Mapping the Future of Biomedical Engineering from Vision to Reality

Biomedical engineers, scholars, clinicians, regulators and medical device manufacturers sought to strengthen synergy on medical and healthcare innovation at the BME2014 Hong Kong Biomedical Engineering International Conference, which was opened today (5 December 2014) by Professor James Goh, Vice-President and President-Elect of the International Federation of Medical and Biological Engineering.

Organized by the Biomedical Division of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) and co-organized by the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), the biennial Conference presents the latest R&D results and applications in biomedical engineering, business opportunities, and regulatory affairs of medical devices.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Victor Cheung, President of HKIE, said, “Building a healthy city is not an easy task in highly urbanised communities. With an ageing population and greater concern on the quality of life, the society has become more and more demanding on providing adequate healthcare service for everyone. All over the world, engineers are developing remote health monitoring devices to make the most of limited healthcare resources. In the future, biomedical engineers must endeavour to develop new ways to enhance our health and address medical concerns.”

Addressing the Conference, Mr Joseph Poon, Director (Technology Development) of HKPC, highlighted HKPC’s initiatives to support the local medical and healthcare device industry. He said, “HKPC has embarked on various research projects and promotional activities with academia and the industry to transfer novel research breakthroughs for productisation and to raise the competency of the sector. In addition, we have assisted the industry to establish and implement medical device good distribution practices. In our capacity as the secretariat to the Asian Harmonization Working Party, we have also studied and recommended ways to harmonize medical device regulations in Asia and other regions.”

Under the theme of “The Future of Biomedical Engineering – from Vision to Reality”, the three-day Conference features presentations by experts from Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan, the Netherlands, UK, and USA. The event is funded by the Innovation and Technology Fund of the HKSAR Government.

Other officiating guests at the ceremony included Mr Chan Fan, Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services; Dr Cheung Wai-lun, Director (Cluster Services) of Hospital Authority; Dr Andros Chan, Chairman of Hong Kong Medical and Healthcare Device Industries Association; and Mr Derek Louie, Chairman of Biomedical Division of HKIE and BME2014 Conference Chair.

For further information, please visit the Conference website: www.hkpc.org/bme2014, or contact Bryan So, Conference Secretary of BME2014 at tel. (852) 2788 5548 or e-mail: bme2014@hkpc.org. For other media enquiries, please contact Justina Shum of HKPC’s Corporate Communications Division at tel. (852) 2788 5895 or e-mail: justina@hkpc.org.

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Mr Jonathan Ho
General Manager
Corporate Communications
Tel: (852) 2788 6390
Fax: (852) 2788 5056
Email: jonathanho@hkpc.org
Website: www.hkpc.org

5 December 2014

Mr Victor Cheung, President of HKIE, gives welcome remarks

Mr Joseph Poon, Director (Technology Development) of HKPC, addresses the Conference

The officiating guests and biomedical engineering experts from different countries and regions share a special moment at the opening of the Conference