Irish Government Pumps in €5 million to Boost Technology in Healthcare Delivery with New Center

The government of Ireland has decided to make a €5 million investment in to bring about a change in the way healthcare services in the country are currently delivered. The Applied Research for Connected Health Technology Centre will play an integral role in this transformation.

ARCH, which is based in the University College Dublin, will see researchers from a myriad of branches collaborate on connected health projects. The team of researchers will feature experts from engineering, policy and economics, clinical and technology. The project will receive inputs from the University of Limerick as well as a number of other institutes that provide higher education. Simply stated, the project will see all leading institutes with connected healthcare capabilities collaborate on this ambitious project. 

Connected health entails the use of connecting technologies (such as the internet and mobile phones) to deliver healthcare applications and treatments in a novel manner. Moving forward, the internet of things concept will also play a central role in healthcare delivery, and the Irish government is already taking measures to be prepared for this technological change.

This multi-million euro project will see copious use of technologies such as alarm systems, sensors, monitoring devices, data management systems and health informatics being integrated on a much wider scale in the country’s existing healthcare systems.

According to Richard Bruton, Ireland’s Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation minister, the healthcare industry is key to the growth of the country, and forms an integral part of the Action Plan for Jobs – a program that aims to increase employment numbers in the country. 

The minister said besides bringing the best research talent and industry representatives together, technology center is being considered as an effective way to create more jobs in the area surrounding it. Over the next few months, the program is expected to introduce innovative technologies and models that can be seamlessly implemented in the Irish healthcare industry.