Inauguration of the NIB's physical space - Tuesday October 20, 1998, 08:30 - Hospital de Clínicas, 15th floor, Room 2

The panel consisted of:

• Prof. Ing. Rafael Guarga, university rector
• Dr. José Miguel Belizán, Director of the CLAP
• Prof. Dr. Walter Alallón, Director of the Hospital de Clínicas
• Prof. Dr. Ricardo Ehrlich, Dean of the Faculty of Sciences
• Prof. Ing. María Simón, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering
• Prof. Dr. Luis Calegari, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
• Prof. Ing. Rafael Canetti, Faculty of Engineering y CSIC
• Prof. Dr. Eduardo Touya, past Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
• Dr. Henry Cohen supplies Dr. Enrique Besada, President of the Executive Committee del HC
• Prof. Dr. Héctor Píriz, Director of the Physiopatology Department
• NIB members: Prof. Agr. Dr. Fernando Nieto, Prof. Agr. Ing. Gregory Randall (absent due to travel) and Prof. Agr. Ing. Franco Simini

Speech by Prof. Agr. Ing. Franco Simini, coordinator of the Núcleo de Ingeniería Biomédica:

Good morning and thank you for the large attendance at this presentation of the NIB. The NIB is an academic structure that responds to two faculties of our University, the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Engineering. As this is a new development, a commitment to a new way of working, the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Engineering felt the need to analyse the path they have taken. On the occasion of the inauguration of new premises provided by CLAP (Centro Latinoamericano de Perinatología y Desarrollo Humano OPS/OMS) as part of their collaboration, we have prepared this condensed data for your evaluation.

We are grateful for the support of CLAP, in whose classrooms we currently find ourselves, which as an expression of the willingness of the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Health, to cooperate with us in the preparation of this report. of the Ministry of Public Health, PAHO/WHO and our University, is an integral part of this teaching and research effort. teaching and research effort. The director of CLAP who welcomes us is Dr. José Miguel Belizán.

We are grateful to the Hospital de Clínicas, with whose clinics and departments the NIB collaborates intensively as we shall see, to enable us to realise concrete projects and to be a source of creative inspiration by sharing care and research needs. The Hospital de Clínicas is among us in the person of its director Prof. Dr. Alallón and the President of its Board of Directors, Dr. Enrique Besada, represented today by Dr. Henry Cohen.

We thank the Faculties of Medicine and Engineering whose teachers contribute to the university work with constant dedication and desire for improvement. With us this morning are Professor Engineer María Simón and Prof. Dr. Luis Calegari, whose presence we would like to thank.

On this day we must especially thank the Faculty of Science which, in the person of its dean Prof. Dr. Ricardo Ehrlich, wanted to join us to reaffirm the commitment of the science teachers who participated with great generosity to the common task in seminars and specific advice on specific topics.

In the Faculty of Medicine, there are many partners and the list is too long; however, there is a vocation to cooperate with the Department of Physiopathology (Prof. Dr. Héctor Píriz) due to geographical and methodological proximity and the natural complementarity of their competencies. In the Faculty of Engineering, the Department that supports and backs up our work is the Department of Industrial Control and Electronics (Prof. Ing. Rafael Canetti).

The activities of the NIB are constantly supported by CLAP (PAHO/WHO); the NIB is implementing a CONICYT project and was able to hire 5 lecturers for two years thanks to the competitive award of funding from the Institutional Strengthening programme of the Sectoral Commission for Scientific Research (CSIC).

This presentation is possible thanks to the efforts of many people whom we thank here: the Hospital's cleaning staff, the telephone section and the entire maintenance team on floor 6. On the 4th floor, the team of students, computer scholarship holders and librarians will allow us to see the website of the Biomedical Engineering Nucleus on this giant screen of the CLAP. Special thanks to the Electronic Section, the general services group and all the CLAP staff for the coordinated tasks carried out with great efficiency. coordinated tasks carried out with great efficiency.

Special thanks to the clinical and research groups with whom we've defined and then built prototypes for medical use over the years: this work wouldn't have been possible without the contribution of the students who dedicate themselves to this task with enthusiasm and dedication.

Recognised and formally initiated by the deans Ing. Abete and Dr. Carlevaro, the NIB has been consolidated by the joint action of the deans Dr. Touya and Ing. Our multidisciplinary task with a view to creating a reference of excellence in health services, closely related to research and teaching, is naturally framed by the organisation proposed by the Medical Centre project. Thus, the total dedication to university activity that we are privileged to be able to maintain constitutes a foretaste of the status of driving force, reference and spearhead that we want for our HC in the entire health system of Uruguay, with a projection of complementarity in the region.

Last but not least, we would like to thank the Rector of the University, Prof. Ing. Rafael Guarga for his enthusiastic acceptance of our invitation.

This meeting will now continue with the presentation of some slides describing the activities of the NIB, after which those members of the table who so wish will address a few words to us, which must necessarily be telegraphic, as the Rector has other commitments to attend to just after 9 o'clock. Before his departure, we will have the pleasure of accompanying them on a brief tour of the three laboratories just a few metres from here, in room 2 of this 15th floor.

Eng. Rafael Canetti highlights the research and development efforts shared by two faculties.

Eng. Rafael Guarga (Rector of the University) points out that joint ventures are expansive in the modern university because of their success and their multiplying power.

Dr. J.M. Belizán presented the vocation of CLAP as a pioneering centre in Latin America and its willingness to cooperate in research.

Eng. Franco Simini presented slides with descriptions of the biomedical equipment developed and on the activities of the NIB: Seminar and Course on Biomedical Engineering, certification of equipment for clinical use and research.

Eng. María Simón (Dean of Engineering) highlights the achievements obtained and proposes the continuity of the positions in the Biomedical Engineering Nucleus that are currently term positions.

Dr. Luis Calegari (Dean of Medicine) agrees with Dean Simón on the need to give continuity to the economic effort of the faculties to maintain the NIB in activity.

Visit of the Rector, the other members of the board and attendees in general to the NIB laboratories where the instruments and the development infrastructure were presented.

The NIB teachers were present: Fernando Nieto, Pablo Musé, Rafael Sanguinetti, Franco Simini and Martín Vallarino.

It is estimated that 40 people attended, including HC professors, medical teachers, teachers from the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Sciences, representatives of the press, students and businessmen from the biomedical equipment industry.

At 9:15 a.m., the Rector leaves, and an informal academic exchange takes place among those present.