Chungnam, Fostering Medical Robot and Regenerative Medicine Industries

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is set to foster companies related to medical robots and regenerative medicine industries.

According to the province on the 8th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy recently selected the province’s projects, “Establishment of Track Record for Intelligent Prosthetic Assistance and Medical Automatic Mobility Devices” and “Establishment of Demonstration and Product Approval Support System for Regenerative and Reconstructive Industrial Technologies,” in the ‘2021 Industrial Innovation Infrastructure Establishment Project’ public contest.

The establishment of track records for intelligent prosthetic assistance and medical automatic mobility devices aims to respond to the growth of the global medical robot market by integrating 4th industrial technologies to evaluate the safety and reliability of intelligent prosthetic assistive devices and medical automatic mobility devices and to secure real-use data.

Definition of Intelligent Assistive Devices and Medical Automatic Mobility Devices and Related Industrial Fields. Provided by Chungnam Province

The main projects to be promoted by the province include ▲construction of a center and establishment of testing and evaluation equipment for intelligent prosthetic arms and legs ▲support for product design and prototype production ▲support for approval and demonstration technologies for product safety evaluation ▲support for clinical field effectiveness evaluation centered on medical staff ▲establishment of track records for intelligent prosthetic assistance and medical automatic mobility devices ▲provision of customized track records for companies ▲participation in international exhibitions and export support.

The project is led by the Konyang University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, with participation from the Korea Testing Laboratory, Daejeon University Cheonan Korean Medicine Hospital, Asan Medical Center, and Central Veterans Hospital. A budget of 28 billion KRW, including 10 billion KRW in national funds, is expected to be invested in this project.

The establishment of demonstration and product approval support systems for regenerative and reconstructive industrial technologies focuses on building a demonstration complex for regenerative and reconstructive medical products and technologies in Chungnam to promote related industrial growth.

Regenerative and reconstructive industrial technologies are based on fundamental concepts and technologies of biotechnology, medicine, and engineering to create biological tissue substitutes that are transplanted to restore or improve the function of damaged tissues or organs. Representative related industries include advanced bio-materials, 3D bio-printing medical devices, artificial bones, dental prosthetics, and artificial organs.

Definition of Recycling and Reconstruction Industrial Technology and Related Industrial Fields. Provided by Chungnam Province

Through the regenerative and reconstructive industrial technology demonstration and product approval support project, the province plans to ▲establish international-level regenerative and reconstructive medical device demonstration infrastructure ▲produce prototypes based on 3D bio-printing for product commercialization ▲provide customized regenerative and reconstructive medical demonstration support ▲support approval based on international standards ▲support various demonstration evaluations ▲support clinical-linked demonstrations ▲and support the advancement of core technology projects.

This project is led by the Korea Testing Laboratory, with participation from the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Dankook University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. The total project cost is expected to be 29.5 billion KRW, including 10 billion KRW in national funds.

The province expects economic ripple effects such as 123.6 billion KRW in local production inducement effects, 49.6 billion KRW in added value inducement effects, and 621 jobs created through these two projects.

A provincial official said, “We will ensure that the medical robot and regenerative medicine fostering projects are linked with the regional smart human bio industry and healthcare industry to play a role in driving continuous growth.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.