Keynotes & Speakers

The pitfalls and roller coaster road of a medical device entrepreneur.

Amir Szold - Medical Director at Assia Medical Group

Planned on: 30 October, Plenary programme part 1, 10.20 - 10.50.

Presentation: In the presentation I will discuss the pitfalls and roller coaster road of a medical device entrepeneaur.

Biography: Amir Szold, MD, is a pioneer laparoscopic surgeon, trained in surgery in Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem and Mount Sinai Medical Center New York. In the late 90’s he was the founder and first president of the Israeli Society of Endoscopic Surgery, and was recently a Board Member, and the Technology Committee Chairman, European Association of Endoscopic Surgeons, and Board Member, Israeli Society of Surgeons. He currently serves on the Steering Committee of iSMIT, and a member in the Technology Committee of SAGES.

Dr. Szold is heavily involved in medical innovation. He is the Founder, advisor and board member in multiple medical device startup companies in Israel and Europe, covering fields of 3D vision, robotics, soft tissue replacements, surgical glues, laser technology, smart materials and laparoscopic devices.  He is also the Founder and Medical Director of Assia Medical Group in Tel Aviv, and the founder and current advisor of the Physicians for Human Rights volunteer clinic for illegal immigrants and refugees, Tel Aviv, Israel.

My organisation: Assia Medical Group is a private practice dealing with interventional medicine in Tel Aviv, Istrael.

More information about Assia Medical Group. 

Funding Breakthru Innovation In Surgical Robotics

Dennis McWilliams - Venture Partner at Santé Ventures

PLANNED ON: 30 OCTOBER, PLENARY PROGRAMME PART 3, 17.00 - 17.30.

Presetation: Mr. McWilliams will talk thru the process of medical device innovation, and specifically how breakthru innovations are developed and funded. He will also discuss current trends in medical robotics and how investors and large corporate players perceive the space.

Biography: Mr. McWilliams is a serial entrepreneur in the medical device and biotech. His last company was a pioneer in the world of flexible endoscopic minimally invasive surgery. He is a Venture Partner at Santé Ventures and resides in Austin Texas.

My organisation: Santé Ventures is an early stage venture capital fund that invests exclusively in medical technology. The fund has over $500mm US under management and invests in medical devices, biopharmaceuticals, and healthcare services.

More information about Santé Ventures. 

Innovation in Medical Robotics

Cyrill von Tiesenhausen - Business Development Manager at KUKA Deutschland GmbH.

PLANNED ON: 31 OCTOBER, PLENARY PROGRAMME, 09.30 - 10.00.

Presentation: The presentation will give an overview over current developments in Medical robotics in multiple application fields. We will see a broad range where robotics can be used already today, from diagnosis to radiation therapy, surgery, interventional procedures to rehabilitation and logistics. There will also be an outlook on what is the current focus in research institutes around the world that are developing new ideas using robotic devices.

Biography: Cyrill von Tiesenhausen is a Business Development Manager for Medical Robotics at KUKA. He joined KUKA in 2011, in this time, he focused on robotic solutions in the medical field, especially for interventional and surgical procedures. This growing market consists of large companies that already have medical products as well as startups and universities. Together with these companies, he develops solutions that push the boundaries of medical applications with robotic technology. Cyrill received a PhD (Dr.-Ing.) from the Technical University Berlin on his research in navigation systems for maxillofacial surgery. Before working for KUKA, he was Product Manager for a software company that develops client-server solutions for radiologic data visualization.

My organisation: KUKA is a global automation corporation with sales of around EUR 3.2 billion and around 14,200 employees. As a leading global supplier of intelligent automation solutions KUKA offers its customers everything from a single source: from robots and cells to fully automated systems and their net-working in markets such as automotive, electronics, general industry, consumer goods, e-commerce/retail and healthcare. The KUKA Group is headquartered in Augsburg, Germany.

More information about KUKA Deutschland GmbH.

Keynote: The H2020 call & the reference testing facilities

Magda Szwochertowska - European Commission DG Connect 
Olivier da Costa - Project Officer at European Commission / DG CONNECT / A1 "Robotics & AI".

PLANNED ON: 30 OCTOBER, PLENARY PROGRAMME PART 3, 17.30 - 18.00.

Presentation: This presentation will be about the H2020 call on smart hospital of the future and about the reference testing facilities in future DEP as healthcare is one of the sectors under discussion.

Keynote talk

Silvana Perretta - Professor of Surgery, University of Strasbourg, Director of Education IRCAD-IHU.

PLANNED ON: 31 OCTOBER, PLENARY PROGRAMME , 10.00 - 10.30.