EARTO Working Group on Healthcare Technologies Meets in Vilnius

On September 23–24, the EARTO Working Group on Emerging Technologies for Healthcare held its biannual meeting at the Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC) in Vilnius. The group brings together experts from across Europe to discuss the strategic role of health technologies within EU research programmes.

FTMC, a member of EARTO since 2019, was represented by Prof. Rasa Pauliukaitė of the Department of Nanoengineering. Participants included representatives from leading European RTOs such as IMEC (Belgium), Tecnalia (Spain), CEA (France), Metrosert (Estonia), VTT (Finland), the Tyndall National Institute (Ireland), and AIT (Austria), as well as RTO Lithuania.

“These meetings are a great opportunity to explore each RTO’s capabilities and foster partnerships for future EU projects,” noted Prof. R. Pauliukaitė.

The group addressed key challenges in the field, including the commercialisation of healthcare technologies and disparities in innovation levels across European regions due to regulatory differences. Special focus was placed on underfunded yet crucial areas such as rehabilitation technologies and the integration of AI, sensors, and digital tools in patient care. The meeting ended with a tour through scientific laboratories of FTMC.

Viktorija Reinikovaitė, a PhD student at the Bioelectrical Phenomena Laboratory of the Department of Functional Materials and Electronics at FTMC, with EARTO representatives and “RTO Lithuania” Director Rasa Kulvietienė (second from the right). Photo by FTMC.