University of Valencia

Academic, scientific or professional interest: There is no doubt that the unstoppable progress of medicine and other technical services during the second half of the 20th century would not have been possible without the concurrent contribution of new and advanced technologies, which have allowed for the development of new solutions to medical and social problems related to illness and disability, from the viewpoint of efficiency, effectiveness and safety. However, these advances have brought about problems related to resource management, information systems and communication in the social and public health field. The global concept of social and public health technologies is obviously very broad and is generically related to everything that implies innovation for health or, in a broader sense, the quality of care for the population, and is directed to people who have a disease and even to population sectors that require special care, such as the elderly. In this context, the proper selection and use of technology, along with scientific research and technological development and innovation, are fundamental instruments for the improvement of health, welfare and quality of life, not only in absolute terms, but for the optimisation of social benefits. Biomedical engineering is the discipline that applies engineering principles and methods to understand, define and solve problems in biology and medicine. The demand for engineers for the conception, design, creation, testing and certification, marketing, installation, maintenance, calibration, repair, modification and training in the use of medical equipment and instruments has grown at the same time that advances in medical technology have raised questions about its effectiveness, efficiency and safety.