• Pioneering technique carried out in collaboration with surgeons at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
• Procedure offers 32-year-old Emirati cancer patient hope for a future family
• The procedure’s success was enhanced by seamless teamwork between the medical, surgical and embryology teams at both entities

Abu Dhabi, October 07 2024: HealthPlus Fertility, a renowned leader in fertility care and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, both part of the M42 group, has performed an ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) procedure on a single 32-year-old Emirati patient with Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system. The procedure was carried out at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, where the patient is receiving her cancer treatment, and under the supervision of HealthPlus Fertility’s team of experts.

OTC is a pioneering technique that offers hope to women undergoing cancer therapy by preserving their fertility potential. The procedure, which was brought to the region by HealthPlus Fertility, involves the careful removal and preservation of ovarian tissue, which can later be re-implanted to restore fertility once cancer treatment is completed.

Dr. Monika Chawla, Medical Director at HealthPlus Fertility, said: “We are thrilled to have achieved this milestone, in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. This marks a significant step forward in our mission to provide comprehensive fertility preservation solutions to our patients. The teamwork displayed by both teams was truly remarkable. It was a proud moment for all of us to witness their dedication and expertise in ensuring the successful, life-changing treatment of the patient’s ovarian tissue preservation.”

The procedure’s success was enhanced by seamless teamwork between the medical, surgical and embryology teams at HealthPlus Fertility and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Dr. Malini Sharma, Staff Physician, Gynecology, Surgical Subspecialties Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, said: “We are proud to be part of this multidisciplinary and collaborative effort between our oncology team, surgical team and HealthPlus Fertility. This pioneering ovarian tissue cryopreservation marks a significant leap forward in patient care, offering women undergoing cancer treatments new hope by providing the opportunity to preserve their fertility and plan for a family in the future.”

Dr. Wael Ismail Madkour, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Fertility & Reproductive Endocrinology (IVF) Consultant at HealthPlus Fertility Center said: “Infertility following cancer treatments is considered a major quality of life issue. Ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation are important options for fertility preservation in adult cancer patients who need immediate chemotherapy. Ovarian tissue freezing is the only option for preserving the fertility of prepubertal patients with cancer. This procedure can make motherhood possible for cancer survivors.”

During the surgery, the surgeon removes a part of or one of the ovaries. Once extracted, the tissue is cut into thin strips, soaked in a preservative solution and then transported to the laboratory for freezing.

The procedure itself uses ultra-low temperature ‘cryogenic’ freezers to safely preserve the ovarian tissue. Once the patient is completely cured and planning to start a family, the frozen ovarian tissue can be transplanted back into her pelvis, allowing normal ovarian function and egg production to resume, and for younger patients, the chance of pregnancy — either through spontaneous conception or via IVF after the transplantation of ovarian tissue — is higher than 50 percent.

OTC represents a vital option for patients diagnosed with cancer who wish to protect their fertility. HealthPlus Fertility remains committed to advancing reproductive medicine and providing compassionate care to patients navigating fertility challenges.

-ENDS-

About HealthPlus Fertility 

HealthPlus Fertility, part of the M42 group, is one of the largest fertility networks in the region with 4 fully serviced fertility centers in Abu Dhabi and Jeddah and multiple satellite IVF clinics across the UAE giving infertile couples renewed hope and access to treatment and innovation. Through personalized treatments and using the latest technologies and advancements in reproductive health, our team strives to achieve the best possible outcome for every couple that seeks our help. HealthPlus Fertility provide the full range of state-of-the-art services for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility including In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), reproductive surgery as well as several innovative treatments for male fertility. Most surgical treatments for infertility are performed on-site on an outpatient basis with minimally invasive techniques such as laparoscopy and hysteroscopy. Our pregnancy success rates consistently place us amongst the highest in the country and are a testament to the dedication and skills of our medical team.

To learn more about HealthPlus Fertility, visit www.healthplusivf.com.

About Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, part of the M42 group, is a multispecialty hospital on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is a unique and unparalleled extension of US-based Cleveland Clinic’s model of care, specifically designed to address a range of complex and critical care requirements unique to the Abu Dhabi population. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has the following Institutes and Departments: Heart, Vascular & Thoracic, Neurology, Digestive Disease, Eye, Respiratory, Critical Care, Oncology, Transplant, Surgical Subspecialties, Medical Subspecialties, Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Imaging, Quality & Patient Safety, Clinical & Nursing, Research and Education Departments. In all, more than 50 medical and surgical specialties are offered at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

The campus is also home to a stand-alone and dedicated cancer center, Fatima bint Mubarak Center. The state-of-the-art, facility provides patients with access to diagnostics and treatment options through world- class facilities across 24 clinical departments that include a range of cancer subspecialties and programs: Blood Cancers, Breast Cancers, Endocrine Cancers, Gastrointestinal Cancers, Genitourinary Cancers, Gynecological Cancers, Head and Neck Cancers, Neurological Cancers, Thoracic Cancers, Ophthalmological Cancers and Soft Tissue Cancers among others.

