The city is consolidating its position as a benchmark for innovation, as technologies are tested, measured and demonstrate their value before being deployed at a larger scale.
Medellín is taking another step forward in its commitment to the future of healthcare. Ruta N has selected five initiatives from the sector for the second cohort of FutuMed’s experimentation track, a strategy that validates technologies against specific challenges facing the city within the country’s first Special Treatment Zone (STZ). This framework makes it possible to test innovations under real-world urban conditions, with more flexible rules, before scaling them up.
The projects will have access to a funding pool of up to COP 5 billion to test their developments, which have already been validated in the laboratory and must now demonstrate that they work in real-world settings. Funding will be disbursed based on each project’s achievement of specific milestones, rather than providing the entire amount upfront. The initiative also seeks to bring innovation closer to hospitals, clinics and other healthcare stakeholders in the area.
Among the selected projects is ApoHem BioMatrix, from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana: a dressing, or biological patch or bandage, applied to wounds to stop bleeding and accelerate skin regeneration. Also selected is MaternIA, from Netux S.A.S., a digital dashboard and monitoring system that brings each patient’s clinical information together in one place, enabling doctors and hospitals to make faster decisions during pregnancy, childbirth and the baby’s first weeks of life, helping reduce risks for mothers and newborns.
Another selected project is Neurotubos, from Inbios S.A.S.: a small tube made from animal protein tissues and treated in a laboratory to help the human body regenerate damaged nerves following an accident or surgery.
Universidad EIA is presenting a wireless monitoring system for intensive care that records patients’ vital signs such as heart rate, breathing and blood pressure in intensive care units (ICUs), enabling continuous monitoring without the cables that currently limit patients’ mobility and may increase the risk of infections. The list is rounded out by Universidad de Antioquia, with a quantum nanobiosensor: a diagnostic device capable of detecting biological signals that are invisible to the naked eye and that could identify diseases such as Alzheimer’s at very early stages using just a single drop of blood.
"Through initiatives such as FutuMed, we are strengthening an ecosystem in which innovation generates knowledge, produces measurable results and, above all, improves people’s quality of life," said Carolina Londoño, Executive Director of Ruta N, highlighting that the initiative puts innovation at the service of some of the city’s most critical challenges.
Funds are disbursed as each project meets verifiable milestones. Each team may use up to 20% of the funding for initial preparations, while at least the remaining 80% is only released once the project meets, step by step, up to three specific milestones defined from the outset in a work plan.
Through FutuMed, Medellín is advancing the country’s first Special Treatment Zone (STZ), located in the northern part of the city and covering an area of 1.8 square kilometers. The zone brings together institutions such as Ruta N, Parque Explora, the Botanical Garden and Parque Norte, among others. In this environment, healthcare innovation has a space to experiment: the proximity to hospitals, clinics, research centers and universities allows technological developments to be tested alongside patients and healthcare professionals.
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