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Manel Jovells, Althaia CEO; Valentí Martínez; general director at FUB, and Albert Giralt, Avinent CEO (Photo: Althaia).
 08.07.2021

Avinent, Althaia Foundation and FUB–UManresa create an innovation hub for personalized medicine

TheAvinent company, present in the Barcelona Science Park, Althaia Foundation, and the Fundació Universitària del Bages (FUB)–UManresa have joined forces to create MAP+, an innovation and technology hub at the service of personalized medicine and healthcare. The expertise of the three driving organizations allows to generate an ecosystem of innovation and technology where companies, universities, administrations and social organizations of the territory are integrated with the aim of developing and validating new technologies that serve to introduce improvements in medicine and in personalized patient care.

MAP+ wants to enhance technological knowledge and promote the transfer of new technologies to the health and social sectors. Specifically, the aim is to promote the application of new technologies that can ensure better patient safety, for example, by reducing the time of exposure to anesthetics, reducing infections, pain and post-surgical complications.

It also wants to improve the care and well-being of users with better and greater coverage of their needs. For example, through the new uses that can be given to 3D technology or virtual and augmented reality so that they become a more accurate diagnostic tool, they help to determine a better treatment and a more personalized rehabilitation. Technologies, such as 3D printing, also allow you to customize prostheses, templates or crutches and adapt them to the needs of each user.

A reference hub

MAP+ is a project rooted in Bages that wants to become a reference pole in the technology sector in the field of health and social. In fact, the initiative, in addition to improving patient care, also aims to boost entrepreneurship, increase the competitiveness of companies in the territory, generate skilled jobs, retain talent and promote teaching and research related to new technologies.

Therefore, the project, supported by the Manresa City Council, Bages County Council and the Manresa Chamber of Commerce, seeks the collaboration of different actors in the territory to introduce improvements in medicine and l personalized attention to the county that can translate into benefits for society.

The main lines of work of MAP+ are the tech experience, to develop, test and validate the technology; collaboration with medical technology companies; education, teaching and training; innovation, research, recruitment and retention of talent; and collaboration with health, socio-health and dependency care centers to adapt the applicability of the technology and establish plans in relation to the one that is most appropriate in each case.

Technological experiences

Althaia, the FUB and Avinent work in a coordinated way with the collaboration of other companies and institutions in order to validate different technologies, make them implemented in a safe and appropriate way or, also, to discover new uses of technologies. initially not designed for the health and social sectors.

We are currently working on projects related to 3D technology, robotics, artificial intelligence or immersive experiences. The MAP+ makes visible some of these technological experiences through the Tech experience as one of the objectives is to make visible the developed technology and show its uses through sensory experiences so that attendees can better understand how it works, l applicability and benefits.

This space is aimed at students, professionals, entrepreneurs, organizations, administrations so that they can see and understand the different initiatives and projects in operation, as well as proposing new ones to explore together.

Photo: Althaia Foundation.