The Finnish Society for Medical Physics and Medical Engineering turns 30!
The Finnish Society for Medical Physics and Medical Engineering (FS-MPME) held their 30-year celebratory symposium in Helsinki on 2 October, 1998. The symposium was held at the House of Sciences. The event attracted head speakers and a distinguished panel of experts from academia, industry, the Academy of Finland and TEKES Technology Development Centre.
The main topic of the symposium was the strategic guidelines of medical physics and engineering in the 21st century in Finland. Some points raised during the day included:
The Academy of Finland (main source for public funding for basic research) does not have specific quotas for medical physics and biomedical engineering. Because medical physics and biomedical engineering is such a multidisciplinary field, funds are awarded under different grant programmes e.g. computer sciences or biotechnology research programmes.
TEKES Technology Development Centre (the main source of public funding for applied and industrial R&D) grants funds for the development of demonstration and prototype-stage technology. However, insufficient funding is available for the final phase required to bring products to the market. A greater willingness for risk-taking was also voiced.
The share of exports from Finland of medical physics and biomedical engineering-based products and services is over twice that of pharmaceutical exports.
Greater co-operation between industry and academia was called for. This would benefit both parties, because R&D in Finland is very cost-effective as compared for instance to the US (as quoted by industrial representatives involved in R&D both in Finland and abroad).
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The Research School projects raised a lot of discussion. The Schools will most likely continue in their present form, but there is room for growth and a greater number of participants. The multidisciplinary nature of medical physics and biomedical engineering is an essential asset in developing commercial products, because the development covers several fields of science and expertise: idea > theory > product development > clinical validation > finished product. |
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The symposium concluded with an official gala dinner at the restaurant
Amadeus (menu: Horn Chanterelle Soup, Roast Deer Chops with Calvados
Sauce, Home-made Ice Cream in Almond Basket. Wine: 1991 Ch.Haut-Canteloup,
Cru Bourgeois, Medoc.) As can be gathered from the menu, the evening was
also a success. The governing body of FS-MPME awarded in a small ceremony
the official standard of the society to Prof. Jaakko Malmivuo and Prof.
Lauri Patomäki, and in absentia to Dr. Pekka Karp and Dr. Niilo
Saranummi for their long-standing efforts for the benefit of Medical
Physics and Medical Engineering in Finland. The evening continued late
into the night (or should we say
morning?) at numerous additional sites around Helsinki.
Kari Mäkelä
Secretary
Finnish Society for Medical Physics and Medical Engineering
Websites: http://eptek.sthol.fi
http://www.ee.tut.fi/