Innovation in health care in many ways
This is the draft of the welcome remarks I will deliver this coming Saturday, upon instructions of Dr Dom Velasco and Scientist Kim Simon
Good afternoon guests;
Dr Francisco Chung, Ph.D, Dr. Rene Catan MD MBA, Dra. Gloan Adolor, Mr. Cedric Ng, CEO of Ominifab, colleagues at MBAH, entrep students, other AGSB students and their guests, friends of AGSB.
Welcome to the Medical Innovation forum organized and sponsored by MBAH entrep class, led by Dr Dom Velasco and Scientist Kim Semon.
Talk about innovation and entrepreneurship. We define, and this is one of the definitions,entrepreneurship is about innovation, it is about creating new products, its about creating something from nothing, as in Magic (Disney) Talk about serendipity
3d printing
We initially thought of this event as a classroom activity by having 3d printing machine presentation from teh supplier. But the discussion went on and on to include medical applications
Thus we were able able contact Mr. Cedric Ng of Ominifab and he initially referred a spine surgeon to talk about 3d printing application. But he is not available because he is fully booked because of his innovative method n spine surgery
It was timely that when we planned this, the Shanghai convention of 3d printers, involving about a 100 firms showed great promise in medicine and medical technology. The papers said that in 10 years time, the medical side of 3d ;printing could be as much as $200 billion. The breakthrough would be in bio printing, where the technology could be a game changer.
Some common applications in medicine where most of you are involved, are in implants, bandages, and even in customized eyeglass (not to mention use in fashion)
In my discussion with the CEO of Omnifab, applications of the technology, aside from medical are in aerospace, metallurgy, defense, and rapid prototyping. I believe that more widespread use of 3d printing will level up our capacity in terms of design, manufacturing and many more
Regenerative Medicine
This is about stem cells and molecular biology. There is department in a Makati Hospital who employ topnotch scientists in this field. I do not know much about this. The only anecdote I heard is about the former Dean of this School and a professor with kidney failure who lived longer and had a better quality of life due to stem cell.
From what I heard, they are planning to bring down its cost from zillions to only hundreds of thousand. This I heard from the initiative of a scientist entrepreneur to be who is with us this afternoon
Entrepreneurship
In the Creativity and Design training attended by yours truly (sponsored by AGSB) Tina Sellig of Stanford U (the school of Larry Page the chief of Google) at Bangkok Thailand several years back, the 3d printer was mentioned as a modern tool for rapid prototyping. This is now the buzz word for Lean Start up by Eric Ries. The 3d printer cuts by several processes, and months the time it takes from concept to prototype and perhaps Alpha testing.
Thus, my dream for teaching entrepreneurship would be to have a 3d printer lab in the school, or connect to a lab which has a 3d printer for rapid prototyping (there are such firms now?)
Fortunately for us, I heard that plans are abuzz about a govt agency involved in science and technology who will invest zillions just to make sure that we have the tools and equipmet that will be propel Philippines to the next level of design and manufacturing prowess. I hope this pushes through.
One of the speakers is a graduate of MBAH and of this subject. He has blazed trail for the Philippines in terms of knee joint replacement. He was recognized by BBC and IdeaSpace for his innovation. He will inspire and motivate us to pursue innovations in medical science and technology. We are proud of his achievement not only about his research and game changing technology but may be he benefited from his training in MBAH and entrepreneurship.
Lastly I would like to ask as what Pres Duterte asked when he took his oath of office. Why are we here?
We are here for nation building (the AGSB Mantra) A healthy nation is a wealthy nation. By learning new technology: we can
1. Use modern and effective methods and materials to cure
2. Bringing down costs of advanced medical care and technology
3. Lessen suffering and pain
And for most entrep and business students, all we can say is that presidents come and go, but entrepreneurs and businessmen are here to stay. And many of the strides we have made in economy and business achievements are perhaps due to the many little things we do today, unnoticed by mainstream media and the public.
Thank you
