MAYNOOTH UNIVERSITY
Its initiatives span from practical applications of AI to the development of open-source healthcare platforms , demonstrating the potential for academic institutions to drive industry-wide change .
“ Our mission is to drive a structural change in the way companies and organisations and governments get value from technology ,” explains Martin . “ It ’ s about solving real world problems , but also then contributing to and taking advantage of the academic literature .”
COVID-19 : Disrupting tradition in healthcare Industry challenges remain from the COVID-19 pandemic , where countless systemic vulnerabilities were exposed . This , in turn , has accelerated the push toward digital transformation in healthcare delivery .
The pandemic also pushed rapid innovation at the Health Service Executive ( HSE ), where Martin was Director of the Digital Transformation and Open Innovation . Within 48 hours , his team deployed remote monitoring solutions for patients with COVID with an Irish SME PatientMPower , followed by automated real-time respiration rate monitoring that provided early warning of patient deterioration .
“ Working with SME PMD Solutions we put novel respiratory technology into 23 hospitals in four months . One of our top clinical engineers said that , in peace time , that might ’ ve taken five years or never happened at all ,” Martin says .
“ Our mission is to drive a structural change in the way companies and organisations and governments get value from technology ”
MARTIN CURLEY , PROFESSOR OF INNOVATION , MAYNOOTH UNIVERSITY
The pandemic highlighted structural issues in healthcare delivery . “ The healthcare system in the US has some of the most advanced equipment and facilities . But what happened during COVID was that the hospitals started to empty , but their for-profit business model depended on the hospitals being full ,” Martin explains .
What the pandemic also highlighted is that these traditional healthcare models – built around hospital-centric care and reactive treatment – are struggling to meet contemporary demands . In fact , the World Health Organisation ( WHO ) reports that half the global population lacks access to essential health services , while developed nations grapple with unsustainable cost and demand increases .
96 February 2025