Johnson & Johnson Innovation together with Johnson & Johnson Medical Shanghai Ltd. has announced the launch of the China Digital Technologies of Tomorrow QuickFire Challenge with the aim to identify and accelerate cutting-edge, early-stage digital innovations looking to bring forward potential transformative technologies for the patients who need them most.

The competition is open to visionaries from around the world with novel, medical device concepts or products for perioperative treatment solutions, diagnostics and emerging technologies with the potential to transform patient care in atrial fibrillation (AFIB), neurovascular treatment, general and orthopedic surgery.

The innovator(s) with the best potential solution(s) in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), 3D-printing (3DP), IoT, 5G and beyond can be awarded grant funding from a total of up to US$100,000; one year of residency at JLABS @ Shanghai, including a workstation and access to the JLABS ecosystem; and mentorship from experts at the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.

"We are interested in a wide range of potential applications from remote surgery to early warnings of disease and beyond," said Sharon Chan, Head of JLABS @ Shanghai.  "We have 13 JLABS worldwide, with JLABS @ Shanghai being the largest globally, as well as the first in Asia Pacific. We are looking forward to welcoming the awardees of the China Digital Technologies of Tomorrow QuickFire Challenge to be part of our dynamic community of innovators and to supporting them on their innovation journeys."

The QuickFire Challenge platform was developed with the aim to empower and enable potential ground-breaking science and health solutions by encouraging students, entrepreneurs, researchers and start-up companies to tackle some of the world's most challenging problems in healthcare.

"China remains a critical market and has become the 'development + innovation' dual engine for Johnson & Johnson's business portfolio. We have chosen to launch this challenge in China because the region's digital technology and innovation is making rapid progress that can potentially benefit China and the world. Through our joint efforts, we are actively engaging with the Chinese healthcare innovation ecosystem and technology community with the aim to bring together disruptive solutions to advance health for humanity," said Will Song, China Chairman, Johnson & Johnson.