CIMTI launched! The Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technologies in Catalonia
The objective of CIMTI is to highlight innovation of the health and social system by promoting projects that have a great impact on the improvement and welfare of patients.
The Minister of Health of Catalonia, Antoni ComÃn, presided this morning the presentation ceremony of the Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technologies in Catalonia (CIMTI.cat) that was created with the aim of improving the positioning of Catalonia in terms of innovation in health. During his presentation, he emphasized that projects such as CIMTI “enhance the ecosystem of innovation in the Catalan health sector and improve its global positioning.”
The Minister of Health explained that the concept of innovation is linked to that of internationalization and in this sense he added that “we must put innovation at the level of our research.” On the other hand, Antoni ComÃn also pointed out that “health innovation must be an engine for transforming the economic and social model of this country”.
The CIMTI aims to generate new solutions of high social impact in the field of medical-technological devices from disruptive initiatives of international scope. In this sense, it brings together the knowledge of clinicians and technicians to help the research organizations of the Catalan Healthcare System to promote the development, commercialization and adoption of new technologies and medical devices for the treatment of the main health problems.
Each year, an international external and independent expert committee will select between 10 and 20 projects that will be developed in the centre. These projects will receive specialized technical support to maximize the impact on the healthcare system
Another challenge is to facilitate the internationalization of the product. The solutions that are designed in Catalonia can and must be offered to the world. This pioneering commitment will also enable Catalonia to be a world exponent in innovation.
The CIMTI has been promoted by LEITAT with the support of the Department of Health of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Agency for Quality and Health Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS). The Center enjoys a strategic alliance with Boston CIMIT (Consortium of medical and technological innovation), a success story that has managed to bring innovative initiatives to patients through collaboration between experts.