Gastroenterologists as future engineers: progress is being made

As gastroenterologists in training, we read with great interest the relevant editorial by Alexander Meining. ¹ We recognize his insights and agree that the interplay between gastroenterologists and engineers has been absolutely slow. We completely appreciate that gastroenterologists have traditionally been simply adopters of engineering solutions presented to them without a full understanding of the developmental process. Limited knowledge about engineering means that innovative diagnostic or therapeutic solutions cannot be incorporated into clinical practice.

We want to share with readers the steps we have taken to create a collaboration with our engineering colleagues. The clinician engineer hub is an international network of clinicians and engineers that has two major priorities: education and research. Firstly, there is a lack of biomedical engineering training within the traditional medical pathway. We overcame this barrier through the creation of workshops in which clinicians and engineers come together to recognize the value of engineering in diagnostics and therapeutics. These workshops have experts in both fields and include small group brainstorming discussions. During these sessions, participants are presented with challenging clinical cases and are asked to propose a diagnostic or therapeutic engineering solution. We recognize that the outreach of the hub can be optimized by the use of strategies that transcend the classroom setting. Webinars that allow for a fluid interaction between leaders of both fields are incorporated as a special channel of global communication. These webinars have promoted the generation of ideas that fulfil unmet clinical needs with participants from around the world.²

Secondly, we created a global network of researchers. We have provided a platform for highly motivated clinicians that seek research opportunities. Optics (enhanced imaging), biosensors and robotics are some of the major topics under investigation. To facilitate communication of the most innovative projects, we provide regular updates on the innovative solutions through our online social media platform. Additionally, we also recognized the lack of a means of publishing breakthrough engineering research that had clinical potential. We therefore launched a journal that would serve this purpose with ease.³

For many years, the academic community has recognized the clinician scientist. Our engineering colleagues have been largely ignored, while in reality, we utilize engineering solutions on a daily basis. Therefore, whilst the concept may appear premature at this time, we are certain that betterment in patient care will rely on a cohort of hybrid individuals, namely clinician engineers.