Center for Health Technologies begins at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Digitization not only affects private and working life, but also influences and changes the entire healthcare system. In order to achieve sustainable and medical-technical 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 Center “Health Technologies” (KITHealthTech) 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 for the benefit of society, focusing on its medical needs.
In the future, the location of medical care will increasingly shift from doctor’s practices 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 Center “Health Technologies”, more than 150 KIT scientists from various disciplines such as medical technology, additive manufacturing, robotics, life sciences and data science 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 field of digitization or robotics, offers us many new opportunities,” says the President of KIT, Professor Holger Hanselka. “The comprehensive competencies of our researchers help to overcome disciplinary boundaries in order to shape, develop and establish the healthcare system of the future.”
“The wide range of expertise and the 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. “We primarily want to combine basic research in various areas with applications in health technologies. We are thus responding to the needs of an aging society, supplemented by modern and new offers for research-oriented studies.”
Interdisciplinary cooperation advances research
“In order to develop successful digital and technological solutions for our future global health challenges, we not only need comprehensive technical and social skills. We also work closely with clinic networks, health insurance companies, and regulatory authorities,” adds Professor Andrea Robitzki, who is responsible for the KIT Center Health Technologies 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. This is how we want to create a unique ecosystem.”
The researchers from almost all centers, areas, and faculties of KIT contribute their interdisciplinary expertise in 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 diagnosis systems, biomaterials, precision medicine for personalized therapy, but also on cyber security to protect health data or digital health.