Valérie Moreno (AFIB) : « La sobriété devient une condition de l’innovation »

The role of the biomedical engineer within modern healthcare institutions has undergone a profound transformation. No longer confined to the traditional mechanics of medical device maintenance and calibration, contemporary clinical engineers operate at the critical intersection of patient care, complex information technology, and institutional cybersecurity. This paradigm shift—driven by the exponential rise of connected medical devices, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), and the urgent imperative for environmental sustainability—will take center stage from October 7 to 9, 2026, at the historic Couvent des Jacobins in Rennes.

As healthcare systems across Europe grapple with digital transformation, the 30th National Days of Biomedical Engineering (Journées de l’Ingénierie Biomédicale), organized by the French Association of Biomedical Engineers (AFIB), arrive at a pivotal moment. Valérie Moreno, President of AFIB, has consistently emphasized that the integration of medical equipment into hospital information systems (SIH) fundamentally alters the nature of the profession. Today, every device connected to a hospital network expands the institution’s digital attack surface, demanding a complete overhaul of traditional equipment commissioning processes.

The Digital Integration Paradigm: Bridging Biomedical and IT Systems

Historically, the acquisition and deployment of biomedical equipment followed a linear, isolated trajectory: clinical needs were identified, capital budgets were allocated, devices were purchased, and technicians calibrated them for clinical use independently of the hospital’s broader IT infrastructure. Today, this isolation is obsolete. Modern medical devices—ranging from smart infusion pumps and bedside monitors to advanced imaging systems—actively communicate with electronic health records (EHRs). They ingest patient identification data and transmit diagnostic results directly into secure hospital databases.

According to AFIB leadership, any future connection to a hospital information system must be conceptualized as a comprehensive, highly coordinated project rather than a routine installation. This interconnectedness means that biomedical engineers must now work hand-in-hand with Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and IT departments long before a piece of hardware physically arrives at a facility. The consequences of failing to integrate these workflows can be catastrophic, potentially compromising both patient safety and institutional data integrity.

Fortifying Defenses: The Rise of Biomedical Cybersecurity

In response to the escalating frequency of cyberattacks targeting healthcare infrastructure globally, cybersecurity has justifiably become a core operational pillar for AFIB. Hospitals remain prime targets for ransomware and data exfiltration due to the high value of protected health information (PHI) and the critical, time-sensitive nature of medical care.

To mitigate these risks proactively, AFIB has developed a standardized cybersecurity evaluation questionnaire. Before any major equipment procurement is finalized, biomedical engineers mandate that manufacturers complete this rigorous assessment. The resulting data initiates a tripartite dialogue involving the biomedical department, the IT division, and the CISO, effectively locking down network vulnerabilities prior to deployment.

This standardized framework has gained significant traction, earning formal adoption by several major public health procurement agencies. Furthermore, AFIB’s cybersecurity initiatives have recently secured the official backing of the French National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI). This endorsement marks a significant scaling up of an initiative years in the making. The governing principle championed by AFIB is absolute: any connected medical device must be treated as a potential entry point into the broader hospital network. A security failure in a seemingly peripheral device threatens, first and foremost, the continuity of patient care, followed immediately by the breach of confidential health data.

Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Settings and Operational Management

Beyond connectivity and security, artificial intelligence represents the next major frontier for biomedical engineering. Valérie Moreno categorizes the integration of AI within healthcare institutions into two distinct yet equally critical domains: clinical application and operational management.

On the clinical front, AI tools have already established a firm foothold in medical imaging, where algorithms assist radiologists in detecting subtle fractures, pulmonary nodules, and early-stage pathologies. More recently, these capabilities have expanded into advanced radiation therapy planning and digital pathology. In these specialized environments, biomedical engineers increasingly operate in tandem with—or occasionally spearhead the integration efforts alongside—hospital IT departments to ensure these sophisticated algorithms integrate seamlessly into clinical workflows.

Simultaneously, a second, less visible application of AI is rapidly gaining momentum: the predictive analysis of medical equipment lifecycles and maintenance requirements. By leveraging machine learning models to analyze historical maintenance logs, usage patterns, and device telemetry, hospitals can transition from reactive repairs to predictive maintenance. This data-driven approach minimizes costly equipment downtime and optimizes the replacement cycles of complex medical fleets. However, Moreno notes that this internal biomedical data landscape remains largely underexplored and presents a massive opportunity for efficiency gains.

The Financial Dilemma of AI Adoption in Public Hospitals

Despite the recognized clinical and operational benefits of artificial intelligence, hospitals face a major systemic roadblock that is financial rather than technological. The prevailing business model for commercial AI software relies heavily on recurring SaaS (Software as a Service) subscription models.

For public healthcare institutions—which traditionally rely on capital expenditure (CapEx) models to finance physical infrastructure and heavy medical machinery—recurring subscription fees present a severe budgetary mismatch. These ongoing, often inflation-sensitive costs do not align comfortably with public accounting structures, creating friction in procurement departments. Addressing this economic bottleneck will be a primary focus at the upcoming Rennes congress, where dedicated panel debates will interrogate the financial viability of AI and address the fundamental ethical question: what operational and diagnostic responsibilities are hospitals truly prepared to delegate to algorithms?

Furthermore, Moreno highlights a persistent structural challenge within hospital governance: while biomedical engineers possess the precise technical expertise required to evaluate these emerging technologies, their representation in high-level institutional decision-making bodies remains inconsistent. AFIB continues to lobby vigorously for a formalized seat at the table, ensuring that biomedical expertise influences strategic institutional choices from their inception.

Sustainability as a Prerequisite for Modern Innovation

Running parallel to the digital revolution is the equally pressing demand for ecological sustainability—a movement that AFIB has embraced through dedicated working groups and strategic frameworks. Far from viewing environmental responsibility as a recent regulatory imposition, the association views eco-responsibility as a fundamental competency for modern biomedical engineering, on par with digital literacy.

"Eco-efficiency has become an absolute prerequisite for true innovation," Moreno asserts.

This philosophy directly bridges sustainability and digital technology. Highly connected medical devices consume significantly more electrical energy and contribute to the exponential growth of resource-intensive data warehouses. The digital footprint of modern healthcare—driven by massive health data storage and cloud computing infrastructures—carries a tangible ecological cost that the profession is only beginning to quantify.

Regulatory pressures across the European Union are increasingly aligning with this perspective, mandating enhanced equipment reparability, extended lifecycles, and sustainable manufacturing practices. Device designers, manufacturers, and medical suppliers are under growing pressure to embrace circular economy principles without delay.

The 30th AFIB Congress: A Milestone Event in Rennes

The convergence of these critical themes—cybersecurity integration, artificial intelligence financing, and ecological sobriety—will form the core agenda of the 30th National Days of Biomedical Engineering. Set against the architectural backdrop of the Couvent des Jacobins in Rennes from October 7 to 9, 2026, the milestone event will gather hundreds of biomedical professionals, industry leaders, regulatory authorities, and IT experts.

As the boundaries between medical equipment, information technology, and environmental stewardship continue to blur, the insights and frameworks established at the 2026 AFIB Congress will undoubtedly help shape the future trajectory of hospital engineering and patient care standards for the next decade.