With the global mobile-health (m-health) market expected to reach US$10.2bn by 2018, an event will be taking place at the Science Gallery in Dublin next Monday to explore the opportunities for Irish mobile technology companies and connected health firms to go down the m-health route.
According to a report from Transparency Market Research, the global m-health market could grow at a compound annual rate of almost 42pc between 2012 and 2018 to reach US$10.2bn. The research points to how the surge in the m-health market is being driven by the increasing adoption of smartphones, the growth in wireless connectivity, new devices and user interfaces.
Against that backdrop, Mobile Monday (MoMo), an open networking organisation for those from the mobile industry, is teaming up with Enterprise Ireland to host the event on m-health at the Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin next Monday, 11 February, from 2pm until 5pm.
Mobile tech and connected health
So who is the event targeted at? According to Robert Bushnell, a senior development adviser for Communications and Digital Content at Enterprise Ireland, the aim is to attract mobile-technology companies in the business of mobile communications, but who haven’t yet done anything in the health sector.
“The event will also be targeted at connected health companies who are providing IT-based solutions for the healthcare marketplace but who have not mobilised their solutions,” he said.
“It’s going to be a really big sector. You’ve got an ageing population and then, on the other side, you have rising healthcare costs so there is the drive for the personalisation of healthcare,” said Bushnell.
He said both mobile-tech firms and those operating in the connected health space will need to engage to capitalise on m-health opportunities.
Bushnell will be speaking at next week’s event on future trends for m-health and the opportunities for Irish companies.
Other speakers on the day will include Kieran Daly from Shimmer Research, a company that was set up in 2008 to design and develop wearable wireless sensors.
Daly will be covering how to bring m-health from the lab to the consumer.
Vodafone Ireland’s Lorna Brady and John Kelly will be speaking about m-health from the company’s perspective.
Dr Brian Caulfield, the director of the TRIL (Technology Research for Independent Living) centre at University College Dublin, and Godfrey Fletcher, who is CEO of Vu2Vu, will be covering the latest technological developments in the m-health space.
Finally, Nick Guldemond, a board member Epposi (European Platform for Patients’ Organisations, Science & Industry), will be sharing his insights on the role of m-health in the current healthcare paradigm shift.
Next Monday’s event at the Science Gallery will be free to attend but companies must first register.
Siliconrepublic.com is hosting Med Tech Focus, an initiative which over coming months will cover news, reports, interviews and videos, documenting Ireland’s leading role in one of the hottest sectors in technology.
Digital health image via Shutterstock
