MIMIT and NHS Teams Visit CIMIT - Learn About CIMIT Model

Representatives of MIMIT (Manchester: Integrating Medicine and Innovative Technology) and the NHS National Technology Adoption Hub visited CIMIT in Boston for a three-day series of meetings on March 10-12, 2008. The purpose of the visit was to help UK-based health professionals prepare to accelerate their initiatives in medical innovation.

CIMIT is the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology. MIMIT has formed a strategic affiliation with CIMIT to adapt the original CIMIT concept into a transferable model for translational research in the UK. A thriving multi-disciplinary organization developing innovation could result in a pipeline of new healthcare developments, which would contribute to the care of patients and facilitate the establishment of Manchester as Translational Medical Centre.

Representatives from the UK participated in numerous learning sessions, including those on the roles of site miners, the value of education programs and the successful 10-year history of the CIMIT Forum. Visitors also toured the Operating Room of the Future at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The visit also included programmatic overviews by CIMIT investigators in the fields of biodetection, tissue engineering and otolaryngology. They also participated in workshops on strategic communications, the industry liaison program, research management and intellectual property protection.

The three-day visit concluded with a seminar and reception hosted by the UK Consulate in Cambridge, Massachusetts where UK speakers outlined some of the health-care initiatives planned for coming years.