The King’s College London (KCL) School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences (BMEIS) showcased their latest innovations in healthcare technology between 12 and 14 October at New Scientist Live 2024.
The ‘Hospital of the Future’ invited visitors to explore the future of healthcare technologies and explore the School’s mission to engineer better health through interactive technology and experiments.
Held at ExCel London, New Scientist Live is the UK’s largest science festival, welcoming over 22,000 visitors annually. King’s’ ‘Hospital of the Future‘ was voted as the annual event’s most popular exhibit in 2022 and 2023.
BMEIS exhibited their research with the help of over 100 volunteers from across the School. Interactive demonstrations, ranging from robotics to imaging and AI systems, were on display.
“Obviously a lot of our funding comes from the public, be it from taxation or donations. It’s important that we effectively let our funders know what we’re doing with it, in terms of the future of healthcare,” Professor Kawal Rhode, Head of Education at BMEIS, told Roar.
When asked about their goals for the exhibit, Rhode highlighted the importance of public engagement to scientific research: “One key takeaway we want [visitors] to have from today is an insight into the future of society, and also to know that people are working extensively to tackle some of the large-scale problems, like the aging population, cardiovascular disease, cancer, infectious disease, and so on. These [solutions] won’t come today—maybe in 10 or 20 years, but it gives society a sense of security for the future”.
Being at a world-leading research institution, Rhode
stressed that King’s students have the opportunity to shape society’s future
for the better:
“When you’re here as a student at King’s, what you’re really learning is how to tackle the problems society faces. You need to be the people that are going to be bringing these solutions.”
For more of Roar’s coverage of New Scientist Live 2024, click here.
News Editor. Final-year MSci Physics and Philosophy student at King's College London, with a keen interest in science communication, and the intersection of science, philosophy, and society.
