Ten years of biomedical engineering research at INESC TEC

In 2014, INESC TEC decided to invest in a new area of research: biomedical engineering. In that sense, a new research Centre was established in the Institute – which, over the past decade, has been advancing national and international research in this domain.

Here are some important milestones: four spin-offs (with +€12M of capital raised, +25 highly qualified scientific jobs), seven patent families (with +50 registered patents, +25 licensed to the industry), more than 400 scientific publications, five clinical studies in several national and international hospitals. And, in 2024, a new goal: the first European project coordinated by INESC TEC in the healthcare area (AI4Lungs).

The group – established in 2014 with approximately 15 people – currently welcomes 68 people dedicated to this INESC TEC research Centre, who have made a significant contribution to health research.

“The creation of this Centre, from the ‘seed’ BRAIN (Biomedical Research And INnovation) group, allowed us to accelerate the creation of our science-based innovation model and obtain a set of impactful scientific results that we integrated into the social and business sectors of our region, and even outside Portugal. That was exactly what we had in mind when we decided to create this research Centre at INESC TEC, and defined our strategic cornerstones”, said João Paulo Cunha, who was the founder of BRAIN and co-founded this research Centre – where he currently acts as coordinator.

“All this was only possible with the passionate participation of all our coordinators, researchers and students who, over the years, gave it all to the Centre’s success, supported by important strategic lines and the excellent work of the assistants and the services, as well as the leaders of INESC TEC throughout this decade”, he mentioned.

To observe these years of research in biomedical engineering, the researchers organised a celebration event, where they promoted a series of presentations and scientific debates, in a moment of sharing about the work that is currently underway. But there was also time for some socialising, teambuilding, and a pleasant dinner. João Claro, Chairman of the Board and CEO of INESC TEC, and José Manuel Mendonça, former Chairman of the institution, also attended the event.

The researchers mentioned in this news piece are associated with INESC TEC and UP-FEUP.