STRONGER industry-academia partnerships will accelerate translation of medical engineering research and innovation into technologies that serve healthcare and society.
Penang tourism and creative economy committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said medical engineering brought together medicine, science, technology, engineering and industry.
“Advances in areas such as medical devices, biomedical instrumentation, digital healthcare, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, rehabilitation technology and advanced manufacturing are transforming how healthcare is delivered.
“Healthcare innovation is not just about developing new technologies but it is about developing technologies that are safe, reliable, affordable, accessible and capable of improving people’s lives,” he said during the opening ceremony of the two-day International Symposium of Medical Engineering Research (ISoMER 2026) in George Town.
Wong said the symposium’s theme “Intelligent Medical Engineering for a Human-Centred Society 5.0” was aimed at helping develop technology that could serve the public in a safe, affordable and reliable manner.
The symposium organised by Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) through the Sports Engineering Research Centre (SERC) was essential in advancing medical technology (MedTech), he said.
“Bringing together leading researchers, industry players, government agencies and international experts in medical engineering and healthcare technology is the way to go.
“Collaboration between universities, research institutions, healthcare providers, regulators and industry is important.
“An idea in a laboratory must eventually find its way into the real world.
“It must be tested, validated, manufactured, regulated and trusted by patients and healthcare professionals.”
Wong said growing healthcare challenges, from an ageing population and emerging diseases to rising costs and demand for personalised, accessible care, required a new approach.
“Medical engineering has an important role to play, but these challenges cannot be addressed by any single university, industry, country or discipline.
“The future of healthcare innovation depends on collaboration between engineers and doctors, universities and industry, researchers and entrepreneurs and countries,” he said.
He hoped the symposium would generate new ideas, strengthen existing partnerships and inspire the next generation of researchers and innovators in medical engineering.
UniMAP vice-chancellor Datuk Prof Dr Zaliman Sauli said organisations participating in the symposium included representatives from Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation, Malaysian Investment Development Authority, Social Security Organisation, Malaysian Medical Device Manufacturers Association and Malaysian Medical Industries Association.
“The symposium serves as a platform to strengthen collaboration among academia, industry, healthcare stakeholders and government agencies, while supporting the growth of Malaysia’s biomedical engineering, medical device and MedTech ecosystem,” he said.
“This symposium brought together around 100 participants, both physically here in Penang and virtually from different parts of the world.”
He said the international participants were from countries such as Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, India and the US.
“This reflects the growing international interest in medical engineering research.
“This symposium brings together medical researchers and experts to explore emerging areas in medical engineering, including AI, biomedical signals and image processing, biomechanics, biomaterials, bioinformatics, medical robotics and smart healthcare technologies,” he added.
