Representatives from the Ministry of Health met with managers from the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) this Wednesday, the 16th, to discuss the intervention of a management contract between the institutions. The ISD will prepare a draft, detailing ideas of what could make up a final proposal that will be presented, jointly, to the Ministries of Health and Education (MEC) in a meeting to be scheduled. The Santos Dumont Institute has maintained a management contract with the MEC since 2014 and, at the end of 2021, it was renewed until 2030.

“We need to understand what the competencies and capabilities are here so that we can implement them in the Unified Health System (SUS),” commented Tânia Mara do Valle Arantes, technical consultant for the Health Industrial Complex (CGCIS) of the Ministry of Health. The ISD’s mission, within the proposed management contract with the national health department, will be to devise goals linked to research that are suited to the needs of the SUS and anticipate the regulatory standards of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa).

The manager of the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience (IIN-ELS), Edgard Morya, explained the potential related to Neuromodulation and Brain-Machine Interface technologies and the development of electrodes for the treatment of patients with spinal cord injuries accessible to the Unified Health System (SUS). However, these technologies are not yet easily accessible in the SUS/Brazil and are emerging in countries in Europe and the United States, with some research centers maintaining studies similar to those carried out at the IIN-ELS, based in the rural area of Macaíba (RN). “Neuromodulation is a recent technology that is increasingly applicable to health care. The Brain-Machine Interface is currently not yet regulated in Brazil, but in European countries, it is already quite advanced”, highlighted Edgard Morya.

Representatives from the Ministry of Health questioned the possibility of developing this technology in Brazil and whether it would be a differentiator for the management contract. The answer was given by Hougelle Simplício, a neurosurgeon and researcher at ISD. “We need to list technologies, therapies and treatments that are interesting or economically risky for Brazil. This could be a framework for the national industry, with an intellectual and production matrix, attracting international investors. This will reduce the risk of equipment shortages. Today, we depend on imports of all electrode implant components, for example. Brazil has some weaknesses. Our tax situation makes things very difficult. But we have some advantages, such as the possibility of studies on primates and humans.”

In the future, as this sector advances, Brazil may have a robust neurotechnology industry, creating patents and producing various goods related to this area. “We need to think about things for the future and understand which chains we will be involved in. We need to think about a technological horizon that interests the country,” stressed Tânia Arantes.

Technical visit 

The structure of the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) was presented on Tuesday afternoon, the 15th, to local and national members of the Ministry of Health. The ministerial representatives were received by the ISD's general director, Reginaldo Freitas Jr., and learned about the projects developed at the Anita Garibaldi Center for Education and Research in Health (Anita) and the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience, ISD units in the rural area of Macaíba (RN).

“Our mission is to learn, to understand how this transformative action is carried out, and to learn,” declared Reginaldo Ramos Machado, director of the Department of Interfederative and Participatory Management of the Ministry of Health (DGIP/MS), after the initial presentation with a brief historical account of the ISD. In the building of the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neurosciences, the members of the Ministry of Health visited laboratories such as the Brain-Machine Interface, neurorehabilitation, microscopy, cryostat, in addition to the location where the Orthopedic Workshop of the Specialized Rehabilitation Center (CER IV ISD) will be installed.

During the visit to the IIN-ELS facilities, which have approximately 15 thousand square meters of built area, the technicians from the Ministry of Health questioned the reason why the ISD was installed in Macaíba, in a rural area. The general director of the Institute, Reginaldo Freitas Jr., explained that the project conceived by scientist Miguel Nicolelis, founder of the ISD, is to change social reality through education, science and health.

“The health indicators were very poor and the very low Human Development Index in Macaíba were the reasons why the ISD was installed in the municipality. Today, we have a much better HDI and health indicators for the municipality thanks to the projects developed at the Institute,” explained Reginaldo Freitas Jr.

The following people participated in the technical visit on Tuesday, the 15th: Tiago Vasconcelos, advisor to the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Health; Reginaldo Ramos Machado, director of the Department of Interfederative and Participatory Management (DGIP/MS); Midya Hemilly Gurgel de Souza Targino, general coordinator of Strengthening the Management of Planning Instruments of the Unified Health System (CGFIP/MS); Luana Costa Vasconcelos, advisor to DGIP; Jéssica Marques, advisor to DGIP; Tânia Mara do Valle Arantes, technical consultant to the Health Industrial Complex (CGCIS); Thiago Rodrigues Santos; general coordinator of Planning and Budget of the Secretariat of Science and Technology and Strategic Health Inputs (SCTIE); Olímpia Paiva, superintendent of the Ministry of Health in Rio Grande do Norte; Jovan Gadioli dos Santos, administrative director of ISD; Edgard Morya, manager of IIN-ELS; Lilian Lira Lisboa, manager of Anita, and Hougelle Simplício, neurosurgeon medical preceptor at ISD.