Biomaterials To welcome the Independence over Medical Devices

Biomaterials-related research, which is useful in the support of medical equipment in the home begin to come up, conducted by Higher Education Universities in Indonesia including the IPB. However, such research results have not been much directly felt by the public, especially biomaterials for medical devices. For this reason, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (Faculty) IPB cooperated with PT BIN-BATAN, LIPI, BPPT and held a National Seminar on Biomaterials 2012 with the theme "Welcoming the independence of Medical Devices in Indonesia", in IPB International Convention Center, Bogor, 11/9.

IPB Rector in his speech said that IPB has a major contribution to innovations in Indonesia. This can be seen from the winning of awards from the Research and Technology Ministry and Business Innovation Center, in which around 101 to 104 innovations are almost dominated by IPB researchers, including those related to biomaterials. However, only about 10 percent of the research results are felt beneficial by the community, according to Rector. Therefore, it is necessary to have the support at the national level. Additionally, Rector hopes through this seminar various parties can work hand in hand so that research results can be present and applicable in the community, while the researchers can continue to explore the potential of Indonesia’s natural resource for biomaterials.

Meanwhile, Director General of Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices, Ministry of Health, Dra. Maura Linda S, Phd said, at present 90 per cent of medical equipment in the home country is still dependent on import. Apart from that, research carried out is still so weak that it cannot support the infrastructure of medical devices in the country, she said. Therefore, she hopes this seminar can provide inputs to the government, especially in the context of the independence over medical equipment in Indonesia, particularly given the increasing need for medical equipment in the country.
 
The event was attended by researchers from IPB, Airlangga University, UTM Malaysia, government agencies, industries and private agencies across Indonesia.