Lu Pei-jung (center), deputy executive secretary of the NSTC’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, is joined by Taipei Representative Office in Germany Head Shieh Jhy-wey (fifth right) during the Taiwan Smart Health Pavilion opening ceremony Nov. 11 in Düsseldorf. (Courtesy of NSTC)

A delegation from Taiwan is attending this year’s MEDICA, one of the world’s largest medical trade fairs, running Nov. 11-14 in the German city of Düsseldorf to showcase the country’s smart health care capabilities and expand global business opportunities.

Lu Pei-jung, deputy executive secretary of the Office of Science and Technology Policy under the Cabinet-level National Science and Technology Council, led the contingent, the NSTC said, adding that this is the third time the agency has participated in the trade fair.

On the first day of the event, the Taiwan Smart Health Pavilion was launched, with Taiwan Representative to Germany Shieh Jhy-wey in attendance.

In his remarks, Lu noted that the NSTC has been fostering interdisciplinary cooperation between the biomedicine and information and communications technology sectors for many years, which has successfully forged a smart medical ecosystem.

The pavilion brought together six hospitals and 28 businesses to demonstrate cutting-edge technologies in eldercare, home care, personalized health management, precision medicine and smart surgery. The Hsinchu County-based Huijia Health Corporation in northern Taiwan, for instance, is showing a remote health management and smart sensing system that conducts real-time physiological data tracking for senior patients, among other products.

Prior to the expo, the NSTC facilitated a collaboration agreement between Hsinchu County-headquartered CytoAurora Biotechnologies and Paris-based cancer research institution Institut Curie. The project is one of several coordinated by the council to pave the way for Taiwan’s medical businesses to enter the European Union market.

The NSTC vowed to continue promoting interministerial and joint academic, medical and research collaboration in line with President Lai Ching-te’s Healthy Taiwan policy. (POC-E)