Engineering the Next Generation: IFMBE Winter Camp 2026 in São Paulo
From August 3 to 5, 2026, the IFMBE Winter Camp on Biomedical Engineering and Medical Innovation brought together young professionals, academics, institutional representatives, industry specialists, and fourteen graduate and undergraduate students from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay at the Institute for Advancing Science of Boston Scientific Brazil, in São Paulo. The event was jointly organized by the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE), the Regional Council of Biomedical Engineering for Latin America (CORAL), the Brazilian Society of Biomedical Engineering (SBEB), and Boston Scientific, and was designed to strengthen collaboration between biomedical engineering and medicine, foster multidisciplinary teamwork, and connect participants with cutting-edge medical technologies and industry innovation.
The three-day program combined lectures, hands-on sessions, and guided discussions around a series of high-end medical technologies, including intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) with AI, spinal cord stimulation, deep brain stimulation with AI-assisted tools, water vapor therapy for benign prostate hyperplasia (Rezum), and micro-endoscopy for biliary duct diagnosis and treatment (SpyGlass).
Day one opened with remarks from IFMBE President Kang Ping Lin, SBEB President Sonia Malmonge, and Boston Scientific President Marcelo Meroni, followed by an introduction to the event by IFMBE Vice President Virginia Ballarin. Sessions on career opportunities in the MedTech industry and the role of biomedical engineering in medical device regulation framed the day alongside seminars on IVUS with AI and spinal cord stimulation systems.
Day two featured a seminar on deep brain stimulation with AI, followed by talks on biomedical engineering’s role in R&D and innovation and on medical devices for universal health coverage in Latin America. In the afternoon, a Workshop on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) of Medical Devices that combined a lecture, working-group exercises, and participant presentations, gave attendees the opportunity to apply HTA concepts to real device-evaluation scenarios. The day closed with a seminar on emerging digital technologies in clinical practice, covering AI-driven medical imaging and decision support, followed by a poster session in which the participating students presented their research to the full audience, capped by an engaging round of questions and answers.
Day three opened with a seminar on capital equipment platforms, covering the Rezum and SpyGlass systems. The event concluded with the IFMBE Emerging Leaders Award ceremony, recognizing outstanding student participants across four categories: Leadership and Communication, awarded to Nicolás Varela Long; Clinical or Social Impact, awarded to Lilian Gómez Salgado; Regional Relevance, awarded to Joao Marco Torres Rivera; and Innovation Potential (Undergraduate Award), awarded to Demian Mozo. Honorable mentions for outstanding poster presentations were given to Harold Ángeles Gavidia, Julio Enrique Amaya Roque, Naynara de Souza, and Ana María Gómez Salazar. Award recipients will receive travel support to take part in the Emerging Leaders Special Session at the International Conference on Biomedical and Health Informatics (ICBHI 2026) and the II Latin American Conference on Digital Health, to be held in Oaxaca, Mexico. Closing words from the organizing authorities as well as the brought the Winter Camp to an end.
Some of the graduate and undergraduate students from across Latin America who took part in the IFMBE Winter Camp 2026, representing the next generation of biomedical engineers in the region.
Participants of the IFMBE Winter Camp on Biomedical Engineering and Medical Innovation 2026, gathered at the Institute for Advancing Science, Boston Scientific Brazil, São Paulo.
