The modernisation of pharmacies was under discussion — with valuable inputs by INESC TEC

The modernisation of pharmacies was under discussion — with valuable inputs by INESC TEC

The cross-fertilisation and the technological updating of pharmacies were two key contributions highlighted by INESC TEC researchers at the event that took place at Alfândega in Porto. The event also featured the presentation of some results of the HfPT – Health from Portugal agenda.

02nd December 2024

It was only the first edition of the Altantic Health Wellness Summit, the event that aimed to create a “revolutionary platform where the future of health and well-being is reimagined”. Close to 300 participants joined this two-day initiative, towards establishing bridges between healthcare and technology. INESC TEC was represented at this event, and according to Carlos Ferreira, TEC4Health business developer, “it was important to establish some business contacts with potential partners”.

“In an era significantly dominated by AI developments, it is crucial that pharmacies modernise and adopt some of the solutions that have been integrated into our daily lives. Cross-fertilisation – i.e., the adaptation of successful practices from other sectors – is one option,” mentioned the researcher.

Cross-fertilisation was actually the main theme of José Carlos Caldeira‘s speech; the consultant to the INESC TEC Chairperson focused on Access to Innovation and Cross Fertilization. The agenda also included a presentation by Miguel Coimbra, coordinator of TEC4Health and researcher at the Institute, under the motto Technology changing processes in Healthcare. Both speeches focused on the need to modernise this sector, showing how INESC TEC contributes in this research field.

“INESC TEC’s projects contribute to this field by exploring automated shipment recommendation systems, optimisation of transportation routes, virtual assistants, preventive healthcare platforms, IoT devices for inventory management and data collection through PoC devices,” explained Carlos Ferreira.

Diogo Miguel Matos, INESC TEC researcher in Industrial Robotics and Intelligent Systems, had the opportunity to disseminate some research results on the mobilising agenda of the HfPT Recovery and Resilience Plan. The work, which aims to develop mobile robotics to transport medicines, is in line with previous INESC TEC projects in this research line. The project is scheduled to end in December next year, and the next phase will be pilot in real-world environments.

The researchers mentioned in this news piece are associated with INESC TEC and UP-FCUP.