From Cloud to Edge: Building the Next Generation of Intelligent Medical Devices
Description
As medical devices transition from passive monitors to active partners in patient care, a critical architectural paradigm shift is required. Historically, medical IoT relied heavily on backhauling massive volumes of patient data to centralized cloud environments. However, the constraints of network latency, bandwidth overheads, and stringent data sovereignty laws mean this centralized model can no longer support life-critical, split-second medical decisions. To meet the demands of modern clinical pathways, computational intelligence must move closer to the point of care. This session explores how the convergence of Cloud/Edge IoT and appropriate AI approaches such as TinyML is transforming next-generation medical devices, enabling complex neural networks to run locally on ultra-low-power microcontrollers directly at the patient’s bedside. Ireland is home to development, manufacturing, and service operations for 18 of the top 25 global medical device companies and its relevance is highlighted in the Digital for Care A Digital Health Framework for Ireland 2024-2030 of the An Roinn Sláinte – Department of Health. The session will ground these concepts within the European and Irish MedTech manufacturing footprint, highlighting how local innovation aligns with pioneering national and European frameworks to build a Trust-by-Design Made-in-Europe healthcare ecosystem.
Discussion Points
- Irish MedTech Ecosystem, bridging data science with human-centered health outcomes
- The European Ambition, linked to data privacy and sovereignity
- Technical approaches: Trustworthy and Resource-frugal AI, CEI Continuum and distributed architecture
Target Audience: Data and Healthcare Professionals, MedTech Engineers, Embedded Systems Developers, Clinical Innovation Officers, and Regulatory Compliance Officers.
Moderator
Carmel McGroarty Mitchell, Rinn AI, University of Galway
Introductory talk
Rob Smeets, Director Public-Private Partnerships at Philips
Title: “Intelligent medical devices to improve patient and staff experience”.
Panel
Giampaolo Pileggi – NEC Laboratories Europe
Bryan Hansen – Medtronic
Mick McCann – JANUS / Data2Sustain / Rinn AI, ATU
John O’Gorman – S3 Connected Health
Heike Vornhagen – Rinn AI, University of Galway
Session leads:
- Rob Smeets (Philips) / Saurav Baidya (Philips)
- Julia Palma (UCD – CeADAR)
- Edward Curry (Insight-Centre)
