Global leaders join forces with academics from IGHI at an IdeasLab session at the 2014 World Economic Forum

As science has added years to people's lives, how can technology add quality to those years?

This was the question put to the Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) last week at an interactive IdeasLab session at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The World Economic Forum brings together top business leaders, international politicians, academics and journalists to discuss the most pressing challenges facing the world. IdeasLab sessions allow experts from the world’s leading universities to address specific issues of importance with a high profile audience.

The Imperial IdeasLab investigated the role of life-enhancing technologies in improving the quality of patients’ lives by looking at four specific topics. Professor Jeremy Nicholson spoke on “the precision patient”; Professor Barbara Sahakian of the University of Cambridge spoke on cognition enhancement and stimulation; Professor Guang-Zhong Yang spoke on robotics and integrated care; and Dr Dominic King spoke on behaviour change and mHealth. Each presenter had five minutes to present their idea in a highly visual format followed by individual break-out sessions with an audience of CEOs, policymakers and other leaders from around the world.

Philip Campbell, the Editor-in-Chief of Nature, moderated the session and the importance of work in this area was introduced by Professor the Lord Ara Darzi, Director of IGHI. 

“Imperial College London is at the forefront of developing the next generation of health- enhancing technologies and the Davos IdeasLab allows us to present our work in a powerful global platform. The presentations were well-received and helped connect us to key decision-makers who can support our work in this important area,” said Lord Darzi.

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