The UAB and iVascular create a research chair in surgery

The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and iVascular, a Barcelona-based company specialising in the design and manufacture of medical devices, have signed a collaboration agreement that has led to the creation of the Research Chair in Surgery, attached to the Department of Surgery of the UAB Faculty of Medicine.

The objective of the agreement is to establish a strategic collaboration between both entities for the promotion of research activities, generation of synergies, scientific exchange and knowledge transfer in a key area in clinical practice and health outcomes such as surgery.

In the words of Professor Salvador Navarro Soto, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the UAB, "In recent years it has been demonstrated that research in medicine must be extended to innovation and collaboration with industry. Undoubtedly, the synergy between our faculty and the company iVascular, personalised in the Research Chair in Surgery directed by UAB Department of Surgery Professor José María Balibrea, provides a response to these needs."

"iVascular collaborates since its inception in collaborative projects at all levels and from all areas of R&D, technical and engineering knowledge, which help to advance, improve, innovate and above all create value. Our goal is to value and support our talent, creativity and innovation to progress and provide access to new products that improve the lives of patients," says Lluís Duocastella, CEO and founder of iVascular.

The planned chair activities include studies in the field of robotic surgery, and the implementation of an international training course on innovation and value creation in surgical research, which will lead to the creation of the 'School of Innovation in Surgery'. This project contemplates the participation of personalities of maximum world relevance in this field of research in order to provide useful training to health professionals.

"For us to be able to collaborate with a company with the prestige and leadership in innovation as iVascular is a great opportunity to be able to contribute real value through applied clinical research. This public-private alliance demonstrates once again that collaboration between university and industry is not only necessary from the point of view of the viability of research, but also helps to give meaning to university work and relocate it in a much more real social context than the merely academic", defines Professor José María Balibrea.

iVascular

iVascular is a company founded in 2010 in Sant Vicenç del Horts, Barcelona, with the aim of developing state-of-the-art medical devices for the treatment of vascular pathologies in three areas of application: interventional cardiology, endovascular interventionism and neuroradiology. It was created to become one of the leading companies in the sector by enhancing the value of technology and is one of the few companies worldwide capable of developing its own devices from initial concept to final production. Today it occupies a leading position in the sector and has more than 1,500 product references that are used in hospitals around the world. It is estimated that they will have improved the quality of life of more than 2 million people by 2025. More information at www.ivascular.global.