The Danish National Health Service is under pressure, with increasing numbers of elderly suffering from chronic disorders and a growing demand for healthcare services. A new research centre will develop and test healthcare technologies that can improve the quality of life for patients and ease the pressure on the healthcare system.
Around 1.5 million Danes currently suffer from chronic illnesses such as arthritis, asthma, allergies, or heart disease. For many of these patients, personal health technology will mean an easier everyday life and a reduction in the number of outpatient visits and readmissions. The Copenhagen Centre for Health Technology (CACHET) is the result of a partnership involving the Capital Region of Denmark, the City of Copenhagen, the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, and Technical University of Denmark.
At the centre, hospitals and health care professionals will work together with technical and health science research environments to develop and test health technologies that benefit citizens with chronic illnesses, says Professor Jakob E. Bardram, Head of the The Copenhagen Centre for Health Technology:
"It is essential that we work together to find solutions to the health challenges facing society."
Professor Jakob Eyvind Bardram, DTU Compute
“It is essential that we work together to find solutions to the health challenges facing society. Here, personal health technology, which the patient wears or carries, will be a key element. Centre cooperation will ensure that researchers with an idea for a new technology can introduce it very quickly into the clinical world and get feedback on how well it works and how it needs to be developed,” he says.
Working in close cooperation with innovation environments and the private sector, the centre also aims to contribute to increased growth by developing healthcare technologies with a wide application that can help to drive business growth in the region.