Thursday 8 October 2026 09:00 - 12:45
On October 8th 2026, Prof. Dr. Boony Thio, pediatric pulmonologist at Medisch Spectrum Twente, will deliver his inaugural lecture upon appointment as Professor of eHealth at the University of Twente. To mark this occasion, an interdisciplinary symposium will be held focusing on the transformative potential of eHealth in clinical care.
Prof. Thio’s research focuses on detecting clinical alterations in disease activity in pediatric asthma by measuring physiological dynamics, including work conducted in the AIRCON exercise lab, where high-potential home diagnostics are being validated. In addition, his work aims to improve the quality of clinical decision-making through eHealth methodologies. Over 300,000 children in the Netherlands are affected by asthma, a leading cause of preventable hospital admissions. While eHealth has shown clear benefits in improving quality and efficiency across chronic diseases, implementation in daily practice remains limited.
This symposium will address key barriers to adoption and highlight lessons learned from the digital transformation of pediatric asthma care, with relevance for other chronic diseases. The speakers will outline practical strategies for integrating eHealth into clinical practice.
General information
The programme
- 09:00 - 09:15: Walk-in and welcome
- 09:15 - 09:30: Welcome and Opening | Prof.dr. Monique Tabak - University of Twente & ZGT
- 09:30 - 09:55: Hospital of the future | Prof.dr. Harald Vonkeman - MST & University of Twente
- 09:55 - 10:20: Universal methodology of remote care | Dr. Tanja Vogel - MST
- 10:20 - 10:45: Transformation of care supported by AI | Dr. Elin Kersten - UMCG
- 10:45 - 11:10: Health technology and home monitoring | Prof.dr. Job van Boven - UMCG
- 11:10 - 11:35: The healthy city | Prof.dr. Miriam Vollenbroek - MST & University of Twente & Roelof Bleker - Municipality of Enschede
- 11:35 - 12:45: Lunch incl. informarket - If you would like to attend Vera Hengeveld’s PhD defence, you will need to leave here by 12:15 at the latest.
This symposium is part of the day's programme, which includes:
- 12:30 - 15:00: PhD defence of Vera Hengeveld
- 15:00 - 18:00: Inaugural lecture of Prof.dr. Boony Thio
Organisation
This symposium is organised in close collaboration between the research group Biomedical Signals and Systems (BSS) at the University of Twente's TechMed Centre and Medisch Spectrum Twente (MST).
BSS is a multidisciplinary research group focused on solving medical challenges through signal and system analysis, combining advanced sensor technology with in-depth knowledge of the human body to develop eHealth solutions for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The group works closely with hospital partners, including MST, to translate this research into clinical practice. Medisch Spectrum Twente is a leading regional hospital that combines high-quality patient care with a strong commitment to innovation and applied research.