About M42

M42 is a first-of-its-kind, global tech-enabled health powerhouse committed to the sustainable future of health. The Abu Dhabi-headquartered company is transforming lives through innovative solutions that are solving the world’s most critical health and diagnostic challenges. By harnessing unique medical and data-centric technologies, including genomics and AI, M42 is delivering the highest level of personalised, precise, and preventative health solutions to impactfully disrupt the global health landscape.

M42 has over 20,000 employees and more than 450 facilities in 26 countries. Established in 2022, following the coming together of G42 Healthcare and Mubadala Health, M42 combines leading health technologies with state-of-the-art healthcare facilities to deliver world-class health solutions, services and care.

The M42 group includes Diaverum, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Imperial College London Diabetes Centre and Moorfields Eye Hospital Abu Dhabi, among others.

Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, today released the Asia Pacific (APAC) findings of its Future Health Index (FHI) 2024 report: Better care for more people. The ninth edition of the report, which surveyed nearly 3,000 healthcare leaders in 14 countries, including Australia, Indonesia, and Singapore, shows that healthcare leaders are focusing on improving operational efficiencies through workflow prioritization, data integration, and AI-enabled innovation to improve patient care impacted by workforce shortages, financial challenges, and growing demand.
“While long wait times and staff shortages are making it difficult for people to get the care they need, when they need, we are also observing our healthcare leaders taking bold and thoughtful changes to deliver better patient care for more people,” says Dr Mark Burby, Vice President of Health Systems for Philips APAC. “They are determined to overcome data integration challenges to fully uncover its utmost potential and are excited to embrace the next level of AI implementation for critical decision making and improved efficiencies.”

Staff shortages and financial challenges are taking a toll on patient care in APAC
71% of healthcare leaders in APAC are concerned about staff shortages resulting in delays in care for patients. Furthermore, 92% of healthcare leaders in APAC highlight that financial challenges are impacting their organization’s ability to provide timely, high quality-care, with 59% of them currently improving operational efficiency at their organization as a financial strategy. Other countries are doing the same, including Singapore (64%), Indonesia (57%), and Australia (56%).

To deal with the high volume of patients without compromising on quality, workflow prioritization is seen as the biggest opportunity for automation to improve productivity and ease staff shortages worldwide. In APAC, close to half (45%) have already implemented workflow optimization.

High hopes in the potential of data integration to improve efficiency and care
Healthcare leaders in APAC see a wide range of opportunities to improve patient care by bringing data from different sources together in a meaningful way, helping them to build a cohesive patient story. They believe that the benefits from having data-driven insights include optimizing treatment plans/care pathways (36%), identifying evidence-based best practices (36%), forecasting and managing patient demand (36%), predicting and reducing adverse patient events (33%), reducing hospital readmissions (33%), and reducing diagnostic and elective care procedure waiting lists (31%).

However, 93% of healthcare leaders in APAC reported that they experienced at least one data integration challenge. These challenges affect their ability to provide timely and high-quality care, and include an increased risk of errors, reduced patient safety and/or quality of care (36%), limited coordination between care providers/departments (33%), increased operational costs due to inefficiencies (32%), spending time accessing/integrating data resulting in less time caring for patients (31%), and missed opportunities for preventive care or early intervention (31%).

To fully uncover the benefits of data integration, 67% of healthcare leaders in APAC highlighted the importance of quality data. They identified improved accuracy of data (36%), improved data security/privacy (34%), full patient access to their own health data (34%), and improved interoperability between platforms/healthcare settings (31%) as areas to be changed when handling data.

AI increasingly utilized for clinical decision support, with growing interest to advance to generative AI
In APAC, successful adoption in AI is observed with healthcare leaders increasingly embracing AI for clinical decision support. The findings show how they have implemented and are planning to implement AI for clinical decision support in the next three years across different areas of care including preventive care (91%), medication management (90%), in-hospital patient monitoring (89%), treatment planning (89%), remote patient monitoring (87%), in clinical command centers (83%), radiology (79%), and pathology (79%).

