In order to develop joint projects, teaching, innovation and research activities that promote the well-being and health of the national population, last Friday, August 9, the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María signed a collaboration agreement with the Clinical Hospital of the University of Chile.
The activity took place at the facilities of the Advanced Center for Electrical and Electronic Engineering, AC3E, of the USM, and was attended by the Rector of the university Dr. Juan Yuz; the general director of the hospital, Prof. Dr. Eduardo Tobar; the academic director, Prof. Dr. Paul Délano; and the head of the Information Technology Department, Marcela Herbage.
There, they met with the director of the Center Dr. Matías Zañartu, researchers from the Biomedical Systems group and staff representatives, who have worked on various projects related to medical devices, technologies for the diagnosis of otorhinolaryngological diseases and an artificial intelligence-based platform to host, process and provide medical images, among other initiatives.
“It is a great joy to visit AC3E and see how the work we do at USM impacts society, materializing in a high-level collaboration with the Clinical Hospital Universidad de Chile. We have been working with the Center for years and always with the commitment to value the work of the University, especially in areas as crucial as health. This agreement is one more step in a series of initiatives that AC3E has promoted, particularly in biomedical systems. It is interesting to see how each of these advances translates into concrete results and new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, valuing the joint work from electronic, electrical and biomedical engineering, contributing to national development and the well-being of all,” said Rector Dr. Juan Yuz.
For his part, the general director of the Clinical Hospital highlighted the importance of concretizing various initiatives together, where academics and researchers can interact with their counterparts from USM to address problems that the health system has globally and that require solutions from the world of engineering.
“It is a moment of happiness to strengthen ties with the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María. It is positive to get out a little from the centralization of Santiago and connect more with the national academic and innovation ecosystem; in this case with AC3E through this agreement that somehow formalizes a relationship that has been existing for some years. It is essential that institutions take up these efforts, systematize them and that we are a platform to continue developing great initiatives. We all here have the vision to contribute to the well-being of our community, generate knowledge, train human capital and through innovation, development and science promote the well-being of people,” said Dr. Eduardo Tobar.
It is worth noting that the relationship between USM and the Clinical Hospital of the University of Chile arises through AC3E, whose scientists carried out different associated Fondef and Fondecyt research projects, in which academics, doctors and students participated. This formalization will facilitate that research work reaches the populations of interest, particularly patients in different specialties.
“We are very happy, because at AC3E we have a mission to connect scientific and technological development with society, and having the opportunity to formalize this through an agreement with the Clinical Hospital Universidad de Chile is the best way to show that we are committed to transforming these investigations into something concrete, that really reaches people. HCUCH is one of the most relevant in the country, therefore, it is an excellent opportunity to increase the impact of what we do,” highlighted the director of AC3E, Dr. Matías Zañartu.
Finally, the academic director of the health entity and researcher at AC3E, Dr. Paul Délano, said that this alliance is a great opportunity to develop innovation and research projects, both in the biomedical area and in the area of hospital management. “This is a center whose main distinction is that it has no limit in the ability to develop hardware or equipment, so this joint work will allow us to plan new projects that can improve the efficiency of our hospital, innovate and that translates into a great solution for our patients. This is a research group that is very strong in electronics and, therefore, there are many medical devices that could potentially be developed in our country,” he concluded.
