Minnesota and Seattle trip report

In the week of 16-20 April, de Brabantse Ontwikkelingsmaatschappij (BOM), OostNL and Liof organised a trade mission to Medical Alley in Minnesota in the US. 17 Innovative MedTech companies were invited to an inspiring programme in the premier MedTech hotspot of the US, and smartQare was there!

What was on the programme?

Visits to major Medical Technology incubators, such as Mayo Clinic, Medtronic, Philips, Boston Scientific and the University of Minnesota. There were also Match Making and networking events with US parties and visits to the Design of Medical Devices Conference.

The visit to Mayo Clinic was particularly interesting for smartQare. Mayo Clinic has existed for more than 100 years and is listed as the best hospital in the US on many lists. Mainly because they are very progressive in clinical practice, research and education. There were meetings with both US doctors and innovation managers as well as Dutch doctors, some who have been working at the hospital for more than 20 years. Exploration of opportunities for collaboration in clinical science and further development of viQtor is currently taking place.

Minister Ernst Kuipers and a delegation from his ministry were also along on this trade mission. We are grateful for the opportunities offered to us in this US ecosystem for MedTech and the connections we were able to make both in the US and within the group, which included 16 fellow MedTech companies as well as Dutch investment companies and relevant government parties.

This was followed by a visit in Seattle to a potential partner for the North American market. In several workshops we explored how use of viQtor could suit their target group(s).

Meanwhile, we continue to work hard on our FDA approval, which we hope to obtain in the course of this year. After obtaining FDA approval, viQtor will be ready for sale in this promising US market.