UTTechMedTechMed CentreNewsDCVA visit 30 May 2023

DCVA visit 30 May 2023

On May 30th 2023 the Dutch Cardio Vascular Alliance (DCVA) visited partner UT. During a full-day program, organized by Anneliene Jonker and Mariska van den Berg (TechMed Centre funding officers), relevant cardiovascular research, infrastructure and education at UT were presented and visited. 

The DCVA board was welcomed by Maroeska Rovers, who started with an overview presentation that showed how education, research and infrastructure come together at UT, TechMed Centre, and strengthen each other. 

During the day, several UT researchers presented their CVD-research;

  • Frank Halfwerk presented his research on the interface of cardiology and cardio-thoracic surgery and emphasized the relevance and importance of technical medicine.
  • Derya Demirtas presented her research on strategic location planning of AEDs, and Jelmer Wolterink showed the possibilities of artificial intelligence for CVD research.
  • Cardiovascular simulators to test new therapeutic strategies for CVD were presented by Libera Fresiello and Marijn Mulder. They also demonstrated the in-house cardio-thoracic vascular simulator.
  • Islam Khalil gave another demonstration. He showed a miniature robot to visualize the future of micro-robotics for Minimally Invasive Surgery, such as the treatment of below-knee acute limb ischemia.
  • Erik Koffijberg finished with a presentation on Health Technology Assessment and his view on how to assess the impact of a collaboration like DCVA.

In addition, during the lunch, the researchers joined in a discussion, together with the DCVA experts, and DCVA experts Verena Schwach and Robert Passier. It showed that the research presented was only a small share of the CVD-relevant research activities at the UT.  It is estimated that over 40 researchers are working on CVD, distributed over many faculties and research groups. 

The DCVA representatives also got a tour through the TechMed Centre, visiting the e-health house and OK facilities. Michelle Heijblom introduced the vascular surgical education programme (CASH3V) and gave a tour of the simulation labs. DCVA visitors were very enthusiastic about these education facilities and wanted to explore cardio-field opportunities. 

At the end of the day, Jolien Roos, Chair of the DCVA, concluded that this visit has made her more aware of the scope of what UT has to offer to the cardiovascular field and the added value of having the TU’s as DCVA-partner. 

For UT researchers: In case you are interested in getting to know your UT colleagues who work on CVD, please send an email to:  Mariska van den Berg.