The value of AI and collaboration in medtech I Marc Peetersen

This is a transcript of the MedTech ON AIR podcast episode "From data to trust: The value of AI and collaboration in medtech". This transcript was generated automatically. Its accuracy may vary. You can listen to the episode on SoundCloud or Spotify.

Davidson Leite

Welcome back to MedTech ON AIR. I'm Davidson Leite, Communications Director at MedTech Europe, and it's been a little while since our last episode back in November 2025. This is our first podcast of 2026, and also my first time hosting. We're kicking things off with a special series, Live from the MedTech Forum 2026, the biggest gathering of medtech voices in Europe. It is definitely a bit noisier and more fast-paced than our usual studio conversations, but we couldn't miss the chance to catch leading experts right here on the spot. With the spotlight on how the AI Act intersects with the revision of the medical devices and in vitro diagnostic regulations, we're starting with Professor Marc Peeters. Marc's a full professor of oncology at the University of Antwerp chair at the board of different relevant hospitals in Flanders, and a key voice in innovation and healthcare consultancy across Europe. Together, we explore IVDs, data, AI, and the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of the medtech sector. So stay with us and listen on for the full conversation.

I'm here with Professor Marc Peeters. Should I call you Professor, or can I call you Marc?

Marc Peeters

You can call me Marc.

Davidson Leite

Excellent.

Marc Peeters

It's easy talking.

Davidson Leite

Easy, easy, easy-going. Marc, could you introduce yourself to our listeners?

Marc Peeters

Yeah. So my name is Marc Peeters. I'm from Belgian origin. I'm A GI oncologist during years, being the head of the department in Antwerp University Hospital, then moved to the position of CEO of the hospital during three years. and now involved in some boards of smaller hospitals and also in a scale-up company in the Netherlands. So that is me.

Davidson Leite

Excellent. A super diverse background, which I think makes a lot of sense because I see you're a very busy man. So you're speaking at two different sessions today, and you're also going to speak at another one tomorrow. Can you mention the sessions and what you'll be talking about?

Marc Peeters

So the first one was this morning, taking care of the patients at home. What are the challenges? What are the difficulties? What are the positive things? This afternoon, we are discussing the data. Everything is around the data for the moment. Also at this conference, the legal part, but also the problems sharing these data from a technology perspective, but also from a patient and patient caregiver perspective. And then tomorrow we are discussing IVD. It's also a challenge because it's part of your routine in hospital, but there is no direct link between the management team and the companies getting these products on the market. So it's a difficult issue.

Davidson Leite

Yeah, big topics. And then I like to go back to the IVD one because it's also something that we talk about a lot at MedTech Europe, but I don't think that people understand how important IVDs are.

Marc Peeters

Yeah, it's important. But it's important in the background. And that's the reason why it's not visible in the hospital as such, because it's part of the pathway, it's part of the treatment, it's part of the diagnostic, but it's a fundamental part to give the best treatment in the right patient.

Davidson Leite

Yeah, it's like informing every medical decision.

Marc Peeters

Absolutely. For example, if you have a lab test introduced in the hospital or even taking care of the patient at home, then this might have an impact on your strategy, your diagnostic decision, your therapeutic decision, and by the end on the outcome of the patients.

Davidson Leite

Excellent. And then across all of those different topics, very challenging areas, but what do you believe that is really the most pressing need? What is the biggest challenge that is shaping the medtech universe now?

Marc Peeters

It's the first time that I'm at this meeting and I'm, let's say, somewhat.

Davidson Leite

I hope you make a good impression.

Marc Peeters

Yeah, that's one part. Second part is I'm an outsider. But I don't want to be an outsider. I want to integrate it in the discussion with the medtech companies and also the other side, the medtech companies want to integrate with medical care and have exact discussions on topics that keeping healthcare sharp. The things that are needed for health care, and that discussion need to be open in a multidisciplinary setting with all the teams from both sides.

Davidson Leite

Yeah, but you came to the right place. I mean, I think that's the spirit of the MedTech Forum. It's really promoting dialogue, integrating different voices.

Marc Peeters

I think it's right, but we need to promote it more.

Davidson Leite

Yeah, I completely agree. And then considering these encounters that you've had here, we've spoken about the challenges. Where do you see the greatest opportunity for progress then?

Marc Peeters

I think the red line here for the moment is data. And data is in everybody's mind. We want to integrate data in our patient care. Is it in the hospital? Is it for the general practitioner? But the challenge is how to use data to convince patients that we use…

Davidson Leite

It's a sensitive topic, right? Privacy, everything.

Marc Peeters

To improve healthcare and not to share with companies. And also the fact that data is absolutely necessary for AI development. And there is a challenge from the healthcare side because we don't have education on that. And we are also somewhat afraid what is the impact for tomorrow in the practice, having care for our patients. And that is something that we need to learn, that we need to share, and also from an educational perspective, integrate in the curriculum of our students.

Davidson Leite

Absolutely. I think that's key. So it's education, like digital literacy for the medical students, for patients, for everyone in the industry. So we take the most out of it.

Marc Peeters

Absolutely.

Davidson Leite

It's a super powerful tool. We can achieve great things with it. The same with data.

Marc Peeters

We can achieve everything, I think, for the moment. Technology is there. It's a question of having the right information on the technology that we have available and trying to convince everybody that technology is for the patient, for the healthcare workers, and it's not against them. And that is a question of trust.

Davidson Leite

Yeah. But the only way for us to build trust is to have this kind of encounter, this kind of discussion, and share the knowledge that we all have from the different perspectives. Because that's when I think people are going to start trusting us.

Marc Peeters

That's one point. And the second point is also from the beginning, if you want to develop something as a medtech company, please involve healthcare people. Get them challenged with your ideas and try to have one vision, one step, a program, milestones to be in the hospital or in the general practitioner offices as soon as possible.

Davidson Leite

The collaboration.

Marc Peeters

Collaboration, that's the keyword.

Davidson Leite

Excellent, excellent. And then, so AI, it's something that we're all talking about. Data, it's something that we're all talking about. But what is the one issue, an assumption, a bottleneck that you believe that is not being discussed enough?

Marc Peeters

I think for the moment, coming back to the data and coming to AI, it's a question of trust, like we already said. You need to trust each other. You need to trust that the data are used in a correct way. That's one point. And 2nd, that there is a real benefit of having data integration and AI in your clinical practice. And then you'll be making the bridge on validation. Because I can say, AI, this will be better than what we are doing currently, but that's not enough. You need to see in practice whether it's better, whether we do better medicine, yes or no. Whether our processes in the hospital are better than before. Whether we can use personnel in a different way. So that is what is missing currently.

Davidson Leite

Yeah, I completely agree. I think that unless people see concretely what they're getting out of it, they're giving away their data, they're giving away their information, they're trusting technology, they need to see the results. And then considering your background that is super diverse, I think that you connect, you bridge the hospital, the professional side, but also the company perspective. So you must be someone who's very action-driven. If you were to ask for one action for stakeholders, everyone who attended this Forum, what would it be?

Marc Peeters

The most important action point would be, please collaborate with each other. Try to understand each other, try to work together. We have a huge number of excellent tools available. We have a very good healthcare system in most of the European countries. Please match them together and you have a winning team.

Davidson Leite

And that's the European spirit, right? Collaboration, integration, and the MedTech Forum spirit as well.

Marc Peeters

Absolutely.

Davidson Leite

Excellent. Mark, this was great. Thanks so much for your insight.

Marc Peeters

Thank you very much for the invitation and success.

Davidson Leite

Yeah, thank you. Likewise.

Marc Peeters

Thank you.

Davidson Leite

Thank you.