BITECIC has extended the reach of its R&D services into China through a new partnership with Shanghai-based Gaitech. Both Gaitech and BITECIC share a strong interest in the pre-clinical testing of orthopaedic prostheses and this will be their first area for new service development.

The orthopaedics industry in China is growing rapidly and is looking to produce health technology products for overseas markets. The testing provided by BITECIC is important for Technical Files of new products to gain CE-Marking in Europe and FDA approval in the US.

In addition through Gaitech, BITECIC is able to access new medical devices development resources in China to extend both capacity and capability to meet the increasing needs of the orthopaedics industry for pre-clinical testing, and to develop opportunities for Anglo-Chinese research collaborations on novel health technologies.

Dr John Egan, BITECIC director who is leading this partnership in the UK said,

"In the same way that BITECIC is a Leeds University spin-out formed to manage university-industry collaboration, Gaitech has similar roots in Shanghai Jiao Tong University and shares this same mission. We have similar expertise in orthopaedic technology, which makes us natural partners to develop shared business interests.

"The orthopaedics industry's need for pre-clinical testing of new joint replacement prostheses is broadening into new aspects of joint simulation, numerical modelling and biological assessment right through to health economic modelling. The combined "know-how" in BITECIC and Gaitech in these areas is significant, and this is now available to Chinese customers through our collaboration."

Mr. Jenssen Chang, Managing Director of Gaitech added,

"Working with BITECIC and the University of Leeds gives us access to "know how" that is very valuable to Chinese orthopaedic industry to enable these companies to make the leap to become global suppliers of medical devices. We expect our new partnership to be instrumental in boosting the competitiveness of the orthopaedics industry in China.

Also, as our business grows, we look forward to establishing UK-China research collaborations to bring forward the next generation of medical devices."

Professor John Fisher, Director of the Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering at the University of Leeds further states,

"The partnership between BITECIC and Gaitech has developed in parallel with research collaborations between the University of Leeds and leading Chinese academic institutions. These international collaborations and research have been supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Royal Society in the UK, and the Natural Science Foundation of China. The academic connections between such a strong and internationally recognised group of universities provides the foundations for the business of translating research on the latest orthopaedic technologies into services that industry can use to develop their next generation of orthopaedic products."

BITECIC and Gaitech aim to launch their partnership in China with a joint exhibit at the next China Orthopaedic Association meeting in Chendu this November 2010.

For more information please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and see:-

www.gaitech.net
www.imbe.leeds.ac.uk