1st European Digital Medicine Conference Kicks Off at Uni.lu

On Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 October 2022, the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) of the University of Luxembourg, in collaboration with the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) and the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL), is organising the first European Digital Medicine Conference on the Belval Campus of the University of Luxembourg.

The two-day conference brings together over 150 participants including scientists and experts from healthcare providers and healthtech industries from France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, amongst others. There are a total of 24 Speakers abd panelists at this event.

The conference is taking place under the theme “Evidence-based medicine in digital therapeutics” and aims to increase scientific exchanges and collaborations with European and international experts on digital health tools for improved personalised patient care and new policy landscapes.

Prof Jochen Klucken, Head of Digital Medicine Group at the University of Luxembourg (LCSB), LIH and CHL, speaking to Chronicle.lu said that this conference aims to bring together people who work on the digital transformation of medicine. He explained: “It is not only researchers and scientists but also companies, startups, policymakers, regulatory bodies and even patients, healthcare professionals and people in education, they all need to learn and shape the future of medicine which can be a digitally supported medicine”.

Speaking about his Digital Medicine Group and of digital medicine in general in Luxembourg, Prof Klucken emphasised: “I think this is exactly what is needed, to figure out what is the research part, what is the translation part and what is the clinical part of digital medicine. And this is what is represented by these three institutions [LCSB, LIH and CHL] and I am very fortunate, and this is what I also learned in Germany, to bring these three aspects together and it has to be a joint effort. And this is what I see in Luxembourg, it is a great opportunity”.

Opening the conference on Wednesday afternoon, Prof Klucken welcomed all participants and addressed the need for digital medicine. In his opinion, digital medicine is already underway in terms of smart wearables and health specific medical devices available to consumers, but there is a general need for all citizens and policymakers to understand and familiarise themselves with what digital medicine is and how it will shape in future. He briefly explained digitalisation in medicine and healthcare and the need for careful attention to address the concerns of all actors involved and create value for patients and healthcare professionals with digital health for citizens and digital medicine for patients.

The conference continued with the first of four sessions spread over two days, which include session themes on “Translation into European Markets”, “Digital Medicine Innovation”, “New Digital HealthCare services-Market access” and “Data-driven Healthcare” as part of the EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology) Health Forum. The EIT Health Forum aims to harmonise the innovative health technology assessment procedures across Europe.

The first day will conclude with a networking walking dinner, including an industry exhibition and poster session.

Further details, including the full programme, are available at: https://digitalmedicineconference.uni.lu/.