The A-PATCH Final Seminar took place in Tampere Finland last week both virtually online and on-site. The seminar began with an introduction to the A-PATCH journey and a demonstration of how the A-PATCH device works in action. The audience at site had the opportunity to hold and see the patch for themselves and see how the measurements are displayed on the computer while the patch sensors are reading and measuring.
The two-day seminar was planned to promote knowledge-sharing across various public-funded research projects, public health professionals and industry representatives in the field of digital health and infectious diseases, mainly focused on but not limited to point-of care technologies for the diagnosis of tuberculosis. Thus, the program was composed of different modalities of engagement activities, such as panel discussions, presentations, roundtables and co-creation labs. The A-PATCH seminar attracted about 60 professionals from several research institutions, companies, hospitals and NGOs, and was applauded for good organization, interactive sessions and the high quality of presentations.
Ethics and the responsibilities of researchers as well as the health tech industry were prominent themes throughout the two-day seminar. Panelists and speakers during both days highlighted the importance of including social science experts and community representatives to better inform research practices, and the need for new digital health technologies to serve the purpose of closing the health inequity gap. For that purpose, lasting, sustainable, as well as fast and easy to use health technology, such as the A-PATCH, is needed to improve access to preliminary diagnosis not only regarding tuberculosis, but also other bacterial infections.
Missed the seminar? Watch recordings of the panels and presentations from the YouTube links below!
Day 1 (Tuesday 7th of June): https://youtu.be/U8XrEjkBPuw
Day 2 (Wednesday 8th of June): https://youtu.be/EbTh5j8drok
