ABP Brain Day at HealthTech Week 2023

10 Aug

“Collaborate, Accelerate, Differentiate” was the theme for this year’s HealthTech Week conference, held 26th – 29th June 2023. The Te Tītoki Mataora (TTM) and ABP team put together a fantastic programme to celebrate this theme, with many talks, panels, and collaborative activities to keep the attendees engaged across the four days.

Some highlights from the ABP day programme included:

Sharon Rickard and Lila O’Farrell sharing the kaupapa of Te Aho Tapu Trust (a Māori Psychological Service provider) and grounding us for the day’s mahi with a mindfulness exercise.
Our Screening & Diagnostics session provided many insights into the neurotechnology developments in Aotearoa, including new screening technology for blood-based mRNA biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease (Prof Joanna Williams), the use of EEG for managing tinnitus (Prof Grant Searchfield), and how digital technology can be used for health screening (Dr Marc Gutenstein).
Prime Minister’s Science Prize winner Valery Feigin, of AUT’s National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences (NISAN), spoke on his team’s digital solutions for stroke prevention.
Our Wearable Neurotechnologies showcase allowed our attendees to experience first-hand various neurotech in action with our round-robin interactive session.
Our final session focused on the path to developing financially sustainable technologies, beginning with an enlightening talk from Natalia Lopez, COO of Kitea Health, on the importance of meeting need when developing technologies that will survive in the market.
Chloe Wright, of the Wright Family Foundation, closed the day with a moving talk on how to pitch your ideas in a way that will appeal to funders. Her takeaway message? You must have passion, enthusiasm, and a great story!

E mihi ana to the programme committee from ABP, Prof Yusuf Cakmak, Dr Hamid Abbasi, Dr Sharon Olsen, Prof Joanna Williams, Sam Guy, and Prof Cliff Abraham, and to the HealthTech Week Operations Team, Kate Ormerod, Ella Dixon, Natalie Solomona, Nina Petterson-Fox, Sophie Mathiesen and Diana Siew for all their mahi.