A new €34.3m research centre based at University of Galway will focus on developing healthcare technologies for chronic disease management and supporting their commercialisation in Ireland’s north and west.
The Accelerating Research to Commercialisation (ARC) Hub for Healthtech will develop smart implants — devices placed inside the body to monitor or treat medical conditions — alongside wearable medical devices and AI- and machine learning-driven health modelling tools.
The hub aims to bridge the gap between academic research and market-ready solutions by equipping scientists and engineers with the skills and commercial insight needed to develop new technologies. It will also support the transition of Research Ireland-funded projects into nearer-to-market programmes.
Minister for further and higher education, research, innovation and science James Lawless said: “Enhancing the existing academic-enterprise healthcare and technology ecosystems, the ARC Hub will deliver a suite of impactful, on-the-ground supports, benefitting everyone in the process – researchers, engineers, technologists, manufacturers, clinicians, physicians and, critically, patients.
“The provision and delivery of appropriate and effective healthcare is, by its very nature, time-sensitive.
“The ARC Hub for Healthtech will play an instrumental role in accelerating the commercialisation of research and getting health solutions to those that need them, faster.”
Led by professor Garry Duffy at University of Galway, the initiative is a collaboration with Atlantic Technological University and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
It forms part of Ireland’s National Smart Specialisation Strategy for Innovation, which promotes regional solutions to national research and development challenges.
The investment is jointly funded by the Irish government and the European Regional Development Fund.
It follows two ARC hubs launched earlier this year: a €31.6m therapeutics hub at Trinity College Dublin and an ICT hub at TU Dublin, with combined funding of €63.8m.
Interdisciplinary research teams will receive support to accelerate clinical testing and commercial pathways, including access to regulatory advice and connections with healthcare and industry stakeholders.
Research Ireland interim chief executive Celine Fitzgerald said: “The Research Ireland ARC Hub Programme is spearheading regional development across the country.
“Following on from the joint launch of ARC Hubs for both therapeutics and ICT in February, the ARC Hub for Healthtech opens up enormous opportunities in the immediate and longer terms for the northern and western region – its citizens and its healthcare, research and enterprise communities.”
In addition to developing new products, the hub will train entrepreneurial scientists and engineers.
Technologies under development include advanced biosensors — tools that detect biological signals — and machine learning systems that support predictive diagnostics or personalised treatments based on patient data.
