the innovative solutions required to solve problems in global health care.
The symposium closed with two sessions focused on engineering design. MIT professor Robert Langer provided insight into the future of health care while discussing his patented work, which includes a drug release mechanism that allows for the creation of a “pharmacy the size of a chip.”
Last year, Thayer announced that biomedical engineering, as well as energy technologies and complex systems, would be prominent areas of focus for the school.