When we think of medical excellence in the Cape, we often first think of the world’s first heart transplant performed by Dr Chris Barnard at Groote Schuur hospital, but the Cape Town region is a vibrant hub for medical technology and biomedical innovation with multiple groundbreaking developments.
The CAT (computer assisted tomography) scanner was developed by Allan MacLeod Cormack, a UCT researcher and Godfrey Hounsfield, a biomedical engineer from the UK. Allan had published algorithms to measure the attenuation of X-rays passing through the body, while Godfrey invented computed axial tomography scan which resulted in them winning the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1979. Andrew Bailey, Senior Manager: Innovation at UCT said, “It is through the pioneering specialists that a culture of excellence was created at UCT which then attracted other researchers. It is also cross-faculty collaborations such as that between engineering and health sciences, where some of the ground-breaking research is taking place.”
The Cape Town region benefits from a collaborative ecosystem of four universities, two academic hospitals and the Medical Research Council. With the strong health sciences faculties at the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University, the region is home to about 45% of local medical technology companies commercialising inventions. Rowan Joseph, patent lawyer at Von Seidels, Intellectual Property Attorneys, said, “The medical technology innovation coming out of UCT and Stellenbosch is really impressive and at the highest level. Products such as Kit Vaughan’s Cape Ray breast digital imaging system, Prof George Vicatos’ facial reconstruction system (implants designed for anatomical reconstruction of the skeleton), and Prof Peter Zilla’s Strait Access Technologies heart valve placement and repair devices, are world leading technologies.”
More opportunities exist in the medical device sector as 76% of medical device products are imported. Cape Town institutions also combine biomedical innovation with other fields such as data science and artificial intelligence. This is exemplified by initiatives to use AI for diagnosing diseases through imaging and big data analytics for public health trends. Notable Cape Town startups are focussing on health tech solutions such as AI-driven diagnostics.
