In 2023, the Impact-implants program started with the goals of advancing innovation in the field of medical technology and personalised implants. Six projects started as multidisciplinary collaboration between regional partners from healthcare, academia, and the industrial sector.
Roughly one year ago, the Just Transition Fund program IMPACT-Implants started. Regional partners from industry, research and healthcare embarked into a 3-year journey to optimize biomaterials and workflows for implant design to innovate the next generation of individualized 3D-designed devices, including implants for complex bone defects and fractures on knees, wrists, jaws and the airway. The partners includes the University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG), represented by 9 academic and clinical departments, in collaboration with the MetaMechanics group of the ENTEG Institute of the Faculty of Sciences and Engineering of the University of Groningen, and regional companies WiTEC Innovating Together, Bether Encapsulates, BAAT Medical and the non-subsidize company PolyVation. The UMCG Innovation Center supported the initiation of the project and is involved in the program management.
The vision and the ambition of IMPACT-Implants
The program leader, Dr. Joep Kraeima, Associate professor, Technical Physician Specialist, dpt. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Head 3DLab UMCG summarizes the vision in a sentence: “The aim is to provide personalised solutions from head-to-toe and in the entire north of the Netherlands. This project is an example of what the province of Groningen and the North of the Netherlands has to offer in terms of state-of-the-art innovative healthcare solutions.
The six research & development lines
iMPaCT-implants has successfully shaped and started six interconnected research projects, each addressing critical aspects of medical implant innovation including regulatory aspects, applicability, new technical development and further business potential. All projects have started in 2023 and are running smoothly.
Curious to see what the project are about directly from the project leaders
Here you find an overview of the projects and you can hear directly from the project leaders on their ambitions and expected outcomes.
Source article & picture: UMCG Research
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Turning plans into results: that is the central focus of the fifth LIFE Science Conference, taking place on Tuesday, 22 September 2026 at Forum Groningen. The LIFE Cooperative will bring together professionals, entrepreneurs, researchers and policymakers from the life sciences and health sector around one key question: how do we translate vision into concrete impact? The keynote speaker will be Peter Wennink, former CEO of ASML and one of the most influential leaders in the Dutch technology sector. In 2025, he presented his advisory report ‘The Road to Future Prosperity’, in which he advocates targeted investments in innovation to strengthen the Netherlands’ long-term earning capacity.
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