A Roadmap Draft for Converging Technologies in the Universities of Medical Sciences to Achieve Scientific Authority

The converging technologies are production of transition from disciplinary limits and the integration of tools and scientific methods in health sciences, physics, mathematics, computational sciences, and engineering. They have provided a unique role in the advancement of future medicine and the creation of new scientific disciplines. Undoubtedly, being pioneer in the establishment of converging technologies can promote the universities of medical sciences to achieve scientific authority.

The Albright Strategy Group’s roadmapping convergence conceptual of framework consisting of four steps was used to design a roadmap draft for converging technologies the universities of medical sciences. The first step is definition and scope, the second step is research direction based on structure, the third step is technology roadmap to find the most competitive technologies, and the fourth step presents investment summary and action plan

The technological fields which have potentials of convergence in their approach include physical enhancement/biomedicine, neuro/brain enhancement, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence and robotics, human-machine interfaces, systems medicine (network medicine), systems biology, and precision medicine and biosensors. The establishment of interdisciplinary groups, convergence committee, interdisciplinary laboratories, observatory center for convergence, convergence platform, convergence awards, convergence education and training of young scientists for interdisciplinary research, initiatives for converging technologies and investment in converging technologies should be encouraged in the investment summary and action plan step.

The nature of systems medicine and biology in the biomedicine research and the integration of omics technologies should be emphasized in the design of a roadmap draft for converging technologies at the universities of medical sciences. A particular attention should also be paid to human-machine interfaces, robotics and at the application of omics technologies in neuroscience to achieve scientific authority.