Brussels has set up a new Hospital Innovation Centre within the Brussels University Hospital (H.U.B). The aim is to help the hospital identify its innovation needs and provide concrete solutions by creating a tailor-made pilot solution with healthcare professionals, patients, and businesses. It’s time to take stock of this project, which has been running for two years in collaboration with hub.brussels, the Brussels Agency for Entrepreneurship.
Following a call for applications issued to Brussels hospitals in February 2022, it was the Brussels University Hospital (H.U.B) that was selected to develop this pilot project, led by lifetech.brussels, the hub.brussels cluster dedicated to health, with the support of the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund – www.feder.brussels). The project is designed to respond to a twofold observation: the world of business and the world of hospitals do not speak the same language, yet they need a direct connection if they are to develop innovation within hospitals.
Thanks to an unprecedented 24-month collaboration around this new Hospital Innovation Centre, we have been able to develop a win-win innovation process, enabling companies to co-create and test in situ solutions that meet the needs of hospitals, carers, and their patients. In this way, we have been able to reduce the gap between the innovations produced and those that are actually integrated into healthcare institutions.
Improving Comfort for Patients and Carers
The center is pursuing two key objectives: fostering a culture of innovation within the hospital and developing a sustainable innovation process. To achieve this, we designed a 2035 Vision of Innovation document for the hospital and an action plan to put it into practice. We then tested the innovation process methodology through a pilot study focused on reducing the number of monitoring wires and cables for patients undergoing lung resection or esophagectomy.
The RDS solution, which won the contract, was implemented in the relevant H.U.B unit, on a sample of 25 patients. This initiative improved patient mobility, facilitated post-operative care and optimized nursing time. Additionally, it enabled remote monitoring of patients’ vital signs, providing greater responsiveness and more accurate tracking of post-operative developments. Throughout this period, specific support was provided by lifetech.brussels and its partners in terms of project management, contacts with the business world, and innovation strategy.
This first trial was accompanied by the broadcasting of 10 inspiring videos on innovation in healthcare institutions filmed in 4 countries and the publication of a practical step-by-step guide on how to innovate in healthcare institutions (available on www.lifetech.brussels/en/innovationcenter/).
When Business and Health Come Together
‘In Brussels, the health sector stands out for its high and growing indicator values in the dynamics of entrepreneurship and employment. So it’s natural that hub.brussels should develop projects that support its deployment, especially as these have a direct impact on the people of Brussels. This sector is one of the biggest providers of jobs in our region. It’s up to us to support these players so that this remains the case, while helping to ensure that healthcare remains high-quality and accessible through innovation and contacts between practitioners and healthcare entrepreneurs’, explains Isabelle Grippa, CEO of hub.brussels.
This Innovation Centre at Brussels University Hospital is a pioneering initiative; it aims at inspiring other hospitals to develop both a genuine culture of innovation and a sustainable innovation process. This initiative is also contributing to establishing the Belgian capital as a center of excellence in healthcare.
