Roadshow in Spain.
It’s been three weeks already since Lise and I were in Spain. It was a busy week full of meetings, which will help with the adoption of Path Finder in Spain.
We began the trip in the Basque Country, in Zamudio technology park, where we met with SPRI (Business Development Agency of the Basque Government), Basque Health Cluster, BIOEF (Basque Foundation for Health Innovation and Research) and Tecnalia (research & technology organisation). This gave us a clear understanding of the MedTech industry ecosystem and who the main entities are, that we need to speak with.
We also got to visit Tecnalia's facilities in Donostia (San Sebastian), where we met with other startups that are advancing the development of different medical devices. Here, in San Sebastian, we met with the head of innovation of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa. In addition, we were able to meet with the neurologists of Donostia Hospital, receive feedback from them on Path Finder, and take our collaboration a step further by beginning to access the public health service.
Once the visits in the Basque Country finished, we thought we would finally be leaving the bad weather behind. Much to our surprise though, we arrived in Madrid in the middle of a rain storm! Luckily for us, the meeting with neurologists from HM CINAC and Hospital La Moraleja - Sanitas, went much better than the weather. Both hospitals have Path Finder and will start using it with their patients.
In Madrid we also visited CEAPAT (The State Reference Centre for Personal Autonomy and Technical Aid). We were impressed with the permanent exhibition they have developed, housing different tech aids that exist for people with disabilities (from wheelchairs to smart facilities) and from now on, also Path Finder. Things will keep moving forward with CEAPAT, and I will attend the international week of CEAPAT to exhibit Path Finder later this month. Simon Banley, The British Ambassador to Spain and Andorra will be one of the speakers at the official opening.
Once all the meetings in Madrid were over, we went to Barcelona. In Barcelona, thanks to the help of the Catalan Parkinson Association, I presented Path Finder at the Riera Blanca Civic Center. The acceptance was extremely good, and a Parkinson's patient tried it, demonstrating to everyone the effect of the visual cues.
Whilst I presented, Lise went to meet with Dr. Àngels Bayés, a neurologist at Teknon Hospital, where we were able to start defining a framework for what looks to become a very exciting future collaboration.
We also had time for some "tapas" :)
