New KIT center for health technologies launched
02.03.2023 15:37
Digitalization not only affects private and working life, but it also influences and changes entire healthcare. In order to achieve sustainable medical technology progress to maintain health, citizens will have to work more closely with doctors and researchers in the future. In order to promote this transformation process, the “Health Technologies” Center (KIT-HealthTech) is starting at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The aim is to develop digital and technological solutions for medical devices from the perspective and benefit of society, focusing on its medical needs.
In the future, the location of medical care will increasingly shift from doctor's offices and clinics to patients' homes with the help of e-health, telemedicine and wearables. This requires new, digital and innovative technologies and infrastructures. In the new KIT “Health Technologies” center, more than 153 KIT scientists from a wide range of disciplines such as medical technology, additive manufacturing, robotics, life sciences and data sciences work closely together to accelerate research in this field.
“With the new center, we are actively addressing the needs of the population and the healthcare system. The constant change, for example in the area of digitalization or robotics, offers us many new opportunities,” says the President of KIT, Professor Holger Hanselka. “The comprehensive skills of our researchers help to overcome disciplinary boundaries in order to design, develop and establish the healthcare system of the future.”
“The broad expertise and diverse activities at KIT form the basis for expanding the topic of health technologies in a coordinated manner,” says Professor Oliver Kraft, Vice President for Research at KIT. “Above all, we want to combine basic research in various areas with applications in health technologies. We are responding to the needs of an aging society, supplemented by modern and new offerings for research-oriented study.”
Cross-disciplinary collaboration advances research
“To develop successful digital and technological solutions for our future global health challenges, we need more than just comprehensive technical and social skills. We also work closely with clinic networks, health insurance companies and licensing authorities,” adds Professor Andrea Robitzki, responsible department head for the KIT Health Technologies Center at KIT. “Our vision is that patients and citizens of the region interact directly with doctors and clinics as well as other players in the healthcare system in the greater Karlsruhe area. We want to create a unique ecosystem.”
The researchers from almost all centers, areas and faculties at KIT contribute their cross-disciplinary expertise to three subject areas: technology for precision medicine, holistic and individualized care for patients, and digital health. They work on humanoid robotics, exoskeletons, accelerator technologies for radiation diagnostic systems, biomaterials, precision medicine for personalized therapy, but also on cybersecurity to protect health data or digital health.