Looking towards the next step in AI, generative AI adoption is taking off in APAC with healthcare leaders recognizing the benefits of AI algorithms that can be used to produce content such as text, images, or data, in response to inputted prompts. This could benefit patient care by unlocking new efficiencies and insights from patient data. In APAC, 36% of healthcare leaders are currently investing in generative AI technologies. 62% are planning to invest in these technologies in the next three years, consistent with interest in Indonesia (74%), Singapore (64%), and Australia (49%). Overall, APAC’s interest in generative AI is ahead of global healthcare leaders currently investing (29%) and planning to invest in the next three years (56%).

While there is widespread excitement about the possibilities of AI in healthcare, 95% of healthcare leaders in APAC are concerned about data bias in AI applications widening disparities in health outcomes. There is a shared recognition that AI needs to be implemented in a responsible way to avoid unintended consequences. Making AI more transparent and interpretable for healthcare professionals (45%), ensuring staff diversity in data and AI (43%), continuous training and education in AI (40%), and implementing policies for the ethical use of data and AI (39%) were listed as strategies to mitigate the risk of data bias. This can only be achieved through cross-sector collaboration and coalition-building.

“The future of delivering better care for more people is attainable through seamless integration of data and smart application of AI in clinical care to improve workflow and productivity for healthcare providers. At Philips, we are leveraging AI and informatics capabilities and harnessing the power of partnerships to innovate across imaging, interventional and monitoring to stay ahead of these needs,” added Dr Burby.

Philips has been working with its partners in APAC on new business models and engaging in long-term strategic partnerships to innovate care delivery. Being aware that services, upgrades, sustainable innovations, and practices as well as training and education are key to the long-term success of digital transformation, Philips offers integrated and comprehensive suites of systems, smart devices, software, and services, to address the specific pain points faced by healthcare providers and ultimately help unleash the full possibilities of digital transformation.

Medtec 2024, a leading exhibition for medical device design and manufacturing technology in China, is set to take place from September 25 to 27 at the SWEECC. Covering 42,000 square meters and featuring 1,000 exhibitors, the event is expected to attract over 80,000 visitors.

This year, Medtec will be held alongside the Advanced Active Device Tech EXPO (ADTE) and Quality Expo, offering a comprehensive platform for the medical device industry.

Emerging Players and Innovative Products

The exhibition will highlight both established industry leaders and emerging players. Notable participants include Jiangsu Biosurf, ZEUS, Jouder Precision, Lubrizol, Sino-Platinum, DuPont China, and Henkel’s LOCTITE. New entrants such as Heraeus, Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials, Knowles Electronics, and NANGUANG HI-TECH will showcase innovative products like compact pulsed lasers, ultrasonic welding machines, and laser microfabrication machines. These newcomers will bring fresh energy and demonstrate significant product innovation, focusing on efficiency, cost control, and customer-driven product updates.

ADTE and Quality Expo Contributions

ADTE, held alongside Medtec 2024, will focus on high-end active devices. Exhibitors including Hikimaging, QuarkMed, TE, and Knowles will present advanced products such as electrical systems, rigid endoscope imaging solutions, and ultra-high-definition 4K endoscope camera systems. Quality Expo will serve as a key resource for quality managers, featuring suppliers of testing, measurement, and calibration equipment, with participants like Zeiss, Keyence, and Instron showcasing advanced quality inspection technologies.

Expanded Conference and Forum Schedule

Medtec 2024 will feature over 100 sessions and extend to four days. The event will kick off with the Medical Device Design and Manufacturing Industry Summit Forum, covering topics such as global regulations, quality standards, and clinical research. Throughout the exhibition, attendees can engage in technical and support service forums on diverse topics including packaging, sterilization, and advanced manufacturing techniques. A new Consumer Healthcare Special Forum will debut, focusing on medical aesthetics, ophthalmology, and dentistry.

High-End Closed-Door Sessions

The Medical Device Design and Manufacturing Technology Industry Summit 2024 will include a main forum and sub-forums, with contributions from experts and scholars from organizations like the FDA Office in China, the State Drug Administration, and prominent universities. Topics will cover global regulatory trends, quality management guidelines, and human factors engineering.

Strong Industry Backing

The technical and supporting service forums will receive robust support from companies like TRUMPF (China), SokenPack (Shanghai), and WuXi AppTec. These forums will provide valuable insights into precision machining, medical device packaging, and advanced manufacturing techniques.