- Dean’s Message
- Expressions Winter 2023
Technology - The Next Frontier
Transforming healthcare through interdisciplinary research and innovation
Modern Dentistry would not be possible without the technologies available today. Examples may include, new materials, intraoral scanners, 3D milling and printing, digital radiography, and electronic health records, just to name a few. Many of these technologies were developed by established corporations or startups. The contribution from universities was often focused on the safety and efficacy assessment and provided the evidence needed for the adoption in clinical practice and coverage by third-party payors. Our Institute for Advanced Dentistry, with its Central Research Laboratories and Clinical Research Centre, plays an important role in this.
The Central Research Laboratories provide extensive facilities to support the research activities of faculty and students.
To create new opportunities for our staff and students to get involved more upstream in the development of dental and medical technologies, we have started a Biomedical Engineering Initiative in close collaboration with the Faculties of Engineering and Medicine. It brings together interdisciplinary teams of staff and students with the goal to create new solutions for important clinical problems. Several research postgraduate students already have been enrolled under the Initiative and the first international symposium on “Humanizing Biomedical Engineering” will be held in June 2024 (www.bmesymposium.hk). Clinicians and scientists from all fields are welcome to attend this exciting event and join one of the teams working on the next big thing in health technology.
To create new opportunities for our staff and students to get involved more upstream in the development of dental and medical technologies, we have started a Biomedical Engineering Initiative in close collaboration with the Faculties of Engineering and Medicine.
The Clinical Research Centre aims to facilitate translational and clinical research.
Our Biomedical Engineering Initiative is not only timely but also in line with the Government’s Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint for Hong Kong. The recently announced funding for the establishment of Life and Health Technology Research Institutes and the set-up of a Clinical Trial Institute provides an unprecedented opportunity to leverage our collective expertise in Dentistry, Engineering, and Medicine to build a world-class health technology cluster. Together with the vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem and large capital markets in Hong Kong and the advanced manufacturing base in the Greater Bay Area, the region is poised to spawn innovation and transform healthcare.
I look forward to seeing many of our staff and students take advantage of these exciting opportunities, become innovators and successful entrepreneurs, and contribute to improving outcomes of and access to healthcare in Hong Kong, Greater China, and beyond.
Professor Thomas Flemmig
Kingboard Professor in Advanced Dentistry
Dean of HKU Faculty of Dentistry